What Are The Best Games Like Banished?
Banished is a fantastic city-building survival game that will make anyone a fan of those genres gleeful.
There are lots of great games out there that fit that bill though. Do you like city-building and survival to be the central theme in your games?
A fan of Banished, but wanting something else, but something similar? This list will satisfy your itch for something different yet similar.
10. Banished (with Colonial Charter mod)
Banished (with Colonial Charter mod) Gameplay
The Colonial Charter mod for Banished may as well be Banished 2.0.
With this mega mod, there is so much new stuff it is like a whole new game: building types, materials, seeds, professions, terrain types, climates, and starting conditions.
It even comes with various aesthetic sets for tree and building types.
While you work hard on surviving and building your town into a sprawling city, you can use wall kits to create a unique empire or give your village a truly rustic feel.
With the Colonial Charter mod, you can build stunning towns that look like they are straight out of an old European village.
Huge farms and old world charm collide in this gorgeous town built using the Colonial Charter mod.
9. Life is Feudal: Forest Village
Life is Feudal: Forest Village Gameplay
Set in a harsh medieval world, you lead a group of refugees in their quest to start over on an unknown island. Combining town-building with survival, Life is Feudal: Forest Village puts the future of the people in your hands.
Players are able to watch over the village in a third-person bird eye view or play in first-person while controlling a villager. Shape the land, build farms, and hunt animals to make your villagers thrive, but be wary of overusing the land as it can wreak havoc on the ecosystem! Just like with real life, nature can be a huge threat, as can disease, so you must be ever mindful of what is going on in your village. This is one of the most in-depth town-building survival games you’ll come across!
Enjoy a nice stroll around town, and don’t forget to stop by the winery and lovely little beer garden; something every villager surely loves!
It appears a fire broke out. These things happen; hopefully, it doesn’t spread to the rest of town!
8. Judgment: Apocalypse Survival
Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Gameplay
End times are upon you in Judgement: Apocalypse Survival. The gates of hell have opened, letting loose demons all around your world. You have not given up hope though, and work with your friends to send the demons back before they lay waste to humanity!
In this survival game, you find a base. Build it up, or you won’t make it long. Go scavenging so you won’t starve. Craft weapons, and learn new technologies to fight off the demons in real-time tactical combat. Aside from weapons, you can even practice the occult and use the demons’ own dark magic against them to send them back to hell. With you leading the way, this apocalyptic judgment day will not come to pass!
Time to kick some demon butt! The more demon scum we kill, the better off humanity will be.
Tend to your farms and animals, but don’t forget to use that sweet, sweet dark magic to have the advantage over those nasty demons!
7. Dawn of Discovery
Dawn of Discovery Gameplay
Also known as Anno 1404, you start this game with a small fleet of ships in search of new land to start a civilization in. Dawn of Discovery has a unique blend of city building, city management, and real-time strategy. Combining construction, economy, discovery, diplomacy, and combat, there are limitless ways to grow your civilization. Building a harbor is vital so that you can expand, meet other cultures, and be part of a unique global trade system.
The game includes sandbox mode, campaigns, and various “side-quests” that will help you build your empire any way you like!
By land and by sea, adventures await for those wanting to grow their empire!
Farms are a must to keep your civilization fed. Without farms, there is no way your people will make it for long!
6. Northgard
Northgard Gameplay
In Northgard, you control a clan of Viking warriors set out by the clan elders to build a settlement on a mysterious newly found land.
Upon reaching Northgard, you assign your Vikings essential roles, such as farmer, warrior, sailer, and loremaster. Be sure to build up your resources while building up the land to survive the harsh winters, but be wary, as you are not alone. The land is full of dire wolves, undead, and giants! Expand and discover new territory while your clan makes history in new lands.
With the ability to play against friends or AI, in story mode and different campaigns, Northgard has endless potential as a city-building survival game!
Here be dragons! Yes, you too can slay dragons and obtain one of the ultimate achievements as Dragonslayer!
Your village may start off small, but the Vikings will prevail and grow a mighty empire!
5. Atomic Society
Atomic Society Gameplay
The apocalypse is behind us now, so we must rebuild. In Atomic Society, you have to build society back up in a post-apocalyptic world. Life is hard in this world devastated by nuclear war.
You will take the lead and decide what kind of society you want, good or bad. You create the laws, and you choose what gets built in your new world. Atomic Society already has many features, but is still in early access with promises of more to come!
Shanty looking buildings set in harsh lands? Yes, please! Life is always hard in the post-apocalypse world.
Public hangings are one way to deal with those who dare to break your laws!
4. Kingdoms and Castles
Kingdoms and Castles Gameplay
Kingdoms and Castles has a reputation for being one of the most chill city-building games. You start as a small hamlet with grand aspirations to become a sprawling kingdom with an imposing castle. Your city’s layout will determine how happy your citizens are and if new residents will come and settle in your kingdom.
Build a tavern and hold festivals in the town square to keep your citizens happy. Keep them fed and healthy to thrive and keep the population steady. Build up your walls and defend your kingdom against Viking warriors. Only you can create the ultimate kingdom!
Build up a massive army to keep your citizens feeling safe and to be able to take down any invasion that may come your way!
Be sure to include a harbor in your thriving kingdom! The citizens will delight in the addition of such a grand harbor.
3. Frostpunk
Frostpunk Gameplay
The world has become a frozen wasteland and humanity is on the brink of extinction. There is only one city remaining in the world, and you must lead it. In Frostpunk, you will be tasked with keeping the heat alive, because without heat, death will come.
You will use steam-powered technology to thrive and develop more technology to progress your citizens forward. The choices you make at times will test your morals, be it for good or bad. Aside from the main story, there are various scenarios to choose from with content still being added to take gameplay to a whole new level.
Sometimes survivors will want to join you. Will you let them, or will they perish in the frozen wasteland?
Constant cold brings discontent. Do you have what it takes to give the citizens hope for the future?
2. Kenshi
Kenshi Gameplay
Kenshi is a massive open-world sandbox survival game that takes the player on many wild rides. You start off struggling, all alone. From here, you have a huge variety of options. Find others and form a squad, go it alone and see how long you can make it, end up a slave, be eaten by cannibals or taken out by roaming packs.
Build up a base for you and your squad; use it for fortification or even as a business front. There are no limitations in how you play this game; be a warrior, a peaceful farmer, a sneaky businessman, a thief, live within a town or out in the desert, travel alone or with a group. Be good or be evil, the choice is yours.
With your squad, how will you fare? This squad is set out for grand adventures!
Some days in this harsh world really are better than others, but I think I’d take being a victim to a storm of arrows over being eaten alive by cannibals.
1. Rimworld
Rimworld Gameplay
In this sci-fi colony sim, you start off with 3 survivors in some distant world.
Your civilization will grow by either buying slaves, capturing others during combat and convincing them to join you, or by taking in refugees, The story unfolds depending on which AI you choose as your story-teller making for a unique experience.
Your colonists will either perish or thrive while building and breaking relationships, exploring and utilizing the world around them, taming and training animals to be either pets or livestock, going on caravans to save or kidnap others, and so much more.
Building up your base can take time, but having it planned out in such a perfect way will help you thrive!
Going out into the world is a much-needed thing. You may come across animals to tame or others to come to join you!
Bonus: Prison Architect
Prison Architect Gameplay
Inspired by Dungeon Keeper, Dwarf Fortress and Theme Hospital, in this game you are tasked with building a maximum security prison from the ground up. You alone will decide how to construct the infirmary, prison cells; if your prison will have work-out areas, execution chambers, solitary confinement, and more. With multiple modes, you can play in story mode that follows the prison life of various inmates, or you can play in escape mode and try to make your way out of the prison without getting caught. Whether you want to build or play as a prisoner, the choices are many in Prison Architect!
A very real threat in prison life is riots! Will you be able to keep your prison in check and prevent riots or will you encourage chaos?
Make sure to build a decent place for intake! You’ll have to put the new prisoners in the system somewhere.
