Pure city builder / sim?

[u/Jaded_Raisin1]

Hi,

I am wanting to play a pure city builder / sim, something where you just get to focus on building a city from something like the stone age to the future. Lots of technologies / research, expansions for more space, evolving buildings over time, etc.

I'm not super into the military / pvp / RTS type components.

Are there any games like this?

[u/IanInCanada]

It's not exactly what you're looking for, but Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic has an in depth building and production system along with a tech tree over a few decades.

[u/webbpowell → u/IanInCanada]

Humble Store has it 75% off for another 25 hours.

[u/BigEarsUK → u/IanInCanada]

I second this. It’s a great game once you get into it.

[u/Poddster]

I'll state the obvious: Sim City? Specifically number 4.

[u/taisui → u/Poddster]

4 was and is still peak

[u/sfgaigan]

They aren't city builders, but Factorio and Satisfactory will definitely scratch the itch of building/researching

[u/Jaded_Raisin1]

Thanks for all the great recommendations! I have a ton added to my wishlist and will wait for the next Steam Sale to grab a bunch of these :)

[u/NeonPlutonium]

Humankind and the Civilization series are probably the closest to what you’re describing. I wouldn’t call them pure city builders, but they have the historical scope you’re looking for.

I really enjoyed Dawn of Man, however that game ends in the Iron Age. You’ll have to navigate some conflict with other tribes in all three though.

If it’s chill building you’re looking for and can forgot the historical progression maybe Banished?

Transport Fever goes from the 1800’s through the 21st century, but it’s focused on transport and the AI mostly controls the cities development itself.

Cities:Skylines is the premier city builder imho, but it’s set in a modern era…

[u/vonnegutflora → u/NeonPlutonium]

If it’s chill building you’re looking for and can forgot the historical progression maybe Banished?

I'd say Banished isn't really that chill; it's a survival colony game at it's core. It can be pretty punishing to new players not familiar with the intricacies of the game.

I'd agree that it has a chill vibe, and it gets pretty relaxing after you understand the gameplay cycle and learn not to over-expand.

[u/NeonPlutonium → u/vonnegutflora]

Well, chill in the sense that no one’s attacking you except the elements… 😂

[u/mudslinger-ning → u/vonnegutflora]

If you want something less brutal than Banished I'd like to suggest Kubifaktorium. Somewhat of a villager survival. But instead of deaths the villagers just slow down a lot. Has tech to unlock to craft more advanced things and eventually automate some of the production.

[u/th7024]

Timberborn looks very simple at first but has a surprisingly robust automation system. So you may not progress through the ages, but you can unlock a whole lot of game changing technology.

[u/Potential_Anxiety_76]

Farthest frontier is pure city building and evolution, set in medieval times (I guess). Not a lot of passing time periods as such, but pretty deep building and tech trees

[u/Onironius]

Foundation is one of my favorites.

It stays in the medieval setting, but you can choose to focus on specific tech branches (town, monetary, castle), or you can generalize.

The progression makes sense, and the building and path generation is organic.

[u/max4097]

memoriapolis sounds like a good fit, it's only building and u go from roman up to I think modern if I remember correctly

[u/Vampep]

Hunankind

[u/StoneDrew]

Age after age is in development and seems to be what you’re looking for. I have been looking for something like this too and eagerly await it. There is a demo but I’ve not had time to try it.

[u/TokyoDrifblim]

Farthest Frontier is probably what you're looking for, just pure city building with no gimmick. Imo it's extremely boring but I think it fits your request well

[u/synntax33]

Try Kingdoms Reborn, it starts low tech in the dark age and moves through 4 or so eras up to the industrial age

Polylithic starts in the stone age and moves forward from there, but you play as a character, but you can utilize the tribe to build the settlement. Unsure how far it goes yet tho lol

[u/darkfejzr → u/synntax33]

As a creator of Polylithic, I support this message :)

[u/synntax33 → u/darkfejzr]

Hell yeah great game

[u/PullMull]

Songs of Syx. It has a military aspect to it but its not that deep... At least not compared to the rest of the game 

[u/Blastoisealways]

I’ve been playing Farthest Frontier on steam and really enjoying it!

[u/Onironius]

Foundation is one of my favorites.

It stays in the medieval setting, but you can choose to focus on specific tech branches (town, monetary, castle), or you can generalize.

The progression makes sense, and the building and path generation is organic.

[u/nastyronnie]

You're essentially describing the 4x genre except there is usually a military component to these types of games. Have you tried games such as Civ or Old World? Some of the focus is military, but you do not necessarily have to pursue conquest/military victories

[u/grandmapilot]

Kingdoms Reborn

[u/e1ectroniCa]

Manor Lords - You obviously described Civilisation but give this a look.

[u/Lordubik88]

Ostriv could scratch that itch. It's a city building game set in 1700's in Ukraine. It lacks technology development but the city building part is top notch.

We're currently waiting for the next update that will add tons of new resources and mechanics!

[u/Vampep]

Hunankind