- #1 RimWorld
97% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 245,287 reviews2018
Dev: Ludeon Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 59.6 hrsMean: 266.1 hrs≥1hr: 92%
A sci-fi colony sim driven by an intelligent AI storyteller. Generates stories by simulating psychology, ecology, gunplay, melee combat, climate, biomes, diplomacy, interpersonal relationships, art, medicine, trade, and more.
Why similar: Colony Sim 26.1%, Base Building 15.2%, City Builder 9%, Survival 8.9%, Sandbox 7.5%
Why You'll Like It: It is the definitive colony-simulation experience that shares the same emergent storytelling and character-driven management found in Space Haven.
- #2 Oxygen Not Included
96% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 143,483 reviews2019
Dev: Klei Entertainment
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 8.9 hrsMean: 69.1 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony simulation game. Deep inside an alien space rock your industrious crew will need to master science, overcome strange new lifeforms, and harness incredible space tech to survive, and possibly, thrive.
Why similar: Colony Sim 28.8%, Base Building 16.7%, Survival 9.9%, Resource Management 8.3%, Building 7.4%
Why You'll Like It: This game features complex gas and liquid management systems that will feel instantly familiar to players who enjoy the atmospheric simulation of Space Haven.
- #3 Stardeus
96% matchVery Positive87% of 1,552 reviews2022
Dev: Kodo LinijaPub: Paradox Arc
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 8.7 hrsMean: 22.7 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Stardeus is a deep colony sim set on a broken starship manned by drones and hibernating human survivors. As the AI, have your drones repair your ship, save your crew and travel the stars in this beautiful simulation.
Why similar: Colony Sim 18.8%, Space Sim 12.3%, Base Building 11.2%, Space 8.9%, Survival 7.2%
Why You'll Like It: A direct spiritual cousin that focuses on managing a spaceship colony with deep automation and survival mechanics.
- #4 Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander
95% matchVery Positive94% of 12,820 reviews2022
Dev: Walternate Realities
Windows
Median: 19.2 hrsMean: 41.1 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Design and simulate the starships of your dreams! Command your ship or fleet in epic battles and manage your crew while exploring a dangerous galaxy. Play alone or with friends, test your ships in online PvP, and let your imagination reach for the stars!
Why similar: Space Sim 22.1%, Space 15%, Building 13.9%, Sci-fi 12.2%, Survival 10.2%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a highly detailed ship-building system that emphasizes structural integrity and tactical combat, mirroring the design aspects of Space Haven.
- #5 IXION
94% matchMostly Positive79% of 17,592 reviews2022
Dev: Bulwark StudiosPub: Kasedo Games
Windows
Median: 9.9 hrsMean: 30.7 hrs≥1hr: 90%
IXION is an unrelenting, city-building odyssey across the stars. As Administrator of the Tiqqun, DOLOS’ prototype space station, you are tasked with balancing preservation and exploration as you manage infrastructure, resources and crew. Can you keep the flame of humanity alight in the cold dark?
Why similar: Colony Sim 18.3%, City Builder 17.3%, Space 13%, Base Building 9.9%, Survival 8.7%
Why You'll Like It: This title captures the high-stakes pressure of managing a space station and its crew while navigating a dying universe.
- #6 Planetbase
94% matchMostly Positive80% of 10,422 reviews2015
Dev: Madruga Works
Windows · Mac
Median: 8.1 hrsMean: 26.2 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Guide a group of space settlers trying to establish a base on a remote planet. Grow food, collect energy, mine resources, survive disasters and build a self-sufficient colony in a harsh and unforgiving environment.
Why similar: Colony Sim 23.8%, City Builder 16%, Base Building 12.9%, Space 10%, Survival 7.2%
Why You'll Like It: A classic colony-builder that focuses on resource management and survival in harsh, isolated environments.
- #7 Stranded: Alien Dawn
92% matchVery Positive84% of 11,322 reviews2023
Dev: Haemimont GamesPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows
Median: 6.9 hrsMean: 24.2 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Brave a new world in Stranded: Alien Dawn, a planet survival sim placing the fate of a small marooned group in your hands. Forge your story through compelling and immersive strategic gameplay as you make vital decisions to protect your survivors.
Why similar: Base Building 24%, Colony Sim 23.4%, Survival 15.8%, Management 8.3%, Resource Management 6.6%
Why You'll Like It: This 3D survival colony-sim offers deep crafting and base-building mechanics that feel like a natural evolution of the genre.
- #8 Starship Theory
91% matchMixed50% of 1,130 reviews2026
Dev: Reconnect Software
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.0 hrsMean: 14.9 hrs≥1hr: 75%
Starship Theory is a ship building survival game. Mine and trade to gather resources. Plan and construct new upgrades. Train and manage crew. Fight to survive.
Why similar: Base Building 26%, Space 17.8%, Survival 12.3%, Management 11.1%, Strategy 7.6%
Why You'll Like It: It is a dedicated spaceship colony simulator that focuses heavily on ship design and crew survival in deep space.
- #9 The Last Starship
91% matchMostly Positive75% of 1,688 reviews2026
Dev: Introversion Software
Windows · Mac
Median: 6.1 hrsMean: 12.2 hrs≥1hr: 80%
The Last Starship is a 2D space construction game where you design and upgrade your starship. Choose your path: pirate hunter, miner, engineer, spacebus driver, and more, whilst exploring vibrant star systems. Enjoy a growing sandbox world, with regular free updates. Your cosmic adventure awaits!
Why similar: Colony Sim 17.5%, Space Sim 16.7%, Base Building 12.5%, Space 10.3%, Building 9.1%
Why You'll Like It: Developed by the creators of Prison Architect, this game focuses on the granular details of building and operating a functional spacecraft.
- #10 Barotrauma
89% matchVery Positive94% of 89,315 reviews2023
Dev: FakeFishPub: Daedalic Entertainment
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 9.0 hrsMean: 56.1 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Barotrauma is a 2D co-op submarine simulator – in space, with survival horror and RPG elements. Steer your submarine, complete missions, fight monsters, fix leaks, operate machinery, man the guns and craft items, and stay alert: danger in Barotrauma doesn’t announce itself!
Why similar: Survival 37.6%, Management 21.9%, Sci-fi 17.8%, Simulation 11.1%, Strategy 9.9%
Why You'll Like It: While set underwater, it provides the same claustrophobic crew management and ship maintenance experience as Space Haven.
- #11 Starmancer
90% matchMixed62% of 1,047 reviews2021
Dev: Ominux GamesPub: Chucklefish
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 6.6 hrs≥1hr: 65%
From a small 2-man team comes a unique space station management sim. Take on the role of an A.I commanding a lost space ark. Try not to let your crew run amok and wreck the place.
Why similar: Colony Sim 19.8%, Base Building 9.5%, Space 9.3%, Sandbox 9%, Management 8.9%
Why You'll Like It: It tasks you with managing a space station and its inhabitants, blending colony-sim elements with a unique pixel-art aesthetic.
- #12 Empyrion - Galactic Survival
89% matchMostly Positive78% of 34,392 reviews2020
Dev: Eleon Game Studios
Windows
Median: 6.2 hrsMean: 77.1 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Build and explore in a true space sandbox survival adventure. Construct mighty capital vessels, sprawling planetary settlements, and vast space stations in your galactic journey to discover the mysteries of Empyrion!
Why similar: Space Sim 20.1%, Space 13.9%, Building 12.4%, Survival 11%, Sandbox 10.2%
Why You'll Like It: It combines ship building, base construction, and survival exploration across a vast, procedurally generated galaxy.
- #13 Astro Colony
87% matchVery Positive81% of 2,699 reviews2026
Dev: Terad Games
Windows
Median: 4.4 hrsMean: 16.2 hrs≥1hr: 78%
Explore endless Universe and create the most efficient constellation of colonies. Build conveyor systems to automate production. Take care of Astronauts and their needs! Establish new colonies as part of intergalactic simulation.
Why similar: Colony Sim 21.3%, Base Building 16.4%, Space Sim 11.7%, Space 11.6%, Resource Management 8.6%
Why You'll Like It: An automation-heavy colony simulator that encourages building interconnected space stations to survive in the void.
- #14 The Crust
88% matchMostly Positive77% of 3,724 reviews2024
Dev: VEOM StudioPub: Crytivo
Windows
Median: 6.9 hrsMean: 24.4 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Automate a lunar base as you become the savior of humanity exploring the future on the moon. Mine, craft, research, and trade resources with Earth in this gripping narrative basebuilder.
Why similar: Colony Sim 18.3%, Base Building 12.1%, City Builder 10.4%, Space 9.4%, Resource Management 7.3%
Why You'll Like It: Focuses on lunar base building and resource automation, providing a similar sense of scale and logistical challenge.
- #15 X4: Foundations
86% matchMostly Positive80% of 30,013 reviews2018
Dev: Egosoft
Windows · Linux
Median: 5.0 hrsMean: 95.3 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Your journey to building a vast space empire begins behind the controls of a single ship. Explore, trade, fight, and build as you rise to command fleets, stations, and entire economies in a living, fully simulated universe that reacts to every decision.
Why similar: Space Sim 24.1%, Space 16.5%, Sandbox 12.2%, Management 10.9%, Open World 10.2%
Why You'll Like It: Offers a deeper look at space economy and fleet management for players who want to expand their influence beyond a single ship.
- #16 Space Engineers
86% matchVery Positive89% of 134,313 reviews2019
Dev: Keen Software House
Windows
Median: 9.0 hrsMean: 96.4 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Space Engineers is a sandbox engineering game where you design and build ships, stations, and planetary bases in a fully destructible environment. Explore planets and space, mine resources, survive hazards, and engage in combat alone or with friends in Creative or Survival modes.
Why similar: Space Sim 19.5%, Base Building 14.5%, Space 11.9%, Building 11%, Sandbox 10.4%
Why You'll Like It: For players who want to take ship construction to the next level with physics-based engineering and sandbox exploration.
- #17 Ostranauts
84% matchMostly Positive78% of 3,152 reviews2026
Dev: Blue Bottle GamesPub: Kitfox Games
Windows
Median: 6.2 hrsMean: 32.0 hrs≥1hr: 72%
Navigate your scrappy ship through the boneyard in search of valuable parts in abandoned vessels. Use salvage to upgrade your ship, or sell it for cash to pay down your mounting debt, or restock fuel, air, or food. Fly and role-play aboard your dream spaceship in this hardcore noir space-sim.
Why similar: Space Sim 26.7%, Space 15.7%, Sandbox 13.8%, Survival 12.8%, Building 7.6%
Why You'll Like It: A hardcore space-salvage simulator that emphasizes the gritty, realistic maintenance of a ship and its crew.
- #18 Stationeers
85% matchVery Positive88% of 9,229 reviews2017
Dev: RocketWerkz
Windows
Median: 10.2 hrsMean: 85.3 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Stationeers puts you in control of the construction and management of a space station to run by yourself or online with your friends. Complex atmospheric, electrical, manufacturing, agriculture, and gravitational systems require your thought and management at all times!
Why similar: Colony Sim 22.4%, Base Building 14.2%, Space 10.7%, Building 10.1%, Sandbox 9.4%
Why You'll Like It: Provides an incredibly deep simulation of atmospheric, electrical, and mechanical systems for those who love the technical side of Space Haven.
- #19 The Universim
82% matchMostly Positive80% of 10,640 reviews2024
Dev: Crytivo
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.3 hrsMean: 34.0 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Jump straight into managing your own planets as you guide a civilization through the ages. Build the ultimate empire in The Universim, a new breed of God Game in development by Crytivo.
Why similar: Colony Sim 23.6%, City Builder 16.6%, Building 9.4%, Sandbox 9.1%, Space 7.7%
Why You'll Like It: A god-game that incorporates colony management and planetary development, offering a broader scope for expansion.
- #20 Surviving the Aftermath
84% matchMostly Positive71% of 4,570 reviews2021
Dev: Iceflake StudiosPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows
Median: 4.7 hrsMean: 18.3 hrs≥1hr: 74%
Survive and thrive in a post-apocalyptic future — resources are scarce, but opportunity calls! Build the ultimate disaster proof colony, protect your colonists, and restore civilization to a devastated world.
Why similar: Colony Sim 20.3%, City Builder 19.4%, Post-apocalyptic 13.1%, Base Building 10.3%, Survival 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: A post-apocalyptic colony builder that tests your ability to manage resources and keep your population alive under pressure.
- #21 Dyson Sphere Program
82% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 91,542 reviews2021
Dev: Youthcat StudioPub: Gamirror Games
Windows
Median: 13.0 hrsMean: 75.8 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Build the most efficient intergalactic factory in space simulation strategy game Dyson Sphere Program! Harness the power of stars, collect resources, plan and design production lines and develop your interstellar factory from a small space workshop to a galaxy-wide industrial empire.
Why similar: Base Building 16.7%, Space 13.7%, Building 9.7%, City Builder 8.9%, Space Sim 8.4%
Why You'll Like It: While more focused on automation, it captures the grand scale of space-faring logistics and base construction.
- #22 Going Medieval
80% matchVery Positive89% of 21,328 reviews2026
Dev: Foxy VoxelPub: Mythwright
Windows
Median: 8.0 hrsMean: 32.3 hrs≥1hr: 83%
Build and manage your own castle settlement in a land reclaimed by wilderness. With detailed management, survival strategy, and a moddable sandbox world, Going Medieval challenges you to build the mightiest colony this side of the apocalypse.
Why similar: Colony Sim 25.7%, City Builder 17.2%, Base Building 15.4%, Management 10.6%, Sandbox 10.4%
Why You'll Like It: While set in the past, its tile-based building and colony management systems are very similar to Space Haven's core loop.
- #23 Industries of Titan
83% matchMixed62% of 1,618 reviews2023
Dev: Brace Yourself Games
Windows
Median: 5.4 hrsMean: 14.4 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Create a sprawling industrial city. Compete with other rival corporations on Titan for resources, territory, and power. Seek victory via technology, influence, warfare, or the wealth extracted from your citizens. Stake your claim to the Industries of Titan in this innovative sim/strategy game!
Why similar: Colony Sim 17.7%, City Builder 13.7%, Space Sim 12.6%, Base Building 9.9%, Post-apocalyptic 8.2%
Why You'll Like It: Combines city-building with tactical combat and resource management in a unique, stylized sci-fi setting.
- #24 Solargene
81% matchMostly Positive76% of 848 reviews2026
Dev: Alexander Semenov
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 33.7 hrs≥1hr: 70%
Take Command of a Space Corporation in the Sci-Fi Simulator Solargene! Manage personnel, design and develop colonies and orbital stations across the solar system! Mine resources, establish logistics, research cutting-edge technologies, trade, and complete missions
Why similar: Colony Sim 19.3%, Space Sim 14.5%, City Builder 12.4%, Base Building 11.4%, Building 7.2%
Why You'll Like It: A space-themed colony simulator that emphasizes the challenges of building and maintaining a base in a realistic solar system.
- #25 Avorion
81% matchVery Positive90% of 14,549 reviews2020
Dev: Boxelware
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 18.8 hrsMean: 99.5 hrs≥1hr: 90%
A procedural co-op space sandbox where players can build their own space ships out of dynamically scalable blocks. Fight epic space battles, explore, mine, trade, wage wars and build your own empire to save your galaxy from being torn apart by an unknown enemy.
Why similar: Space Sim 24.2%, Space 14.1%, Building 13.2%, Sandbox 12.7%, Open World 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: Focuses on procedural ship building and exploration, perfect for players who want to customize their vessel down to the last block.
- #26 Settlement Survival
79% matchVery Positive85% of 8,054 reviews2022
Dev: Gleamer StudioPub: Team17
Windows · Mac
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 11.2 hrs≥1hr: 80%
In this city-building game, you will lead a group of survivors in their search for a new home. Manipulate the landscape, manage limited supplies, plant crops, hunt wildlife, gather resources, and develop trade routes to build a bustling and unique town.
Why similar: Colony Sim 22.6%, City Builder 19.3%, Building 10.8%, Management 9.1%, Survival 8.8%
Why You'll Like It: A robust city-builder that focuses on the survival of your population through harsh seasons and limited resources.
- #27 New Cycle
78% matchMostly Positive79% of 2,860 reviews2024
Dev: Core EngagePub: Daedalic Entertainment
Windows
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 7.8 hrs≥1hr: 86%
New Cycle is a city building game with focus on survival. After an apocalyptic series of solar flares, human society has been thrown into disarray. Establish a settlement and develop it all the way from humble beginnings to industrial metropolis.
Why similar: Colony Sim 18.9%, City Builder 14.7%, Base Building 11%, Building 8.9%, Post-apocalyptic 8.6%
Why You'll Like It: A survival-focused city-builder that emphasizes the struggle to rebuild society after a global catastrophe.
- #28 Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation
79% matchVery Positive81% of 2,264 reviews2018
Dev: Suncrash
Windows
Median: 4.7 hrsMean: 25.1 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Build, scavenge, craft, and perform occult rituals to survive in a demon-infested, post-apocalyptic colony simulation. Will you survive Judgment day?
Why similar: Colony Sim 24.9%, Base Building 13.9%, Post-apocalyptic 10%, Survival 9.8%, City Builder 6.9%
Why You'll Like It: A colony-sim that focuses on survival and base-building against supernatural threats, sharing the same management-heavy gameplay loop.
- #29 Endzone - A World Apart
78% matchMostly Positive77% of 9,980 reviews2021
Dev: Gentlymad StudiosPub: Assemble Entertainment
Windows
Median: 3.9 hrsMean: 9.0 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Endzone is a post-apocalyptic survival city builder, where you start a new civilization with a group of people after an ecological disaster. Build them a new home and ensure their survival in a shattered world, threatened by constant radiation, toxic rain, sandstorms and droughts.
Why similar: City Builder 23.4%, Post-apocalyptic 12.6%, Colony Sim 12.4%, Base Building 11.7%, Survival 11.2%
Why You'll Like It: A post-apocalyptic survival builder that requires careful management of radiation and water, similar to the environmental hazards in Space Haven.
- #30 Flotsam
74% matchVery Positive81% of 4,563 reviews2025
Dev: Pajama Llama GamesPub: Stray Fawn Publishing
Windows
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 10.9 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Sail, scavenge, and rescue survivors in a vibrant floating city-builder. Captain your drifters across the endless garbage sea to uncover soaked ruins, rusting factories, and stories from the old world.
Why similar: Colony Sim 20.2%, City Builder 13.9%, Base Building 12.7%, Sandbox 8.6%, Post-apocalyptic 8.2%
- #31 Space Architect
75% matchMostly Positive75% of 300 reviews2024
Dev: Albert WiatrPub: PlayWay S.A.
Windows
Design your dream space station in Space Architect! Master the power of automation or 'hire' an army of crewmates to handle your ever-growing production. Mine asteroids, fabricate goods, and engage in interstellar trade to pay off the menacing Big Evil Corp. Will you thrive in the vastness of space?
Why similar: Colony Sim 22.4%, Base Building 13.4%, Management 9.2%, Building 8.7%, Survival 8.3%
- #32 Aven Colony
77% matchMostly Positive72% of 2,779 reviews2017
Dev: Mothership Entertainment LLCPub: Team17 Digital Ltd
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 8.1 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Build a new home for humanity in Aven Colony. Discover Aven Prime - an alien planet of deserts, tundras, and wetlands light years from earth. Build your colonies into massive, sprawling cities whilst dealing with the challenges faced when settling on a new world.
Why similar: Colony Sim 33.2%, City Builder 22.1%, Base Building 10.7%, Sci-fi 6.7%, Space 5.9%
- #33 Farlanders
75% matchVery Positive90% of 591 reviews2023
Dev: Andrii BychkovskyiPub: Crytivo
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.1 hrsMean: 7.6 hrs≥1hr: 60%
Terraform, strategize, and construct a Martian colony in this retro-inspired turn-based city builder. Create a comfortable living for your citizens, research alien artifacts, and uncover the secrets of the Red Planet.
Why similar: Colony Sim 19.5%, City Builder 14%, Base Building 11.8%, Space 9.6%, Building 8.4%
- #34 ALL WILL FALL
73% matchMostly Positive77% of 1,385 reviews2026
Dev: All Parts ConnectedPub: tinyBuild
Windows
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 12.1 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Build massive ocean cities and lead your people to prosperity in this post-apocalyptic survival colony sim. Featuring a physics-based 3D construction system, complex resource management, exploration, difficult political decisions, supply chains, and a robust sandbox mode.
Why similar: Colony Sim 22.4%, City Builder 13.8%, Base Building 13.5%, Post-apocalyptic 10.4%, Sandbox 8.2%
- #35 Stonehearth
76% matchMostly Positive75% of 13,072 reviews2018
Dev: Radiant EntertainmentPub: (none)
Windows · Mac
Median: 14.1 hrsMean: 38.8 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Pioneer a living world full of warmth, heroism, and mystery. Help a small group of settlers build a home for themselves in a forgotten land. Establish a food supply, build shelter, defend your people, monitor their moods, and find a way to grow and expand, facing challenges at every step.
Why similar: Colony Sim 33.2%, City Builder 22%, Building 11.3%, Sandbox 10.3%, Survival 8.8%
- #36 Stellar Settlers: Space Base Builder
73% matchMostly Positive70% of 832 reviews2025
Dev: Tinymice EntertainmentPub: Rogue Duck Interactive
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.4 hrsMean: 3.5 hrs≥1hr: 75%
Stellar Settlers is a chill space base/city builder and colony sim game. With unique vertical and horizontal base-building gameplay, settle on 10 hostile alien planets and build your own thriving colony. Get enough materials to build a physics-based Spaceship and try to escape from disasters.
Why similar: Colony Sim 19.7%, City Builder 13.7%, Base Building 12%, Space Sim 10.1%, Building 7.7%
- #37 Maia
77% matchMixed44% of 1,064 reviews2018
Dev: Simon RothPub: Machine Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 30 minMean: 4.4 hrs≥1hr: 41%
Maia is a colony building game set in the not-so-distant future. Your colonists make planetfall on a hostile world and you must ensure their survival and their safety, constructing their off-world habitat from almost nothing and sheltering them from a dangerous, often deadly environment.
Why similar: Colony Sim 31%, Base Building 10%, Survival 9.5%, Management 9%, Space 8%
- #38 Trappist
73% matchVery Positive90% of 72 reviews2024
Dev: Sirrah
Windows · Mac · Linux
Welcome to Trappist-1, 40.7 light-years from Earth. Fly your Ark, a colossal spaceship and mobile base. Explore the solar system and establish thriving colonies. Uncover the mysteries of Trappist in this story-driven colony builder.
Why similar: Colony Sim 17.8%, Space Sim 14.1%, City Builder 12.7%, Base Building 9.9%, Building 8%
- #39 Exogate Initiative
71% matchMostly Positive76% of 727 reviews2025
Dev: Xeno Bits
Windows
Build and manage mankind’s first mission across the universe! Create a sprawling facility underground, recruit a diverse group of specialists from around the globe and explore mysterious new worlds through the Exogate.
Why similar: Colony Sim 16.7%, City Builder 12.9%, Base Building 11.7%, Building 8.4%, Management 8.3%
- #40 Generation Exile
71% matchMixed68% of 56 reviews2026
Dev: Sonderlust Studios
Windows
Rebuild settlements entirely within a colossal generation ship in this turn-based city builder. Expand your city, manage limited resources and optimize production chains as you navigate difficult choices about humanity’s future among the stars.
Why similar: Colony Sim 22.3%, City Builder 16.6%, Base Building 10.8%, Building 9.7%, Space 9%
- #41 Per Aspera
72% matchMostly Positive76% of 5,760 reviews2020
Dev: Tlön IndustriesPub: Raw Fury
Windows
Median: 5.0 hrsMean: 12.0 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Make Mars your own! Take control of the world’s most sophisticated AI (AMI) and terraform the surface of the Red Planet for a city-building experience on a planetary scale. Transform this barren world into a lush paradise and explore the surface for any ancient secrets that may be waiting.
Why similar: Colony Sim 18.3%, City Builder 13.1%, Base Building 11.5%, Management 8.2%, Building 8.2%
- #42 Sheltered 2
74% matchMixed45% of 2,215 reviews2021
Dev: UnicubePub: Team17
Windows
Median: 2.7 hrsMean: 13.6 hrs≥1hr: 67%
A brutal survival management simulator set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Keep your faction of survivors alive, maintain your shelter and scavenge the ravaged world for resources. Befriend and trade with the factions you meet or conquer them by force.
Why similar: Colony Sim 25%, Base Building 14.1%, Post-apocalyptic 12.9%, Survival 11.3%, Resource Management 11.3%
- #43 Dwarf Fortress
69% matchVery Positive95% of 31,421 reviews2022
Dev: Bay 12 GamesPub: Kitfox Games
Windows · Linux
Median: 5.5 hrsMean: 39.4 hrs≥1hr: 78%
Build a fortress and try to help your dwarves survive against a deeply generated world. Keep your dwarves happy, grow their community and beware of digging too deeply. The deepest, most intricate simulation of a world that's ever been created.
Why similar: Colony Sim 22%, City Builder 15.2%, Base Building 13.3%, Building 9.9%, Sandbox 9.4%
- #44 Spacebase DF-9
76% matchOverwhelmingly Negative18% of 4,335 reviews2014
Dev: Double Fine Productions
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.2 hrsMean: 4.9 hrs≥1hr: 89%
In Spacebase DF-9, you'll build a home among the stars for a motley population of humans and aliens as they go about their daily lives. Mine asteroids, discover derelicts, and deal with the tribulations of galactic resettlement in Earth's distant future.
Why similar: Base Building 20.1%, Space 18.8%, Sandbox 10.3%, Building 9.9%, Sci-fi 9.7%
- #45 Solar Expanse - Space Exploration Manager
68% matchVery Positive88% of 1,295 reviews2026
Dev: SpaceOpsPub: Games Operators
Windows
Median: 4.8 hrsMean: 14.7 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Explore the Solar System. Mine and drop asteroids. Colonize and terraform. Lead the space race and compete with other corporations on your way to profit. Watch the expansion of human race over the centuries.
Why similar: Space Sim 20.9%, Space 16.3%, Sandbox 12.8%, Management 10.6%, Resource Management 8.5%
- #46 Starminer
68% matchMostly Positive73% of 1,858 reviews2026
Dev: CoolAndGoodGames
Windows
Median: 7.2 hrsMean: 20.1 hrs≥1hr: 81%
Design and build a massive interstellar fleet in this simulation sandbox. Strip space of its minerals for profit, but stay alert: your greed attracts the alien. Master deep base-building and deploy warships to protect your empire in immersive real-time space.
Why similar: Space Sim 25.1%, Space 14.4%, Base Building 13.9%, Sandbox 13.4%, Management 10.4%
- #47 The Final Earth 2
69% matchVery Positive97% of 424 reviews2022
Dev: Florian van Strien
Windows
The Final Earth 2 is a vertical sci-fi city builder. Earth is unlivable, so you decide to create a space colony. Gather resources, then build and research your way to a better future! Grow your city from an exploration ship to a huge metropolis, full of advanced technology. What will you build?
Why similar: Colony Sim 19.6%, Space Sim 12.3%, Base Building 9.7%, Space 8.9%, City Builder 8.2%
- #48 Mars Horizon
70% matchVery Positive84% of 3,091 reviews2020
Dev: Auroch Digital
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.3 hrsMean: 9.2 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Lead a major space agency as you guide humanity to Mars in this strategy simulation game. Construct a base, design and build rockets, conduct missions throughout the Solar System, and write your own history of Space exploration. Created with support from the European Space Agency.
Why similar: Space Sim 25.8%, Space 17.3%, Management 15.1%, Building 13.4%, Resource Management 10%
- #49 Meeple Station
72% matchMixed57% of 954 reviews2020
Dev: Gameclaw StudioPub: Modularity
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 30 minMean: 10.4 hrs≥1hr: 39%
Build your way to success! Trade your way to the top! Explore your way to infamy! Do it all your way!
Why similar: Colony Sim 16.5%, Space Sim 11.7%, Base Building 11.1%, City Builder 10.2%, Space 9.7%
- #50 Timberborn
65% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 41,163 reviews2026
Dev: Mechanistry
Windows · Mac
Median: 10.3 hrsMean: 44.1 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Humans are long gone. In a world struck by droughts and toxic waste, will your lumberpunk beavers do any better? A sandbox city-building game featuring ingenious animals, vertical architecture, water physics, and terraforming. Contains high amounts of wood.
Why similar: Colony Sim 20.7%, City Builder 17.9%, Base Building 11%, Building 8.4%, Sandbox 8%
- #51 Ratopia
67% matchVery Positive88% of 4,853 reviews2025
Dev: Cassel Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 7.6 hrsMean: 25.4 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Ratopia is a new game that has combined elements of both strategic survival and city building. With plenty of content available, and more planned, enjoy a vast world to adventure and populate with citizens! Build your own economical system to sustain your ideal city of Ratopia.
Why similar: Colony Sim 21.1%, City Builder 12.7%, Base Building 12.4%, Building 10%, Survival 7.9%
- #52 Surviving Mars: Relaunched
69% matchMixed54% of 2,116 reviews2025
Dev: Haemimont GamesPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows
Median: 14.3 hrsMean: 31.3 hrs≥1hr: 89%
The award-winning sci-fi city builder is back - remastered, expanded and even more stunning. Colonize Mars and survive the process, from exploration and infrastructure to welcoming colonists and achieving long-term stability. Are you ready? Mars is waiting.
Why similar: Colony Sim 23.7%, City Builder 16.2%, Space 9.9%, Base Building 8.8%, Building 8.1%
- #53 Space Engineers 2
67% matchMostly Positive75% of 5,449 reviews2025
Dev: Keen Software House
Windows
Median: 1.9 hrsMean: 11.1 hrs≥1hr: 64%
Space Engineers 2 is a playable Early Access Alpha sandbox focused on engineering, exploration, and colonization in a fully destructible universe. Design and build ships, stations, and planetary bases while uncovering the story of Miro and Ivan Sokol. Help shape the future of the Almagest system.
Why similar: Space Sim 16.2%, Space 13.9%, Building 13.1%, Sandbox 12.6%, Survival 11.2%
- #54 Ragnorium
70% matchMixed59% of 624 reviews2022
Dev: Vitali KirpuPub: Devolver Digital
Windows
Lead a team of cloned settlers and build a home on a new planet. Start from the Stone Age, construct sturdy shelters, hunt for food, and fight off dangers. Make your team stronger and better equipped to survive.
Why similar: Colony Sim 19.7%, City Builder 13.8%, Base Building 11.5%, Survival 11.4%, Post-apocalyptic 10.3%
- #55 The Wandering Village
65% matchVery Positive92% of 8,415 reviews2025
Dev: Stray Fawn StudioPub: Stray Fawn Publishing
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.9 hrsMean: 11.0 hrs≥1hr: 81%
The Wandering Village is a city-building simulation game on the back of a giant, wandering creature. Build your settlement and form a symbiotic relationship with the colossus. Will you survive together in this hostile, yet beautiful post-apocalyptic world, contaminated by poisonous plants?
Why similar: Colony Sim 21.7%, City Builder 16.7%, Post-apocalyptic 11.1%, Management 10.2%, Base Building 9.4%
- #56 SpaceBourne 2
66% matchMostly Positive76% of 5,149 reviews2025
Dev: Burak Dabak
Windows
Median: 2.5 hrsMean: 11.2 hrs≥1hr: 71%
Embark on a journey to greatness. Get ready for adrenaline-fueled battles and a chance to claim your place in the galaxy. Grab the controls of your ship, gear up for the fight, and unleash your ambition to conquer and build a new empire in the vastness of space.
Why similar: Space Sim 30.6%, Base Building 20.8%, Space 14%, Open World 11.2%, Building 10%
- #57 The Planet Crafter
64% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 73,089 reviews2024
Dev: Miju Games
Windows
Median: 21.7 hrsMean: 38.5 hrs≥1hr: 92%
A space survival open world terraforming crafting game, designed for 1 to 10 players. Alter the ecosystem of an inhospitable planet to render it habitable for humanity. Survive, gather resources, and build your base. Then, generate oxygen, warmth, and pressure to create a brand new biosphere.
Why similar: Base Building 20.1%, Space 13.4%, Building 13%, Survival 12.4%, Sandbox 9.9%
- #58 Foundation
64% matchVery Positive87% of 24,128 reviews2025
Dev: Polymorph Games
Windows
Median: 11.1 hrsMean: 27.2 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Foundation is a grid-less, laidback medieval city-building game with a focus on organic development, monument construction and resource management.
Why similar: City Builder 28.7%, Colony Sim 11.8%, Sandbox 8%, Management 7.8%, Building 7.7%
- #59 Norland
65% matchVery Positive82% of 10,349 reviews2024
Dev: Long JauntPub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 6.4 hrsMean: 18.4 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Lead your noble family in this medieval colony sim, facing off against class conflict, religious struggle, and political treachery. Tend to your people’s needs, uncover the lost knowledge of a fallen empire, and engage in nefarious plots against your enemies.
Why similar: Colony Sim 19.8%, City Builder 13.8%, Base Building 12%, Building 8.5%, Management 8.2%