City builder games are a fantastic way to express yourself creatively by playing God. (And a more peaceful one compared to turn-based strategy games.) Modern city builder games, in particular, challenge users to be the best architects possible, while city management games enable you to take care of residents as well as the economy. Instead of surviving as you would in a strategy game, success is often based on revenue.
It sounds very simple, but building and maintaining a virtual city with virtual human beings isn’t all that easy. In fact, it’s far from it. What’s more, they consume a lot of your time owing to the fact that city builders often boast very rewarding gameplay.
Some can be hit or miss, forcing you to sit around all day waiting and watching your virtual human beings complain. Others are extremely interactive, allowing you to control every aspect of the world and your civilians. The titles we have included on our list allow you to inhabit thrilling roles you wouldn’t otherwise be able to play in the real world—such as a mayor or a professional architect.
Sadly, however, there isn’t really much to choose from when it comes to decent city-builders—but today, that all changes. So, what are the best city-building games? And which are worth playing today?
Check out our list below to find out. 🏠 🎮
#1 Valhalla Hills
- Developer(s): Funatics Software GmbH
- Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, Macintosh operating systems
- Release Date: 2 December 2015
Let’s start off our list with Valhalla Hills, a very laid back settlement-building game brought to you by the developers of Settlers II. Set in the majestic Valhalla, you start off the game with a handful of Vikings that you must monitor and look after.
Your main goal is to essentially earn your place in Valhalla by controlling these Vikings that must prove their honor to your father, Odin. As well as looking after virtual Vikings, your main objective is to lead them to a portal located on the island. Albeit, getting to the next level can be a tricky task.
The island is full of unfriendly faces that you must either kill or appease. Once knocked down, the enemies will open another portal. But wait, what’s that? More enemies? Crap! As you climb through each portal, you’ll be transported to a new island with varied mountainous terrain and even stronger enemies. Along your laborious journey, you must shelter, feed and equip the Vikings using the limited resources available.
Run out of resources? Everything stops. Despite sounding quite intense, Valhalla Hills feature a quirky, colorful art style that appeals to many. At least, the virtual Nordic empire that is Valhalla Hills certainly appeals to us.
#2 Surviving Mars
- Developer(s): Haemimont Games
- Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems, Linux
- Release Date: 15 March 2018
Prefer to create a badass city on Mars like Elon Musk always dreamed of? Then Surviving Mars may just be for you. As you may have already guessed, this city builder begins on the dusty red planet that is Mars. Your main mission? To colonize the planet. But before pathetic breathing humans can inhabit Mars, infrastructure must first be established.
Thankfully, Surviving Mars provides you with enough resources to make such a celestial body inhabitable. In order to inhabit the fourth planet from the Sun, you have to create an advanced life support network that pumps oxygen and electricity into the domes they live in.
It sounds very simple, though it’s actually quite the opposite. To succeed, you’ll require a constant flow of resources and therefore you must create an advanced supply chain. Once the humans have set foot on Mars, your main goal is to ensure that they survive. However, micromanaging a bunch of Homo Sapiens on a planet that wasn’t made for life can be an absolute nightmare.
As you play the game, you must keep everyone happy all while turning resources into buildings. But once the dust from mars starts blowing, mechanical problems start to arise. It’s truly like a Sci-Fi movie gone bonkers! With all of that said, once you explore, investigate and develop through the game, you can very easily begin to improve their chances of survival.
#3 Tropico 6
- Developer(s): Limbic Entertainment
- Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems, Linux, SteamOS
- Release Date: 29 March 2019
If you’re into something a little more serious, we think you’ll really enjoy Tropico 6. Like the other games in the series, it’s a city-building game in which you build your own paradise. But this time, your role of El Presidente is to manage interior and exterior politics in order to become the best dictator in the world.
As it’s a city-builder, you also have to build a community from the ground up and manage multiple cities spread across the virtual world that is Tropico 6. What’s more, the main campaigns enable you to build on a range of small island from 4 different time periods: The Colonial era, the World Wars era, the Cold War era and the Modern era.
Micromanaging and trading is a massive part of the game and therefore Tropico 6 is fairly time-consuming—but truthfully, we don’t mind. At the same time, you also have to keep the population happy by supplying them with food, basic healthcare, entertainment, and protection.
Catch someone rebelling or generally causing trouble? Eliminate them from society. Gain independence? It’s time to write your own constitution. If you’ve played the previous Tropico titles, you can probably tell that Tropicano 6 takes elements from Tropico 5 and Tropico 4. All while adding in some new, fun features to improve overall gameplay.
#4 Frostpunk
- Developer(s): 11 Bit Studios
- Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One
- Release Date: 24 April 2018
Frostpunk is an interesting game in that you’re fittingly in charge of a world with endless winter. As the world has been ruined by climate change in the late 1800s, the cold winter is actually the least of your worries. You’ll have to face tsunamis, tornadoes and other natural disasters as you attempt to micromanage an entire city.
Using the limited resources you’re provided with, your job is to keep the population warm and breathing. Want to keep your citizens healthy? Build a medical center. Want to keep them happy? Build a pub. If you don’t keep your citizens alive and well, you’ll be banished from your own city—the last city on Earth. But how do weak humans survive in freezing temperatures? A gigantic coal furnace that stands in the center of the city.
At first, your city will be grim, resources will be scarce and your citizens will be bloody freezing. You’ll eventually have to spend your day sending your citizens through the snow in order to pick up wood, steel, and coal for the furnace to keep things warm.
Considering winter has plagued the world, you’ll eventually have to establish outposts to keep resources arriving at your cold city on a regular basis. As there’s so much going on in Frostpunk, it’s a very gripping game that at times, can be extremely stressful. But will you put your controller down? Nope! You’ll continue to gather supplies in order to keep the community going.
#5 Aven Colony
- Developer(s): Mothership Entertainment
- Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Release Date: 25 July 2017
As the title suggests, Aven Colony is another fascinating game set in a future alien world. Your main role? A Governor with a mission to colonize the planet of Aven Prime—a planet that, as you may have guessed, isn’t fit for human life. As you make your way through challenging missions, you must maintain the happiness of your citizens all while finding suitable resources.
Once you’ve mined enough resources to create buildings, your next job is to ensure the survival of your virtual human beings. Their basic needs include food and water, resources you’ll have to stock up on a regular basis. So in order to maintain a healthy stockpile, mines and farms are absolutely necessary.
These elements make the game more challenging and generally just fun to play. When you first boot up the game, your space-city will start off small—but as time goes by, your colony will certainly expand. At least, things will start to run smoothly once you have overcome extreme weather and unfriendly alien plagues.
Once essential resources start coming in, it’s time to start building a defense system made up of scrubber drones and hospitals used to keep your humans free from the plague. If you set the difficulty level to low, the natives will be almost harmful—but if you like a challenge, prepare to defend your base.
#6 SimCity BuildIt
- Developer(s): Maxis
- Platform(s): Android, iOS
- Release Date: 22 October 2014
SimCity is a classic franchise that has been around since 1989. So if you’ve played the series since day one, I bet you feel particularly old. Today, we have included the most recent game in the series, SimCity: BuildIt. Released back in 2014, SimCity: BuildIt is a fantastic city-building simulation game available on Android and iOS only.
As it’s a free mobile city-builder, you can play SimCity: BuildIt anytime, anywhere. What’s more, you don’t even require an internet connection to play. You do, however, require a connection if you wish to trade and compete with players across the globe, an online feature that drastically enhances the game.
Although BuildIt is very similar to the other games in the franchise in that you have to create and grow a virtual city, we find it much more appealing than previous SimCity titles. As the Mayor of the city—aside from building the roads, houses, supermarkets and factories—you have to collect taxes and organize trade with neighboring cities.
As the Sims gradually take over the city, like most human beings, they become extremely needy. Their needs include basic services such as education, as well as water, power, and sanitation. Neglect your Sims? They will pack their bags and move out, causing you to lose revenue.
#7 Anno 2205
- Developer(s): Blue Byte, Related Designs
- Platform(s): Microsoft Windows
- Release Date: 3 November 2015
Anno 2205 takes the famous city-builder franchise into the future as you attempt to settle on the Moon. But before you even think about racing to colonize the Moon, you’ll have to start your corporation here on Earth. However, like many other city-builders on our list, it isn’t as easy as it sounds.
The year is 2205, which means resources are extremely limited thanks to us, selfish human beings, mining everything we possibly can. The opportunity to go to space again is huge, so you’ll have to stock up on necessary resources to successfully make the leap from Earth to the Moon. As you progress through Anno 2205, you will be taken to three different biomes in order to find useful materials: Temperate, Polar, and Lunar.
Your goal is to micromanage all three biomes in Anno 2205 which can become extremely tricky, though you’ll certainly never get bored. Rather than building homes for any old civilian, the game focuses on employee housing and overall happiness of your workers.
As your virtual employees improve their skills, you can upgrade their roles to provide you with more income. But as they gain a better title, they’ll understandably demand fancier meals and sweet new gizmos to work with. Which is why Anno 2205 is a very fun, accessible and challenging game that allows you to grow corporation in multiple locations.
#8 Planetbase
- Developer(s): Madruga Works
- Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Macintosh operating systems
- Release Date: 16 October 2015
Since we are already on the topic of space, we have decided to stick with the theme by including Planetbase. Instead of staying on Earth or the Moon as you would in Anno 2205, Planetbase allows you to progress through four different planets: Class D, Class F, Class M, and Class S. Each of the planets has a different difficulty level that can be accessed once you complete missions.
Of course, you’ll start out with the easiest difficulty planet, so you don’t have to suffer from the moment you enter the game. Other planets, however, are fairly overwhelming—so if you love a challenging city-builder game, you’ll certainly enjoy Planetbase.
At the start of the game, your colony will require basic things in order to survive, such as food, water, power, and most importantly, oxygen. I mean, humans have to breathe in order to survive, so it only makes sense. Next, you need to create buildings, some of which are used to provide you with more materials used for future builds.
Although there isn’t really a specific end goal, your job is to essentially build a colony while encouraging others to come and join you on your space journey. The lack of an end goal may sound off-putting to some gamers, although it definitely shouldn’t ruin the fun you’ll have to play Planetbase.
#9 Cities: Skylines
- Developer(s): Colossal Order
- Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Macintosh operating systems, Linux
- Release Date: 10 March 2015
Tired of being restricted by small plots of land? Then look no further. Cities: Skylines is an excellent game that allows users to construct enormous cities without limits. Your main goal in the game is to not only construct cities from the ground up but to manage every aspect of the city and its healthcare, roadworks, and economy.
Since Skylines is so detailed, forcing you to micromanage an entire city, you’ll often find yourself in the game for hours at a time. Which shouldn’t be seen as a problem, as long as you don’t abandon the real world for a city-builder game.
There’s just something so satisfying about transforming an empty plot of land into a lively city, and with Cities: Skylines, you’ll be able to do just that. Every road can be assigned as residential for a homely environment or industrial and commercial for revenue.
One of the most fascinating features involves establishing policies and different districts. By tweaking the localized settings, your city will become diverse and full of life. And once you start creating policies and regulations such as the legalize recreational drugs, crime rates will be lower, which in turn, creates a happy and safe environment for all.
#10 Banished
- Developer(s): Shining Rock Software
- Platform(s): Microsoft Windows
- Release Date: 18 February 2014
Banished is a brilliant city-building strategy game in which you control a bunch of travelers who want to settle on your land. As the townspeople work, grow and eventually die, your job is to keep them healthy and happy. You can build anything you want at any time using the resources available, although we advise you not to go crazy at first. As you must manage resources very carefully, it’s best to plan what you want to build beforehand.
Trees tend to grow back extremely slow, and once you mine rocks or iron, it’s gone forever. What’s more, you will have to face challenging seasons such as winter and summer, and so if you like a challenge, Banished is a fantastic game to play.
As Banished focuses on the survival of each civilian in your town, micromanagement is a huge part of the game. Every single child has a name, a child who will eventually grow up and start working. Once he or she finds true love, they will have a child of their own. Said individual will then die and so on and so forth.
Since the game is so detail-oriented, it’s fairly difficult to keep up with the lives of every virtual person—you may even accidentally kill a civilian or two as you play. You don’t necessarily control these humans per se, rather, you watch them live their own weird and wonderful lives. You still, however, have to put in the effort to keep the civilians happy and alive.
The best part of this game? You don’t have to be a strategy game pro to jump on your gaming PC and play Banished.
#11 Pocket City
- Developer(s): Bobby Li
- Platform(s): Android and iOS
- Release Date: 31 July 2018
If you prefer to game on-the-go as you would in SimCity: BuildIt, Pocket City might just be the game for you. Before you even enter the game, you can clearly see how fun and colorful the game looks on the App Store. Gameplay? Even better! There are two different game modes to choose from in Pocket City: a sandbox mode where you begin with an empty plot, or linear mode in which you have to grind for rewards.
It’s a very casual city-builder where you play the role of the mayor, a game that you can pick up where you left off as you begin your daily commute. It’s certainly not as complex as the other desktop city-builders on our list, but heck is it fun.
Another great thing about the game is that you don’t have to be a gaming professional to figure Pocket City out—especially if you’ve played the SimCity franchise. We’d say it feels familiar in a good way, though it’s hard not to compare it to some other city-builders.
If you want to test the game out, there’s a free version available on Android and iOS only, and if you don’t mind spending a little cash, you can purchase the full game for a mere $2.99. The best part about Pocket City? There are no microtransactions!
Final Verdict
Even though city-building games are extremely popular, we can probably all agree that there aren’t many quality city-builders to choose from in 2020. Luckily for you, we have included a variety of games from the genre available for a range of different platforms.
Games that challenge you to be the best architect/mayor possible, regardless of whether you want to colonize Mars or build a city on a virtual Earth. If you enjoyed this article, we think you’ll love our guide to the best strategy games on the market—games that really get you thinking.