15. Timberborn
The world of man has ended—and now the greatest builders on the planet are beavers. Not just any beavers, but beavers that are now taking their lumberpunk technology to the next level.
Timberbornis a fun take on the city building game genre. By removing humans from the equation, it adds a dash of whimsy to the world while still providing all kinds of challenges for players.
Apart from the adorable beavers, the game itself plays similarly to the human-centric city building games you’re used to: research wood-based technologies, design your cities for maximum efficiency, and take control of one of two competing factions within beaverkind.
Timberbornis still in Early Access as of this writing, so it has a lot of room to grow—but there’s already plenty to sink your teeth into.
14. Factory Town
Factory Townis a bright and colorful city building game that gently ramps up the difficulty as you play through it.
At the core of your city is a factory, which needs an input of raw materials to spit out finished products. For that, you’ll need to take care of your workers and expand your empire to the wider world around you.
The environment beyond your city is procedurally generated, so you’ll have to adjust your strategies and decisions depending on what resources you end up finding out there.
Eventually, you’ll unlock magic-infused technology that can make your city even more efficient and let you grow your city even faster.
Wrapping your head around how the different technologies interact with each other is the key to success inFactory Town, and it’s remarkably easy to lose track of many hours while you play.
13. Before We Leave
Before We Leaveis an island-hopping city builder that lets you expand your growing trade empire across vast oceans. But it doesn’t stop there! Eventually, you’ll make it out to the stars above.
Each island has a random set of properties—such as weather, soil quality, and wildlife—so you need to ensure you’re growing the right products on the right islands for best results.
Bringing a wide variety of new islands under your rule will help you build the diverse trade empire that you’ll need to succeed.
And there isn’t a lot of conflict inBefore We Leave, which allows you to advance at a pace that works best for you. Without the burden of a ticking clock that threatens disaster or invasion, this city building game is more like a relaxing journey through the ages.
Indeed,Before We Leaveis easily one of the most relaxing city building games you’ll come across on PC.
12. Aven Colony
The planet Aven Prime is home to many diverse environments, making it perfect for humanity’s first colony.
As the leader of the new society, you’ll have to build a city from the ground up, all while dealing with low oxygen levels, alien creatures, electrical storms, and a host of other problems that come along with colonizing an alien planet.
11. The Colonists
Not every city building game needs to be realistic.The Colonistsallows you to plan a city that’s inhabited by a group of robots that have escaped from Earth to find somewhere new to settle.
The graphics are decidedly more cartoonish than most of the other games on this list, but that doesn’t stopThe Colonistsfrom being a fun and challenging gameplay experience.
As you advance through different technological ages, you’ll be able to explore more of the world you’ve settled on. This, in turn, opens up new opportunities to expand your city into a full-blown empire.
There aren’t many threats against your people inThe Colonists, so you can build at your own pace without worrying about invading armies or potential disasters coming your way.
Related:The Best PC Strategy Games of the 2010s, Ranked
10. Frostpunk
Frostpunkmakes you the leader of New London, the last city on Earth. Since the world is covered in snow and ice, the inhabitants rely on steam-powered technology to stay warm.
Each decision you make, the structures you build, the laws you establish, and your ruling style all influence your city’s success.
9. Townscaper
While most city building games limit your ability to expand your town by limiting your resources,Townscapergoes the other way and gives you the opportunity to run wild with your imagination.
InTownscaper, you can build whatever kind of settlement you want—from humble hamlet to sprawling urban city—using the colorful blocks at your disposal. It feels more like a digital LEGO set than a resource management sim game (as most city building games are).
If you’re the kind of person who finds more joy in designing your Sim’s home than living out their life, then you’ll likeTownscaper. In flexing your creative muscles, you’ll find it oddly therapeutic and relaxing to get the pieces of your city to sit together just right.
8. Medieval Dynasty
City building games usually cast players in the role of an overlord who looks down from on high and surveys their sprawling empire.Medieval Dynastyslips away from this.
In this game, you play as a local who moves to a lush valley in pursuit of fortune and glory. Your village begins small but grows each year as you research new technology and invite more people to join you.
Medieval Dynastyalso has survival elements, so you’ll need to build traps, craft weapons, and stock up on food for the harsh winters ahead. It might seem weird for city building to meet survival, butMedieval Dynastymakes it work surprisingly well.
And even if your original villager dies, the story continues—as long as you have an heir to carry on your legacy.
7. Dawn of Man
Dawn of Mancombines city-building with survival. That said, you’re not constructing a lavish city—you must help the ancient humans establish a simple settlement.
Give the settlement directions to hunt animals, gather supplies, discover new technologies, and more. As you play and expand your village, you’ll get to experience the timeline of humanity from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
Related:Stop Pre-Ordering Games! Why I Don’t Pre-Order Games Anymore
6. Cliff Empire
Cliff Empiretakes place after a nuclear war leaves Earth’s surface inhabitable. Scientists have decided to relocate humans to the mountains, where they’ll live on snowcapped cliffs.
As a part of the construction team, you’ll have to build and manage three cities located on different cliffs.
5. Islanders
Islandersis a stress-free game that lets you build a city on beautiful, procedurally-generated islands. Instead of having to collect resources,Islandersgives you everything you need to get started.
Your inventory comes stocked with a set of buildings that you can drop on your island and earn points—after your city expands, you can graduate to another island and start all over again.
4. Factorio
While you don’t exactly build a city inFactorio, this game has many of the hallmarks of the city building genre: you start in an empty world, you have limited technology, and you’re at risk of fierce monsters who could come and overrun your settlement.
InFactorio, you’ll be mining resources from the procedurally generated world and processing them into new technologies like weapons, vehicles, and research facilities. Your aim is to escape the planet.
In all this,Factorioputs a unique twist on the city building formula while delivering an incredibly deep crafting system. Every level requires you to carefully balance your resources and make sure they’re delivered to the right places in the right quantities.
Nearly all the processes in this game can be automated if you can figure out the best way for things—and cracking that automation puzzle is where this game truly shines.
3. Surviving Mars
Want to take your city-building expertise to another planet?Surviving Marschallenges you to create functional colonies on the Red Planet.
Your highest priority is the survival of the colonists—that means supplying plenty of oxygen, gathering food and resources, and uncovering Mars' secrets.
2. Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylinestasks you with building and managing an entire city. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
In between perfecting your infrastructure, regulating traffic, and managing your essential resources, you’ll also have to deal with balancing your city’s economy.
If you’re into modding, you’ll also be happy to hear thatCities: Skylinesencourages it!
1. Tropico 6
InTropico 6, you play as a dictator who’s ironically called El Presidente. Unlike the other games in the series, in this one you rule multiple islands that make up a tropical archipelago.
InTropico 6, you’ll be building up your islands through the Colonial Era, World War Era, Cold War Era, and Modern Era.
You’ll also have to keep the islands' inhabitants on your side as you impose taxes and restrictions while trying to grow and expand to the best of your capabilities.
It’s a few years old by this point, butTropico 6remains our favorite city-building PC game to date because there’s so much to do, so many decisions to make, and the entire experience is just so rewarding.
