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Squirrel's Pick Squirrel's PickThe best game on this page. If you only try one, try this. Closest Match Closest MatchThe most similar game to the anchor, by what players say.
City BuilderHistoricalBase-Building
Strong Mods Strong ModsA deep, active modding scene extends it past its base content.
$25.99 ~43.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 84.2% of 89k
The Squirrel's verdictBoth are medieval settlement builders where food, resource chains, and worker logistics determine whether your town survives past the early years. Manor Lords replaces Vikings' event-based progression with organic town-planning and terrain-driven farming, and its mechanics are more polished, but reviews report content has stalled well past the honeymoon phase, with castle mechanics and late-game upgrades left thin.
Not for you if you need a defined end goal or deep late-game content, since reviews describe stable settlements with nothing left to build toward.
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ActionCity BuilderMedieval
$12.99 ~13.1 hr median no co-op complexity: light 72.1% of 355
The Squirrel's verdictBastide covers the same core loop — farming, logging, production chains, and building placement — at a smaller scale. Reviewer feedback is more positive than most on this page (72.1%), and the developer is noted for active patches and direct forum responses. Median playtime is 13.1 hours, and the game lacks a stated hook to sustain play once the initial build stabilizes.
Not for you if you want multi-year settlement depth or a clear reason to keep building once your town is stable.
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City BuilderCraftingMedieval
$24.99 ~21.1 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 66.3% of 419
The Squirrel's verdictEmpires and Tribes is built around a controllable character you move through the world rather than a top-down camera, with open-placement building freedom replacing any events system. It suits players who want to feel physically present in their settlement. Reviews flag frequent crashes and post-reload pathfinding bugs that can derail long builds. Median playtime is 21.1 hours at Mixed (66.3% positive).
Not for you if frequent crashes and pathfinding failures after reloads would make multi-hour building sessions too frustrating.
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City BuilderSurvivalHistorical
Cozy CozyLow-stress and wholesome — a game to unwind with. Strong Mods Strong ModsA deep, active modding scene extends it past its base content.
$14.99 ~27.7 hr median no co-op complexity: light 63.3% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictAncient Cities replaces a tech tree with a knowledge-exchange system and focuses on a single settlement progressing through prehistoric eras — no events, no combat. Reviews from original Kickstarter backers describe promised features like religion, regions, and age progression as never shipped. Median playtime is 27.7 hours, and the game sits at Mixed (63.3% positive).
Not for you if the gap between a game's Kickstarter promises and its shipped content is a dealbreaker for you.
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AdventureMedievalDwarf
$9.99 ~5.5 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 62.2% of 555
The Squirrel's verdictPlayers who want a short genre sample rather than deep settlement runs will find Life is Hard familiar: resource chains, tribe management, and town building in a 2D RTS format. Released 2021 at Mixed (62.2% positive), reviews cite an unintuitive interface and unfinished systems. Median playtime is 5.5 hours, and multiple reviewers describe the game as effectively abandoned since release.
Not for you if you want an actively developed game — reviews describe it as abandoned since its 2021 release.
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City BuilderColony SimEconomy
$1.99 ~14.5 hr median no co-op complexity: light 60.8% of 1k
The Squirrel's verdictDepraved moves the settlement-builder format to a Wild West setting with random map generation, tradeable indigenous camps, and the ability to run multiple cities on one map. Reviews praise the economic model but describe late-game variety as thin and progression as stagnant once buildings unlock in a fixed order. Median playtime is 14.5 hours at Mixed (60.8% positive).
Not for you if you want varied endgame content — reviewers say the game feels fully explored quickly and progression stalls after that.
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Thrive: Heavy Lies The Crown
PC
RTSColony SimGrand Strategy
$27.99 ~9.5 hr median co-op complexity: moderate 59.2% of 448
The Squirrel's verdictThrive suits players who want Viking-style logistics puzzles with an RTS combat layer added on top — mythological creatures, city management, and co-op are all present. Reviews describe heavy micromanagement of resource thresholds, units that get stuck, and long stretches of waiting between meaningful actions. Median playtime is 9.5 hours at Mixed (59.2% positive), released 2025.
Not for you if slow pacing and extensive micromanagement of stuck units across multiple production thresholds would frustrate you.
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City BuilderCombatAdventure
$24.99 ~5.1 hr median co-op complexity: light 58.2% of 297
The Squirrel's verdictBoth are settlement builders released before they were ready, with progression systems that reward patient players willing to work around bugs. Overthrown adds co-op and physical movement through its world rather than pure top-down management, but reviews describe the base-building loop as thinner than expected, with content running out fast. Median playtime sits at 5.1 hours, far below what Land of the Vikings players logged.
Not for you if you want the deep resource-chain complexity Land of the Vikings offers, since Overthrown's core loop is described as bare once the initial novelty wears off.