In the 1990s, Electronic Arts was primarily associated not with aggressive monetization models and sports simulators, but with truly innovative projects and the ability to see good games. Back then, EA was actively expanding and buying up studios. The community was not yet aware of the publisher's tight corporate governance. So when EA took over Maxis Software in 1997, many saw it as a good sign.
Maxis itself is primarily known for three games: The Sims, Spore, and SimCity. Of course, The Sims turned out to be the most successful and is still doing well today. However, not everyone will remember that Will Wright founded Maxis to publish and promote SimCity to the masses. Therefore, SimCity still remains a sacred treasure of the studio, although the last part of the series, the mobile SimCity: BuildIt, was released in 2014.
The concept of SimCity revolves around the construction of a city in which you can control the occupancy of districts, infrastructure, taxes, and other nuances. Maxis did not do without its branded humor, so in the end, it is fashionable to destroy your almost perfect city with the help of a meteorite or aliens. The first part of SimCity was released in 1989. It was then that it turned out that players were very fond of building cities and experimenting with them. So it was then that citybuilders finally took shape as a genre(in fact, the first city-building strategy is considered to be the text-based The Sumerian Game (1964) for IBM 7090 mainframes, later in the USSR one of the versions of The Sumerian Game was translated and adapted for a series of EU computers, which were pirated clones of IBM computers - ed.)
Over the years, many experiments have been conducted on the genre. After all, you can build a wide variety of cities. SimCity itself has moved to smartphones with SimCity: BuildIt, but there is still fun for more hardcore players. It is these more advanced modern urban planning strategies that we have collected in this text.
Against the Storm
Platforms Windows
Genre city building strategy
Year 2023
In the fantasy urban planning strategy Against the Storm, the main danger to cities inhabited by anthropomorphic foxes, beavers, lizards, harpies, and humans is the Rotten Storm, which destroys everything in its path. But this is an external danger, because from within the state, the Burnt Queen will create problems for you. By properly balancing her growing needs with the objective reality of survival, you need to build a successful fantasy kingdom.
The unique features of each race can help with this. In addition, the level of interest in Against the Storm is increased by rougelike elements. That is, you will constantly encounter new random modifiers and challenges. It seems that rougelike has already made its way into all video games, but in Against the Storm, such mechanics are quite appropriate and only increase the gameplay variety.
Anno 1800
Platforms Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Genre city building strategy
Year 2019
The Anno series of city-planning strategies is one of the key ones for Ubisoft and its Ubisoft Blue Byte division (the first games in the series were developed by Max Design from Austria), and it is also a clear proof that the company produces not only open-world adventures. The developers focus on colonies and small settlements. The last part of the series, Anno 1800, offers to feel yourself in the era of the Industrial Revolution.
Manage your city, build factories, and explore distant lands. Anno 1800 focuses on the most faithful recreation of its era. Ubisoft has always been good at this, so this game almost instantly immerses you in the atmosphere of the 19th century. There is even a place for a real social background in the game's story campaign. Moreover, Anno 1800 has been released with more than ten different DLCs, almost like Paradox Interactive games.
The next part of the series, Anno 117: Pax Romana, has already been announced and is due out in 2025.
Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles
Platforms Windows
Genre city building strategy
Year 2024
Urban planning strategy Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles in The Falconeer universe by Thomas Sahl will appeal to those who do not like to understand a bunch of parameters and resources, but want to watch their empire grow bigger and bigger without any extra effort. The game offers to explore the world and build cities without additional complexity and learning complex mechanics.
Moreover, it features a fantastic world with a well-thought-out lore. This fact becomes twice as interesting when you find out who is responsible for the development of Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles is developed by one person. The developer Thomas Sala actively supports the project with updates, patches, and interesting solutions, so it's not particularly boring to play, even despite the relative simplicity of the gameplay.
Cities: Skylines
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre city building strategy
Year 2015
In Cities in Motion, Colossal Order focused on transportation infrastructure. That is, they need to actively build roads, rails, and other means of transportation for people. In Cities: Skylines, the developers went further and swung for a full-fledged citybuilder, although the development of mechanics for building transport infrastructure is immediately noticeable.
The result was successful: more than 12 million copies sold, critical acclaim, and player love. Because Cities: Skylines really offers a variety in city building, which has also grown significantly since its release thanks to additions and updates. But the second part, Cities: Skylines II, players did not like at least because of a large number of technical problems.
Cliff Empire
Platforms Windows, macOS
Genre city building strategy
Year 2018
Cliff Empire is a game from a Ukrainian developer that has removed the Russian language from the project as a matter of principle. Naturally, Russian players began to actively underestimate the game's rating on Steam. So don't be fooled, because this is still a good citybuilder.
The game is already distinguished by its futuristic style. In the world of Cliff Empire, almost all of the land has become unusable due to a nuclear conflict. Therefore, cities will have to be built on very small pieces of rocks. Lion's Shade is also currently developing a cooperative AI shooter Olympius set in the Cliff Empire world.
Frostpunk
Platforms Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Genre city building strategy
Year 2018
Recently, we told you about Frostpunk 2, which has become bigger and better in every way compared to the first game. But in fact, the first Frostpunk hasn't been rendered useless by this. Thanks to its different emphasis and scale, it's still worth a look, even if you've already familiarized yourself with the sequel.
The concept of Frostpunk is built around survival during and after the end of the world, which has led to abnormal frosts. The remnants of humanity gather around heat generators. That is why generators are becoming the center of new cities.
As the Captain of the city, you need to build it up, and at the same time make sure that people don't die of hunger, cold, and other troubles. The amount of resources is extremely limited, so you constantly have to make difficult decisions, such as allowing child labor. Frostpunk is characterized by a gloomy atmosphere and high difficulty. However, in return, it is able to give unforgettable stories about the survival of humanity.
MEMORIAPOLIS
Platforms Windows
Genre city building strategy
Year 2024 [Early Access]
Usually, citybuilders focus on a specific fantasy setting or a real-life era. MEMORIAPOLIS goes much further - the development of the city can be traced from Antiquity to the Age of Enlightenment. This is about 2500 years.
The city in the game develops organically, not by cells or hexes, so it takes on more realistic forms. In addition, there is a political system, so you have to take into account the needs of different factions. However, MEMORIAPOLIS is not particularly difficult, the game is more about relaxation.
MEMORIAPOLIS has been available in Steam Early Access for less than a month and has received very positive feedback from players.
Manor Lords
Platforms Windows, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Genre city building strategy
Year 2024 [Early Access]
Manor Lords is another game that was developed primarily by one person. Grzegorz Styczęń worked on the project for several years, but eventually managed to attract a grant from Epic Games and publisher Hooded Horse. So it's not exactly a solo game, but it doesn't make it any less good.
Even in the Early Access, Manor Lords perfectly immerses you in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages and allows you to become a feudal lord who manages your village. In terms of gameplay, it already has enough nuances and interesting systems. Special thanks to the developer and publisher for the Ukrainian localization. Manor Lords is also available in Game Pass for Microsoft consoles.
Northgard
Platforms Windows, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
Genre city building strategy
Year 2018
Scandinavian mythology has become a key element of the game in Northgard. The cold of the North, Vikings, authentic monsters - fans of Nordic aesthetics will definitely be satisfied. It's also a really good game that mixes city-builder with RTS.
You need to lead a Viking clan, build them a beautiful village and lead them to prosperity. Each clan has unique bonuses that directly affect the gameplay. And you can check which clan is better in multiplayer mode.
Platforms Windows
Genre city building strategy
Year 2020
Another Ukrainian game in this selection, which can also be described as a "dream project". The developer with the nickname yevhen8 has been working on it for more than 10 years, first alone, now with the help of several additional people. He doesn't even use off-the-shelf game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine, he writes everything himself in C++ and makes almost all the models himself.
The goal of this work is noble. The developer wants to create an ideal simulator of an eighteenth-century Ukrainian city. Even in early access, The Island attracts with its aesthetics, as there are not many good games on Ukrainian titles. So hurry up and support our guys.
RimWorld
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Genre city building strategy
Year 2018
RimWorld developers mentioned Firefly, Dwarf Fortress, Dune, and Warhammer 40K as sources of inspiration. This list already forms a rather vivid picture of the game. And players on Steam who have played RimWorld for several hundred hours prove that it will be possible to stay for a long time.
The game allows you to create your own colony on an alien planet. At the same time, a special gameplay system analyzes all your actions and decides which random event to throw next. You will have to take into account many parameters, even the psychological characteristics of individual colonizers. However, unique stories are generated.
Surviving Mars
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Genre city building strategy
Year 2018
Another citybuilder with a clear focus, this time on the colonization of Mars. You will have to develop an alien planet from scratch, which is not suitable for life from the start. So you have to provide the colonizers with oxygen, food, houses, and other conditions.
The game has several storylines that determine the development of your colony. Also, natural disasters will interfere with survival. In addition, in Surviving Mars you will find interesting elements of science fiction, which were clearly inspired by literary classics. As is usually the case with Paradox Interactive games, Surviving Mars has already released 13 paid DLCs that expand the player's capabilities.
Timberborn
Platforms Windows
Genre city building strategy
Year 2021 [Early Access]
Timberborn has repeatedly won awards at various indie game festivals as the best game. On the one hand, it is a really high-quality citybuilder. On the other hand, the reason may lie in the beavers. After all, they are the main characters of the game.
In the world of Timberborn, humanity's time has passed, and now other species are fighting for dominance. Beavers are among the leaders. The beaver factions have different features that will help you customize the gameplay. Of course, where there are beavers, there are rivers. It is on them that you will mainly build your settlements.
In addition, Timberborn is distinguished by its vertical architecture, which makes the cities look multi-layered. This is not common among citybuilders.
Tropico 6
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre city building strategy
Year 2019
The Tropico series has existed since 2001, but even today it feels extremely good. All thanks to the chosen style. And in Tropico, you have the opportunity to control a "banana republic" in which laws are dictated by force, and El Presidente can do almost anything. In modern realities, this is a somewhat gloomy setting, but sometimes it is important to look at serious events from a comedic angle.
Tropico 6 is the latest installment in the series. In it, you need to develop an unstable state that is spread over an archipelago. Interesting nuances such as "steal the achievements of other countries through spies" or "disperse the protest with tanks" are present in the game. And the general spirit and authentic music will allow you to relax and break away from real problems.
Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic
Platforms Windows
Genre city building strategy
Year 2024
Don't let the setting of the Soviet Union confuse you. The development of Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic was actually developed by the Slovak studio 3Division. It used the aesthetics of socialist countries to create a deep and thoughtful citybuilder. At the same time, she was not too lazy to criticize the government of the time.
The game attracts primarily with its aesthetics, because otherwise it is just a good representative of the genre, but nothing more. But it has a Help for Ukraine expansion pack that adds some Ukrainian buildings and equipment to the game, and the money from its sale goes to help Ukraine.
What city-building strategies can you recommend? Or just games that have a city-building mechanic? Share your thoughts in the comments.