The Best City-building Games for Xbox One

Update : Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles added at rank #10.
1

Townscaper (2020)

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95
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS IOS iPhone Xbox Series X Xbox One Android Nintendo Switch

Townscaper is a relaxing and creative town-builder game that lets you design your own picturesque floating towns with ease. With its colorful blocks and shapes that you can mix and match, you can create your dream villages whether you’re fidgeting or multitasking. The absence of missions or objectives allows you to immerse yourself fully in your creative flow and design your perfect idyllic town in no time. Get Townscaper for a soothing and creative gaming experience!


What we like:
  • Simple mechanics
  • Stress-free
  • Perfect for fidgeting
What could be improved:
  • Limited building tools and updates
  • Lack of variety in buildings and structures
  • Unsymmetrical grid pattern
  • No greenery except in enclosed areas
  • Building larger structures can be tedious

  • city-building
  • experimental
  • sandbox
  • building
  • short
  • cute
  • minimalist
  • grid
  • procedural
  • relaxing
  • nature
  • family-friendly
  • stylized
  • colourful

2

Tropico 6 (2019)

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90
Review score
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IOS iPhone Linux Mac OS PC Windows Xbox One

Tropico 6 is a city-building game that offers an engaging mix of elements such as ruling your own island dictatorship, sandbox mode with customizable goals, missions, and easy controller support. You can be a big picture person and make decisions that impact the entire island or get into the minute details of urban planning.


What we like:
  • Engaging mix of elements
  • Sandbox mode with customizable goals
  • Missions
  • Easy controller support:No need for mouse and keyboard or touchscreen
What could be improved:
  • Minor performance issues

  • city-building
  • simulation
  • economy
  • political
  • sandbox
  • management
  • strategy
  • construction
  • military
  • politics

3

Airborne Kingdom (2020)

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86
Review score
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Xbox One Xbox Series X Mac OS PC Windows Playstation 5 Nintendo Switch Playstation 4

Airborne Kingdom is a strategy simulator game that presents a unique concept of relocating a civilization to the skies. The game has a mysterious set up and setting, which intrigues and immerses the player in a vibrant and alive game world with organic world building and lore. Manage your air kingdom as you move to discover new resources, all while making sure your residents are happy, and enjoy the immersive experience of this visually stunning game world.


What we like:
  • Innovative mechanics
  • Beautiful visuals
  • Compelling gameplay
  • Relaxing and meditative
  • Ear-worm soundtrack
What could be improved:
  • Lack of replay value & short gameplay time
  • Limited depth in city development
  • Slow progression
  • High price for amount of content

  • city-building
  • relaxing
  • steampunk
  • resource

4

SteamWorld Build (2023)

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76
Review score
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Nintendo Switch Xbox Series X Xbox One Playstation 5 Playstation 4 PC Windows Xbox Series X/s

Break ground on a new frontier as the planet dies around you! Dig deep and build wide to excavate long-lost spacefaring technology, while ensuring everyone has the vital water, fuel and creature comforts they need! Do you have what it takes to reach the final frontier?


  • city-building
  • management
  • robots
  • steampunk
  • economy

5

Cities: Skylines II (2023)

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74
Review score
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PC Windows Xbox Series X/s) (Playstation 5 Xbox One

Dive into Cities: Skylines 2, the city-building simulator that redefines urban strategy in gaming. Experience the thrill of crafting your own metropolis, managing trade, and shaping the lives of your citizens. With smart AI, realistic weather cycles, and endless possibilities for city design, you'll find high replayability and countless hours of creative enjoyment.


What we like:
  • Engaging balance between realism and fun
  • Intuitive UI and automatic linking of buildings to utilities
  • Ability to fine-tune services and manage trade
  • High replayability with multiple maps
  • In-depth tutorials and progression mechanism
What could be improved:
  • Performance issues with larger cities
  • Some bugs and graphical issues
  • Limited options for choosing building aesthetics

  • city-building
  • simulation
  • economy
  • management

6

Cities: Skylines (2015)

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94
Review score
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PC Windows Xbox Series X Playstation 5 stadia Playstation 4 Xbox One Linux Mac OS

Build and maintain your own city with Cities: Skylines, where you must balance essential requirements like education, electricity, and healthcare while navigating your city's real economy system. With extensive traffic, district, and policy simulations, you have a multi-tiered and challenging environment to master. Customize and share your creations with other city builders. Don't miss out on this modern take on the classic city simulation game!


What we like:
  • Realistic city building simulation
  • Fun to plan, execute, and manage a city
  • Plethora of mods available
  • DLC adds interesting gameplay
  • Can enjoy the game without purchasing DLC
What could be improved:
  • Vanilla game is very basic

  • city-building
  • simulation

7

Kingdoms and Castles (2017)

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94
Review score
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Linux Xbox Series X Xbox One PC Windows Mac OS Playstation 5 Playstation 4 j

Kingdoms and Castles is a city-building simulation game about growing a kingdom from a tiny hamlet to a sprawling city and imposing castle. Make trade agreements, alliance, and war with neighboring AI controlled kingdoms. Each villager and resource is individually simulated.


  • city-building
  • colony
  • simulation
  • medieval
  • strategy
  • farming
  • management

8

Before We Leave (2020)

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80
Review score
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PC Windows Xbox One Xbox Series X Playstation 5 Playstation 4 Nintendo Switch Mac OS

Before We Leave is a city-building game set in a post-apocalyptic world where you can grow your own civilization across various islands and planets. The game's atmosphere is calming and relaxed, and the music matches the gameplay perfectly. There are no violent elements, and you can grow your society at your own pace. With a good mix of resource management and logistics, the game is enjoyable for players who want a peaceful way to spend their time.


What we like:
  • Well-paced tutorial
  • Cute and relaxing game style
  • Variety of progression and resources
  • Good logistics challenge
  • Smart Shipping makes trading easier
What could be improved:
  • Limited tech tree depth
  • Population growth doesn't add value
  • Lack of equalization across planets
  • Game-breaking bug in late trading

  • city-building
  • 4x
  • resource
  • resource-management
  • hex

9

Frostpunk (2018)

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85
Review score
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Xbox One PC Windows Mac OS

Survive in a frozen post-apocalyptic world in Frostpunk, where every decision matters. Lead your community, manage scarce resources, and face tough moral dilemmas. Experience the unique city-builder mechanics and immerse yourself in the captivating story. Can you build the last city on Earth?


What we like:
  • Challenging and engaging gameplay
  • Unique city-builder and resource management mechanics
  • Deep and emotional storytelling
  • High replayability with different modes
  • Immersive atmosphere and visuals
What could be improved:
  • Steep learning curve
  • Limited city customization
  • Difficulties in handling missions

  • city-building
  • survival
  • steampunk

10

Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles (2024)

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74
Review score
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PC Windows Playstation 5 Playstation 4 Xbox Series X Xbox One

Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is an open world builder with freedom and expression at its core. You are in command of creating the last great settlement upon the Great Ursee - a vast, fantastical oceanic world filled with lost myths and danger.


  • city-building
  • building
  • open-world
  • resource
  • strategy
  • exploration
  • minimalist
  • controller-support
  • sandbox
  • relaxing
  • base-building

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