On the hunt for a new colony simulator to get stuck into? Check out our list of the 5 best games like RimWorld to consider adding to your library!
The world of colony simulators may be a fairly niche section of the gaming realm, but by no means is it any less engaging, and the massive success and popularity of one of our favourite games, Ludeon Studios’ RimWorld, over the past couple of years is all the proof of this we need! Beating out similar games to claim the coveted spot as Steam’s top-user rated game of 2018, RimWorld has gone from strength-to-strength in the colony simulation category, and here at HQGamer we have compiled the best selection of games like RimWorld to keep you in command throughout the winter!
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Factorio
In addition to being a fun construction simulation, Factorio fulfils the hallmark of a true independent game as it was funded and announced through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign back in 2013, with the full game being released only this year.
The gameplay is largely focused on the classic construction aspects of resource gathering and survival, and also incorporating elements of real-time strategy games. Players are thrown into a random location, largely revolving around a ‘factory’ (hence the name) which you seek to expand and develop through the gathering of resources and the crafting of greater and better tools and machines to further your progress.
Advancements in technology, unsurprisingly, play a significant role in this game, as this gives players a significant boost in the development of their factory and the items they can create. Greater threats to players’ factories are also posed by surrounding fauna as the game develops, as increasing levels of development is accompanied by increasing levels of threat, so watch those levels of pollution!
Factorio is certain to appeal to fans of real-time strategy games like RimWorld as much of the gameplay is comparable and, as we are massive fans of RTS games here at HQGamer, we’d definitely recommend giving it a whirl!
Oxygen Not Included
Released in 2017 by Klei Entertainment, Oxygen Not Included is a colony simulation game notorious for its difficulty, but as a nominee for the Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year at the D.I.C.E. awards don’t let this dissuade you from giving it a go!
Bringing a space-themed twist to colony simulators, Oxygen Not Included thrusts players onto an asteroid with just three colonists and fairly restrictive pockets of breathable atmosphere in which to work. As is expected in most colony games, it revolves around maintaining the health of colonists, growing your civilisation and space stations and, in this space-setting, ensuring oxygen levels are preserved to keep colonists alive and healthy.
Players are largely tasked with ensuring colonists search for and collect limited resources and food, craft tools and equipment, and research new technologies. Throw in some randomly generated unique biomes, significant hazards like diseases and extreme temperature, and the diffusion of various gasses, and you’ve got a pretty challenging game. But keep a tight handle on your colonists’ oxygen levels and you’ll have yourself a ball! This truly is one of the best games like RimWorld out there today.
Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulator
Developed by Suncrash and released in 2018, Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation is another colony simulation game set, as you’d expect, in the apocalypse. Players begin with characters, people who survived the apocalypse, and the core aim is the need to build and grow a settlement. The main challenge in Apocalypse is posed by a lack of visibility as players must maintain their ‘visibility meter’; which in reality works as a sort of invisibility meter as the fuller the meter, the better the colony is hidden from the external threats of demons and beasts which seek to attack you.
Research and progression in Apocalypse largely revolve around maintaining this, and players have the options of stealth tactics, camouflage, and rituals to support this endeavour. Resource collection is also central to the development of your colony.
Players must also strike a difficult balance of steady advancement and consistent colony growth, as becoming too big too fast and outpacing the visibility meter will lead to more attacks; yet advancing too slowly will result in a weak colony and likely end in its destruction. We’re confident that any gamer that enjoys games like RimWorld will love Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulator.
Check out Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulator on Green Man Gaming today!
Dwarf Fortress
Created all the way back in 2006 by developers Bay 12 Games, Dwarf Fortress helped pioneer the colony simulation games we know and love today. Due to its age and the time it was invented, Dwarf Fortress relies far more heavily upon text-based visuals than more modern games, but this by no means makes it any less enjoyable!
In a similar vein to most colony construction games, players are thrown into a randomly generated world and undergo the task of establishing a colony, building a town, constructing defences, and dealing with the threat posed by hostile enemies. Aside from this, Dwarf Fortress has few real objectives, but isn’t this exactly why we love colony simulation games!
Players also have effective control over the environment they generate at the beginning of the game for their colony, being able to control many aspects of the game such as mineral occurrences, the size of the map, and the intensity of enemies. Each randomly generated map entails a unique history of the world, as well as the attributes, appearance, and characteristics of each individual dwarf in the colony.
First Feudal
Departing somewhat from the strict colony simulation theme discussed so far, Harpoon Games 2017 offering First Feudal combines the broad management of a colony game with aspects of a castle-sim, putting players in control of a few peasants and a small settlement, with the eventual aim of growing it to a fully-functioning medieval castle.
Peasants belong to a particular profession, and players must use these to collect resources and perform tasks in accordance with their speciality. First Feudal is also different from many colony simulators due to the presence of travelling merchants and a trading system, bucking the more common isolationist approach of most colony games.
Threats to the colony are posed by groups of bandits and wild animals, and players have the option to either directly control their soldiers in defence of the castle, or allow the game to direct them automatically.
First Feudal does a good job of combining aspects of castle simulation games and real-time strategy with the classic colony experience, and here at HQGamer, we’re a massive fan of those! If you are too, check out our article on the best real-time strategy games around!
So there we are; our picks for the best games like RimWorld to keep any avid fan occupied for hours. If there are any particular games like RimWorld that you believe deserve a spot on this list, or if there’s another game you would like us to review, let us know in the comments or contact us.
