Do you enjoy being in charge? This list of games like Stronghold will give you that, and much more.
Games that let you develop and manage a city while building up an army are hard to come by these days. That is why we’ve combed through titles both old and new, all to give you this rare collection of gems.
10. Immortal Cities: Children Of The Nile (2004)
Take control of a small settlement and make it great
Developer: Tilted Mill Entertainment
Genre: City-building
Look dad, a giant nuclear reactor!
Children of the Nile puts you in the role of an elected official tasked with overseeing the development of a hunter-gatherer town.
Under your control, this humble place can develop into a sprawling metropolis. The game’s economy revolves around the production and trade of bread, which doubles as both food and currency. Keeping the people happy will keep them working and churning it out, which promotes further growth, while failing at your duties will lead to stagnation.
Ancient Egypt is an underused setting in computer games, and anything set there are more than welcome. When the title is as well put together as this one, the recommendation is doubled.
9. Anno Online (2013)
Anno Online invites you to survive on a new continent
Developer: Ubisoft Blue Byte
Genre: Real-time strategy
A well-planned city is the key to success
Driven from your homeland by the plague and other maladies, you and your people set across the ocean looking for a new place to settle. Eventually, you manage to do just that, and so the game begins.
Starting out with a very small settlement, you are tasked with expanding as much as you possibly can. Building more houses gives income, while other necessities are gained by building the appropriate buildings (for instance a stone mine). Eventually, you take over the entire initial island and expand, now having to manage both settlements, and so it goes on and on.
The game is free to play and supported by microtransactions, but don’t let that turn you away. For a casual city-building and expanding game, Anno Online is pretty damn good.
8. Banished (2014)
You do what you have to do to survive
Developer: Shining Rock Software
Genre: City building, strategy
The snow looks nice, but complicates everything
Banished lets you manage an isolated community of outcasts, and whether they survive or die is up to you.
The primary resource in the game are the villagers themselves, which must be managed properly in order for everything to be covered. Occasionally your people will reproduce, or travelling nomads might join in, giving you more to work with. As always, the villagers must be kept happy or they will be nothing but dead weight.
Your people being so valuable, every death hits you directly in the heart, both mechanically and emotionally. That way, Banished does a great job at making you attached to the people you are charged with taking care of.
7. Age Of Mythology: Extended Edition (2003)
Ironed out and polished for our enjoyment
Developer: Ensemble Studios, SkyBox Labs (Extended Edition)
Genre: Real-time strategy
Because ancient Egypt is always relevant
Pick one of three mythological versions of ancient civilizations (Egypt, Greece and Norse) and fight it out through the game’s alternate history.
Like in classic AoE games, you develop your humble settlement until it is ready to progress to the next Age. These upgrades unlock more advanced buildings, units and upgrades. The addition of Gods gives you access to an array of special powers that make the game more dynamic and interesting.
A more fantastic entry in the Age of Empires series, this title is recommended to all who like their city-building games a bit more unreal and warlike.
6. Anno 2070 (2011)
An overview of the game’s factions
Developer: Related Designs, Ubisoft Blue Byte
Genre: City-building, real-time Strategy
Visually impressive and environment-friendly
In the future, global warming has melted the icecaps, covering the world in water and turning former mountaintops into the only habitable places. Two factions wrestle for supremacy over this new world: The environmentally friendly Eden Initiative, and the greedy Global Trust.
Besides the two main factions, you can hire the services of a third one called the Techs, whose contribution is necessary in order to unlock the highest upgrades. As in all Anno games, you need to find the right balance between economics, population management and military might. Politics and the environment are also important, and can severely hinder your progress if ignored.
Whenever you feel like managing your own futuristic city, give Anno 2070 a go. You won’t be disappointed.
5. Age Of Empires 2: HD Edition (1999/2013)
The legend had itself a facelift
Developer: Ensemble Studios, Hidden Path Entertainment (HD Edition)
Genre: Real-time strategy
A well-managed medieval city in all its glory
Choose from the most powerful and influential of medieval civilizations and take them on a century-spanning journey of growth and conquest.
In familiar RTS fashion, you are dropped somewhere on the map where you must gather resources, expand, and advance, before your enemy does the same. As is usual for AoE games, advancing your Age gives numerous advantages (stronger units, better upgrades, more useful buildings, etc.), but is expensive and risky if you’re caught off guard. Deciding when to advance is just as important as everything else here.
If you ever wanted to re-visit this classic but were repulsed by the game’s age, now is the perfect time to do so.
4. Stormfall: Age of War (2012)
Stormfall takes itself very seriously
Developer: Plarium
Genre: Strategy
One of the game’s strengths is its art
The empire of Stormfall is disintegrating. You have been tasked with uniting the warring territories that remain.
This brower-based MMO lets you play as lord of your own domain and develop it in whatever way you wish. Occasionally, you may find scrolls containing some of the so-called Lost Arts that give you new buildings and units to create. Uniting your forces with those of other players into so-called leagues is also allowed and encouraged for mutual survival.
The dark fantasy, no-nonsense atmosphere of Stormfall makes it a breath of fresh air when compared with similar games. This, combined with solid gameplay mechanics and great art, makes this title worth trying out.
3. The Settlers Online (2012)
It’s pretty cartoony, which is a good thing
Developer: Ubisoft Blue Byte
Genre: Real-time strategy
The graphics are cute and colorful
This brower-based rehash of the original Settlers puts you into the role of a king overseeing the development of a growing empire.
The game revolves around the tried-and-true formula: gather resources, refine what you can, spend them, and enjoy the new options. By clearing neutral bandits camps, you gain experience, which also expands your options but in a different way. It is all simple, elegant and enjoyable.
Featuring all the charm of the original, the Settlers Online would have been just perfect were it not for the frustrating microtransactions thing that makes your buildings incredibly slow to finish unless you pay in real world money. If you’re patient though, this becomes almost a non-factor, and you can enjoy the game at your own pace.
2. Tropico 4 (2011)
So good to see you, El Presidente!
Developer: Haemimont Games
Genre: Construction and management simulation, political simulation
Your island nation develops the way you want it to
Returning to the exotic island of Tropico, you take the role of El Presidente again, in all of his sun-bathed glory. Under your leadership, your sovereign nation will reach new levels of prosperity... Or not.
When starting out, the first thing you need to do is choose (or randomly generate) an island. Then you either select or create your own dictator before starting with your first term. The meat of the game is a mostly classic affair of expanding the populated area and keeping the people happy, but with a unique “banana republic” atmosphere. Finishing a mission makes your avatar’s traits upgrade, which is only one of the many things that keep the game addictive.
If you want to experience a well written, polished and original game with a unique premise, look no further than Tropico 4.
1. From Dust (2011)
The game is nothing if not impressive
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Genre: God game, sandbox
The visual design simply drags you in
You, a Godlike entity, must help your tribal worshippers survive and develop their culture.
Everything in this game is done by manipulating one of three types of matter – soil, lava and water. Changes you make occur almost immediately, which looks absolutely amazing and can either spell or avoid disaster. You can play the game in sandbox mode or go for a more structured, mission-based way.
Everything from the theme, visual and sound design, to the aforementioned way of doing things, makes From Dust an unforgettable experience. Do yourself a favor and play it now. You won’t regret it.
