The hustle and bustle of city streets and the cacophony of modern vehicles can be stressful, even in a video game world. Such is the case even for moderncity builderswith their complex economics and citizen satisfaction system. If players want something simpler yet colorful, then they’ll be pleased to know that there arefantasy city builders.
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We’re not referring to those semi-historical medieval city builders, but rather those with full-fledged fantasy elements. These can be anything from orcs, fairies, wizards, and even gods thrown into the logistics of planning out settlements and molding economies from scratch. These following fantasy city builders ought to make one’s digital mayoral dutiesa lot more imaginative.
8The Settlers 7: Paths To A Kingdom
The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdomand its predecessors are no strangers tocombining different genres in gaming. In the latest sequel’s case, the developers combined RTS and city-building and management gameplay. It can often feel quite similar to games likeWarcraftandAge of Empires.
The fantasy elements are somewhat low and muted, but there’s a dragon in the lore and other subtle fantasy creatures and lore bits. In any case,The Settlers 7is a good introduction for newcomers looking to ease themselves into the complexities and managerial duties of city-builder games.
7Valhalla Hills
Valhalla Hillsis one of the most unique city builders out there since its setting is Norse mythology. Its developers are also the same veterans from bonafide city-building and RTS titles likeThe Settlers 2. In terms of gameplay, players will need to raise up their little Viking town from their group of survivors.
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The twist is that players and all their citizens have died already and are waiting to be taken into Valhalla. Issues arise when the doors to the shiny, sacred halls didn’t open, and the players and their people have to fend for themselves in the Norse equivalent of purgatory.
6Against The Storm
Against the Stormhas no reservations about its fantasy elements. It’s a full-blown dark fantasy city builder where the players must rebuild their civilization after an apocalypse. There are several factions vying for survival and supremacy here namely, humans, lizards, harpies, and beavers— yes,thebeavers (whose bases tend to be dam good).
Despite only being in the early access phase, the game is already one of the well-received titles under its own genre due to its inherent uniqueness and charming art style. Each race has distinct qualities that set them apart from one another and to keep the gameplay even more interesting, there are also roguelite elements thrown into the mix.
5Noble Fates
Noble Fatesputs players into the shoes of a demigod where they must lead a group of fantasy deserters and survivors in a rags-to-riches story of their own making. LikeAgainst the Storm,Noble Fateshas some overt fantasy elements and doesn’t shy away from incorporating them into the gameplay.
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Likewise,Noble Fatesdoesn’t settle for just settlement building; it also dabbled into survival territory and a bit ofRPG and simulationsince players need to go off on their adventures during exploration runs while also shoring up their town defenses against demon attacks.
4Kingdoms And Castles
Kingdoms and Castlesis one of the more relaxed games on this list. While other fantasy city builders put a lot of pressure on survival or victory,Kingdoms of Castleslets players pick the intensity of their settlement’s existence.
Players can disable dragon attacks, storms, or Viking raids if they want something more peaceful. And normally, players would want to start that way since the game has a rather adorable and calming visual style similar toMinecraft. Once players get the hang of raising a hamlet into a castle, it’s time to up the challenges.
3Timberborn
Apparently, beavers are the animal kingdom equivalent of dwarves since they stop at nothing when it comes to industry and expanding their domains. So games likeTimberborndedicate their artistic effort to giving beavers the justice ad recognition they deserve.
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Suffice it to say, this whole city builder is about beavers who graduated from building damsto building kingdomson top of those dams. And it’s not just termite fodder they’re building; these beavers are capable of running farms,factories, and even generators. Humans better watch out for their spot in the food chain.
2Dwarf Fortress
Speaking of dwarves,Dwarf Fortressis another fantasy city builder that highlights, well, dwarves and their uncontrollable penchant for tunneling and digging for treasure. To that end,Dwarf Fortressis also a city and construction management, among many other things.
Players will need to oversee the dwarven effort to expand their colonies while digging around the dangers and the horrors of the deep as much as possible. It’s one ofthe oldest simulationand city-building games to date that still has an avid following— a testament to its originality and fun gameplay.
1Songs Of Syx
Songs of Syxfollows the same design philosophy asDwarf Fortress. It’s not flashy or aesthetically gorgeous per today’s standards, but this fantasy city builder is a complex delve into the depths of city and kingdom building. Players start off small with their group of colonizers.
They must then build, scheme, and fight to the top. The game mechanics are set up in a way where the players' empires can even collapse under their own weight.To add variety, there are different races, cultures, and even pantheons to choose from in this cross between grand strategy and city building.
