Games like The Last Haven

The Squirrel's verdictBoth are zombie base-builders with research trees, squad-based combat, and wave defense against escalating threats. Infection Free Zone swaps The Last Haven's fixed map for real-world locations you pick yourself, and shifts focus toward squad micromanagement (looting, scavenging, positioning) over pure base defense. Fits players who want the same survival-building loop with more manual squad control.

Not for you if you want combat to run mostly on autopilot rather than manually directing squads through looting and building clearance.

The Squirrel's verdictBecastled fits players who want a castle-building and wave-defense loop with straightforward resource gathering and no campaign structure — each run is a self-contained survival round. The setting is medieval rather than post-apocalyptic. Reviews note that the gameplay can be mastered quickly and that unit movement bugs remain present. Steam rating is Very Positive (81.8%); median playtime is 14.3 hours.

Not for you if you want escalating campaign goals across runs rather than repeatable, standalone survival rounds.

The Squirrel's verdictSame base-building-under-siege loop: gather resources, build defenses, watch nightly waves punish weak walls and undertrained units. Black Forest strips the RTS troop management down to repair-and-rebuild survival, with scenario-based time limits instead of open-ended tech trees. Fits players who want the siege pressure without the soldier micromanagement, at a lower price point.

Not for you if you want offensive options against attackers rather than pure defense-and-repair, or need manual saves.

The Squirrel's verdictSurvive the Fall splits its time between base management and a top-down action RPG where you directly control characters in combat with pause — reviews describe it as two distinct halves that neither feel fully developed. Resource gathering and research trees are present, but the base layer is secondary to the action-RPG portions. Median playtime is 17.1 hours; Steam rating is Mixed (68.5%).

Not for you if you want autonomous troop defense and base sieges rather than direct character control during combat.

The Squirrel's verdictEmpires and Tribes is for players who want a medieval city-builder where a player-embodied character lives inside the world they construct, with territorial expansion and no zombie waves. Progress feels deliberate and earned, but reviews document crashes as frequent as every 30 minutes and save-related bugs that persist after reloads. Median playtime is 21.1 hours; Steam rating is Mixed (66.3%).

Not for you if you need stable performance — reviews consistently describe frequent crashes and save-breaking bugs.

The Squirrel's verdictThrive: Heavy Lies the Crown suits players who want a fantasy city-builder with RTS-style combat, trade routes, territorial expansion, and co-op support. Pace is slower and more management-heavy than Last Haven, with significant busy-work between meaningful decisions. Reported unit-pathing bugs cause workers to get stuck, sometimes triggering riots. Steam rating is Mixed (59.2%); median playtime is 9.5 hours.

Not for you if you want fast-paced siege action rather than slow, micromanagement-heavy city building with current pathing bugs.

The Squirrel's verdictOverthrown shares Last Haven's core of town-building and resource management, but drops the wave-based combat and troop AI entirely in favor of physical movement: sprinting, boulder-tossing, open exploration. Co-op is supported. Steam rating sits at Mixed (58.2%), median playtime 5.1 hours, reflecting reviews calling the content thin post-launch.

Not for you if you want Last Haven's tactical combat and troop AI - Overthrown's loop is movement and building with thin post-launch content.

The Squirrel's verdictProject Wunderwaffe is a WW2 bunker economy game: mining, forging, and shipping goods to the front, with combat largely absent. Task allocation and resource chains are the entire loop, compared to Last Haven's split between building and wave defense. Reviews compare it to a harder, unpolished Fallout Shelter with heavy micromanagement and no central production overview. Median playtime is 7.0 hours; Steam rating is Mixed (57.2%).

Not for you if you want wave-based combat and tower defense — this game is almost entirely production and resource management.