This summary outlines a selection of what are considered the greatest city-building games, based on the presenter's personal experience and stringent criteria. It highlights both classic and more recent titles, emphasizing community impact, gameplay, and overall contribution to the genre.
Sim City 4
- Mentioned as a historical cornerstone, building upon the original Sim City.
- Considered the pinnacle and culmination of the Sim City series.
- Holds up due to continued good visuals (HD widescreen availability) and active modding community.
- Recent developments by modders have unlocked DLL modding for new features like 3D cameras.
- Community development makes it difficult for other games to surpass.
Caesar 3
- Part of the classic Impressions game series (Caesar 1, 2, 3, Pharaoh, Zeus, Emperor).
- Previously considered Pharaoh or Emperor the best, but Caesar 3 improved significantly due to community projects.
- Julius: An open-source engine replacement providing smoother performance and vanilla gameplay.
- Augustus: A branch of Julius adding new maps, increased sprite limits, new buildings, monuments, and gameplay mechanics.
- Community development through Augustus is ongoing and constantly improving the game.
- Cited as an example of how community effort can elevate a game to "greatest" status.
Cities: Skylines
- Mentioned with an honorable mention to Sim City 5, which Cities: Skylines effectively succeeded.
- Became the dominant urban city builder after Sim City 5's initial struggles.
- Largest city builder globally by player count, sales, and likely DLC.
- Possesses a complex and in-depth modding scene.
- City: Skylines 2 is currently the second most played city builder but has not yet surpassed the original.
- Discusses the concept of "spiritual successors" becoming the de facto sequels.
Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic
- Spent a long time in Early Access before full release in 2024.
- Mainstay of the genre, known for its unique thematic setting (Soviet Republic).
- Focuses on intricate production chains, fully simulated global economy, and managing citizens in a scarce resource environment.
- Challenges players to build a metropolis from an impoverished start.
- Most recent fully released game on the list.
Tropico 6
- Part of the long-running Tropico series (Tropico 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).
- Most recent and generally popular installment, released in 2019.
- Considered the most graphically developed.
- Acknowledges that players may have personal favorites among the series.
- Gameplay involves managing an island state as a dictator, balancing public satisfaction and personal wealth.
- Characterized by charming and charismatic gameplay with quirky twists like curating speeches.
- The dictatorship aesthetic sets the series apart.
Anno 1800
- Another long-running series where personal favorites (like Anno 1404) exist, but Anno 1800 is considered overall slightly better.
- Notes the "Anno numbers" always adding up to nine.
- Set during the Industrial Revolution, a fitting era for building on and colonizing islands.
- Praised for amazing visuals and incredible music.
- Refined and developed city builder with generally good DLC content.
- Honorable mention to upcoming Anno 117: Pax Romana, set in ancient Rome.
- Highlights the 15-year gap in new ancient Roman city builders until recently.
- Anno 1800 is a solid choice now, with hope for the upcoming title to be even better.
Against the Storm
- A survival city builder with twists that have divided the community but not its popularity.
- Gameplay involves building towns on procedurally generated islands and clearing forest glades.
- Requires meeting objectives set by a monarch while keeping citizens alive and happy.
- Incorporates survival, management, and logistical mechanics.
- High user rating (Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam).
- Considered one of the biggest recent success stories in the city-building genre.
- Part of the survival city builder sub-genre, popularized by Banished.
- Argues that the abundance of games being developed contributes to the rise of truly great ones.
Honorable Mentions (Early Access)
- Timberborn: Beaver city builder with vertical maps, factory management, and environmental challenges (dynamic water, droughts). Highly rated. (Previously sponsored)
- Kingdoms Reborn: Survival city builder with a procedurally generated world map and real-time multiplayer (co-op or competitive). Over 90% positive rating. Expecting full release in 2025 (tentative).
- Foundation: Gridless medieval city builder with modular buildings and organic road formation based on citizen movement. In Early Access for over half a decade with a very positive rating. Slow but steady development. (Previously sponsored)
- Farthest Frontier: Survival city builder with good visuals, crop rotation mechanics, and some military elements. Very positive rating, in Early Access since 2022. Expecting a 2024 release (likely missed).
- Manor Lords: Highly hyped medieval, realistic, visually impressive simulation/city builder with social and economic elements, seasons, weather, and warfare. Released into Early Access in 2024, reached over 100,000 concurrent players. Development is slow but aims for quality over speed. Initial plan for a 2025 full release is uncertain.
Frostpunk
- Post-apocalyptic survival city builder set in a frozen wasteland.
- Focuses on building around a heat source and making difficult moral and societal choices to survive.
- A major hit in the survival city building sub-genre.
- Maintains a strong player base and has a very positive user rating.
- Frostpunk 2 exists but is less focused on city building and more on society management, with a more mixed reception among city-building enthusiasts.
- The original Frostpunk has broader appeal.
- Praised for its visuals, exploration mechanics, and challenging survival elements.
Summary
- The list highlights a diverse range of city-building games, acknowledging both classic and modern titles.
- Emphasis is placed on games that have stood the test of time, often thanks to dedicated modding and community support (Sim City 4, Caesar 3).
- Popular and commercially successful titles that have dominated the genre (Cities: Skylines) are included.
- Games with unique thematic settings and gameplay mechanics (Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic, Tropico 6) are recognized.
- Titles within established, long-running series (Anno 1800) known for their refined gameplay and visuals are featured.
- Successful survival city builders that have risen to prominence (Against the Storm, Frostpunk) are discussed.
- Several promising Early Access titles are mentioned as potential future "greatest" city builders.
- The presenter employed a strict definition of "city builder" for the main list, while still mentioning other related titles.
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