As you all are probably aware I play a lot of videogames. One of my favorite genres is definitely city building. It’s like having an ant colony. There is just something so satisfying about laying out the groundwork for something great and watching it build and grow on it’s own. So I thought I would share a list of my favorite city building games out right now in 2025.
Hopefully you enjoy and get to try something new.
What’s important to note is that I’m only talking about city builders where the citizens do most of the work. If the game is more turn based or 4x style it’s getting left out. Sorry.
Best Modern Citybuilder
Cities Skylines
After the fall of Maxis as I wrote about in my previous article:
The reigning champ is Cities Skylines by a long shot. Most strategy, city builder, and 4x games tend to get better as time goes on. The studio has time to add more features and dlc that makes the game better in almost every way. If you’re looking for a game where you manage the economic zoning, road building, and growing of a modern city this is the game for you.
The elephant in the room is Cities Skylines 2 which released to a lukewarm reception. As I said it takes time for games in these genres to improve, but the benefit of the next game coming out is you can grab Cities Skylines with all its DLC on sale for a great price!
Get it on Steam
Best Co-Op City Builder
Bellwright
I noticed Bellwright while looking for a new game to play with my girlfriend. She loves survival crafting games, and I love city builders and strategy. This game takes the best elements from both and mashes them together into a fantastic experience that we can’t stop playing. I mean that literally. Last weekend we put a combined 10-12 hours into the game. She got to focus on completing quests and exploring while I stayed home and managed the logistics of all the companions we acquired through our town liberations.
The game is still early access and has some way to go for content, but the slow burn nature of the game means we’ve had hours of fun. I expect many more hours of fun to come.
See my full review for Bellwright:
Get it on Steam
Best Medieval
Manor Lords
Due to my recent obsession with Bellwright I haven’t had much time to play Manor Lords. What I can say is that Manor Lords is the most polished city builder I’ve played ever. Manor Lords is another early access game, but what it lacks in long term content it makes up for in polish, simulation, and breadth of it’s systems.
Manor Lords combines freeform city building like that of Cities Skylines, with larger 4x elements, and real time combat similar to the Total War games. I usually toggle the combat off, but the experience is amazing regardless.
Get it on Steam
Best Beaver (Best Woodpunk)
Timberborn
In Timberborn you play as a colony of beavers attempting to survive in a landscape affected by the coming and going of a river. As you plan your colony you have to take into account how many citizens you can support during your next drought, and how to make things just a little bit better. Overall this game is a fantastic city builder that focuses on the challenges of the city itself over combat.
Get it on Steam
Best Sci-Fi
The Crust
The crust is another fairly recent release. It’s also quite deceptive because it’s half city builder, half automation game. You start by managing a fully automated lunar base, and advance it to support a lunar colony. It’s a great idea, and has a lot going for it. If you’re in the mood for colonizing the moon give this game a shot.
Get it on Steam
Most Anticipated
Civilization VII
Ok so I lied a little bit. I wouldn’t call Civilization VII a city builder by my own definition at the start of this article. If, however, you’ll offer me some grace and allow me to put Civ 7 on the list for SEO purposes then Civ 7 is by far the most anticipated strategy game to come out this year. It makes some radical changes to the Civ formula by splitting the ages up more discreetly as well as letting you change civilizations over between ages. As I said before this is a great time to grab Civilization VI on sale with all it’s DLC, but if you can’t wait for Civ 7 it’s almost here! Mark your calendar for February 11, 2025.
Don’t pre order it on Steam
That’s all I’ve got for you today. I hope this list helped you decide on what to play, or inspired you to try something new. I post new articles every week so please do me a favor and subscribe and let the internet know you read this article!
Also check out my Steam Curator below where I have all of my game recommendations and more for you to see.
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SEO Garbo:
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