The best PC simulation games
What are the best simulation games on PC? From the all-time greats that are still worth playing; the sims with modding communities who breathe eternal life into them; the facsimiles of an aspect of reality so niche you can barely fathom their existence, we have everything you need here.
Sims differ from other PC games in that their raison d’être isn’t necessarily to entertain, at least not primarily. You want fun and excitement? Tough. Operating a submarine is not that. It is, however, fascinating, terrifying, and hugely satisfying as a long-form experience.
Such is the nature of the genre that seeking out the best PC sims is like asking for the ‘special’ stock the shopkeeper keeps in the back room. They’re not all best-sellers, but these are the titles with dedicated communities offering deep tutorials and incredible mods, that let you get as close to hauling a trailer full of plumbing parts across Europe, driving an F1 car, or piloting a military aircraft as national security laws will permit.
The best simulation games on PC are:
Buy now
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator recreates every aspect of flying down to the last sublime detail: the hot air from the engines rippling over the wing as you begin your charge down the runway, and the streaks of rain across your windshield as you descend through the clouds. This spectacular attention to detail becomes more astonishing – every single square inch of our planet Earth is mapped out in MFS, ready for you to soar overhead.
Read more: Our guide to the best airplane and flying games on PC
The flying itself is also meticulously simulated, with detailed aerodynamic modeling, fully detailed cockpits and instrumentation, and real time weather conditions – so you can experience the precise wind speed and direction outside your window right now as you crash into your own house.
Play for free
War Thunder
Perhaps the best thing about this free MMO is that it’s very easy to just plunge into it, get a decent idea of its systems and start having fun right away.
Try saying that about Flight Simulator X with a straight face.
If you’re after sheer volume of machinery, War Thunder’s WW2/Korean War era roster exceeds 300 aircraft. Each can be piloted using arcade (boo!) or simulation physics models to blast away at airborne adversaries playing on both PC and consoles – its servers know no platform boundaries. Which, of course, means there’s usually plenty of easy meat for PC players to pick off.
If War Thunder’s skies offer an opportunity for a quick joyride and a bit of sightseeing, ground combat offers the exact opposite – the steel beasts in this tank game move at such a glacial pace that you’re constantly on high alert, scanning for enemies in the scrubland. Whoever fires first in this free Steam game almost always carries away the spoils.
The USA, Russia, Britain, Germany and Japan all wage war here, each with their own particular mechanical strengths (there’s a long-running argument concerning Soviet machinery bias in this area), weaknesses… and convoluted upgrade paths.
If you’re averse to grinding, this might not be the simulation game for you. If you’re after a WW2 sim with an enormous community that you can start playing with no financial outlay, though… well, your demands are very specific, and War Thunder’s your sim.
Play War Thunder for free
Play for free
World of Warships
This free-to-play multiplayer naval battler immerses players in the tides of WW2, where players can control ships in sea combat to take down opponents on a variety of maps. World of Warships continues to receive frequent updates that add to the already enormous fleet of cruisers, destroyers, battleships, and aircraft carriers that players can command on the waters – each with their own special abilities. You can now play World of Warships in your very own submarine complete with upgrades and unique combat roles, making this one of the best submarine games out there.
Play World of Warships for free
KERBAL SPACE PROGRAM
You know a space flight simulator’s doing something right when NASA and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk start getting interested.
Despite the cutesy appearance of its astronauts, Kerbal Space Program is an incredibly detailed physics-based space game which lets you design and construct your own spacecraft before launching it into orbit and then doing impossibly complicated things like docking with other vessels or landing your wobbly phallic construct on the moon.
Kerbal Space Program Kerbal Space Program Humble $39.99 Buy now Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
Since the earliest version of KSP released in 2011, its community sprang into action with mods, written and video tutorials, a cornucopia of user-created spacecraft to try out for yourself, and a recreation of The Martian. Its popularity prompted NASA – as in actual NASA – to reach out to developers Squad and collaborate with them to create new in-game content based on real missions.
Is it 100% realistic? Given that it’s simulating one of the most complicated human endeavours ever undertaken and letting you have a go with your mouse and keyboard, there’s an element of creative licensing.
However – it’s about as close as the medium has produced. Every physical object in the game abides by Newtonian dynamics, which is why that rocket you built to look like Gary Busey’s face collapsed and burned itself to cinders the second you hit the thrusters. Its model of orbital mechanics has also been praised by those in a position to assess that sort of thing.
RAILWAY EMPIRE
Railway Empire is a train sim with a difference – it’s a historical one, focused on the early days of train travel across the United States, during the tumultuous years of the Wild West era. You have the whole of North America to build on, and the goal of leading your company into the 20th century.
Railway Empire – Complete Collection Railway Empire – Complete Collection Fanatical $39.99 Buy now Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
Railway Empire isn’t just a train game, it also simulates the management side of the job, too, making it a spiritual successor to the classic Railroad Tycoon series.
The game’s got dozens of accurately-modelled trains from that era, and you can ride and control any of them. The real joy of the game is in handling the company, from laying down tracks and building stations, to managing the workforce and researching new technologies.
Railway Empire is a realistic management game though, so don’t expect to just plop these things down Theme Park-style – you have to consider switches, terrain, water, and many other factors if you’re going to be successful. Like any simulation game there’s a lot of detail to take in at first, but once you get going it’s a lot of fun.
Train Sim World
The humble train simulator has been around for almost as long as there’s been PC simulation games, and while the latest iteration of Train Simulator is the traditional choice, Train Sim World offers something a mite more ambitious – and it’s by the same developer, Dovetail Games, so fans of one should appreciate the other.
Well trained: The best train games on PC
It’s certainly the most realistic train sim game around – for example, you can’t even leave the station without priming the battery first.
The whole game’s played in first-person, so all the driving, management, and upkeep is done from the ground level – just as if you were serving and running the train yourself. The whole point of simulation games is to make you feel like you’re actually doing the job, and Train Sim World does that better than any other – as we found while documenting our Train Sim World travel diary adventures.
Train Sim World Train Sim World Fanatical $29.99 Buy now Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
While it started off a little bare-bones when it released, Dovetail has consistently updated the game with new features, trains, routes, weather, and more. There’s also an array of DLC packs, too. It may all be a bit pricey for some, but the option to expand is there if you find yourself tiring of the same routes, and you certainly won’t be able to find a more in-depth and realistic train sim for your money.
Farming Simulator 19
When it comes to farming simulator games, look no further than, er, Farming Simulator 19.
The clue’s in the name, frankly. Please excuse our facetiousness, but believe us when we say that if you’re looking for the closest one-to-one recreation of truly living off the land, Giants Software’s latest agricultural outing is for you. And we’re experts, as our Farming Simulator 19 diary eloquently (read: sort of) shows.
Farming Simulator 19 Farming Simulator 19 Microsoft $19.99 Buy now Network N earns commission from qualifying purchases via Microsoft and other programs.
Considering you’ll most likely be losing many hours to tending your crops and livestock, it’s great that Farming Simulator gives us a graphical overhaul. That doesn’t help the smell of the manure, though. With more vehicles and detail than ever before, Farming Simulator is the kind of management title that teaches you new skills as you get away from the big smoke. Or just lets you make creepy crop circles.
F1 2020
If you’re a fan of F1 games, you should already be aware of the official F1 series from Codemasters and the studio’s annual entries.
The pinnacle of Formula One simulation racers gets as close to the experience as you’re likely to get without actually being there, and the latest entry is the best yet
The handling model in the F1 series is the best around and this is the finest iteration yet – accurately and perfectly conveying the sense of driving one of these ridiculously fast beasts. Tiny changes in traction, feeling the back twitch out in the rain, and that unmistakable bobble as you hit full speed; it’s all there, whether you’re haring around the Côte d’Azur in modern or classic vehicles. You don’t just have to manage your (officially licensed) vehicles either, instead you have to interact with the pit crew, and gain their trust, which translates to better morale, and more efficient car servicing on the track. It’s a small touch, but – combined with the realistic feel of the cars, tracks, and F1 world – it all adds up to what is still the greatest F1 sim around.
New to F1 2020 is the ability to create and manage your own F1 team down to the last detail.
You can recruit actual F1 drivers to your team, who each have various different ratings based on real life data.
Assetto Corsa Competizione
While the likes of Project CARS and Grid Autosport may offer a more coherent driving game experience, with a sense of career progression and other such bells and whistles, Assetto Corsa Competizione recreates the sensation of driving a fast car better than any other. It’s simply magnificent in its purity, delivering an all-encompassing sense of realism and immersion with stellar sound design and a physics model that justifies that £300 you spent on a force feedback wheel while your children starved.
Assetto Corsa Competizione Assetto Corsa Competizione Humble $39.99 Buy now Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
It’s even more breathtakingly accurate than its predecessor, Assetto Corsa, with new aerodynamics and tyre modelling, and multi-channel audio sampling of real GT cars so they even sound perfect..jpeg)
Each track is a laser-scanned reproduction of its real life counterpart, so you can get as close as possible to your dream of throwing your car round the Nürburgring without the risk of losing control on the Karussell.
Euro Truck Simulator 2
An oft-vented argument about Euro Truck Sim is that it isn’t aspirational; people play flight simulators because it’s incredibly difficult and financially prohibitive to become a pilot, and relatively easy to get a job driving lorries by contrast. The counter argument? Euro Truck Simulator 2 exists so you don’t have to get a job driving lorries.
Euro Truck Simulator 2 Euro Truck Simulator 2 Fanatical $19.99 Buy now Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
On one hand, it’s therapeutic. Cruising the dual carriageways of Northern Italy at just below the legal speed limit while a local radio station plays unintelligibly is pure nourishment for the soul.
On the other, it’s a supreme challenge. Defeated the Fume Knight in Dark Souls II, have you? Come back when you’ve parallel-parked a Scania R Highline carrying a yacht after a night drive from Luxembourg to Budapest.
Related: Find your next time sink with these new MMOs
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of SCS Software’s simulation is that it is ostensibly driving, but not quite as you know it. Forget everything racing games taught you about turning circles. Forget what they taught you about mirrors, too – no longer do they exist simply to illustrate the crash you caused with your reckless weaving. Now they’re an essential component of your driving experience, crucial to turning any corner greater than 10 degrees without scraping thousands off your salary.
As with any sim worth its salt, Euro Truck Simulator 2 has a considerable haul of mods, crafted by the loving hands of its community. The base game offers thousands of kilometres of real estate and no shortage of vehicles, but there’s a wealth of additional trucks, maps, liveries and sound packs out there.
Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific
Contrary to their depiction in film, submarines aren’t sleek, agile instruments of death. They’re vulnerable at sea level, and all but blind below it. They hunt for freighters in the incomprehensibly vast ocean for days at a time, and when they do engage in combat it moves at a kind of perpetual bullet time. If ever a subject matter didn’t lend itself to videogames, submarine combat is it.
Silent Hunter IV: Wolves of the Pacific Gold Edition Silent Hunter IV: Wolves of the Pacific Gold Edition Fanatical $13.69 Buy now Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
But Silent Hunter 4 isn’t a videogame. It’s a ruthlessly realistic WW2 game for only the most sun-averse naval commanders, complete with a control room full of unfriendly dials and crew members whose admiration for their superior prohibits them from emitting as much as a whimper when you guide your sub towards certain death.
Mother nature’s just as deadly as your Axis opponents down here at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
Related: Check out the best submarine games on PC
Released way back in 2007 when YouTube was in nappies, Sh5 almost eligible for a state pension at this point. Although later iterations have modernised its visuals, they haven’t bested its atmosphere and tension, and its freeform career mode, played from the Allied perspective in the Pacific theatre of war, is still the best simulated submariner experience on offer.
Dirt Rally
Codemasters’ first foray into early access development has proved fruitful: DIRT Rally currently has 136,000 players and a Steam user score of 92%, and that’s thanks in no small part to a renewed focus on the actual driving and a shift away from console-style presentation.
Like F1 2015, it’s the proud owner of an all-new handling model which feels infinitely more granular and weighty than the quasi-arcade physics of previous DIRT games, and it brings the best out of a good force feedback wheel.
The UK studio’s always been adept at bringing the knife-edge balancing act of rally driving to sim racing – let’s not forget it was they who developed Colin McRae Rally back in 1998 – but not until now have they been able to strip away all the interactive motorhome menus and Californian voiceovers to concentrate on simply delivering the best all-terrain driving model since Richard Burns Rally.
There’s no doubt those among you who’d report that RBR is still the superior rally simulation game, enriched by some 14 years of mod development. And while it’s true that the sheer volume and quality of user-generated content is beyond formidable at this point, there’s a lot of hoop-jumping involved to get RBR running properly, with mods, on a modern PC at 1080p and above. It’s time to move on and accept that DIRT Rally is the future of low-traction motoring mayhem.
X-Plane 10 Global
There are two very distinct schools of thought when it comes to commercial flight simulator games.
Some prefer Flight Sim X’s all-you-can-eat buffet of add-on content, other swear Laminar’s blade element theory-based flight model (which actually simulates air) makes for a livelier, more realistic journey. Trying to ascertain superiority between the two is a fool’s errand, really. It’s a matter of personal taste.
X-Plane 10’s physics model definitely feels different. Wings bend more visibly and weight is conveyed more tangibly than in FSX, thanks to an underpinning system that calculates a plane’s behaviour according to its 3D model and engine output, then simulates the air’s behaviour as that model tears through it.
While its ATC and traffic AI are often derided in comparison for guiding you into suicidal manoeuvres, its helicopters are regarded as much more convincing by those in the know.
Its chief drawback is the low-detail landscape textures you’ll find in the base game, drawn by an autogen system that can leave some areas disconcertingly unpopulated and big cities/airports lacking realistic details.
However, it makes for much more spectacular night-time flying, cities glimmering on your windshield as you descend through the clouds.
Insurgency: Sandstorm
The second Insurgency game wonderfully straddles the line between hardcore soldier simulator and arcade multiplayer games. Anyone can pop in a game and have fun, but try to play Insurgency Sandstorm like Team Fortress 2 or Counter-Strike and you won’t advance very far.
Insurgency: Sandstorm Insurgency: Sandstorm Humble $29.99 Buy now Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
Instead, Sandstorm is more like a condensed version of ARMA 3. Sure, there may be capture points and XP, but at its heart this war game is all about simulating the ferociousness of modern conflict. A couple of gunshots will down any enemy, although aiming and actually hitting them is far more difficult. There’s a large range of realistic guns to choose from, and they all feel distinct, especially once you start modding them with attachments like new barrels, grips, and scopes, which can completely change the feel of the weapon.
There are no grenade warning flashes, reloading changes the whole magazine, you have to take weight into account when managing loadouts, and there’s no scoreboard for tracking kills. When it comes to UI and on-screen distractions Insurgency: Sandstorm keeps things simple – as we found in our Insurgency: Sandstorm review – it’s all the better for it.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover
Cliffs Of Dover wasn’t anything like the supreme fight-and-flight extraordinaire it is today when it first rumbled apologetically down the runway in 2011, but a series of staggeringly high-quality patches from Norway-based collective Team Fusion now leave it worthy of its IL-2 Sturmovik moniker. Performance issues have been ironed out, and the original, notoriously dodging AI fixed with more sensible routines.
IL-20 Strumovik: Cliffs of Dover – Blitz Edition IL-20 Strumovik: Cliffs of Dover – Blitz Edition Humble $9.99 Buy now Network N earns affiliate commission from qualifying sales.
There are new aircraft variants in the modern-day Cliffs Of Dover, too, and the original planes enjoy a physics rework that improves ground handling (much more challenging than in 1C’s base game, but much more realistic). Airborne manoeuvrability has been tweaked for realism and more engaging dogfights, too. In short, it’s an immeasurably better game than the one that appeared, sniffling and coughing, four years ago – all thanks to Team Fusion. Their patch is now up to version 4.312, and you should definitely download it before playing.
ARMA 3
ARMA 3 doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t care if you’re having fun, and it doesn’t care about your k:d in Call Of Duty. ARMA 3 cares about one thing, and one thing only: realism. So much so that it was once accidentally used in place of real warzone footage.
As we found in our ARMA 2 launch impressions, It’s the kind of shooter in which you spend more time looking at your map and compass than down the ironsights of your TRG assault rifle, and gunfights play out with hundreds of metres separating combatants – this is the thinking person’s sniper game, in other words.
When you see a tank, your first instinct is to pull out your radio, not an RPG launcher. Every single key on your keyboard has its own unique function. It’s basically terrifying.
But from your first petrified footsteps through its enormous theatres of war, when you see the chopper in the sky above you and realise someone’s flying that, ARMA 3’s hardcore appeal permeates. There’s a reason so many of its Steam reviews come from players with thousand of hours of play time.
Those reviewers will mention its myriad annoying bugs, and they’ll also all agree that they don’t ruin Bohemia’s fantastically large-scale combat simulation game. There is a solo campaign, but it’s in the multiplayer sandbox that the real long game lies. It’s here, under the scrutiny of dozens of other players, that you’ll try to pilot a helicopter for the first time and take to the skies with the finesse of a daddy long legs. It’s here you’ll learn to move as one infantry unity, and use voice comms not for blaring Belgian techno or schoolyard insults, but useful, concise communication.
On the internet. That’s ARMA 3’s power.
More like this: Save your cash with the best free PC games
And there you have it, the best simulation games on PC. We hope that over the course of your pilot, driver, or roller coaster architect training that you’ve learned a thing or two, and had just as much fun in the process. But, if the World War 2 games on this list have given you a taste for boots-on-the-ground action, check out our list of the best FPS games on PC or for more relaxing games, our list of the best truck games on PC is worth checking out. In the meantime, we’re on the lookout for a games media simulation game, since we absolutely don’t have enough to be getting on with already.
20 best simulator games you can play right now
(Image credit: Asobo Studio)
The best simulator games let you experience an entirely new way of life, a career you never considered, or even dabble in crime. While some are challenging, delivering absolute accuracy and forcing you to learn technical skills, some are like playable ASMR, inducing a flow state that will give you a welcome break from the real world.
We’ve included something for everyone here, whether you want to let your inner middle-aged man run wild with a jet washer, swap your corporate life for tending turnips, or start a new career as a producer behind the scenes of a British TV channel.
We update this list regularly as more weird and wonderful simulators arrive on PC and consoles, so check back whenever you need a new hit of sweet sim satisfaction.
20. PowerWash Simulator
(Image credit: Square Enix)
Available on: PC
A newcomer to the world of simulation games, PowerWash Simulator proves that sometimes all you need are water and muck to have a good time. Essentially the game is a shooter, but your targets are filth that has built up on lawn chairs, vans, and helicopters, and your weapons are a water jet and various flavors of soap. There’s just something insanely satisfying about washing the crud off various items, and the game even gives a little dopamine-inducing ping when the section you’ve been working on is spotless.
You might think it all sounds too simple, but between upgrades to your equipment, crawling on your belly to get to hard-to-reach areas, and the pure meditative flow state that comes with virtual manual labor, this is one game that makes a chore something to cherish.
19. Farming Simulator 17
Available on: PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Google Stadia
The core of Farming Simulator’s experience remains the same: buy more fields, upgrade equipment and enjoy your day-to-day routine among the green hills. The range of machines and equipment available to you is exceptionally broad, with the kind of brands that are familiar household names (if you are a farmer). As one of the most authentic farming experiences that you can get without getting your wellies dirty, the game is only enhanced by its updated visuals, customizable farms, and rideable horses.
If you’re looking to get away from the more high-octane gameplay of other titles and try something more tranquil, Farming Simulator 19 may be an ideal escape.
That’s not to say that there isn’t any mechanical depth to the proceedings- those crops aren’t going to grow themselves after all, but Farming Simulator 2019, if nothing else, works as a therapeutic break from the stress and intensity of its genre contemporaries.
18. Mad Tower Tycoon
(Image credit: Eggcode)
Available on: PC
Real estate becomes virtual with this engaging tower sim by EggCode. Build a skyscraper that will stand the test of time, and then fill it with luxury apartments, offices, or deluxe entertainment to excite the masses- then it’s your job to make sure your building stays clean, well-powered, and convenient. The game’s primary challenge is managing transport in your new metropolitan monolith, and the game’s limited-capacity elevators make this an interesting challenge.
With charming cartoony graphics and a clearer interface than some of its competitors, Mad Tower Tycoon is an excellent introduction to management sims for those new to the genre.
If you’re in the mood for some sky-scraping, then this is the game for you.
17. Project Cars 2
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)
Available on: PC, Xbox One, and PS4
A slightly more in-depth sim than its series predecessor, Project Cars 2 adds new levels of realism to its racing experience. With improved car handling and a new weather system that takes into account everything from time of day to seasons to the track’s height above sea level, the game’s ultimate intent is to be as realistic as conceivably possible.
Yet despite this obsession with technical details, Mad Studios doesn’t lose sight of what’s really important- the pure adrenaline rush of racing around the world’s most famous tracks in over 180 real-life supercars. Whether you’re driving alone, or competing online in the game’s Online Championship mode, Project Cars 2 lets you live your most vivid racing fantasies.
16. Railway Empire
(Image credit: Kalypso Media)
Available on: PC, Xbox One and PS4
Set during the American golden age of railway, between 1830 and 1930, you are the proud owner of an ambitious young railway company.
Plan your railway lines and run a glorious range of over 40 historically authentic trains along them. But remember- although a direct line might be more profitable in the long term, it might also bankrupt your company to build! In addition to rolling out your great iron roads across the country, the game affords you a large degree of customization, letting you hire your own employees, each with individual personality types, and even what carriages your engines will pull.
And for those gamers who would rather build their railway closer to home, the game also has a wide range of DLC, giving you the chance to expand your business to parts of Europe, South America and Canada.
15. Cities: Skylines
Available on: PC, Xbox One, and PS4
After the much fêted but flawed SimCity reboot, Cities: Skylines thankfully came along in 2015 to restore the city-sim genre to its former glory. By offering contemporary reworkings of Maxis’ original formula, Skylines feels like a modern city-sim in every sense of the word, and watching your metropolis expand and thrive in real-time has never looked so good.
It’s one of the few simulator games that’s also available on console, too, and Cities: Skyline’s sleek user interface turns the comfort of a controller into a totally viable and enjoyable option for those less inclined to the mouse and keyboard.
14. Thief Simulator
(Image credit: Noble Muffins)
Available on: PC and Nintendo Switch
Are you a hardened criminal? Then Thief Simulator by Noble Muffins isn’t the game for you. But if you’re just a regular normie dreaming of a life of villainy, then this open-world burglary simulator may be just what you’re looking for.
Scout out the neighborhood for houses to hit, and spy on their occupants to work out their daily routines. Then it’s time to go in with your janky black van and your diverse set of thieving tools and nick everything that’s not nailed down. Pick locks, rejig security systems, and cut holes in windows to become the best bad guy on the block. Just make sure you don’t get caught!
13.
Football Manager 2020
(Image credit: SI Games)
Available on: PC, Nintendo Switch, Mac, iOS and Android
The classic sports managing sim returns to the pitch for another game. With over 200 teams and 116 leagues across 51 nations, Football Manager 2020 offers an in-depth football experience. Splash the cash on big-name transfers, or train the stars of the future through the all-new Development Centre. As a manager, create new play strategies for upcoming matches and watch the game unfold, and define your vision for the club’s future, molding its culture, objectives, and long-term plan for success. With such wide-ranging possibilities at your fingertips, this really is a Beautiful Game.
12. Silent Hunter 3
Available on: PC
It’s still a relatively unknown piece of trivia that one of the best submarine simulator games out there comes from a Ubisoft studio, but don’t worry, there isn’t a watchtower to be found in the open seas of Silent Hunter 3.
Instead, the third game in the WWII-set series was praised for its attention to detail and action-oriented battles.
Even if the ins and outs of historical watercraft aren’t your thing (understandably), Silent Hunter 3’s meaty campaign is worth playing for its enrapturing atmosphere and open-ended pace. There’s a somber beauty to the destruction too, with the lavish detail designed to draw you in and keep you there, even when the intensity of the warfare becomes almost overwhelming.
11. PC Building Simulator
(Image credit: Irregular Corporation)
Available on: PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch
Taking its title ultra-seriously is PC Building Simulator by Romanian indie developer Claudiu Kiss. Aiming to create the most realistic experience you can get without having to wield a can of pressurized air, the game benefits from a long list of real-life components from hardware producers such as Intel, AMD, and Nvidia. Choose between career mode, where you’ll be upgrading, repairing, and virus-zapping according to the needs of your clients, or build the gaming PC of your electric dreams in free build mode.
10. X-Plane 11
(Image credit: Laminar Research)
Available on: PC
For all you prospective pilots out there, you couldn’t do much better than X-Plane 11. Released by developer Laminar Research in 2017 (contrary to the deceptive title), this flight sim lets you take control of a range of real-world aircraft, from helicopters to gliders to massive jumbo jets. What makes it stand out from the crowd though, is the inclusion of the Plane Maker modding tool, making it easy to design new and exciting aircraft to fly. Complex weather modeling is also a feature, simulating real-world weather in-game to give you an authentic flying experience. If you fancy joining the jet set, this game should be your next destination.
9. Euro Truck Simulator 2
Available on: PC
Who knew a game about driving a truck could be so addictive? SCS Software did, clearly, as their trucking sim sequel is currently one of the highest-rated games on Steam, sat above the likes of Dishonored, Civilization V, and Half-Life 2.
The reality is that Euro Truck Simulator 2 offers that devastating blend of being both immensely relaxing and fiercely captivating, with the pleasant journeys along your designated trade routes segmented by junctures of deep strategy, as you consider factors such as fuel, finance, and furbishing your ride with new upgrades. Euro Truck Simulator 2’s greatest achievement is that it isn’t just a game made for transport enthusiasts, but the appeal extends to anyone with even the slightest appreciation for the simple pleasures of the open road.
8. Two Point Hospital
(Image credit: Sega)
Available on: PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch
In this light-hearted hospital management sim, it’s your job to make sure that Two Point County’s new infirmary is up to scratch and able to deal with whatever new malady the locals bring through the door with them- whether that’s Floppy Discs, Cubism, or the dreaded Night Fever!
Like most management sims, the aim is to balance the budget with demand and slowly expand your healthcare empire.
A spiritual successor to 1997’s Theme Hospital, Two Point shares much of its beloved forebear’s gameplay, visuals, and humor- albeit updated for a modern audience. Despite the game’s emphasis on humor, Two Point Studios’ opus quickly ramps up the pace, requiring you to make careful decisions on the quest for maximum efficiency. If you’re looking for a challenging, warm-hearted business sim to contract, then Two Point Hospital is extremely infectious.
7. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam
(Image credit: Antimatter Games)
Available on: PC
As unforgiving as its predecessor, Rising Storm 2 transports the action from World War II to the Vietnam War. Operating as an unofficial hybrid between popular first-person shooters like Call of Duty and the more hardcore mil-sims such as ARMA, the game incentivizes tactics over blind firepower. Tripwire Interactive’s focus is on making you feel like an actual soldier, rather than a superhero who can shrug off everything except scripted nuke detonations.
As a result, you’ll find yourself hiding in foxholes, calling in napalm strikes or flanking your enemies with your squadmates, far more often than you’ll be charging at the enemy like a berserker. The result is a truly visceral and tense simulation of battle that puts you right in the heart of the conflict.
6. Not for Broadcast
(Image credit: NotGames)
Available on: PC
The world of television is a fast-paced, high-stress place at the best of time, let alone in a dystopian alternate 1980s where broadcasts are actively censored. Although you’re only the cleaner, you’ve accidentally found yourself behind the mixing desk of the biggest news program on TV, National Nightly News. Underqualified and at risk of falling foul of the shady powers behind the scenes, it is your job to select camera feeds, bleep out foul language and choose the headlines that will be broadcast to the world. Like its fellow bureaucrat simulator Papers Please, you can choose to play the dutiful pawn, or deliberately cause trouble.
Whatever you decide, you only have a few seconds to act, because the news is going out live. The game’s retro flavor, as well as its unusual use of live-action TV footage, creates a very engaging tone that compliments the tricky gameplay and the ethics of your new career as a propagandist.
5. ARMA 3
Available on: PC
Most people will recognize the ARMA brand for its wildly popular zombie mod based on ARMA 2, DayZ, but it is ARMA 3 which deserves some of the spotlight for what it brought to the military-sim table. Bohemia Interactive executes the essential elements of sandbox strategy with aplomb, and ARMA 3 serves as an open-ended arena for organic, dynamic war stories that can be played out with friends and foes.
The depth of simulation is comprehensive, but only to a point, so as to sustain the immediacy of every interaction. Indeed, ARMA 3 can be extremely stressful and even terrifying at times, but that truth is nothing less than a testament to its immersive power as an undiluted evocation of modern warfare.
4. Cooking Simulator
(Image credit: Big Cheese Studio)
Available on: PC
Ever wanted to be a professional chef? Well now is your chance. Cooking Simulator by Big Cheese Studio puts you in charge of a large, realistic kitchen and makes it your task to dice, simmer, blend and season your way to becoming the greatest chef of all time.
If your only experience of chef sims is Cooking Mama, the surprising depths of Cooking Simulator may come as something of a surprise. You’ll have to precisely measure and cook your ingredients- but make sure your hungry diners aren’t kept waiting too long! Or, if you’re more in the mood for mindless destruction of course, that’s also possible, with Big Cheese giving you the ability to start fires, break plates and blow up the microwave. If you’re ready to let your inner Gordon Ramsey out, then this may be the game for you!
3. Planet Coaster
(Image credit: Frontier Developments)
Available on: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Fancy running your own theme park? Perhaps you see yourself as some kind of ‘roller coaster tycoon’? In Planet Coaster, you can do just that.
Developed by Frontier Developments (the same studio responsible for 2004’s Roller Coaster Tycoon 3), it’s your task to fill your burgeoning new park with the world’s most thrilling rides. Sharing a great deal with its illustrious forebear (including the ability to ride your roller coaster creations), the game is rife with nostalgic fun. But for those new to the theme park genre, navigating Planet Coaster’s highs and lows is nevertheless a fresh and sometimes challenging simulator experience.
2. The Sims 4
(Image credit: EA)
Available on: PC, Xbox One, PS4
When The Sims 4 was first released in 2015 some fans of the series were disappointed by the lack of content in the game, but six years on an avalanche of add-ons means the EA titan is bigger and better than ever. Create a sim, or take over the lives of any of the EA-created NPCs, and start living their life the way you want, choosing everything from their career to romantic partners to general behavior.
Be evil, be kind, be a weirdo, the game doesn’t force you down any particular path but allows you to experience and play through the consequences of your actions. Thanks to DLC your sim can try out life with magic powers, get a pet, move the country, have paranormal experiences and so much more. Or just use the money cheat and spend many happy hours building a mega-mansion.
1. Microsoft Flight Simulator
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Available on: PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
The 2020 release of Microsoft Flight Simulator was the first time the series appeared on console and offered us all tickets to blue skies and new lands when actual travel was strongly discouraged, if not banned. The game is a visual marvel and the level of realism applied to the technicalities of piloting an aircraft is impressive and terrifying, no matter how much attention you think you were paying on all those vacation flights. Luckily the game comes with its own flight school to try and teach you the basics, and options to vary the amount of assistance the game gives you to help avoid a terrible crash.
As a pilot, you’ll be rewarded with views of a 4K, photorealistic Planet Earth from the cockpit, and the chance to cry «I can see my house from here» whenever you want.
Need something else to play? Whether you’re a fan of turn-based tactics or a good RTS, there’s something for everyone in the best strategy games
Rachel Weber is the US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She joined GamesRadar+ in 2017, revitalizing the news coverage and building new processes and strategies for the US team.
Best Simulation games on PC (PC) — top Simulation games, list on PC (PC)
20106
According to gambling rating
from high to low to high to high
on the release date
at first the old
rating
from high to high
in alphabet
A-ZZ -A
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
PC, Xbox Series
Simulator
Minecraft
Android, iOS, Mac, PC, PS4, Xbox 360
Adventure, Strategy, Simulator, Puzzle, Manager
World of Tanks
PC, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
, Action, MMO, Simulation
Jurassic World Evolution 2
PS4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series
Strategy, Simulator
Noita
PC
PC, ACSHEN, Simulator
DIRT 2.
05 PS4, Xbox One
Sports, Simulation, Racing
Crusader Kings 3
Linux, Mac, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series
RPG, Strategy, Simulation
Need for Speed: Most Wanted , Arcade
Graveyard Keeper
Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Adventure, RPG, Strategy, Simulation
Surviving Mars
Linux, Mac, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Strategy, Simulation
Papers, Please
Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, PC, PS Vita
Adventure, Simulation, Puzzle
XCOM: Enemy Within
Android, iOS, Mac, PC, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360
Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Action, Simulation, Tactics
Need for Speed Underground 2
NDS, PC
Simulator
Frostpunk
Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Strategy, Simulator, Manager
Worms, Sega World Party 9002 Dreamcast
Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Simulation
1
2
.
..
1341
more
the best online games in the genre
A selection of the best games in which you can take responsibility for the life path of virtual characters.
Life simulator is not the most popular, but very interesting genre of video games. Where else can you feel like a god and control the fate of virtual characters? Although there are not many games in this genre, some of them may interest you and allow you to escape from the usual shooters, MMORPGs and strategies. So, the best life simulators on PC.
The Sims 4
Probably every gamer has heard about The Sims games, no matter what category he considers himself to be — casual or hardcore. Studio Maxis has created an interesting, diverse and full of possibilities sandbox in which you can literally do everything — from making your sim a superstar, even to kill in a sophisticated way (removing the stairs from the pool has already become a classic). And regular additions, catalogs and custom mods expand the games with new content and constantly stir up interest in them.
There are currently four numbered parts in the series, and of course we recommend the last, fourth one. In it, Sims have become truly alive: they experience a storm of emotions, are able to perform several actions at the same time and adequately respond to everything that happens around them. The only thing that can overshadow the pleasure of the game is a large number of expensive catalogs and add-ons, without which the basic version looks too poor. If you want to get all the features from The Sims 4, you have to spend money.
Buy now
Second Life
The possibilities of playing life simulator Second Life seem endless. Judge for yourself: you find yourself in a virtual world where you are free to do whatever you want — fight in the arena, participate in orgies, build a personal spaceport, find your love. Moreover, thanks to the rich customization, your hero may not even look like a person. Add to this a full-fledged social network, a «live» economy and the function of withdrawing money from the game — and you will understand why this project has its name..jpg)
It can take months or years to explore the world of Second Life online. Perhaps, after getting acquainted with this game, all the others will seem too insipid and boring to you. But keep in mind that due to its age, the project may scare away with not the most modern picture.
Play
Stardew Valley
This life simulation game is known for its unusual creation story: it was developed by just one person who devoted several years of his life to it, independently creating all the graphics, music and gameplay mechanics. If you’d like to learn more, we recommend you check out Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, which provides interesting insights into the development of famous video games in recent years.
But back to Stardew Valley. Here you arrive in a small town where your character has inherited a small farm. You have to develop it, but unlike other farm games, the gameplay is not limited to watering the beds and raising livestock. You will also communicate with the inhabitants of the city, explore dungeons full of secrets, participate in festive events and even search for a soul mate for the hero.
And with the addition of multiplayer, Stardew Valley has also become an online game, so you can share your adventures in co-op mode with a friend.
Buy now
Spore
Spore is not so much a life simulator as an evolution simulator where you start playing as a single-celled organism and end up in space. Moreover, the civilization that is under your leadership is completely a figment of your imagination: you literally create creatures of various shapes and colors, after which you watch how they travel the world, get to know other creatures, create a society and rush to other worlds.
This game combines several genres, from arcade to real-time strategy, and at each stage of civilization development you will get acquainted with new gameplay mechanics. Although Spore gets boring in the later stages, the game will surely surprise you with its uniqueness.
Buy Now
My Time At Portia
Another farm, but this time not pixelated and from the third person.
Here, as in Stardew Valley, you inherit your father’s business and set about restoring it.
My Time At Portia allows you to live in a virtual world, engaging in a variety of activities, from gardening and building to fighting huge bosses and racing. All this is accompanied by a cute cartoon picture, surrounded by funny characters and with a curious role-playing system.
Buy
Youtubers Life
And this life sim tells about the hard life of a YouTuber with all the difficulties and challenges that accompany it: it’s not enough for your hero to just stream on YouTube — you need to find a side job, upgrade your PC, and come up with new ways to attract an audience, and to interest potential investors. In general, there is a lot of work.
As a video blogger’s life simulation, Youtubers Life does a great job and covers the topic quite authentically. But perhaps the gameplay will seem rather monotonous to you, and the content ends quickly. Nevertheless, the theme of the game is too curious to be left unattended.
Buy Now
Slime Rancher
Another game close to the farming genre, this time dedicated to the exploration of a distant planet. You are a young farmer who traveled hundreds of light years from Earth to start his own business on a mysterious planet. You have to tame and breed slimes — mysterious creatures inhabiting a strange world. And besides this, you will find in the game a lot of quests, secrets, treasures, a crafting and building system, and much more.
Slime Rancher attracts with its setting — you are unlikely to find another fantastic life simulator. Also, the game will surely delight you with a pleasant visual style: once you see the slimes, you will fall in love with them and will not want to leave the game world until you have tamed them all.
Buy
Virtual Families
More simple (in terms of the number of mechanics and their interaction) than The Sims, but still quite an interesting game about managing virtual people, where you have to create families, raise children and watch generations change — one after the other.
Unlike the same The Sims, in Virtual Families the life of little men continues even when you are not in the game: that is, by starting the session again, you may find that your ward is ill or has acquired new character traits in your absence . The project does not set an end goal, but it has achievements, and you can try to get them all.
Buy
VRChat
If all previous life simulators try to reflect reality more or less truthfully, then VRChat does it as if you are looking into a distorted mirror. In fact, this is not so much a simulator as a set of rooms in which you can spend time with random people: watch movies together, fight in online matches, explore unknown worlds, create masterpieces of fine art, and so on.
VRChat impresses with its richness of possibilities. This is the only place where Batman, anime-chan and dinosaur can gather to dance on the moon. Memes are created here (you’ve probably heard of the Ugandan Knuckles) and weekly podcasts are released, and here you can find conversation partners for almost any topic.
The game is designed for virtual reality devices, but you can download it even if you do not own a VR helmet.
Play
eRepublik
A browser-based strategy game set in a world similar to ours, where all the countries in the world are represented, and players can choose any of them and start working for its benefit. Moreover, the user cannot immediately stand at the helm of the chosen power — as in real life, here you will have to get hired, start your own business, found a political party, run for election and then, if you’re lucky, take the post of ruler.
It’s probably easier to tell what eRepublik doesn’t have than to list all its features. Politics and wars, economics and media, trade and production — many gameplay mechanics are implemented here, closely intertwined with each other. The only complaint about the game is a very sketchy picture: the whole gameplay consists in interacting with various menus and tables.
Play
Avatar
Social network game in which you control the life of a virtual character, trying to make him the most successful and famous.
From creating interiors for your home to entering talent competitions and advancing your career as a superstar, you have a myriad of options available to you.
Among other things, the Avatar boasts a large selection of hero customization items, emotes, furniture items and other decorations. Which will undoubtedly please players who like to stand out from the crowd.
Play
Monster Prom
Three weeks before the prom, which will undoubtedly be a key event for all the students of Monster High School, the heroes begin to intensively search for a suitable partner. Players have to pick up the keys to the heart of the chosen one, make important decisions and constantly get into ridiculous situations.
Monster Prom’s dating sim features four-player competitive co-op, a competitive element that sharpens the gameplay. Excellent art, nice music and funny dialogues will appeal to fans of the genre, but without a confident command of spoken English, players will have a hard time.
Buy Now
Fallout Shelter
Life simulator in the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout, in which players take on the role of caretaker of their own shelter, which has finally opened after the infamous events. With due diligence, the underground structure will become a welcome home for hundreds of inhabitants of the scorched lands who survived the nuclear apocalypse.
Players will have to develop supply systems so that their charges do not experience the need for vital resources, send residents for supplies, equip their life and routine, and also do not forget about their safety. Despite mixed reviews, which is generally a common thing for games from Bethesda, the project has acquired a large-scale community and has proven itself well on mobile devices.
Play
Mother Simulator
Humorous simulation of a young mother without much pretense of seriousness. First-person players will have to navigate the initial stages of motherhood with all the litigation that comes with it, like regular feeding, bathing, changing diapers, and a hectic sleep schedule.
Seventeen action-packed levels diversify the game, in which you will not only have to take into account the needs of the robotic baby, but also remember your own needs, as well as keep order in the apartment. The main thing is not to perceive this project as a benefit for child care. Affordable price tag and nice graphics are included. Graveyard Keeper Developing the funeral business will often not be the most humane way. In addition, stable social connections and patience will be required — there is a lot of grinding in the game.
Graveyard Keeper features very lamp-like graphics, interesting and well-developed characters. Each character has a fascinating story, and the main plot is quite good. A leisurely and cozy game that fans of custom farms will surely enjoy.
Buy now
Avatar
Social online game — the former «House 3», similar in general principle to Secret Life. The community of the in-game world revolves around a reputation system — the higher the social status of the character, the more successful your avatar is considered.
Despite the outdated visuals and unpretentious gameplay, the project is still in the online chat segment and regularly pleases the regulars with a variety of events and updates.
Download
Shenmue Series
Not so long ago, a role-playing game that has risen from the ashes about the adventures of a young martial artist, Ryo Hazuki, who witnessed the murder of his father and set out to find the main antagonist by all means. The young man goes a long way, on which he meets many interesting characters, some of whom become his devoted comrades, while others become teachers.
Despite the fact that the game is often compared to the Yakuza series, the action in the first and third parts of Shenmue takes place away from the hustle and bustle of megacities, and instead of stories about gangs, players are offered to enjoy the daily routine with a Japanese flavor, diluted with fascinating plot twists and atmospheric picture.
Buy now
Hokko Life
If you’re really into Animal Crossing but don’t have a handheld console, you might want to take a look at its setting-inspired game Hokko Life, a life simulation game in a city filled with anthropomorphic animals, published by Team17.
The game has resource gathering and crafting, a farm, fishing, catching insects, a wide scope for creativity in the design of the appearance of the hero and his own home, and even the design of individual furniture elements. The project will also please with a nice picture and interesting stories.
Buy Now
Monster Harvest
Another farming game very similar in concept to Stardew Valley. Here we also inherit a neglected property and begin to slowly put it in order, cleaning up the territory, planting crops and getting out to a neighboring village where you can chat with the residents and celebrate an event.
Monster Harvest features animal plants — mutants from potatoes, radishes and other crops will help you in battles and housekeeping. The project, of course, is far from the same Stardew Valley, so play strictly without experience in farms.
Buy Now
Live the Life
This life simulator focuses on realism, which can be seen from the realistic picture.
With a first-person view, you will become a resident of a small virtual town: get ready to furnish an apartment, buy furniture and food, monitor health indicators, work and explore the neighborhoods.
At the moment the game is in early access, so there is not as much content in it as in the same Sims. Nevertheless, the game is quite promising — so, if you manage resources incorrectly, then you can easily stay outside and freeze at night.
Buy Now
No Place Like Home
A third-person fantasy farming simulation that throws you into a post-apocalyptic world. Most of the activities are already familiar to you — we take care of the household, tame and breed animals, remove garbage, collect resources and equip a cozy house.
However, the setting itself will dilute this routine — so, you have to look for supplies in abandoned cities, dig in a landfill and even fight with robots, like in some kind of action game. For the competent interweaving of mechanics, the game received many «very positive» reviews.
Buy
Hobo: Tough Life
The darkest life simulator in our selection, because here we have to play for a homeless man who does not have a penny in his pocket. He needs to survive on the streets of a big city, but you decide how he will do it — honestly, or criminally. And given the fact that you need to keep track of a lot of character parameters, you will think more than once which path to choose.
The game supports cooperative mode, which means you can share this unusual adventure with a friend.
Buy
Big Farm Story
On the contrary, this game is cheerful and bright. Here you will look at the farm from an isometric perspective and do all the proper things — tilling the fields, harvesting, exploring the world, home improvement. The game does not keep you in a closed area and offers to explore the surroundings in search of secrets, as well as spend time in the village and take an active part in its life.
In general, this is another great game in its genre, but with amazing graphics, excellent Russian localization and an interesting storyline.
Buy Now
Travelers Rest
At Travelers Rest you will become the owner of a tavern that welcomes visitors from different parts of the fantasy world who come to your area for adventure or just passing by and want to stop for the night. With each new guest, you will learn something new, and as the number of customers grows, so will their needs. You will have to equip sleeping places and dining rooms so that noisy companies visit your establishment more often.
Attract people to your inn by brewing the finest intoxicating liquors, the ingredients for which you will grow or forage yourself in the surrounding area. But do not forget about socialization. Make useful contacts and regular customers. Furnish the halls of your hotel to your liking and do not forget to keep it in order. Then the money will flow like a river.
Buy Now
Idol Manager
Idol Manager is a business simulation game that will make you unleash your talent as a manager of young stars.
The player will find new talents and develop their potential. Finding a suitable candidate is much easier than bringing him to the peak of fame. You will have to send your wards to training, make them prepare hard for events, follow their daily routine and performance schedules.
But let’s not forget about the dark side of publicity, because every idol is constantly being monitored by vile paparazzi who will try their best to get hot facts, digging through the dirty underwear of rising stars. Frenzied fans will also cause trouble, because they admire their objects of adoration as real idols and are ready to take desperate steps to get closer to them. Yes, and celebrities themselves can become depressed or catch star fever, so know when they need to be reined in.
Buy
My Child Lebensborn
My Child Lebensborn will tell a touching story about a poor orphan that the player will take to raise in his home. You must surround the child with warmth and care so that a worthy, sensitive and cheerful person grows up from a frightened and downtrodden by a hostile environment baby.
You will go through many difficult stages, gradually becoming a close friend and real parent for the adopted child.
You will learn how to correctly allocate time between work to provide your son or daughter with everything you need, and communication with the baby. Play with him, help him learn, care for him, or just spend time with him so that he never feels alone again in this life. The fate of this dear child depends on your choices. He will be immensely grateful to you for parental care, and you will be able to feel the soul of a little person more subtle.
Buy Now
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a life story of a man who was born in the harsh world of the Arknia Empire, presented in the original form of diaries, the events in which you enter with your choices. Not all of them will be simple, you will find many fateful decisions that radically affect the development of the plot. Each mistake will cost dearly not only to you, but also to other heroes of the game, whom you will meet along the way.
Start as a commoner who grew up on the streets of a great state ruled by gods and clergy. A society divided into classes does not bode well for a young freethinker. He is not accepted just because he was not born in a family of nobles, which means that we ourselves will get out from the bottom, studying, working and earning titles. Death will not be the end for the hero, but will only make him ascend after rebirth and go the right way to his goal.
Buy
My Time at Sandrock
My Time at Sandrock is the continuation of the My Time At Portia project about a self-taught engineer who must take on the duties of a handyman in a new town. This time we will be sent to the prairies of the Sandy Hills, where the players will set up their workshop to cover all the needs of the townspeople that arise. In the post-apocalyptic world, all modern technologies have been lost, so you will rediscover them for a comfortable life for people.
Explore vast locations, collect resources and fulfill orders from the local population.
Start with the simplest mechanisms that will help you process stone and wood, smelt metals and craft items. Make friends and relationships by spending free time with new acquaintances while your factory is running. Fight mutants and get lost blueprints of ancient mechanisms in the catacombs.
Buy Now
Unpacking
Unpacking is a very leisurely game from indie developers in which you will unpack boxes of things over and over again in a new location, but you will get a lot of information about the heroin in the process. You will go through many stages of a rapidly changing life with her. Get to know a carefree childhood, a difficult period of growing up, joyful feelings of first love, grief from parting, attempts to find yourself.
You will plunge into 8 time periods from 1997 to 2018, ending up in 35 different rooms with unique environments and soundtracks. The protagonist will carefully take out memorable items from cardboard boxes, which can sometimes tell more than words.
Arrange them in the space of the apartment, creating coziness and succumbing to nostalgia along with notes of light sadness.
Buy Now
Grow: Song of the Evertree
Travel to the magical universe of Aluria in Grow: Song of the Evertree, where the Eternal Tree that houses the worlds has begun to wither. Only you can breathe life back into the weakened shoots and stop the spreading desolation. Use your talent as an alchemist to protect the locals and bring peace to their homes.
You are free to travel to any corner of the planet, where you can meet a variety of animals and fantastic flowers. Rebuild cities where new NPCs will come. Start a conversation with them and become comrades with your new neighbors. Arrange their life, fish, collect plants for your craft, visit mysterious caves in search of the secrets of the past. Grow your own unique worlds from magical seeds and watch them grow.
Buy
WorldBox — God Simulator
WorldBox is a deity simulator in which you will control your personal planet.
Start with terraforming. In the middle of the raging ocean, create land with mountains, forests, deserts, impenetrable jungles and stinking swamps. Hide sources of valuable resources in the bowels of the earth, sow the soil with grass and trees. Let your imagination run wild and add hot springs, volcanoes and magical thickets to the map. Populate the district with outlandish animals.
Then create settlements of sentient beings. It can be not only people, but also fantasy races of gnomes, elves, orcs. Watch how little people enter uncharted territory, master the space nearby, build the first houses that will soon become part of large cities. Watch the rise and fall of empires, eternal squabbles and wars, the extinction of entire civilizations. Or you can send terrible cataclysms, disasters and terrible monsters to people who will cleanse the planet of your creations.
Buy Now
Calico
In Calico, you are invited to try yourself as a cafe owner in a magical world, where a great variety of funny and cute animals live, which will become your pets and brighten up the life of the establishment’s customers with their presence.
Travel the world, collecting all new four-legged cuties. They can accompany the hero on the journey, following commands, or go to the cafeteria.
Set up a restaurant. Arrange furniture, choose decor and expect visitors. In the mini-game, prepare delicious pastries or drinks for guests. Watch how people who come make new little friends and get positive emotions from communication. Brew magic potions with unexpected and beneficial effects. Cuddle your woolly pets, play with them and forget about the accumulated stress.
Buy Now
Dinkum
Dinkum will take gamers into the world of wildlife, where they will force them to survive using the environment. Among the deserts and forests, you will begin your path of discovery, gathering and hunting small animals. Build your first dwelling on the banks of the river, fish for food, chop down trees and quarry stone to make tools. Beware of predators that lurk in the thickets and in the depths of water bodies.
Take care of agriculture, grow useful plants that will go to your table and feed your pets.
Start building a village and new NPCs will certainly come to it, which will become excellent neighbors. Share your world with friends who can visit you and take part in the life of your growing city. Find entertainment for the company to your liking among the many activities offered. Use vehicles on long journeys around the map and experience the spirit of real adventure.
Buy Now
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Disney Dreamlight Valley will immerse players in the fabulous world of the Disney and Pixar cartoon universe, which is full of heroes and villains familiar from childhood. Team up with cartoon characters and other gamers to save the wonderful valley from sudden disaster. Chase the evil from the magical castle and cleanse the land of sinister thorny plants sprouting everywhere that tear apart pleasant memories, sending this magical place into oblivion.
Customize your character with the editor, customize your character with hundreds of items from your extensive wardrobe.
Occupy and furnish the house as you wish, unlocking new furniture and other interior items. Cook food, work in the garden, transform your town with Mickey, Goofy, Wall-e, Remy and take part in an exciting adventure story visiting famous locations from the works of animators.
Buy Now
Pending
Orphan Age
A post-apocalyptic orphan simulator in a ruined city, vaguely similar to This War of Mine, only a handful of homeless teenagers have to survive in this cruel world: get together in a tight-knit flock, pick up the needy, fight back hooligans, find supplies and arrange a place to sleep — all that spirit .
You will have to organize outings for food, water and medicines, craft using all kinds of trash, build, improve and protect your territory. A demo version of the game is currently available on Steam.
Steam page
Roots of Pacha
A cooperative pixel farm about a primitive nomadic community that will establish and equip its first settlement, providing residents with shelter and food.
Fishing, growing crops, hunting, exploring caves and domesticating wild animals — players will have plenty of activities.
In addition, each member of the tribe will traditionally be given a separate history and unique character, the opportunity to build friendly and romantic relations with them. The developers promised character customization, various events, which will include interesting activities for several players.
Steam page
Paralives
Curious indie simulator will provide unprecedented scope in creating your own dream home. According to the developers, it implements an advanced modeling system, thanks to which you can not only customize every corner of the new home in detail, but also breathe into the avatar an image that fully meets the needs of the player.
Promised a large open world filled with an abundance of interesting places and «smart» characters, the ability to travel by bicycle, car and water transport, get pets and enjoy all seasons.
A release date for the game has yet to be announced. You can follow the development of the project on the official website or on Steam.
Steam page
I Am Future
In I Am Future, you wake up from deep cryogenic sleep in a future world that has survived a global catastrophe. Cities are flooded with water and only the tops of buildings, overgrown with grass and trees, stick out above the surface. Among these stone jungles, you will spend your days alone, decorating your new rooftop home, getting used to your new being.
Make forays into neighboring buildings, find old junk and take it apart for parts, from which you can assemble electronics, upload artificial intelligence there, and finally break the silence with conversations with recreated robotic assistants. You will have to learn the hardships of farm work, go fishing, remember engineering and try to save your life, because at night unprecedented creatures come who do not mind feasting on such a delicacy.
