Are you looking for a great game that offers in-depth simulation to get lost in great gameplay for hours on end? Check out this list of some of the best simulation games for PC gamers in 2019. Each of these games offers a unique take on city-building, management, or industry to provide gamers with hours of fun.
15. Elite: Dangerous
Since Star Citizen has not released yet, Elite: Dangerous is the best space simulation game available right now. Players can explore a massively open and interconnected galaxy that is influenced by other players through trade, factions, and fighting. The ever-evolving narrative changes as players work their way up from a green pilot with only a few credits and a tiny starship.
Docking and flying your spaceship is one of the most accurate parts of this space sim. New content is released at a steady pace in an expansion pack format, so be prepared to pay more for additional content down the road. Many players describe Elite: Dangerous as a space trucking simulator, which isn't far off if you participate in the game's economy.
Now more than ever, there are a lot of game options on Mac. Our list of the best Mac games sorts through the rubble so you know what to pick up first. 15 Best Walking Simulator Games To Relax With Revered by the industry and fans alike, walking simulator games are the next big thing in the world of video games.
14. Planet Coaster
Planet Coaster attempts to recapture the magic of building your own roller coasters and theme parks first introduced in Roller Coaster Tycoon. The game offers piece-by-piece construction of theme parks and roller coasters with over 1,000 unique building components. Landscape sculpting lets players create death-defying roller coasters that soar through the sky and into tunnels below the ground.
Much like the original Chis Sawyer game, players must keep guests satisfied with the park to win scenarios. The sandbox mode will be the main draw for most players, but there are several creative scenarios to tackle. The game also links with Steam Workshop to allow players to share their favorite creations with others.
13. Kerbal Space Program
Ever wonder what it was like for scientists in the 1950s figuring out how to send people to the moon? Wonder no more with Kerbal Space Program. The developers have paid very close attention to create an accurate rocket physics simulator. The ultimate goal is to create a successful craft to land kerbals on the moon, but that's just one goal. Perform planet to planet sling-shot maneuvers and more with advanced space physics.
Sandbox mode is the main draw, but Kerbal Space Program also features a Career Mode. In this mode, you're responsible for the kerbal's NASA-like program for getting to space. Manage every aspect, including construction, strategy, funding, upgrades, and more.
12. Tropico 5
Ever wanted to take on the role of an island dictator who controls everything about your people? Then Tropico 5 is the experience for you. Players start their reign during colonial times for a newly discovered island, surviving through two World Wars and the Great Depression. Advance from 19th-century technology into the 21st-century.
Best City Simulation Games Mac Torrent
New to this version of Tropico is the dynasty feature, which allows players to invest in members of the dictator's family. Appoint your children as head of government services, ambassador, or even general to keep it all in the family. Tropico 5 has lots of expansions that add depth to the gameplay, or crazy new scenarios. Fans of early city builders will find a lot to like about the Tropico series.
Note: Tropico 6 is available now and is a more recent addition to this franchise, but it is not as well fleshed out. The game lacks some of the core features that were available in previous Tropico games, so Tropico 5 is the best entry point for people new to the game.
11. Factorio
Factorio is all about harvesting the resources of an island to escape. But it is also about building the most efficient process to harvest and transport minerals. The gameplay loop is satisfying as you find new ways to increase the efficiency of your machines. Add to that the challenge of developing machines to help you defend your operations turns Factorio into what has been described as 'electronic heroin.'
10. Prison Architect
Build and manage a maximum security prison as warden. Face challenges you never thought possible as inmates form gangs to rival one another. Prison Architect features a story mode to teach you the basics of prison building, but sandbox mode is where this game shines. Build the prison of your dreams to contain even the most hardened criminals. Then try to escape from it as a criminal yourself.
9. Foundation
Foundation is a new take on the city-building concept that doesn't adhere to grids. Most city-builders use grids to keep everything aligned. Foundation takes an organic approach to building a sprawling medieval city. The game is a cross between city-builder, strategy, and economic simulation. It is currently in early access, but the game is very enjoyable in its current state.
8. Banished
Take control of a group of exiled travelers who week for form a new settlement along the banks of a river. This low-fantasy city-building game is all about managing the population boom and fitness of your Banished citizens. The gameplay feels like a cross between a city-builder and The Sims since you'll slowly get attached to everyone in your village.
7. Megaquarium
Start a local aquarium with only a few tanks and grow it into a thriving aquarium theme park to attract hundreds of guests. Megaquarium draws a lot of inspiration from early sim games like Zoo Tycoon and Roller Coaster Tycoon. The game features over 100 different marine species to display, including fish, jellyfish, sharks, crustaceans, and turtles. Staff management and happiness is also an important part of running a successful aquarium.
Factorio is all about harvesting the resources of an island to escape. But it is also about building the most efficient process to harvest and transport minerals. The gameplay loop is satisfying as you find new ways to increase the efficiency of your machines. Add to that the challenge of developing machines to help you defend your operations turns Factorio into what has been described as 'electronic heroin.'
10. Prison Architect
Build and manage a maximum security prison as warden. Face challenges you never thought possible as inmates form gangs to rival one another. Prison Architect features a story mode to teach you the basics of prison building, but sandbox mode is where this game shines. Build the prison of your dreams to contain even the most hardened criminals. Then try to escape from it as a criminal yourself.
9. Foundation
Foundation is a new take on the city-building concept that doesn't adhere to grids. Most city-builders use grids to keep everything aligned. Foundation takes an organic approach to building a sprawling medieval city. The game is a cross between city-builder, strategy, and economic simulation. It is currently in early access, but the game is very enjoyable in its current state.
8. Banished
Take control of a group of exiled travelers who week for form a new settlement along the banks of a river. This low-fantasy city-building game is all about managing the population boom and fitness of your Banished citizens. The gameplay feels like a cross between a city-builder and The Sims since you'll slowly get attached to everyone in your village.
7. Megaquarium
Start a local aquarium with only a few tanks and grow it into a thriving aquarium theme park to attract hundreds of guests. Megaquarium draws a lot of inspiration from early sim games like Zoo Tycoon and Roller Coaster Tycoon. The game features over 100 different marine species to display, including fish, jellyfish, sharks, crustaceans, and turtles. Staff management and happiness is also an important part of running a successful aquarium.
6. Don't Starve Together
Don't Starve is a highly unique survival simulator that offers a standalone free multiplayer expansion called Don't Starve Together. Two players can enjoy surviving in the dark but deep world of Don't Starve… together. The game draws plenty of inspiration from games like Minecraft, but the 2D flat presentation turns the world on its head.
5. Frostpunk
Frostpunk is described as a society survival game and the first of its kind. You take control of the last city on an Earth destroyed by climate change. The decisions you make as ruler of the city will have lasting effects on districts, with increasing challenges coming your way. The moral decisions from This War of Mine combined with city management makes for heart-wrenching survival.
4. Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines is the indisputable champ of the modern city-building simulation after EA dragged Sim City through the mud. Cities: Skylines is consistently updated with new features and DLC to provide city architects with all the tools needed to create a true megapolis. The game also supports the Steam Workshop for added player-created fun.
3. Rimworld
Inspired by the ASCII-based Dwarf Fortress, Rimworld gives you control of three colonists who must create a thriving outpost against all odds. Players create their own story as these initial colonists fend of bandit attacks and other unknowns in a new world. Rimworld features some of the finest emergent gameplay you will find in any simulation game for PC.
2. Oxygen Not Included
Take control of three duplicants and attempt to build a thriving colony inside an asteroid. ONI is unique in that you'll need to manage the gases, liquids, and solid waste your duplicants produce. Everything can be recycled to keep the colony thriving, but you'll need to watch out for space viruses. The sheer amount of management in ONI gives the game a steep learning curve, so be prepared for that going in.
1. Stardew Valley
Cities Skylines
Stardew Valley draws a lot of inspiration from the Harvest Moon series of games. Players take control of an old family farm that has fallen into disrepair in a small town. Get to know the townspeople and form relationships while you grow a variety of crops and tend to animals on an ever-expanding farm. Stardew Valley is one of the most relaxing simulation games on this list and is available on every single platform.
Didn't find a simulation game worth playing on our list? Be sure to check out the simulation category on Steam for more games you might enjoy.
City-builders are an interesting genre of games: You get god-like control over the growth and expansion of urban space and the ability to manage resources on a scale you'd probably never handle in real life (unless, of course, you were actually elected mayor of someplace). Have a look here at our curated list of the top 8 free city-building games on PC. You'll be sure to have fun building up your virtual cities, looking after citizens, and even dealing with natural disasters.
Most of these are free to play and can be download either from Microsoft store or Steam. So, some of them should also work on Mac. With that out of the way, let's begin.
City-Builder Games on PC
1. Cities Skylines
Okay, Cities skylines is not a free game but this list couldn't be complete without this app. Plus, there is a free version of the game on the Microsoft store that you can try. Unlike other city building games, this one more modern and probably a bit easier to learn for beginners. Also, unlike most city building games that focus too much on money and budget, cities skylines are inclined towards increasing population and try to manage the traffic jams while managing infrastructure such as education, security, medicine, etc.
Overall, it's a good game for beginners, but if you are a pro, skip this one.
Download Cities Skylines (Steam, Windows Store)
2. Megapolis
Want something that's a bit more substantial than Cities Skylines? Megapolis has you covered. This is a free city-builder that's available across platforms, from Windows to Android to iOS, and supports cross-platform play, so you can keep building that city whether you're in the subway or at your desktop. Megapolis has you building civic amenities, industrial buildings, and residential quarters to increase your tax revenue and population limit—you take your newfound resources and invest them towards scaling things up. Megapolis mixes things up by introducing water and electricity resource needs for specific buildings—you'll have to ensure that the resource supply is adequate to allow your power plants and other structures to function. You will have to deal with IAPs, though.
Download Megapolis (Steam, Windows Store)
3. City Mania
City Mania is the first full-3D title in our list here. It's got a good pedigree—it's developed by Gameloft, the makers of a wide range of great free-to-play titles on iOS an Android, from Asphalt 9 to Modern Combat to, well, City Mania. The game has you playing as mayor and managing civic amenities, resources, and businesses. You need to keep your wits about you and scale resource production and residential sites as population and resource pressure increases. This is where the free-to-play elements come into the picture—you can buy resources which otherwise take a long time to accumulate. While this can slow down the pace of play for free players, we still suggest giving the game a spin: It's a great mobile-centric city builder with a unique, painterly aesthetic to its 3D visuals.
Download City Mania (Windows Store)
4. Virtual City Playground
The biggest criticism we can leverage against Virtual City Playground is that it simply doesn't do enough to set itself apart in the free-to-play city-builder segment. As a mobile title on iOS and Android, the game plays out very similar to City mania, albeit with 2D sprite graphics instead of polygonal 3D. You're tasked with managing your city and building amenities and ensure that growth is supported as your population increases. There is one way that Virtual City Playground sets itself apart, though: You're able to engage in a certain amount of micromanagement, allowing you to plan out individual bus routes among other small-scale tasks. Free-to-play mechanics operate the same as in other titles in the genre. How fast your city develops is directly proportional to how much real-world money you invest in it.
Download Virtual City Playground (Windows Store)
5. Pixel Worlds
Minecraft spinoffs have been a thing the past couple years, with everything from a Minecraft narrative RPG from Telltale to Minecraft battle royale. Minecraft mania's hit the city-builder genre too. Pixel Worlds is less a city-builder and more a world-builder, where you terraform a barren world and build up a settlement and other developed areas. The main hook is the massively multiplayer component: You can trade with other players and cooperate with them, too: When there's a large number of real-world players onscreen, it feels more convincing as an urban space than conventional city-builders since you know that you're seeing is the product of a lot of collective effort. Pixel Worlds also has dungeons, exploration, and minigames like fishing to help keep things fresh. The game is free-to-play and you can purchase additional currency through IAP but the in-game means of earning are quite fair by themselves.
Download Pixel Worlds (Steam, Windows Store)
Best City Simulation Games Mac Os
6. Township
This is another title that treads a bit off the beaten path as far as city-builders are concerned. Township is less a city-builder proper and more of a, well, town builder. It's about building cozy settlements at the intersection of the rural and the urban, so farm management plays just as much a role as building civic amenities. The town you end up building is much more down-to-earth than the skyscraper-crowded screens of other city builders, but the payoff's arguably more worthwhile—you didn't just lay down roads and wait for settlers to arrive—Township's very much a farm-to-fork experience, letting you touch on all aspects of the town-building process. It also has a wide range of side activities like mining which mix things up in the gameplay department.
Download Township (Windows Store)
7. Worlds Builder
Are city-builders not ambitious enough for you? You might want to try Worlds Builder, which has you overlooking an entire world as its god. As farms and settlements come into the picture, you're given a much wider toolset of options, including the ability to control forces of nature to shape destinies. You can also build up natural environments like forests as well as urban settlements. Because of its larger scale, it's no surprise that Worlds Builder also has an exploratory element which has you sending out expeditions to discover treasure.
Price: Free, with IAPs
Download SimCity 4 (Windows Store)
8. SimCity 4
No list of best city building game is complete without SimCity, the most popular game in this genre. When you start the game, the tutorials do a pretty good job at covering the basics. My favourite thing about the game is its realism. For example, if you build a city with high-value residential neighborhoods, you get more tax money without taking up more space. But if you apply a high tax rate on low-income residents, you soon see strikes on the street. This game almost reflects the life of an actual city.
Sim city 4 is a bit harder than other city building games, so if you are just getting started, it's not the best game to pick up (I recommend Sim City 2000 instead), but if you are looking for some challenge it's a must-have. It's a paid game, but I've seen it on heavy discount on steam most part of the year.
Download SimCity 4 (Steam, Website)
That's all for this list! Which free city-builder did you find the most fun? Let us know in the comments below! If you want to try out more games and get a little smarter in the process, check out this handy list!
