Best urban planning simulators for PC.

SimCity

A computer urban planning game series, the first part of which was released by the American company Maxis in 1989. The total number of games in the series is 6 projects, not including the mobile game SimCity BuildIt for Android and iOS. The latest part of SimCity, which is a reboot of the classic first part, was released in 2013.

The gameplay of SimCity is based on building a city from scratch. Players are offered to take control of a small town and engage in the construction of residential and commercial buildings, as well as the industrial sector and infrastructure complex.

When the company is launched for the first time, players will need to select a region map. There are 14 templates to choose from: plains, mountains, islands, etc. In each of the regions, you can also select a plot for construction. The city map is conditionally divided into residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.

Between these zones, players will need to build infrastructure and maintain balance to ensure the satisfaction of city residents. This directly affects the payment of taxes and contributions to the treasury.

At the time of the release, SimCity stood out for its modern graphics and effects. The game used a new Glassbox engine, which provided high-quality graphics. The average rating on Metacritic is 64/100.

Cities: Skylines

A city-building simulator from the Finnish developer, released in 2015. Previously, Colossal Order had already tried their hand at game development, with two transportation simulators to their credit. Cities: Skylines was warmly received by critics and players. The Metacritic rating is 85/100.

The features of Cities: Skylines include:

• multi-level simulation - in addition to building and landscaping, the game also includes simulations of education, water supply, power supply, law enforcement actions, and municipal services;
• transportation - thanks to the developers' previous experience, the game has one of the best simulations of traffic flow and vehicle behavior on the road;
• day and night cycle - the time of day directly affects the rhythm of the inhabitants' lives, the decrease in the efficiency of some services, and the improvement in the quality and speed of others;
• modifications - the project has a large fan base that supports the creation of new maps, buildings, and modifications of existing content.

Buildings and other structures have a level of development that can be increased by meeting certain conditions. For example, increasing the level of education or healthcare in a specific area. As the game progresses, players will have access to new plots.

At the time of its release in 2016, Cities: Skylines was recognized as one of the best projects in the genre, as evidenced by the reviews on Steam - a "Very Positive" rating based on more than 162,000 reviews. The main drawback of the project was performance issues and unclear FPS drops.

Banished

A city-building strategy game with elements of survival from the English company Shining Rock Software. The game was released on Steam in 2013 in the beta testing stage, and the full release version was released in 2017. Banished received a "Very Positive" rating based on 34,000 reviews. The Metacritic rating is 73/100.

The gameplay in Banished is based on managing a group of outcasts who have decided to build an independent and self-sufficient settlement. To do this, players will need to manage each unit, assigning them to specific tasks, such as construction, resource harvesting, food production, fishing, etc. It is necessary to maintain a balance so that each inhabitant of the settlement is satisfied with their work, happy, and healthy. Available buildings for construction include houses, forges, farms, schools, etc.

Technically, Banished does not stand out among competitors in the genre, but it has a distinctive visual style that embodies realism and the oppressive atmosphere of rural life in the Middle Ages.

Anno 1404

A city-building economic strategy game from the German company Related Designs (Ubisoft Mainz). Anno 1404 is the second part and the prequel to Anno 1701, which was released earlier. In 2010, the game received an add-on called Venice, which introduced full multiplayer, a new campaign, buildings, and other improvements.

The game's plot describes fictional events, but overall, the developers relied on historical documents describing the Crusades, the formation of capitalism in Europe, the formation and strengthening of faith, etc. The gameplay of Anno 1404 is in the form of a classic economic strategy game, where players need to colonize new lands, build settlements, lay infrastructure, make alliances, and wage battles.

One of the notable features of the game is the construction of monuments and trade. Both elements are closely related. Without trade, it is impossible to accumulate enough money to build monuments, which are necessary for the development of the city. The process of building monuments is divided into stages and takes a long in-game time.

At the time of its release, Anno 1404 had detailed graphics and effects. Buildings and units are detailed even by today's standards. There are no complaints about the music and other sounds, everything is executed excellently.

Frostpunk

A city-building simulator with survival elements from the Polish studio 11 bit studios. The company's employees include people who worked at CD Projekt. Frostpunk sold over 3 million copies, which is a great success for an indie game. The Metacritic rating is 84/100, and the reviews on Steam are "Very Positive" based on 70,000+ reviews. A direct sequel is currently under development with no announced release date.

The game's plot tells of a gradual cooling in the 19th century due to ongoing volcanic eruptions. Britain, in order to save the population, begins funding observatories in the Arctic and learns that the cooling was caused by the diminishing sun, which will continue. In connection with this, Britain urgently builds special coal-powered generators to heat small settlements.

In the basic version of Frostpunk, there are three scenarios:

1. Survival - the main storyline campaign, which tells the story of survivors after global cooling.
2. The Ark - the defense of four arks containing seeds of all plants on the planet for 28 days.
3. The Refugees - a scenario about the arrival of workers from London to a new settlement location.

The actual gameplay starts when the Earth is already covered in ice, and a small group of survivors arrives at the generator. The key feature of Frostpunk is the air temperature, which constantly decreases and directly affects the gameplay. The main goal of the game is to survive for 45 days, after which warming will come.

Frostpunk has excellent graphics and sound design that immerse players in an atmosphere of fading hope that they must carry through 45 challenging days. The interface, buildings, lighting - everything is done at a high level not typical for indie projects. One of the best strategies of 2018.

They Are Billions

A strategy game from the Spanish company Numantian Games, the action of which takes place in a post-apocalyptic world at the end of the 22nd century. The game is set in a world after a zombie apocalypse that resulted in the destruction of the majority of Earth's population. The game was well received by critics and players alike, with a Metacritic rating of 74/100.

The goal of the game is to build a reliable base to protect the inhabitants, explore the nearby territories, and exterminate zombies. Resources can be obtained by discovering deposits and destroying infected settlements. Available resources for construction include wood, iron, stone, gold, and oil. As the game progresses, empire and science points are unlocked, which can be invested in improving defense or researching new technologies on the tech tree.

• more than 45 missions with over 50 hours of gameplay;
• construction of various structures for city defense;
• expanding settlement based on 90 technologies;
• battles against hordes of constantly attacking zombies;
• researching ancient artifacts with the help of a hero.

They Are Billions includes regular settlement building missions, offensive operations that require destroying zombies to uncover new territories, and tactical missions involving the exploration of ancient fortresses for artifacts.

The game is designed in a cyberpunk 2D style, well animated, and not demanding on computer resources. A PC with hardware from 10 years ago is enough to play They Are Billions.

Tropico 6

An economic city-building strategy game with elements of a political simulator from the German company Limbic Entertainment. It is a sequel to the previous part and the final part of the series with a Metacritic rating of 78/100. Nominated for prestigious awards such as Gamescom Awards and The Game Awards 2019.

Like in the previous part, players will have to become "El Presidente" - the leader of the free state of Tropico, located on the Caribbean islands. The main goal of the game is to stay in power for as long as possible, going through four main eras: colonial, world wars era, Cold War era, and modern times.

The game has practically not become outdated in terms of graphics and still looks good enough. Tropico 6 supports multiplayer mode for up to 4 players, has a lot of added content and expansions.

The Settlers 7