Summary
Players who always wanted to create their own city will appreciateCities: Skylinesfor the rather accurate and methodical take on storytelling. After all, unlike other games,Cities: Skylineshas quite a deep level of customization that sets it apart from its contemporaries. However, while players may loveCities: Skylinesfor its depth and sheer relaxing vibe, a lot of players might be looking for city builders with more uniqueness in terms of mechanics, themes, and even their settings.
Thankfully, there are quite a lot of builders likeCities: Skylinesthat try to add some spice to the typical city management formula. In these games, players may sometimes have to deal with nasty elements of the criminal underworld, return to the past to see how ancient folks managed their own kingdoms, or even blast off-planet to establish colonies in other worlds.
Updated on 09 July 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:With the recent release of Cities: Skylines 2, city-sim enthusiasts now have more opportunities to create the settlement of their dreams. However, fans who don’t want to always create realistic cities in environments close to the real world might want to take their dream cities to more unique and exotic locales. Thankfully, certain city-sims exist with exactly that premise: what if players are tasked to create settlements in environments with harsh climates, or even limited resources? With this in mind, fans of Cities: Skylines may appreciate innovative takes on the city-sim concept, including games that take place on extremely high surfaces, in the middle of the ocean while players recycle construction materials, and even during prehistoric times in the Iron Age.
Platforms
PC
At first glance,Industries of Titanseems like an ordinary grid-based city builder set in outer space, but there’s more than meets the eye in this city sim.Industries of Titanplaces players in charge of starting a settlement in Titan at the behest of the mysterious Council. However, players nowneed to balance a city corporation while keeping it safe against rebels, as well as discovering the ruins of an ancient civilization that may help their city thrive.
Just like in any city sim,Industries of Titanexpects players to keep track of resources through factories and other structures. However, what makesIndustries of Titanmore compelling is its internal minigame feature, where structures have internal grids that players can customize and expand to find new ways of optimizing their production process.
Players who want to try a city builder that’s not as serious in terms of esthetics may appreciate the sheer vibrance ofFlotsam. Despitesimilarities in vibe withSim City, the water-centric mechanics ofFlotsamimmediately set it apart from city builders. At its core,Flotsamneeds players to create a thriving community out of the trash in sea. Players take the role of the leader of Drifters, or the settlers of these sea towns, as they make sure they survive the horrors of the sea in the game’s post-apocalyptic era.
The sea setup ofFlotsamadds water-based mechanics that add thrills to its city-builder gameplay loop. This time around, players need to gather resources at sea and then dry them, after which is the only time they can use them for building. The more intensive nature of working at sea means Drifters need rest often, and the lack of drinking water means players need to actively filter seawater for them to drink. These enhanced mechanics add an active survival component toFlotsam, contrasting its cartoony graphics in a compelling way.
Steam Rating: 81%
Going Medieval
In the world of Going Medieval, dark age society is on its knees. At the end of the 14th century, 95% of the global population has perished due to rampant plague.Eventually, survivors emerge from society’s ashes, and it’s now up to you to help them settle in a dangerous new land reclaimed by nature. Build your people a home, help shape their lives, and protect them from animals, bandits, and other dangers in a lawless post-calamity age.Design, build and expand your settlement from a small wooden hut into a colossal stone castle. With simple-to-use 3D terrain tools you can create the perfect stronghold, from winding underground caverns to sprawling multi-story forts.This harsh new world is rife with external threats, but you can give your colonists the upper hand in battle by building impenetrable defences and traps. Research, craft and equip weapons and gear so that they can fight back against unrelenting waves of attackers.Your colonists have more than just raids to contend with. They need protection from starvation and the elements, so it’s essential to stock up on supplies and build shelter to keep them fed and warm. Maintain your villagers’ emotional states, as their moods are affected if their needs and wants aren’t met.Grow the population of your settlement by helping out strangers in dangerous situations, or by taking in like-minded travellers. Your villagers have personal histories and agendas, and you can get to know them by observing their behaviour and relationships with others.
Players looking into games set in medieval times may want to giveGoing Medievala shot, especially if they want a more barebones colony sim. Setjust after the Black Death, plague survivors need to create a new settlement they can finally call home, with many of the survivors having their own backstories as they slowly build settlements for players.
At its core,Going Medievalplays much likeRimWorldbut with more streamlined mechanics. The more freeform approach towards building structures alongside the prospect of building castles and fortresses makeGoing Medievalquite the compelling colony sim. Moreover, the active colonization component attached to the game also gives a quasi-RTS/4X feel to the simulator, making it more engaging compared to similar games.
Players who want a realistic city sim with historical roots will appreciateWorkers & Resources: Soviet Republic.The game asks players to manage a city from the perspectives of industrial and urban planning setups, dabbling on otherwise economic concepts that not a lot of games tend to explore. For instance, players have control over extremely specific circumstances, such as enabling or disabling electricity and heating requirements for buildings or setting fuel requirements for vehicles.
Players also control the educational system and how this can impact the way parents function in the workplace. In terms of construction, players can utilize money in the game or be more realistic via the use of construction offices, while production may have players send produce to the Warsaw Pact or make use of it in their city.
When a nuclear war makes the planet’s surface uninhabitable,Cliff Empireshows a future where survivors aboard an orbital station decide to finally return and attempt to remake human society. Unfortunately, the Earth’s surface being uninhabitable leaves them with no other choice but to rely on mountain peaks (or polished cliffs) to serve as the foundation of humanity’s new home. Despite gameplay being quite similar to the loop of other city management games,Cliff Empireadds an additional layer of challenge by forcing players to micromanage the relationships between the colonies they build across three nearby cliffs.
Much of the game’s unique challenges revolve around space management, an element that usually only happens at the endgame ofCities: Skylineswhen players eventually “fill” their city. This time around,Cliff Empiretackles this problem at the very beginning, forcing players to pay attention to which cliffs work best for their particular needs. The game also helps players in this regard, withCliff Empire’s futuristic buildingsbeing able to be positioned across different orientations and expanded across different dimensions. This added layer of geometry being a factor in city building makesCliff Empirequite a unique take on the genre.
Lovers of simulation games looking for something more futuristic might want to check outDyson Sphere Program. Building on top of the Dyson Sphere concept, where a machine is built to perpetually gather the sun’s power,players ofDyson Sphere Programare then tasked to visit a random star system and begin the production of parts that would eventually lead to a similar structure. This time around, the civilization they’re supporting isn’t a colony but rather societies in a virtual space that need tremendous computing power to survive.
The premise of the game makesDyson Sphere Programless like a city simulator with citizens and more like a production simulator. Players need to create various structures, such as factories and manufacturing stations, to create parts for the eventual Dyson Sphere. Throughout the game, players need to craft various supply lines on a planet that would eventually expand to cover all planets in their provided system.
PC, Linux, Mac
Players interested in building aquaint 19th-century townthat follows the realism associated with simple village life may enjoyOstriv. An indie game by a one-man dev team,Ostrivtasks players with creating a pre-industrial era town to manage and sustain.
Unlike other city simulators, the small-scale nature ofOstrivmeans players have a lot of control over the minutest details of their city. Building structures, for instance, need intricate materials such as wood and clay, both of which have separate buildings that need to process them. This level of complexity is matched with relaxing visuals, where players can see their citizens manually gather and carry materials. Not only that, but players can even see the delightful transition between packing up items from a tent and transferring them to a house.
PC, MacOS, Android, Oracle Solaris, FreeBSD, OS/2, Haiku
Despite its 2004 release,OpenTTDmarvels players with its complex approach to a business simulation title. Unlike other tycoon games that have specific industries in mind,OpenTTDinstead focuses on providing transportation services. The game tasks players with making money by transporting various things, be it commodities or people, all around various modes of transportation. The game has a lot of similarities withTransport Tycoon Deluxebut expands on its complexity.
Notable inOpenTTDis its multiplayer component, where up to 255 players across fictional transportation companies can either team up or compete to dominate the overworld. Moreover, the game is also available toplay for free on Steam- making it a must-try for players who want to try older sims.
PC, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch
Perhaps one of themore interesting city buildersout there,Townscaperisn’t one that focuses on city management but rather just the sheer thrill of building a city and seeing it grow. This makesTownscapermore of a relaxing casual title than a brimming complex one.
Townscaperis more of an experimental game. Players are given an irregular grid to populate with various colored blocks from a palette. After setting them down, just sit back and let the game’s algorithm “grow” these blocks into various parts of a city, including bridges, stairways, arches, and houses, all based on how they appeared in the grid.
PC, Xbox One, PS4
InAven Colony, players lead the expedition to humanity’s first settlement outside the Solar System: Aven Prime. This alien planet has various ecosystems and terrains, ranging from jungles to tundras and even deserts. As with other sci-fi colonization games,Aven Colonywill have players begin with a small settlement until they expand into large cities.
Players need to ensure that their colonies have the right kind of structures to survive in an alien world. Moreover, players need to micromanage various elements such as citizens and their happiness or employment, crime, and the commute, structures and utilities, as well as how drones work to help supervise the colony. Perhaps more interesting is the game’s expedition system, where players can plan expeditions with explorers to visit Aven Prime’s more exotic and unknown locations.
