The Best City Building Games: Forget SimCity – Top 5 Ranking!

City building games are among the most popular genres of video games and cater for both strategists and people who want to gamble without stress. For many, there is something calming about city building games.

You can play at your own pace, making City Builder accessible to almost any player. There is also a wide range of scenarios. Whether medieval, present or future, there is something for everyone. We introduce you to some of the popular city building games. There might be a game that you didn't know about.

Cities: Skylines

One of the currently most popular games in the genre is Cities: Skylines. The game was launched back in 2015 and was released by Finnish developer Colossal Order. Right from the release, it was able to inspire with its game mechanics and thus exceeded the expectations of many fans.They've been waiting for a replacement for the flopped SimCity for a long time, and Cities: Skylines should be the answer. The developers rely on cooperation with the players and try to adapt the game to their wishes as best they can.

In the end, Cities: Skylines is probably one of the best city building games currently on the market. It offers many hours of gameplay and you can focus your city on different areas.Not only building is in the foreground, but also the entire infrastructure, as well as culture and society. With different regulations you can design your city the way you want.

If that's not enough, Cities: Skylines also comes with 13 additional DLCs that add even more depth to your gameplay. This includes new buildings, theme packs or expansions for a city hotspot. On top of that, Cities also has a large modding community, so you'll find something for every play style. Mods can be easily installed via Steam and are then integrated directly into the game.

Tropic 6

The Tropico series is a classic city building game. Tropico 6, the latest installment in the series, was released in 2019 by German development studio Limbic Entertainment.As always, you slip into the role of El Presidente and are the ruler of your small island, which you have to bring through different ages. The game, like its predecessors, relies on a lot of humor. The story and dialogue are fun and don't take themselves too seriously.

Tropico 6 also relies on an economic simulation and also has a large focus on politics. As El Presidente, you can decide for yourself how exactly you want to design your banana republic.Do you want to be a horrible dictator or rather a good-natured ruler? In Tropico 6, all paths are open to you. In addition, you have a larger building area and several islands that you can use to expand your city.

Village Romance

Village Romance is a building game with a difference and is for everyone who likes to take it easy and not worry about the economy of their town. It was developed in 2021 by the German studio Tou Kana Interactive and has enjoyed many successes in the German gaming industry. Among other things, it won in several categories at the German Computer Game Prize.Dorfromantik was first published in Early Access and celebrated its full release in April 2022. Again and again, features and tips from the community have been incorporated, which makes the game an all-round successful experience.

In Village Romance you build your town out of hexagons. These are given to you in a stack and you have to place them appropriately next to the existing components. They are always marked with certain elements such as forest, river, field or village. You can either play the game completely in free mode or complete specific missions.Skill is required here to line up the pieces accordingly so that you can increase your high score and unlock new tiles. Dorfromantik is suitable for everyone who wants a relaxed development game and wants to tackle everything at their own pace.

Islanders

Islanders is a building game in a great low-poly look, which is a great pastime, especially for casuals. It was developed in 2019 by the German development studio Grizzly Games and is a real insider tip among city builders.It not only relies on minimalism in terms of graphics, but also in gameplay. You start with a small island and can build different buildings on it. Depending on your location, you get certain points that make your island bigger. In this way you can gradually develop your small town without having to take care of complex tasks.

At the beginning you can choose from different biomes in which you want to build your city. The island is different and procedurally created every time. Other than that, there is no real goal other than making your island grow bigger and bigger.Just try to get the high score with a certain number of pieces to get to the next level. Islanders is especially suitable for players who like to build without stress and do not want to focus on a complex city.

Banished

Banished is a medieval building game released in 2014 by developer Shining Rock Software. Above all, it convinces with its complexity and its survival aspects, which are so rarely found in building games.Your goal is to build a village and bring it through the different seasons. The winter in particular is a major challenge, when food and heating resources become scarce. But this sets Banished apart from other city builders and plays with the natural cycle of such a village.

Another point in Banished is the population, which ages with the game. This means that the structure of your city is always changing. You have to provide for offspring accordingly and assign people new tasks.Banished relies on a realistic simulation of a village in the Middle Ages, where resources are scarce and who have to fight for survival with every winter. The learning curve is very steep at first, but experienced players with a penchant for survival games will find their way around quickly.In addition, Banished is one of the city building games that is extremely popular with modders. You can expand the game as you like and add new features. Banished still has an active community today, despite its age.

Conclusion

City building games are a broad genre that has something for every player. Be it relaxed games like Village Romance and Islanders or complex city simulations like Cities: Skylines and Banished.Many of the development studios are also working with the community and releasing their city building games in Early Access to get player feedback. Among all the city builders, you're sure to find one that fits your play style.