The most engaging city-building simulators

To take a break from the intense action of first-person shooters or epic adventures in RPGs, you can always turn to city-building simulators–games where you get the chance to construct magnificent cities and lead them to economic success with your own hands (or rather, your mouse cursor).

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We're introducing our new top city-building simulators for PC. It's time to awaken your inner architect and manager!

SimCity

A true classic of the genre—you become the mayor of a city and take on numerous responsibilities. Building and managing a modern metropolis involves many aspects: providing resources, organizing infrastructure, and improving the well-being of citizens. 

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The mayor must also deal with issues like sewage problems and rising crime rates. This is a real gem for city-building enthusiasts who enjoy managing not individual characters, but entire districts and complex systems!

Northgard

Northgard holds a special place in our top city-building simulators for PC. It's an engaging economic strategy game about Vikings searching for a new home. Manage characters, build your own villages and structures to survive. Remember, the game takes place during the Viking era, so anything can happen.

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Players must develop settlements for various Viking clans, survive in unfriendly snowy wastelands, and battle opponents, including AI and other players. All of this comes with an intriguing story based on Northern mythology. Strengthen your position, and with it, your reputation as the ruler of the North. And beware, winter is coming...

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Sid Meier's Civilization series expands the concept of city-building simulators into turn-based strategy. Nonetheless, you still need to develop cities, but the focus is on the world map rather than a single location. This time, you’ll have to focus not only on the city itself, but also on everything that surrounds it. And believe us, it won’t be easy…

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In terms of core ideas and mechanics, the sixth Civilization follows its predecessors. You choose a nation, a leader, and embark on a journey to global dominance, facing economic, political, and social challenges along the way. Remember, every choice comes with consequences. Learn from your mistakes and don’t give up—because your civilization survives thanks to you.

Cities: Skylines

Today, this is one of the most popular city-building simulators, created by a relatively unknown Finnish team. In the beginning, players are given a 2x2-kilometer piece of land and a bit of money. Nearby, there's the sea, a highway, and a road. From this set, players must create a thriving and economically successful city that will eventually become a giant metropolis.

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A series of challenges awaits you, each one to be overcome. After all, success always comes with hardships, doesn’t it? Only patience and perseverance will help your city grow stronger and rise high into the sky—just like the brightest star above: Sirius.

Surviving the Aftermath

Imagine the best city-building simulators mixed with elements from the Fallout game series–that's Surviving the Aftermath. Here, you must develop a colony of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world that has destroyed everything we know.

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While season 2 of The Last of Us is airing, you can easily imagine your citizens as part of this world and build your economy based on what's happening around you. Yes, it will undoubtedly be tough, but who ever said life in a post-apocalyptic world would be easy? Resources are scarce, people are desperate, and procedurally generated locations veil not only secrets but also dangers.

Anno 1404

Anno 1404 is not just a city-building sandbox. The game features a compelling story campaign that tells the unconventional tale of a European nobleman who must accomplish various tasks, including helping a suzerain build a cathedral, preparing for a crusade, and defeating pirates. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Imagine yourself in the times of kings and queens, Richard III or the Tudors. Isn't it the perfect opportunity to not only feel but also experience an era we can no longer touch today?

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The game offers a multitude of mechanics, including a greater focus on warfare than in its predecessors. Another important feature is the blending of cultures, where players must build structures representing both European and Eastern civilizations for progress.

Surviving Mars

In Surviving Mars, the premise is simple—you're in charge of a group of settlers sent to Mars with the mission to colonize the Red Planet. Not every time do you get to play the good guy! You can also experience what it's like to be a colonizer... Yes, the game doesn't fully explore this theme, but you'll have to build an economy and try to survive on a planet that is foreign to you.

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At first, your tasks are straightforward: build shelters for colonists, set up solar panels and air regenerators, and gather resources. However, as Earth's supply drops and eventually ceases, it becomes a challenging "economic survival game" with regular scripted events adding complexity to your mission.

Frostpunk

No one said that the best city-building simulators must always tell stories of goodness and prosperity, and Frostpunk proves just that. Here, you’ll have to deal with not only the clean but also the dirty work. You’ll discover what the black market, slavery, and many other unpleasant things are, which you’ll inevitably come into contact with...

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You need to manage a colony, but not on Mars—unexpectedly, it's on Earth, which has plunged into a new Ice Age. Hunger, public discontent, political games—all of these challenges remain, but the main enemy is the cold, and fighting it is incredibly tough. You’ll have to fight for survival, no matter the cost....

Dyson Sphere Program

The game's goal is in its name—you need to build a Dyson Sphere. Astrophysicists, take note: it's a hypothetical megastructure built around a star's outer perimeter within a planetary system. Hypothetical, you say? Well, you must prove that it's achievable.

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The unique aspect of this simulator is that you have control over Earth's and nearby planets' resources, and later, even more distant ones. You'll need to consider various factors, from economic to physical. At some point, you'll even create artificial stars. Now you understand the true meaning of "global"? And if you don't, you'll definitely understand it as you play!

They Are Billions

They Are Billions cleverly combines city-building simulation with real-time strategy and recognizable steampunk aesthetics with a zombie apocalypse backstory. Here, you must develop a settlement while fending off billions (yes, the number is in the title) of resurrected undead.

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You'll need both futuristic technology and strategic thinking to survive. Time is always running out, resources are scarce, and hungry zombies are about to breach your city gates. Can you strengthen your defenses and save all the residents from a grim fate? Will you risk the lives of the locals and turn the risk to your advantage? And what if something goes wrong...?

Tropico 6

In Tropico 6, you play as El Presidente. Your goal is to guide your people through four technological eras and transform a second-rate island nation into an economic superpower.

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Unlike previous entries in the franchise where you had only one island to manage, here you have multiple islands, each with its own terrain and resources, requiring extensive trading. You can choose to ensure the prosperity of your citizens or rule with an iron fist—after all, El Presidente is a dictator to the core! The fate of the people and their future is in your hands. And only you can decide how it will unfold...

Timberborn

Say goodbye to boring humans and their dull buildings—let's talk about intelligent, evolved beavers! That's right, Timberborn is a game about a community of highly intelligent beavers who build massive cities and struggle for survival. Help the civilization survive: develop not only the agricultural sector but also the industrial complex of the city. You will see many human creations, including those that do not yet exist in real life, and you'll learn to use them for the greater good.

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Players can choose from two factions of these adorable creatures, each with its unique style and approach to construction. The pleasant graphics and a variety of buildings only enhance the effect of this unusual game idea.

Kingdoms Reborn

At first glance, it might seem like a typical city-building simulator, but it's here because it's not just typical: it's exemplary. Inspired by Anno and Civilization, Kingdoms Reborn brings together the best of both worlds, adds fantastic graphics, and introduces a couple of unique mechanics. It also features an open world and a strong emphasis on multiplayer. 

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Expand your small village or town and transform it into a massive metropolis full of life. Here, you decide when people sleep and when they work, but be careful—people are not robots, and they need rest too...

War for the Overworld

War for the Overworld is the most polished, extensive, and lovingly crafted successor to Dungeon Keeper—the cult humorous game where players built their own underground dungeons filled with monsters to fend off attacks from the forces of good. 

Not only monsters but also people seeking treasure will visit you, and your task will be to fend them off. You will have dwarves and workers at your disposal, with whom you can build and further develop the dungeon. Construct the most complex dungeon so that no one can escape alive...

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Here, you also construct a dangerous underground realm complete with traps, rooms containing various creatures, and treasure vaults. You can develop it through an engaging story campaign or in various multiplayer modes. The most important thing is that evil must always prevail!

Life is Feudal: Forest Village

A harsh, realistic, and rather grim city-building simulator where players must create a settlement during the Middle Ages. Throughout the game, you'll contend with hunger, diseases, natural disasters, and an ever-changing ecosystem. Your main objective is to figure out how to succeed with the least losses. Otherwise, you'll watch as your ecosystem declines, and your population perishes from plague or starvation...

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Some players find the project's high difficulty challenging, while others appreciate it as the strongest aspect of Life is Feudal: Forest Village. Which camp will you join?

The Colonists

A humorous and surprisingly well-crafted game about creating a colony on a distant planet. Here, you'll manage a group of self-replicating robots designed to realistically imitate humans. Imagine you find yourself in a world where our computers and phones have come to life. Yes, they gained intelligence and decided they no longer want to serve humanity, but instead move to another planet!

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Having left their home planet, they finally gain freedom and the opportunity to build their dream cities. You can engage in this both in the story mode and sandbox mode. You’ll be able to not only build houses, factories, and dwellings, but also defend against enemies, as well as herd goats, sheep, and other livestock. Just like in the real world, but instead of humans, you’re managing robots!

Transport Fever 2

Transport Fever 2 will appeal primarily to players who are passionate about various modes of transportation, from cars to airplanes.

In this simulator, your task is not to build buildings but to create transportation networks that allow the inhabitants of a massive metropolis to move freely between their homes, workplaces, and recreational areas. 

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You’ll be able to not only manage the city’s transportation system but also speed up deliveries, thus satisfying the end consumer and influencing the city’s growth. Inside, you’ll find over 200 types of transportation, three story campaigns, and a full-fledged map editor. You’ll have the opportunity to manage not only 2000s-era vehicles but also ancient machines from three regions: Europe, Asia, and the USA. Control the sliders and build the map to your liking. Just be careful—your success or failure depends entirely on your decisions...

Zeus: Master of Olympus

Don't be put off by this game's considerable age—other city-building simulators on PC have much to learn from it.

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In Zeus: Master of Olympus, players must construct small settlements in ancient Greece, developing them into vast cities. Additionally, you can influence city improvements not only through resources and research but also through religion—praying to one of the gods of the Greek pantheon will bring you divine favor and unique mystical powers. 

Despite the presence of supernatural forces, this is still the same city-building simulator with only minor differences in the form of the divine element. Just like in ancient times, the city’s inhabitants are divided into workers, who do most of the labor, and aristocrats—the wealthy intelligentsia. Here, you won’t face droughts, but you will still need to engage in fishing and agriculture.

Master of Olympus, players must construct small settlements in ancient Greece, developing them into vast cities. Additionally, you can influence city improvements not only through resources and research but also through religion–praying to one of the gods of the Greek pantheon will bring you divine favor and unique mystical powers.

Townscaper

The most experimental project in our list. Townscaper is a city-building simulator, but it lacks economic and political aspects entirely.

The game resembles a colorful construction set where you can "grow" whimsical buildings with just a few mouse clicks. You won't even notice how you've spent several hours in this soothing and incredibly addictive process.

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This game ranked in the top 10 best Steam games of 2020, but there’s no typical gameplay here. All you can do is focus on the visual aspect of the city and make sure it’s not only beautiful and majestic but also charming. By the way, some elements of the game can be taken into real life by printing them on a 3D printer!

The game resembles a colorful construction set where you can "grow" whimsical buildings with just a few mouse clicks. You won't even notice how you've spent several hours in this soothing and incredibly addictive process.

Share in the comments which PC city-building simulators you personally enjoy the most!

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