Tired of the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Looking to build a civilization where you call the shots? Craving an immersive city builder game that lets you construct a thriving colony on an exciting new planet? If you’re jonesing for a fantastic, futuristic city-building experience like Aven Colony, you’ve come to the right place.
In this post, we’ll explore 11 of the best city building and management games that deliver engrossing gameplay similar to Aven Colony’s unique blend of survival, strategy and exploration elements. Whether you enjoy researching new technologies, managing resources, laying out efficient infrastructure or maximizing citizen happiness, these Aven Colony alternatives will scratch that sim-game itch and transport you to new worlds waiting to be settled.
So leave the rat race behind. It’s time to build your ideal city on a brave new world!
11 Best Games Similar To Aven Colony
1. Settlement Survival
- Developer: AP Games
- Publisher: AP Games
- Release Year: 2021
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: Strategy, Simulation, Survival
- Platforms: PC
Settlement Survival tasks you with building and managing a colony on an uncharted planet with varying biomes and climates. Guide your settlers as they gather resources, craft tools, erect shelters, farm crops and research technologies to thrive on this new world. Defend against raider attacks, alien creatures, natural disasters and more while balancing citizen happiness.
Game Highlights:
- Beautiful low-poly graphics with day/night cycle
- Challenging survival elements like hunger and disease
- Unlocks advanced buildings, resources and settlers
- Randomly generated maps increase replayability
2. Banished
- Developer: Shining Rock Software
- Publisher: Shining Rock Software
- Release Year: 2014
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: City Builder, Strategy, Survival
- Platforms: PC
In Banished, you manage a small group of exiled travellers trying to build a thriving village. Direct them to construct houses, assign jobs, farm, mine, log, blacksmith and more to grow your population. Balance resources like food, firewood, herbs and education to keep villagers healthy and happy through changing seasons and harsh weather.
Key Features:
- No combat – pure survival strategy
- Catastrophic events like tornadoes, drought and illness
- Complex citizen interdependencies and needs
- Fully moddable with user-created content
3. Frostpunk
- Developer: 11 bit studios
- Publisher: 11 bit studios
- Release Year: 2018
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: Survival, Strategy, City Builder
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Lead a group of Victorian-era refugees building a frozen city around a massive generator in the icy post-apocalyptic world of Frostpunk. Balance heatmap, food and other resources while making difficult moral choices for survival. Face catastrophes like blizzards and coal mine collapses. Expand the city with new buildings, laws and technologies adapted to the freezing climate.
Why You’ll Like It:
- Unique cold climate survival strategy
- Thought-provoking moral choices with consequences
- Engaging storyline and events
- Plethora of laws, technologies and buildings to discover
4. SimCity 4
- Developer: Maxis
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Release Year: 2003
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: City Builder, Simulation
- Platforms: PC, Mac
The classic SimCity 4 gives you free rein to construct the metropolis of your dreams more than some games like Aven Colony . Build residential, commercial and industrial zones while managing power, water and other infrastructure needs. Expand and connect cities using bridges, roads, rail and subways. Carefully balance taxes, ordinances and civic planning to keep your citizens happy and your city running smoothly across varied terrain.
Some Key Features:
- Iconic simulation series with deep management
- Huge maps with diverse landscape types
- Advanced world-builder and modding tools
- Regional interconnected gameplay between cities
5. Prison Architect
- Developer: Introversion Software
- Publisher: Introversion Software
- Release Year: 2015
- Mode: Single & Multiplayer
- Genres: Simulation, Strategy, Building
- Platforms: PC, Console, Mobile
Design and maintain your own maximum security prison in Prison Architect. Construct cell blocks, canteens, infirmaries, offices, yards and more while hiring staff to keep your inmates in line. Balance prisoner needs like food, sleep, hygiene and recreation against security concerns like gangs, contraband smuggling and riots. Expand into reform programs like education, spirituality and psychiatry.
Why It Stands Out:
- Unique penal colony builder theme
- Customizable sandbox & story modes
- Complex prisoner psychological needs system
- Co-op multiplayer to build prisons together
6. Cities: Skylines
- Developer: Colossal Order
- Publisher: Paradox Interactive
- Release Year: 2015
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: City Builder, Strategy, Simulation
- Platforms: PC, Console
Cities: Skylines is a modern take on classic city simulation that prides itself on deep gameplay and community creativity. Build residential, commercial and industrial zones, tweak taxes and policies, lay roads and transit, manage utilities and public services as your city expands. Thriving mod community adds limitless customization.
Standout Features:
- zoning and infrastructure with impressive scale
- Robust simulation models citizen behaviour
- Built for modding with Steam Workshop integration
- Vibrant player community with shared creations
7. Fallout Shelter
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Release Year: 2015
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: Simulation, Strategy
- Platforms: PC, Mobile, Console
Oversee an underground Fallout vault in this spinoff of the popular post-apocalyptic RPG series. Build and manage resources like power, food and water. Direct dwellers to produce resources, explore the wasteland and defend against disasters and raider attacks. Unlock crafting, outfit workshops and more to expand and customize your vault.
Game Highlights:
- Fallout universe theme with dark humour
- 200+ unlockable rooms, outfits and weapons
- Send dwellers out to scavenge the wasteland
- Robust crafting and upgrading mechanics
8. Medieval Dynasty
- Developer: Render Cube
- Publisher: Toplitz Productions
- Release Year: 2020
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: Survival, Strategy, Simulation, RPG
- Platforms: PC
Medieval Dynasty blends village building, survival, RPG and life sim as you build a settlement from scratch in medieval Europe. Start with meagre tools and resources while balancing hunger, health and fatigue. Progress through dynasty generations gathering villagers, researching techs, constructing buildings and establishing economy and trade. Defend against wildlife and bandit raids.
Why You’ll Like It:
- First person immersion in medieval world
- Realistic needs like food, rest and warmth
- Blend of genres with engaging progression
- Recruit villagers and start a dynasty
9. Townscaper
- Developer: Oskar Stålberg
- Publisher: Raw Fury
- Release Year: 2020
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: Casual, Building, Relaxing
- Platforms: PC, Switch, Mobile
Build quaint island towns completely stress-free in Townscaper. With no objectives or timers, simply relax placing colourful houses, bridges, walls and trees however you like. Experiment endlessly as the village organically expands across multiple procedurally generated islands. Soak in the soothing soundtrack and watch your architectural creation come to life.
Some Key Features:
- Zero-pressure creative building
- Charming low-poly island aesthetic
- Procedurally generated layout options
- Relaxing and meditative experience
10. Planetbase
- Developer: Madruga Works
- Publisher: Madruga Works
- Release Year: 2015
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: Strategy, Survival, Simulation
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
In Planetbase, establish an extraterrestrial colony to house the inhabitants of Earth. Construct mines, solar panels, biodomes and other modules. Manage resources like water, oxygen and power to keep colonists alive. Defend against disasters like meteor showers, sandstorms and cold waves. Research technologies to mitigate planet hazards and expand production capacity.
Standout Features:
- Space colony builder with retro sci-fi feel
- Complex interconnected resource chains
- Random catastrophic events shake up strategy
- Multiple planet types and biomes
11. Surviving Mars
- Developer: Haemimont Games
- Publisher: Paradox Interactive
- Release Year: 2018
- Mode: Single Player
- Genres: Strategy, Survival, Simulation
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Surviving Mars challenges you to build a sustainable colony on the Red Planet. Pick a space agency sponsor with unique traits. Manage oxygen, water, food production and shelter to keep colonists alive on the harsh Martian surface. Expand infrastructure and research to unlock domes, rockets, rovers and more. Cultivate resources to ship back to Earth. Surmount mysteries like dust storms and anomalies.
Game Highlights:
- Vibrant sci-fi Mars setting
- Multiple game modes and starting conditions
- Events and mysteries to solve
- Terraforming systems bring atmosphere to life
Conclusion
If you’re craving more engrossing city building and management games like Aven Colony, these 11 alternatives deliver hours of addictive strategic survival colony creation. Which will you explore next? Let us know if you have other great sim titles we should check out!
FAQs about Aven Colony
What type of game is Aven Colony?
Aven Colony is a city-building strategy simulation game developed by Mothership Entertainment and published by Team17. It was released in July 2017.
What platforms is Aven Colony available on?
Aven Colony is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Does Aven Colony have multiplayer?
No, Aven Colony is a single-player game without multiplayer functionality.
Is there a campaign mode in Aven Colony?
Yes, there is a 15 mission campaign mode where you follow the story of colonizing Aven Prime while building different settlements.
How many biomes are in Aven Colony?
There are 5 distinct biomes on the planet Aven Prime that you can colonize – deserts, tropical zones, arctic, barren canyons, and lush wetlands.
Is Aven Colony sandbox style?
In addition to the story campaign, there is also a sandbox mode where you can build your colony freely on a procedurally generated map.
Does Aven Colony have mods?
No official mod support, but players have found limited ways to mod certain game files. The developers have stated mod support may come in future updates.
