The greatest city building games challenge their players on multiple fronts and the best ones are also some of the greatest strategy games. These difficult but fascinating games are not only highly entertaining but can greatly improve their players’ critical thinking and team playing skills that they can use to their advantage in their real lives too.
Updated December 9, 2022, by Via Erhard: Fans of the best city-building games can get lost in some of the most meticulously designed gaming worlds while enjoying challenging and deeply immersive city-building simulation games like the popular Timberborn and Surviving Mars.
Gamers can explore vivid and atmospheric gaming worlds inspired by steampunk, fantasy, and sci-fi while also improving their strategic planning skills as well as their creativity. Thanks to the best city builder games players can build, manage and grow one-of-a-kind civilizations and eventually run their own empires on earth and beyond.
11 As Far As The Eye
As Far As The Eye is one of the most complex family-friendly city-building games with a colorful and charming world. Players will be transported into a violence-free and adventures-filled fantasy land where they will be able to explore and use their strategic skills to build, manage, and improve the lives of their colonies.
Even though there are no fights and evil foes in this game it’s still a challenging city builder simulation game that will push players to make hard choices while learning about negotiation and resource management. As Far As The Eye is perfect for those players who love beginner turn-based games and are ready to try something a little bit more challenging.
10 Dream Engines: Nomad Cities
Dream Engines: Nomad Cities is one of the most beautifully designed early-access new city-building games. Thanks to this steampunk-inspired survival game players will get to build industrious flying cities in a post-apocalyptic world that was overrun by the Dream Plagues. These flight-capable Nomad Cities are the last hopes of the nomadic tribes that managed to survive the deadly plagues.
Players will get to explore a weirdly wonderful world filled with strange science and dreams while building, automating, and flying their cities and trying to defend them against raids and fly away before their cities are destroyed. Gamers will have to use their strategic skills and build vital and disposable buildings with the right balance since they will have to leave some behind when flying away.
9 They Are Billions
They Are Billions is one of the best steampunk-themed games that’s perfect for players who love darkly atmospheric gaming worlds that will challenge them. This post-apocalyptic city-building game will take its players on a dark adventure in which they will have to help the few remaining living humans survive and rebuild civilization.
Players will have to find ways to evade and defeat millions of zombies while building cities, managing resources, and making smart tactical decisions. It’s one of the most complex city-building games in which gamers will also get to explore a fascinating and beautifully designed world and its ancient human fortresses while evolving their colonies, building a strong army, and controlling the virus outbreak.
8 Endzone - A World Apart
Endzone - A World Apart is one of the most realistic post-apocalyptic city-building simulation games with a complex and beautifully crafted world. Players will be transported to a darkly atmospheric world in which a global ecological disaster almost killed all humans on the planet.
Gamers will have to help the few humans who managed to survive by escaping into underground facilities to return to the surface of the planet after a hundred and fifty years. Players will get a chance to prove their leadership skills while managing resources and building a new civilization in a world that’s plagued by toxic rain, sandstorms, and radioactivity.
7 Frostpunk
Frostpunk is one of the best console strategy games and one of the most difficult city building games with a stunning and complex world that constantly challenges its players. Players have to find creative ways to survive this dark and cold post-apocalyptic world. Gamers will have to maintain and build Earth’s last city while also managing its citizens.
It’s famously one of the most frustrating and difficult city builders in which players constantly have to make impossible choices to ensure survival. Players will have to shape their city’s society, invent new technologies, and build in some of the harshest conditions, but they also get to enjoy this challenging but fascinating game’s lore-rich story and breathtaking art style.
6 Banished
Banished is one of the most difficult historical city building games with a beautiful and complex open world in which players will have to build, strategies, and manage their cities. Players will have to control a small group of travelers who were exiled and want to restart their lives.
In this stunning medieval sim city builder, it’s not enough if players build great buildings or infrastructure. They will also have to make sure that the residents are happy and healthy and multiplying to make sure the city grows. The resources are scarce and just because one strategy worked in one town it doesn’t mean it’ll in others. It’s a challenging and highly addictive city builder with a great story and beautiful visuals.
5 Surviving Mars
Surviving Mars is a visually stunning sci-fi city building simulation game that lets its players build some of the most futuristic cities in video games. Players will have to fight for their survival while building new colonies and making sure that the Red Planet becomes a livable place for humans.
It’s the best choice for gamers who love space games and have been dreaming about colonizing Mars. During the challenging gameplay players will have to research, build completely new infrastructure and domes, as well as grow their own food while uncovering Mars’ secrets. Since it’s a challenging game it’s best if casual gamers and beginners check out some useful tips on how to repair buildings to make their gaming experience more enjoyable.
4 Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines is one of the most realistic city building games set in modern times. Players can become the mayor of their own city and learn not only how to build buildings and infrastructure but also how to properly manage the whole city including healthcare, water, police, and even education.
Cities: Skylines is considerably easy to get started with, which makes it perfect for beginner players too, but gamers will need some time until they figure out how to build the healthiest and happiest cities. It’s a unique and very complex city builder in which players will have to create and maintain a real city and try out great Skyline mods and utilize the game’s beautiful day and night cycle along with many other thrilling and challenging features.
3 Farthest Frontier
Farthest Frontier is one of the most exciting early access games in which players will have to survive in a beautiful but challenging open world. This realistic and deeply immersive colony sim lets its players experience an alternate history where they have to guide and protect their people and start their own settlement in the middle of the wilderness and eventually grow it into a functional and healthy city.
Players will have to do everything to start their settlement and keep the residents alive. From hunting and harvesting raw materials to trading, crafting, and even fighting against invaders. Gamers will also have to keep the residents healthy to avoid dysentery and cholera outbreaks. The game has over fifty different types of buildings as well beautiful and randomly generated maps that make this game one of the most complex and replayable city builders.
2 RimWorld
RimWorld might not be the most visually breathtaking city builder, but it’s an often hilarious and always fascinating game thanks to the AI storytellers and the wide array of colonists. The game has relaxed, fun, and tension-building storytellers and the colonists all come with their own unique backgrounds too.
Players will get to build their cities while traveling around the planet and exploring its space-western-inspired world and its weirdly wonderful characters. Gamers will have to manage everything to keep their settlements and their residents happy. They will also have to learn how to train and raise animals in RimWorld. But they will also get to meet pirates, and deal with family drama in this quirky and challenging world.
1 Timberborn
Timberborn is one of the most beloved city builders that transports its players into a fascinating and beautiful world in which humans are extinct, and the cities are built by beavers. This fun early access game has one of the most unique architecture systems thanks to the game’s brilliant water physics and wooden machinery.
Players can choose to control either the nature-friendly Folktail beavers or the industrious Iron Teeth colony. Gamers will not only have to build unique cities but also dams to control the river and keep their beavers happy and healthy to grow the colony. While it’s a cute and fun game it’s also a challenging one, so causal gamers should check out some useful beginner Timberborn tips to make sure their playtime is more enjoyable than stressing.
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