The ability to start a fledgling civilization and mold it as you see fit is usually reserved for gods and kings but City building games bridge that gap, bringing the power of settlement building to the masses, and, in 2024, there are plenty to choose from.
As the genre has expanded, it’s grown to include far more varied options that should appeal to more players than ever before. The classic modern style city builders remain, only with far more advanced systems than they had in the early 1990s when they first burst onto the scene.
Beyond that, there’s everything from medieval management games with full battle simulators to dystopian futuristic offerings where the greatest threat is the harsh climate.
Whatever your preference, there should be something out there for everyone, so read on for our take on the best city builders to play in 2024.
1. Manor Lords
The most recent game on the list, Manor Lords has ascended to immense popularity in record time and with good reason. It combines relatively small-scale city building with impressive Total War-style battles for a complete simulation of feudal lordship.
The game features a natural build style that creates organic settlements, so forget starting out with a 16×16 grid. Even more impressively, it is being developed by one man whose passion for both the genre and period makes for a beautiful creation that has already seen a peak concurrent player count on Steam of 173,178.
2. Anno 1800
Ubisoft’s Anno series has long been highly respected for its impressive simulations and beautiful aesthetic. The most recent effort in the franchise takes players to the beginning of the 19th century, an era marked by huge technological advancements.
Though it can be daunting to jump straight into the excellent sandbox mode, there is a well-constructed and deep campaign that introduces the core concepts at a digestible pace. The game features new systems, including expeditions and deeper trade simulations that capture the rapid advancements of the period perfectly.
3. Cities: Skylines
Though the Cities: Skylines sequel has been out in the wild since October 2023, the first game is still the better option. Cities: Skylines 2 may have been released with more features as part of the base game but issues with traffic management, bugs, performance issues, and regular crashes have rendered it a colossal disappointment.
All of that has left the first game as the only viable choice, and it remains one of the best modern, large-scale city builders ever made. Progressing from a tiny hamlet to a spectacular megalopolis is one of the most rewarding experiences in the genre and there is genuinely impressive depth to the management systems on offer.
4. Frostpunk
There are a few city builders on this list that offer brutal, bruising experiences, and Frostpunk doesn’t shy away from teaching new players a lesson. Developed by the team behind This War of Mine, it tasks players with scratching out a living as the last vestiges of humanity seek to build a functioning city in an entirely frozen world.
It’s difficult and there’s a relatively steep learning curve, though the materials provided in-game are more than enough for inexperienced city builders to get their heads around the mechanics. It has interesting systems including different styles of governance and impressive technology advancements. The most unique feature is the decisions the game presents to the player, where the seemingly insignificant can have huge consequences in the future.
If you can handle its harsh and unforgiving nature, Frostpunk is one of the most complete games on this list.
5. Tropico 6
What’s better than building a city? Building a city surrounded by the lush environs of a tropical island, of course! Tropico 6 is the most recent and complete in the storied series that allows players to take on the role of a fledgling dictator, benevolent or otherwise.
Players step into the shoes of El Presidente to oversee a banana republic as it progresses through distinct eras in history. Features including relations with the US/Russia, the opportunity to steal wonders from around the world, and a unique and endearing sense of humor make for a city builder that stand outs among all the others on this list.
6. Townscaper
On the opposite end of the scale to games like Frostpunk sits Townscaper, a delightful, cozy experience that is singular in its design. There are no systems to manage, citizens to keep happy, or transport to plan out here.
Instead, players simply click on individual squares and watch as a community starts to form. Clicking on a square once builds a simple one-storey building, with further clicks on the same square adding height. Clicking on adjacent squares adds width or depth, and the game fills gaps with plant life, railings, and other landscape features.
As a game to simply relax and enjoy, there are few games with a more unique and effective approach.
7. Anno 1404
Anno 1800 can be very taxing on even high-end PCs so it’s nice to have an equally competent fallback from earlier in the series. At the time of its release, Anno 1404 was a groundbreaking and remarkable city builder that allowed players to play their own way, at a variety of different scales.
The presence of different cultures and the opportunity to establish trade with powers across the world add to the overall tapestry of Anno, while impressive tangible features back up the promises made by the development teams at Ubisoft. The late medieval setting is also refreshing, as people begin to embrace exploration further.
8. Medieval Dynasty
It’s difficult to describe Medieval Dynasty as a pure city builder. The game is played from a third-person perspective, where you seek to establish a town in a European medieval landscape. It features survival mechanics and meters to control, as well as dynamic environments and an extensive crafting system.
It’s a monumentally slow game at the beginning, but there is joy to be found in its realism. As people start to take up residence and the town grows around your first home, it becomes an excellent simulation of being a pioneer who takes the world as it comes for the good of their community.
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9. Banished
Arguably the most savage and unforgiving city builder ever, Banished has claimed many virtual lives in the decade since its release. The player takes control of a group of exiled villagers who are seeking to start a new life for themselves with very limited access to supplies and winter on the way.
The game’s greatest strength is its ability to simulate the lives of the village’s inhabitants. They experience a full life cycle, with a limited number of working years. They have children, grow old, and eventually die while maintaining their health and happiness along the way is integral to keeping the settlement alive. With a broad profession system and strict resource management that varies between games, it’s a great choice for those who like a challenge.
10. Caesar 3
Heading all the way back to Ancient Rome, 1999’s Caesar 3 is as impressive today as it was last century. Taking on the role of a provincial governor, it’s your duty to spread the glory of Rome to your little corner of the Empire, and it’s a remarkably complete experience, in spite of its considerable age.
The best way to describe Caesar 3 is as the potential outcome of zooming in on an individual city in Sid Meier’s Civilization series. Organise festivals, build wonders, and take care of the plebs as enemies and gods seek to bring down everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. Though the visuals won’t be for everyone in a 21st-century audience, give it a chance, and you might see how enthralling older games can be.
11. Against the Storm
Against the Storm takes some very recognizable features from across the city building genre and combines them all into a unique offering that retains Overwhelmingly Positive feedback on Steam. Rather than simply running one village, Against the Storm tasks you with managing many in a dark fantasy world where apocalyptic rains are a perpetual threat.
The game features several roguelite features with a ton of variables and settings that allow it to feel fresh on any playthrough. With an aesthetic reminiscent of Warcraft 3, there is plenty to love in the Smoldering City and beyond.
12. SimCity 4
Stepping away from the dreadful misstep that was 2013’s SimCity, and looking further back in the beloved series, SimCity 4 stands out as the very best it has to offer. Released in 2003, it offered players the chance to sculpt a huge area covering multiple different types of settlements within it.
Start off with a bustling center, then expand to create an agricultural district. Add an industrial area or some leafy suburbs, and it quickly becomes easy to while away the hours dealing with the minutiae of city life. It doesn’t have the visual appeal of the Cities: Skylines series, but there is just as much to get into from a mechanical perspective.
13. Foundation
Where games like Manor Lords have their own take on the grid systems city builders so often rely on, Foundation foregoes that system entirely. That leads to some of the most impressively organic and intriguing town designs in any genre entry, ably helped by its wonderful fantasy art style.
Another major highlight is the flexible creation system for individual buildings, which allows modular player designs for everything from taverns to churches. There are story missions, zone painting, resource management, and reputations to manage in a game that straddles the line between serious sim and relaxed builder perfectly.
14. Dawn of Man
Chronologically the earliest city-building game in this list, Dawn of Man takes us all the way back to 10,000 B.C., just as humans began to form larger communities. It’s a stripped-back hunter-gatherer experience that can turn on a dime if the needs of the limited number of citizens aren’t met.
New technologies start to make life easier and fortifications help keep enemies at bay. It’s spectacularly refreshing to take away the concerns of modern city management and focus on the bare essentials for a while, and Dawn of Man delivers this in spades. Though it may be Stone Age in setting, it certainly isn’t in execution.
15. Surviving Mars
If building a city within the confines of the planet Earth feels a bit restrictive, then Surviving Mars may be the answer. The game’s major appeal for those experienced in the genre is the difference in considerations from regular city builders.
Building domes, setting up basic infrastructure, and communicating with a space agency for funding and support really drive home the feeling of being a pioneer in a harsh and unfamiliar environment. Solid mechanics and highly scalable difficulty make Surviving Mars a game that’s easy to return to, over and over again.
16. Pharaoh: A New Era
A full HD remaster of the beloved 1999 release of the same name, Pharaoh: A New Era has lost none of its luster in the intervening years. In the same way as Caesar 3, players travel back in time to Ancient Egypt at the height of its considerable powers.
Though the game doesn’t do anything truly outlandish, everything it does do is well put together, logical, and appropriate for the chosen era. Cultivate fertile lands, keep your people happy, and give them somewhere to worship, and you should be on to a winner.
17. The Wandering Village
The Wandering Village lets players build their dream settlement on the back of an enormous tortoise-like creature named Onbu. The big gameplay feature is the relationship between the villagers and their host. The player is able to build and live in specific ways, either improving their symbiotic relationship with Onbu or essentially becoming parasites.
Features include random intermittent challenges from weather events to poisonous spores, having regular obstacles to overcome, that increases both replayability and general enjoyment. There is also a reasonably deep technology tree to mark progression in a game that’s unlike any other.
18. Aven Colony
Aven Colony allows players to head into space and establish their first settlement on the planet Aven Prime, which features varied biomes with everything from icy tundra to expansive deserts. Overall, it’s a solid effort at colony simulation that doesn’t quite manage to push the boundaries enough to join the best in the genre.
The alien weather simulations are undoubtedly a highlight, and you’ll have to deal with everything from electrical storms to toxic gas if your colony is to survive. Some of the management mechanics can be a little shallow, but there is plenty to get into if outer space appeals in a big way.
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