The Best Base-building colony simulation Games

Update : New Cycle added at rank #45.
1

Dwarf Fortress (2022)

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90
Review score
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PC Windows IOS iPhone

Dwarf Fortress is an incredibly detailed, complex game where you help a colony of dwarves build a settlement by carving out bedrooms, dining halls and other necessary structures from the side of a mountain. You don't control individual dwarves but instead provide instructions for them to follow, with each dwarf having their own needs and wants that you become familiar with as you play.

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What we like:
  • Robust mouse support
  • New tutorial to help new players understand menus
  • Complex web of characters and relationships
  • Simulated world is full of surprises both big and small
  • Ability to create artifacts and engravings that tell stories
What could be improved:
  • Inscrutability can be off-putting for those expecting a more streamlined experience
  • Convoluted user interface can make it difficult to figure out what is even possible in the game or how to access the different menus

  • simulation
  • colony
  • management
  • city-building
  • procedural
  • moddable
  • base-building
  • pixel
  • survival
  • economy
  • fantasy
  • construction
  • sandbox
  • text
  • resource-management

2

RimWorld (2018)

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96
Review score
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PC Windows Xbox One Mac OS Linux

RimWorld is a life simulator and management game set in a remote planet in the distant future. It features a unique character generation system to create complex personalities with flaws, drives and needs, as well as a story generator that creates unexpected scenarios for players to face.


What we like:
  • Unique character generation system
  • Story generator creates unpredictable scenarios
  • Tons of mods for everything
  • Includes interaction bubbles to show interactions as they happen
What could be improved:
  • Unintuitive UI
  • Busy work tasks can be tedious

  • colony
  • base-building
  • survival
  • simulation
  • management
  • farming
  • pirates
  • sci-fi
  • sandbox
  • building

3

Space Haven (2020)

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87
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS Linux

Space Haven is an early access game where you can design your own ship and manage your crew as you embark on a journey to save humanity. Build your spaceship tile by tile, explore the vast universe, engage in tactical ship-to-ship combat and witness the drama and emotions of your crew. The game allows for complete freedom to customize and design your ship symmetrically or asymmetrically.


What we like:
  • Great sprites and sublime music
  • Game is approachable with a balanced feel
  • Unlimited freedom to build your own ship
  • Core game loop is engaging and not monotonous
  • Developers fully commited
What could be improved:
  • Lacks crew leveling up
  • Lacks variety in gameplay beyond building bigger ship and fending off pirates.

  • colony
  • simulation
  • base-building
  • space
  • management
  • tile
  • resource-management
  • sandbox
  • pirates
  • building
  • sci-fi
  • city-building
  • resource
  • survival-strategy

4

Paragon Pioneers (2022)

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90
Review score
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Linux Mac OS PC Windows Android IOS iPhone

Paragon Pioneers is a casual island management game where you build and manage a series of island nations. It offers over 100+ buildings to advance through and has an abstract look and mechanics that make it easy to manage on small screens. It's a stress-free game for casual players.


What we like:
  • Detailed explanations and tutorials
  • No ads or premium currencies
  • Easy to pick up and put down
  • Reminiscent of the Anno series with idle gameplay
  • No inherent time limit
  • Over 100+ buildings to advance through
What could be improved:
  • Long waiting times
  • Lack of a thrilling narrative
  • Game mechanics become increasingly complex
  • Colonization aspect may be troublesome for some players
  • Combat has a limited army size and isn't very interesting

  • idler
  • city-building
  • colony
  • tutorial
  • management
  • base-building
  • building
  • simulation
  • medieval
  • crafting
  • economy
  • top-down
  • relaxing
  • 2d
  • resource-management

5

Kingdom: Two Crowns (2018)

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93
Review score
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Nintendo Switch PC Windows Mac OS Playstation 4 Xbox One IOS iPhone Linux Android

In Kingdom Two Crowns, players must work in the brand-new solo or co-op campaign mode to build their kingdom and secure it from the threat of the Greed. Experience new technology, units, enemies, mounts, and secrets in the next evolution of the award-winning micro strategy franchise!


  • micro
  • medieval
  • pixel
  • colony
  • strategy
  • side-scrolling
  • cooperative
  • base-building
  • tower-defense
  • city-building
  • simulation
  • building
  • scroller
  • survival
  • 2d

6

Kingdom Eighties (2023)

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78
Review score
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Android Nintendo Switch Linux Mac OS PC Windows Xbox One IOS iPhone

Kingdom Eighties is a standalone expansion to the award-winning Kingdom series. A singleplayer epic adventure of micro-strategy and base building. Defend your town against the mysterious Greed, and discover the secrets of your family lineage!


  • pixel
  • micro-strategy
  • colony
  • base-building
  • city-building
  • tower-defense
  • strategy
  • simulation
  • survival
  • economy
  • resource-management
  • building
  • skateboard
  • medieval
  • procedural

7

Oxygen Not Included (2019)

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95
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS Linux

Oxygen Not Included is an innovative and unique colony-building game in which you control a crew of duplicants who start beneath the surface of a procedurally generated asteroid with nothing more than a ration box and cloning device. With its childlike art style and humour, Oxygen Not Included looks like less of a space simulator and more like The Sims in space, but don't let that fool you - it's brimming with complexity and depth.

Buy

What we like:
  • Child-friendly art style
  • Complexity and depth
  • Humor
  • Procedurally generated asteroid
  • Experimenting with contraptions
  • Retconning decisions
What could be improved:
  • Frame rate drops at the start of each cycle
  • AI occasionally getting confused

  • survival
  • simulation
  • colony
  • base-building
  • management
  • resource-management
  • sandbox
  • space
  • space-colony
  • resource
  • farming
  • building
  • colony-building

8

Stranded: Alien Dawn (2023)

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81
Review score
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Xbox One PC Windows

Stranded: Alien Dawn drops you into an unknown alien world, where you'll lead survivors, build a high-tech outpost, and make tough decisions to survive. With engaging gameplay, a variety of planets, and a peaceful non-combat option, you'll experience a unique, unpredictable journey. But beware, time may slow and crafting can get repetitive in this thrilling survival sim.

Buy

What we like:
  • Engaging gameplay
  • Variety of planets and moons
  • Non-combat peaceful option
  • Customizable difficulty settings
  • Beautiful graphics
What could be improved:
  • Time can feel slow
  • Crafting becomes repetitive
  • Lack of depth in some systems
  • Requires internet connection to play

  • survival
  • base-building
  • simulation
  • colony
  • management
  • crafting
  • hunting
  • farming
  • cooking
  • -

9

Imagine Earth (2021)

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77
Review score
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PC Windows Xbox Series X Xbox One

Imagine Earth is a thrilling real-time planet simulation and strategy game that lets you explore and colonize distant planets. In this game, you play a space colony manager tasked with building profitable colonies while preserving living conditions for your people amidst corporate greed and environmental concerns. Dig for resources, build power plants, farms, and factories while fending off threats like asteroids, wild fires, and hostile colonies. You can trade resources and technologies to enrich your colonies, build towers, and research for advanced technologies. Now, it's time to expand your colony and dominate the universe!


What we like:
  • Well-polished game with unique art design and relaxing gameplay
  • Heavy emphasis on competitiveness with multiple ways to hinder AI competition
  • Great fun in multiplayer games
  • Continual and meaningful updates from the developers
  • Unique approach to a tile-based system
What could be improved:
  • Lack of micromanagement may disappoint city-building enthusiasts
  • Voice acting could be better
  • Limited countermeasures against weather effects
  • Unintuitive resource gathering and pollution mitigation

  • simulation
  • diplomacy
  • colony
  • lore
  • nature
  • city-building
  • grand-strategy
  • science
  • management
  • base-building
  • economy
  • procedural
  • sandbox
  • space
  • resource

10

Kingdom: New Lands (2016)

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83
Review score
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Android Linux Mac OS PC Windows Xbox One IOS iPhone

Experience the mystery and challenge of managing a kingdom in Kingdom: New Lands. Explore new lands, build your kingdom, and defeat greedy creatures while discovering the secrets of this minimalist strategy game. With stunning visuals, simple controls, and a haunting soundtrack, Kingdom: New Lands will keep you hooked for hours as you learn and grow your empire.


What we like:
  • Innovative gameplay mechanics
  • Expanding game world
  • Addictive gameplay
  • Beautiful visual style
  • Rewarding learning curve
What could be improved:
  • Lack of control over characters
  • Limited diversification of gameplay loop
  • No clear instruction

  • pixel
  • tower-defense
  • colony
  • medieval
  • rogue-like
  • strategy
  • simulation
  • scroller
  • base-building
  • survival
  • building
  • 2d
  • resource-management
  • side-scrolling
  • defence

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