Summary
Every thriving city in the world was once an uninhabited plot of land dominated by nature - that is, until the first group of people came along and settled it. Ever wanted to experience that moment in a video game? Then it is time to try out a colony simulator.
Colony sims bring you to that moment where the first people decided to put down roots and build up their own town. They offer the satisfying experience of taking a handful of colonists with sparse resources and helping them build a thriving metropolis. Some of these games bring you back to the medieval era, others across space to distant planets. Whatever the setting, you will find that there are plenty of colony sims out there to try out.
10Fabledom
Ever wanted to rule a kingdom in a fairytale world where the pigs have wings and the trees have faces? Seems oddly specific, but that is the type of world Fabledom drops you into. Among the newer releases on this list that is still in early-access, Fabledom allows you to build your kingdom from the humble beginnings of only a few townsfolk in the middle of the wilderness.
As your settlement grows, and you unlock more of the surrounding area, you begin to experience some of the fantastical fairytale creatures in the world around you. Not only that, but you might meet the prince or princess of your dreams as you interact with your neighboring rulers.
9Oxygen Not Included
From the creators ofDon’t Starve, Klei Entertainment brings the same goofy, but challenging, energy into their space-colony simulation game. Oxygen Not Included has you guiding a crew of astronauts deep inside an asteroid to mine, research, and build a thriving colony in space. As the title implies, even oxygen is a precious resource that constantly needs to be managed from the moment you enter the game.
Unlike most colony sims, waste is another resource taken into account in order to sustain a thriving colony as nothing can afford to be wasted when resources are so limited on a small asteroid. When the colony progresses enough, you can even build your own rocket ship to make expeditions out into the depths of space.
8Timberborn
In Timberborn, humans have long gone extinct and a new intelligent species has risen to build a new society: Beavers. Either leading the Folktail or Iron Teeth factions, you get to shape beaver society as they attempt to build a civilization that fairs better than humanity did.
While Timberborn has you manage resources and assign beavers to different tasks similar to other colony sims, the game offers plenty that makes it even more unique than it already is. As beavers do in real life, you can redirect and control the flow of rivers to bring life to the wasteland stricken by drought. If you are unhappy with the maps you start on, create your own maps to play on or share them with the rest of the game’s community.
7Going Medieval
Going Medievalallows you to rebuild medieval society after a rampant plague decimates the majority of the land’s population. As you grow your villages into towns and construct grand castles to defend your citizens, raiders will attack your settlement seeking to steal all you have worked hard to build.
Be it building tall walls or mining out deep caverns underground, Going Medieval offers the ability to build and interact on multiple elevations. But even with your strong stone walls and trained soldiers, raiders can arrive with trebuchets and other siege equipment in hopes of tearing your walls down.
6WorldBox - God Simulator
As the title implies, WorldBox - God Simulator takes the concept of growing a town in a noticeably different direction than the other mentioned colony sims. Rather than leading the people of your colony to greatness, you are put in charge of an entire sandbox world where you get to play as its god.
Want to help the humans grow their village? As god of this world, you can grow them fresh berry bushes for them to gather food from or animals for them to herd. Perhaps the village has been growing too fast for your liking? Drop a meteor on them, erupt the nearby volcano, or maybe even submerge the very land they settled on.
5Songs Of Styx
Set in a realm of fantasy and mythology, Songs Of Styx pulls you into a world filled with different kingdoms, cultures, species, and even gods. Unlike other titles on this list, your humble settlement can not only grow into a thriving metropolis, but also spread its influence until it becomes an empire greater than the kingdoms surrounding it.
The game prides itself on offering a variety of complex features and mechanics that makes its world feel truly alive. While you are busy growing your settlement, the world around you is constantly changing and kingdoms rise and fall with the times. Each playthrough will be different as every world is randomly generated with different creatures, kingdoms and stories to uncover as you play.
4Northgard
In Northgard, you lead a clan of Vikings as they sail to a distant new and unexplored land. While most games in the colony sim genre are perpetual and potentially endless, Northgard combines aspects of real-time strategy games where you may pursue victory conditions and even compete with friends in multiplayer.
Inspired by Norse mythology, you will encounter a variety of fantastical creatures and enemies as you explore the new continent. Be careful, as you are not the only Viking clan seeking to dominate Northgard!
3Medieval Dynasty
Tired of being a controlling presence in the sky controlling your colonists? Have you ever wished that you could play as a character in the world you are building in? Medieval Dynasty offers a first-person perspective to the colony sim genre where you are one person setting out to stake their claim to a piece of land to build a thriving town.
Recruit wanderers from the surrounding villages and assign them tasks in your hamlet or do the backbreaking labor yourself. Medieval Dynasty also allows you to meet that special someone, have children, and grow a dynasty so that you have someone to leave your lands to after you pass away.
2Rimworld
One of the most popular and top-rated colony sims isRimworld, set in a sci-fi world with AI storytellers to unfold the dramatic events of your colonists. Unlike other colony sims, your colonists did not arrive at their planet willingly; instead, crash-landing onto the planet after the destruction of their ship.
Conduct research, develop your colony, combat raids, and hopefully build a ship that can fly your colonists home. Part of what makes Rimworld so popular is its extensivemodding communitythat can provide a new and exciting experience every time you play.
1Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress is the inspiration for many of the colony sims on this list, predating all of them as a revered classic of the genre. The game was released on Steam at the end of 2022 after receiving an update that greatly overhauled its graphics from its original bitmap tileset.
Guide your dwarfs as they set out to construct a new hold for themselves with only a cart full of supplies and the promise of a merchant caravan arriving with supplies in autumn. Every world is generated with its own history and factions with each of them interacting with each other and you. Dwarf Fortress also offers an Adventurer mode where you traverse and experience the generated world away from the classic colony building gameplay.
