Exploring Games Similar to Banished: A Guide for Strategy Enthusiasts

Banished, the popular city-building game developed by Shining Rock Software, captivates players with its intricate mechanics and challenging survival aspects. Since its release, many gamers have sought similar titles that offer comparable experiences in strategy, management, and survival. In this article, we’ll explore several games that resonate with Banished’s core elements and provide an equally engaging experience.

1. Cities: Skylines: A Modern Classic

Cities: Skylines, developed by Colossal Order, stands out as a modern city-building simulation that provides a deep and expansive experience. Unlike Banished, which focuses on a small community’s survival, Cities: Skylines allows players to build and manage sprawling metropolises.

Gameplay and Features:

Infrastructure Management: Players oversee everything from road construction to public services, ensuring the smooth operation of their city.
Customization: The game offers extensive customization options for buildings, roads, and policies.
Modding Community: Cities: Skylines boasts a robust modding community, providing additional content and features created by players.

Cities: Skylines is ideal for those who enjoy detailed city planning and management on a grand scale.

2. RimWorld: Survival and Storytelling

RimWorld, created by Ludeon Studios, combines survival with rich storytelling, making it a notable alternative to Banished. Set on a distant planet, players manage a colony of crash-landed space travelers and must navigate both internal and external challenges.

Gameplay and Features:

Storytelling Engine: RimWorld’s AI storyteller generates dynamic events and scenarios, adding a unique narrative twist to each playthrough.
Complex Systems: The game includes systems for character needs, health, and relationships, requiring careful management.
Mod Support: A strong modding community enhances the game with new content and mechanics.

RimWorld appeals to players who enjoy a mix of survival strategy with complex interpersonal dynamics.

3. Frostpunk: Survival in a Frozen World

Frostpunk, developed by 11 bit studios, introduces a harsh, frozen world where players must lead a society through extreme conditions. The game shares Banished’s focus on survival but adds a layer of moral and ethical decision-making.

Gameplay and Features:

Resource Management: Players must balance resource allocation and technological advancement to keep their citizens alive.
Moral Dilemmas: Frostpunk introduces moral choices that affect the society’s stability and citizens’ wellbeing.
Atmospheric Setting: The game’s bleak, frozen environment adds to the intense survival challenge.

Frostpunk is ideal for players looking for a darker and more morally complex take on city-building and survival.

4. Surviving Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet

Surviving Mars, developed by Haemimont Games and Abstraction Games, shifts the focus from Earth-based survival to colonizing Mars. This game combines city-building with the challenges of space colonization.

Gameplay and Features:

Mars Colonization: Players manage a colony on Mars, dealing with unique challenges like limited resources and harsh environmental conditions.
Research and Innovation: Technological progress is key, with players researching new technologies to improve their colony.
Modding Capabilities: The game supports mods that expand gameplay and add new features.

Surviving Mars is perfect for players interested in space exploration and the unique challenges of extraterrestrial colonization.

5. Anno 1800: Historical City-Building

Anno 1800, developed by Blue Byte, blends historical settings with city-building mechanics, providing a different historical context compared to Banished. Set during the Industrial Revolution, the game emphasizes trade and industrialization.

Gameplay and Features:

Historical Setting: Players build cities in the 19th century, focusing on industrial development and trade.
Production Chains: The game includes complex production chains and economic systems.
Expansive World: Players can explore and colonize new territories, adding depth to the gameplay.

Anno 1800 is well-suited for players who enjoy historical contexts and intricate economic systems in their city-building games.

6. Dwarf Fortress: The Ultimate Challenge

Dwarf Fortress, developed by Tarn and Zach Adams, is renowned for its depth and complexity. The game’s focus on managing a dwarven colony in a procedurally generated world makes it a challenging and rewarding experience.

Gameplay and Features:

Complex Mechanics: The game features intricate systems for management, including detailed simulation of the dwarves’ needs and environment.
Procedural Generation: Every game is different due to the procedural generation of the world and its challenges.
Steep Learning Curve: The game is notoriously difficult to learn but offers immense satisfaction for dedicated players.

Dwarf Fortress is ideal for players who thrive on complexity and are willing to invest time into mastering a challenging simulation.

7. Banished-like Games Summary

In summary, while Banished offers a unique blend of survival and city-building, numerous other games provide similar experiences with their own distinct twists. Whether you’re managing a sprawling city, colonizing a new planet, or guiding a dwarven fortress, these games offer rich, engaging gameplay for strategy enthusiasts.

By exploring these titles, players can find new challenges and experiences that resonate with the core elements they enjoyed in Banished, making each game a valuable addition to the city-building and survival genre.