- #1 Space Haven
97% matchVery Positive86% of 9,719 reviews2020
Dev: Bugbyte Ltd.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 20.2 hrs≥1hr: 72%
Embark on a space voyage with your ragtag crew of civilians in search of a new home. Build spaceships tile by tile, create optimal gas conditions, manage the needs and moods of their crew, encounter other space-faring groups, and explore the universe in this spaceship colony simulation.
Why similar: Colony Sim 18.9% ★, Space Sim 12.1% ★, Base Building 10.9%, Space 8.3%, Resource Management 7.5%
Why You'll Like It: This game mirrors the ship-based colony management and survival focus of Stardeus perfectly.
- #2 RimWorld
96% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 236,346 reviews2018
Dev: Ludeon Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 59.1 hrsMean: 259.4 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 25.9% ★, Base Building 14.7%, Moddable 13.6% ★, Survival 8.7%, Sandbox 7.1%
Why You'll Like It: It is the definitive colony simulation game that shares the deep emergent storytelling and complex survival mechanics found in Stardeus.
- #3 Oxygen Not Included
96% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 138,890 reviews2019
Dev: Klei Entertainment
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 8.9 hrsMean: 67.7 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 31% ★, Base Building 17.4%, Survival 10.5%, Resource Management 10.4%, Sandbox 5.1%
Why You'll Like It: It offers incredibly deep systems management and atmospheric simulation that will appeal to fans of Stardeus's technical complexity.
- #4 Stranded: Alien Dawn
95% matchVery Positive85% of 10,890 reviews2023
Dev: Haemimont GamesPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows
Median: 7.0 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: Colony Sim 21.8% ★, Base Building 21.6%, Survival 14.5%, Crafting 11.3%, Resource Management 7.4%
Why You'll Like It: It provides a robust 3D colony survival experience with a strong focus on base defense and resource gathering.
- #5 IXION
94% matchMostly Positive79% of 17,015 reviews2022
Dev: Bulwark StudiosPub: Kasedo Games
Windows
Median: 10.0 hrsMean: 31.1 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 25.3% ★, Space 18%, Base Building 13.3%, Resource Management 13.3%, Survival 11.9%
Why You'll Like It: It captures the high-stakes pressure of managing a space station while navigating the dangers of deep space.
- #6 Stationeers
94% matchVery Positive88% of 8,897 reviews2017
Dev: RocketWerkz
Windows
Median: 9.8 hrsMean: 81.9 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 19.4% ★, Moddable 14.4% ★, Base Building 11.9%, Space 9.1%, Crafting 8.9%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a hardcore technical challenge focused on atmospheric, power, and logic systems that fans of Stardeus's complexity will appreciate.
- #7 Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander
93% matchVery Positive95% of 12,431 reviews2022
Dev: Walternate Realities
Windows
Median: 19.3 hrsMean: 40.4 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 26.2% ★, Space 18.5%, Sci-fi 16.1%, Survival 12.5%, Exploration 8.1%
Why You'll Like It: It provides a highly detailed ship-building and management experience that emphasizes modular design and tactical survival.
- #8 Dyson Sphere Program
91% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 90,027 reviews2021
Dev: Youthcat StudioPub: Gamirror Games
Windows
Median: 13.2 hrsMean: 75.2 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 20.4%, Space 16.9%, Resource Management 12.3%, Space Sim 10% ★, Open World 9.5%
Why You'll Like It: It excels at large-scale automation and resource management within a space-faring setting.
- #9 Starmancer
92% matchMixed64% of 1,024 reviews2021
Dev: Ominux GamesPub: Chucklefish
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 6.7 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 24.3% ★, Space 11.4%, Base Building 11.2%, Sandbox 10.5%, Management 8.8%
Why You'll Like It: It puts you in the role of an AI managing a space station, making it a thematic and mechanical sibling to Stardeus.
- #10 Astro Colony
91% matchVery Positive82% of 2,509 reviews2022
Dev: Terad Games
Windows
Median: 4.7 hrsMean: 16.3 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 21.1% ★, Base Building 16.3%, Space 11.4%, Space Sim 11.3% ★, Resource Management 10.5%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a creative approach to automated space base building and resource management.
- #11 The Crust
90% matchMostly Positive77% of 3,397 reviews2024
Dev: VEOM StudioPub: Crytivo
Windows
Median: 7.0 hrsMean: 22.5 hrs≥1hr: 83%
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 23.9% ★, Base Building 15.2%, Space 12%, Resource Management 11%, Sandbox 8.5%
Why You'll Like It: It combines automation and colony building on the moon, focusing on resource extraction and base expansion.
- #12 The Last Starship
89% matchMostly Positive75% of 1,419 reviews2026
Dev: Introversion Software
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.6 hrsMean: 10.4 hrs≥1hr: 81%
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 19.4% ★, Space Sim 17.8% ★, Base Building 13.4%, Space 11.4%, Sandbox 9.5%
Why You'll Like It: It provides a deep simulation of ship design and space travel mechanics.
- #13 Planetbase
89% matchMostly Positive80% of 10,262 reviews2015
Dev: Madruga Works
Windows · Mac
Median: 8.2 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 29.8% ★, Base Building 15.8%, Space 12.4%, Survival 8.9%, Resource Management 6.1%
Why You'll Like It: It is a classic space colony simulation that focuses on the core loops of survival and infrastructure management.
- #14 Barotrauma
86% matchVery Positive94% of 84,235 reviews2023
Dev: FakeFishPub: Daedalic Entertainment
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 8.9 hrsMean: 54.3 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 27.2%, Moddable 24.5% ★, Sci-fi 14%, Management 13%, Strategy 7.1%
Why You'll Like It: It features intense submarine management and survival mechanics in a hostile, high-pressure environment.
- #15 Timberborn
84% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 38,007 reviews2026
Dev: Mechanistry
Windows · Mac
Median: 9.8 hrsMean: 40.3 hrs≥1hr: 84%
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 35.6% ★, Base Building 18.4%, Sandbox 13.2%, Survival 11.9%, Management 11%
Why You'll Like It: It features complex colony management with unique water physics and structural engineering challenges.
- #16 Odd Realm
85% matchVery Positive85% of 992 reviews2024
Dev: Unknown Origin Games Inc
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 6.9 hrs≥1hr: 56%
Forge a new kingdom in a land recovering from the Fracture. Which of the surviving races will you lead to rebuild, explore, and conquer the unknown? The dwindling yet immortal Ancients? The bold and resourceful Humans? The life stealing Ardyn? Or the secretive Gwdir who shape living groves?
Why similar: Colony Sim 24% ★, God Game 16.1% ★, Base Building 13.4%, Crafting 8.4%, Survival 8.1%
Why You'll Like It: It is a procedural colony simulation that shares the base-building and survival elements of Stardeus.
- #17 The Universim
84% matchVery Positive80% of 10,483 reviews2024
Dev: Crytivo
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.3 hrsMean: 33.9 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 23.7% ★, God Game 20.6% ★, Sandbox 8.7%, Space 7.7%, Survival 7.6%
Why You'll Like It: It allows you to manage a growing civilization with god-game mechanics and planetary expansion.
- #18 Starship Theory
87% matchMixed50% of 1,100 reviews2017
Dev: Reconnect Software
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.4 hrsMean: 15.5 hrs≥1hr: 78%
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 28.8%, Space 20.1%, Survival 13.7%, Management 10.1%, Sci-fi 9%
Why You'll Like It: It focuses on the immediate survival and maintenance of a ship in the vacuum of space.
- #19 Going Medieval
82% matchVery Positive89% of 20,287 reviews2026
Dev: Foxy VoxelPub: Mythwright
Windows
Median: 7.9 hrsMean: 30.8 hrs≥1hr: 82%
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 21.7% ★, Moddable 16.1% ★, Base Building 12.8%, Crafting 8.9%, Sandbox 8.6%
Why You'll Like It: It provides a deep colony simulation with a focus on vertical base building and environmental survival.
- #20 Maia
86% matchMixed44% of 1,063 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 33.4% ★, Base Building 10.5%, Survival 10.1%, Sci-fi 8.7%, Space 8.6%
Why You'll Like It: It is a hard sci-fi colony simulation that emphasizes realistic systems and planetary survival.
- #21 Adaptory
82% matchVery Positive84% of 91 reviews2026
Dev: Stormcloak GamesPub: indie.io
Windows · Mac
Deep in uncharted space, your expedition took a challenging turn when your ship crash-landed. Master complex simulations to keep your outspoken explorers alive, face unpredictable challenges, and figure out a way back home.
Why similar: Colony Sim 25.2% ★, Base Building 14.5%, Moddable 12.2% ★, Resource Management 9.8%, Survival 8.6%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a deep underground colony simulation with complex systems and environmental interactions.
- #22 Reus 2
81% matchVery Positive95% of 2,219 reviews2024
Dev: Abbey GamesPub: Firesquid
Windows
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 9.8 hrs≥1hr: 75%
Shape worlds with your godly titans. Make symbiotic ecosystems and inspire humanity with your creations. Their achievements unlock new possibilities. Make different planets for different human spirits, and fill the universe with life!
Why similar: Colony Sim 24.4% ★, God Game 24.1% ★, Base Building 13.5%, Resource Management 10.4%, Sandbox 7.9%
Why You'll Like It: It provides a unique god-game experience focused on managing ecosystems and colony growth.
- #23 After the Collapse
83% matchMostly Positive78% of 209 reviews2022
Dev: Anarkis Gaming
Windows
ATC is a base building game set in a post-apocalyptic world featuring urban environments. Build a base across several layers with dozens of survivors. Fight other factions for the control of the remaining production centers and explore the world to find long forgotten resources and technologies.
Why similar: Colony Sim 21.9% ★, Base Building 12.5%, Moddable 12.4% ★, Survival 8.1%, Sandbox 7.3%
Why You'll Like It: It combines post-apocalyptic colony management with survival and strategy elements.
- #24 Frostpunk
81% matchVery Positive93% of 132,545 reviews2018
Dev: 11 bit studios
Windows · Mac
Median: 6.2 hrsMean: 22.4 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Frostpunk is the first society survival game. As the ruler of the last city on Earth, it is your duty to manage both its citizens and infrastructure. What decisions will you make to ensure your society's survival? What will you do when pushed to breaking point? Who will you become in the process?
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.1% ★, Resource Management 19.7%, Survival 18.1%, Base Building 10.9%, Strategy 8.2%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a high-stakes survival management experience where every resource decision is critical to the colony's survival.
- #25 Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic
78% matchVery Positive91% of 25,183 reviews2024
Dev: 3DivisionPub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 6.6 hrsMean: 73.0 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Build a soviet republic from an impoverished country into a rich industrial superpower in a city builder with intricate production chains and a fully simulated global economy. Manage the lives of your citizens from education to work and party loyalty to criminal activity.
Why similar: Colony Sim 22.8% ★, Base Building 14%, Moddable 13.6% ★, Sandbox 9.3%, Resource Management 8.5%
Why You'll Like It: It offers an incredibly deep economic and resource management simulation for those who love complex systems.
- #26 Clanfolk
78% matchVery Positive92% of 3,737 reviews2022
Dev: MinMax Games Ltd.Pub: Hooded Horse
Windows
Median: 3.8 hrsMean: 17.3 hrs≥1hr: 68%
Clanfolk is a colony sim set in the Scottish Highlands. Harness your environment to survive - fish, gather, hunt, and farm as you prepare for the winter. Build an inn, trade with other clans, have children and marry them off - live life and prosper across the generations.
Why similar: Colony Sim 38.4% ★, Crafting 18.9%, Sandbox 16.3%, Open World 14%, Simulation 6.3%
Why You'll Like It: It is a survival-focused colony simulation that emphasizes historical resource management and character needs.
- #27 Solargene
77% matchMostly Positive76% of 819 reviews2026
Dev: Alexander Semenov
Windows
Median: 3.7 hrsMean: 34.8 hrs≥1hr: 71%
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 22% ★, Space Sim 15.7% ★, Base Building 12.7%, Moddable 10.4% ★, Resource Management 9.2%
- #28 Meeple Station
80% matchMixed57% of 941 reviews2020
Dev: Gameclaw StudioPub: Modularity
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 30 minMean: 9.4 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 18.5% ★, Moddable 13.6% ★, Space Sim 12.6% ★, Base Building 12.1%, Space 10.9%
Why You'll Like It: It focuses on space station management with a strong emphasis on crew needs and station maintenance.
- #29 Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation
79% matchVery Positive81% of 2,242 reviews2018
Dev: Suncrash
Windows
Median: 4.7 hrsMean: 25.2 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 28.4% ★, Base Building 15.4%, Survival 10.9%, Crafting 7%, Sandbox 6.9%
Why You'll Like It: It blends colony management with survival against supernatural threats in a post-apocalyptic setting.
- #30 Space Engineers 2
76% matchMostly Positive76% of 4,293 reviews2025
Dev: Keen Software House
Windows
Median: 1.3 hrsMean: 7.1 hrs≥1hr: 58%
Space Engineers 2 is a sandbox about engineering and colonization where you build ships, stations, and planetary bases in a fully destructible world. Begin the story of Miro and Ivan Sokol, expand humanity’s foothold in the Almagest system, and fight to survive.
Why similar: Moddable 17.6% ★, Space Sim 13.6% ★, Space 11.7%, Sandbox 10.3%, Survival 9.5%
- #31 Embark
79% matchMixed61% of 386 reviews2019
Dev: Overly Complicated Games
Windows
Inspired by the deep simulation of Dwarf Fortress, the open world survival of Minecraft, and the social interactions of The Sims. Embark is a colony management game with a focus on complex simulation in a huge living 3D world.
Why similar: Colony Sim 36.5% ★, Base Building 15.3%, Sandbox 7.3%, Crafting 7.1%, Survival 7%
Why You'll Like It: It provides a detailed colony simulation with a focus on complex building and survival mechanics.
- #32 Sapiens
77% matchVery Positive84% of 2,103 reviews2022
Dev: Majic Jungle
Windows · Mac
Median: 6.4 hrsMean: 18.0 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Create your own prehistoric civilization and lead your tribe in a world you shape. Start with nothing, build towns and industry, and advance through thousands of years of technological breakthroughs in this intimate yet expansive colony sim.
Why similar: Colony Sim 21.2% ★, God Game 18% ★, Base Building 11.3%, Moddable 10.7% ★, Crafting 7.7%
- #33 Fata Deum - The God Sim
76% matchMixed60% of 450 reviews2025
Dev: 42 Bits EntertainmentPub: Aerosoft GmbH
Windows
Inspired by the god games of old, Fata Deum lets you mold settlements and townsfolk in your image. Will you raise the settlements to splendor, or spur them on to violent debauchery and demons? Watch as a living world grows under your whims.
Why similar: Colony Sim 17.3% ★, God Game 16.6% ★, Moddable 12.5% ★, Base Building 10%, Resource Management 7.8%
- #34 Space Architect
75% matchMostly Positive76% of 283 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 25.5% ★, Base Building 14.9%, Resource Management 9.4%, Survival 9.2%, Management 8.4%
- #35 Final Upgrade
75% matchMostly Positive77% of 451 reviews2022
Dev: TaosX
Windows
Median: 2.9 hrsMean: 12.2 hrs≥1hr: 67%
Help humanity to spread throughout the cosmos by exploring new worlds, building space factories and setting up trade routes. Research advanced technologies to increase efficiency and unlock new paths of development. Fight off other artificial intelligences in your goal to reach the Final Upgrade!
Why similar: Base Building 15.7%, Space Sim 15.2% ★, Space 13.4%, Resource Management 11.4%, Open World 9.4%
- #36 Astrometica
72% matchVery Positive83% of 2,970 reviews2024
Dev: BeryMeryPub: RockGame S.A.
Windows
Median: 4.9 hrsMean: 17.8 hrs≥1hr: 73%
Astrometica is a space exploration and base-building survival game. After a catastrophic event, explore vast space, gather resources, build bases, and uncover cosmic mysteries. Use advanced technology, craft tools, and discover new blueprints to survive and thrive in the unknown.
Why similar: Space Sim 23.3% ★, Base Building 12.6%, Crafting 11.7%, Space 11.6%, Survival 11.1%
- #37 Surviving Ceres
72% matchVery Positive87% of 137 reviews2025
Dev: Ryan SaundersPub: One Man Media
Windows
Explore a handcrafted survival game with an emphasis on crafting and base building. Export manufactured goods to earn funding, manage colonists, defend against hostile aliens, and work towards terraforming Ceres from a frozen ball of ice to a tropical paradise.
Why similar: Colony Sim 26% ★, Base Building 14.1%, Crafting 12.8%, Survival 11.3%, Open World 9.1%
- #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 18.9% ★, God Game 16% ★, Space Sim 14.3% ★, Base Building 10.2%, Space 8.3%
- #39 TFM: The First Men
74% matchMixed62% of 406 reviews2022
Dev: Gathering Tree
Windows
An open-world colony sim based on stories of the first men. Infinite possibilities await your very own Adam and Eve as they embark on a generation-spanning adventure. How will you shape their future?
Why similar: Colony Sim 30.3% ★, Base Building 17.3%, Sandbox 6.9%, Survival 6.2%, Resource Management 6.1%
- #40 Final Factory
73% matchMostly Positive79% of 300 reviews2024
Dev: Never Games Limited
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.9 hrsMean: 7.9 hrs≥1hr: 63%
Final Factory blends factory building, spaceship design, and a rich universe to explore. Build a mega factory and command a massive fleet against the hostile local aliens. Discover new technologies and unlock the secrets of an ancient civilization as you explore an infinite cosmos.
Why similar: Base Building 15.7%, Moddable 14.7% ★, Resource Management 12%, Crafting 11.6%, Space 10.1%
- #41 Microtopia
70% matchVery Positive88% of 903 reviews2025
Dev: Cordyceps CollectivePub: Goblinz Publishing
Windows
Median: 3.7 hrsMean: 9.2 hrs≥1hr: 74%
Become the hive mind of a robot ant colony in Microtopia! Use pheromone trails to create, automate and optimize supply chains for your ants to follow. Collect resources, produce goods, feed your queen, grow your colony and fly out to expand the species!
Why similar: Colony Sim 20.6% ★, Moddable 12.2% ★, Base Building 11.2%, Resource Management 9.4%, Crafting 8.6%
- #42 Desynced
70% matchVery Positive81% of 1,825 reviews2026
Dev: Stage Games Inc.Pub: Forklift Interactive
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 19.3 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Desynced is a sci-fi strategy game with fully customizable units and behaviors. Gather, build, research, and explore the unknown. Alone or with friends, unveil the mystery of an AI on the edge of self-awareness and uncover the hidden truth in this blend of strategy, automation, and exploration.
Why similar: Base Building 20.8%, Sandbox 13.8%, Resource Management 13.8%, Survival 12.5%, Management 10.5%
- #43 The Spatials: Galactology
73% matchMixed69% of 258 reviews2018
Dev: Weird and Wry
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.8 hrsMean: 4.7 hrs≥1hr: 77%
The Spatials are back with Galactology! Design, build and protect your colony station from the many enemies you will make while exploring the galaxy and exploding their homeworlds.
Why similar: Colony Sim 24.8% ★, Space Sim 15.8% ★, Base Building 14.2%, Space 10.2%, Sandbox 9.3%
- #44 Occupy Mars: The Game
69% matchMostly Positive70% of 3,012 reviews2026
Dev: ▲ Pyramid Games
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 31.4 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Survive and colonize Mars in a highly technical, open-world sandbox game. Build and upgrade your base, discover new regions, conduct mining operations, retrieve water, generate oxygen, grow crops, and fix broken parts.
Why similar: Colony Sim 18.6% ★, Base Building 12.5%, Resource Management 10.3%, Crafting 10%, Space 10%
- #45 Dawn Apart
70% matchMostly Positive73% of 239 reviews2025
Dev: Industrial Technology and WitchcraftPub: Astra Logical
Windows
Dawn Apart is a space colony and factory sim with fully destructible environments. Mine, automate, and defend your settlers, or lead a rebellion against the very corporation pulling your strings…
Why similar: Colony Sim 34.9% ★, Base Building 19.9%, Crafting 13.2%, Space 11%, Strategy 5.7%
- #46 Star Traders: Frontiers
71% matchVery Positive84% of 3,754 reviews2018
Dev: Trese Brothers
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.3 hrsMean: 24.5 hrs≥1hr: 74%
You are the captain of a starship venturing through a massive open universe. Customize your crew and take command at the helm of your very own ship as you explore a galaxy torn apart by internal strife, alien threats, and political intrigue.
Why similar: Moddable 19.8% ★, Space Sim 17.6% ★, Sandbox 9.4%, Sci-fi 9.4%, Procedural Generation 9.1%
- #47 Per Aspera
71% matchMostly Positive76% of 5,662 reviews2020
Dev: Tlön IndustriesPub: Raw Fury
Windows
Median: 5.0 hrsMean: 11.9 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 20% ★, Moddable 15.8% ★, Base Building 12.2%, Resource Management 9.3%, Space 8.6%
- #48 Ostranauts
71% matchMostly Positive80% of 2,398 reviews2020
Dev: Blue Bottle GamesPub: Kitfox Games
Windows
Median: 5.1 hrsMean: 26.8 hrs≥1hr: 71%
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 20.9% ★, Space 13.8%, Exploration 11.5%, Sandbox 11.2%, Survival 10.8%
- #49 Eden Crafters
68% matchVery Positive86% of 2,214 reviews2024
Dev: Osaris Games
Windows
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 13.5 hrs≥1hr: 79%
Embark on a journey of survival, crafting, and automation in Eden Crafters, a solo and co-op open-world game that challenges you to turn a hostile planet into a habitable haven for humanity. Temper the climate, create a breathable atmosphere, and turn toxic lakes into water: shape a new world!
Why similar: Base Building 16%, Colony Sim 14.8% ★, Crafting 12.3%, Sandbox 9.8%, Space 9.2%
- #50 Exogate Initiative
68% matchMostly Positive76% of 699 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 22% ★, Base Building 15%, Resource Management 11.6%, Sandbox 9.7%, Space 9.7%
- #51 The Final Earth 2
69% matchVery Positive97% of 386 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 21.4% ★, Space Sim 12.8% ★, Moddable 12.1% ★, Base Building 10.3%, Space 9.6%
- #52 Spacebase DF-9
74% matchOverwhelmingly Negative18% of 4,324 reviews2014
Dev: Double Fine Productions
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.2 hrsMean: 4.9 hrs≥1hr: 90%
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 23.9%, Space 22.6%, Sci-fi 12.5%, Sandbox 11.9%, Simulation 7.7%
- #53 Mercury Fallen
67% matchMostly Positive79% of 307 reviews2023
Dev: Nitrous ButterflyPub: indie.io
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.2 hrsMean: 5.3 hrs≥1hr: 87%
A sci-fi colony management sim with a focus on exploration, expansion, and survival. Rebuild your underground facility, manage colonists and robots, and uncover the mysteries of an alien world light-years from Earth. Dig deep, expand across the surface, and shape your new home.
Why similar: Colony Sim 22.9% ★, Base Building 13.3%, Space 9.3%, Survival 9.1%, Crafting 8.6%
- #54 Stellar Settlers: Space Base Builder
66% matchMostly Positive71% of 818 reviews2025
Dev: Tinymice EntertainmentPub: Rogue Duck Interactive
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.4 hrsMean: 3.5 hrs≥1hr: 76%
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 24.5% ★, Base Building 14.5%, Space Sim 12% ★, Resource Management 11.1%, Space 8.9%
- #55 Dwarf Fortress
65% matchVery Positive95% of 30,806 reviews2022
Dev: Bay 12 GamesPub: Kitfox Games
Windows · Linux
Median: 5.5 hrsMean: 38.4 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 28.3% ★, Base Building 16.7%, Sandbox 11.4%, Survival 11%, Management 9.7%
- #56 Blacksmith Master
65% matchVery Positive84% of 2,485 reviews2025
Dev: Untitled StudioPub: Hooded Horse
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 6.1 hrsMean: 12.4 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Manage your own medieval smithy in Blacksmith Master and supervise the entire process from mining ores and gems to designing and selling finished products. Forge everything from weapons and armor to tools and cooking utensils to fund your craft and become the Blacksmith Master.
Why similar: Colony Sim 21% ★, Moddable 15.5% ★, Base Building 12.6%, Resource Management 9.8%, Sandbox 8.2%
- #57 Between the Stars
66% matchMostly Positive74% of 2,427 reviews2024
Dev: Isolated Games
Windows
Median: 54 minMean: 8.9 hrs≥1hr: 49%
Become the Captain of an interstellar cruiser and journey across the galaxy to save the Republic. During your journey you will have to make important decisions, improve the weaponry of your ship and fight against numerous enemies.
Why similar: Space Sim 26.4% ★, Space 25.3%, Sandbox 9.7%, Sci-fi 9.1%, Strategy 7.6%
- #58 Stonedeep
69% matchMixed46% of 104 reviews2021
Dev: Direfang
Windows
Stonedeep is an 2.5D underground city builder. Dwarfs gather resources, build and fend off monsters. Colonies can specialize in culture, production, military and trading. At start, dwarfs need drinks and rest. With a higher civilization level, they will increase their needs.
Why similar: Colony Sim 23.1% ★, Base Building 14.8%, God Game 10.5% ★, Resource Management 10.5%, Survival 8.9%
- #59 Space Trash Scavenger
65% matchVery Positive84% of 514 reviews2024
Dev: SquarePlay GamesPub: Paradox Arc
Windows
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 9.2 hrs≥1hr: 76%
Grab your jetpack and explore procedural asteroid fields, derelict spaceships and abandoned outposts. Build and automate your Space Rig to process scavenged trash. Craft, trade and fight your way home in this interstellar, open-world survival sandbox.
Why similar: Space 12.8%, Crafting 12.3%, Space Sim 12% ★, Base Building 11%, Survival 10.5%