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Squirrel's Pick Squirrel's PickThe best game on this page. If you only try one, try this.
Base-BuildingTower DefenseSurvival
$29.99 ~45 hr median co-op complexity: moderate 90.4% of 24k
The Squirrel's verdictWhere Evil Genius 2 asks you to scheme and defend at a measured pace, Riftbreaker keeps you under near-constant attack: you build outposts on an alien planet, research technologies, and fend off waves of enemies in real time. The base-building and tech-tree progression will feel familiar, but the tempo is relentless rather than methodical. Co-op is supported, and the Steam rating sits at Very Positive.
Not for you if you want to pause and carefully plan every placement; reviewers describe attacks as too frequent to allow deliberate base design.
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Closest Match Closest MatchThe most similar game to the anchor, by what players say. Budget Pick Budget PickThe best game here for the least money.
Colony SimSurvivalBase-Building
$6.99 ~34.8 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 80.7% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictDemon-apocalypse survival replaces evil-lair management here: your survivors scavenge randomly generated worlds while you maintain a home base and push through research gates. Combat is the central loop rather than an occasional intrusion, and reviews flag it as the game's most divisive element. At a median of 34.8 hours and a Very Positive rating, it offers more systemic depth than Evil Genius 2 delivered.
Not for you if you want lair theming and humor over demon-survival combat, or dislike research gates that enforce a fixed build order.
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Resource ManagementArtificial IntelligencePolitical Sim
Moral Weight Moral WeightHard choices with real consequences are central here.
$11.99 ~14.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 82.4% of 391
The Squirrel's verdictBoth cast you as the villain managing a base of subordinates who generate resources you spend on schemes. Rogue AI Simulator swaps henchmen for human test subjects and drops the sprawling world map for a single facility with randomized layouts and hacking minigames. Median playtime runs 14.2 hours, a much smaller commitment than a full base-builder campaign.
Not for you if you want the scale of a global map and story missions rather than one facility built around resource-management minigames.
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Base-BuildingCity BuilderResource Management
$24.99 ~22.9 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 75.5% of 715
The Squirrel's verdictExogate Initiative runs the same base-management loop of staffing rooms, queuing research, and dispatching agents, but frames it around Stargate-style interdimensional exploration. Your operatives travel through a gate to other worlds while you manage the home base remotely; those worlds are never shown directly. Reviews document AI pathing bugs and stuck-task loops that were present in early access and remain in the released build.
Not for you if you want to see the alien worlds your agents explore, or have low tolerance for AI pathing bugs and task-loop failures.
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CrimeBase-BuildingResource Management
$19.99 ~7 hr median no co-op complexity: light 70% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictBasement shares the core loop Evil Genius 2 built on: managing a base with limited build slots, directing production chains, and expanding a criminal operation room by room under mission pressure. It trades the spy-thriller lair for a drug-production setup with a stricter, more punishing campaign that demands precise action order. At around 7 hours of play, it is a much shorter commitment than a full base-builder campaign.
Not for you if you want a long campaign, co-op play, or a base-builder that tolerates experimentation instead of punishing wrong moves.
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Shoot 'Em UpThird-Person ShooterTop-Down Shooter
~9.7 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 68.5% of 321
The Squirrel's verdictCygnus Enterprises follows the same base-plus-missions structure: manage a facility, equip agents, and send them out for resources. The defining constraint is a complete absence of automation — every base chore must be queued and executed manually before and after each mission. The game has since been delisted and downloads disabled by the developer, affecting owners who have uninstalled it.
Not for you if you want the base to run itself between missions, or need confidence that a purchased game will remain downloadable.
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Villain ProtagonistBase-BuildingReal-Time with Pause
$19.99 ~19.5 hr median no co-op complexity: light 65.7% of 807
The Squirrel's verdictMachiaVillain puts you in charge of a horror-movie mansion: lure victims in, harvest resources, and keep your monster minions fed and housed. It replaces Evil Genius 2's henchman roster and world-domination map with a grindier loop built around meat production and traps. The Mixed Steam rating and recurring bug reports reflect a game that reviewers consistently describe as underdeveloped relative to its concept.
Not for you if you want a polished, content-rich villain management game; reviewers find MachiaVillain barebones and buggy at its $19.99 price.
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God GameVillain ProtagonistBase-Building
$24.99 ~16 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 63.1% of 1k
The Squirrel's verdictRuinarch keeps the evil-mastermind framing but swaps EG2's base-building and heist management for direct manipulation of AI villagers through curses and traits, pushing them toward self-destruction. No underground lair to construct, no minion micromanagement. Median playtime runs 16 hours. Suits players who want the villain fantasy stripped down to psychological puppeteering rather than facility management.
Not for you if you came to Evil Genius 2 for base construction and minion logistics, since reviews describe Ruinarch's maps as small with no equivalent base-building layer.