Step into the shoes of a steely eyed leader ready to make the tough decisions needed to ensure survival in a harsh, frozen world. Frostpunk’s richly atmospheric mix of city building, resource management, and survival strategy provides a uniquely icy post-apocalyptic experience. But what other games promise a similar test of leadership in dire environments?
These 12 engrossing, complex, and challenging games like Frostpunk will put your settlement management and survival skills to the test in a variety of unforgiving situations. Battle the elements, space or mythical beasts while guiding your people to prosperity. Just be sure to stock up on emergency rations first. The road ahead will be frosty.
12 Best Games Like Frostpunk
If you enjoyed the challenge of keeping your citizens alive in the face of overwhelming odds, these 12 games similar to Frostpunk should definitely be on your radar. From managing resources to exploring frozen worlds, they all capture some of the magic that makes Frostpunk so memorable.
1. Fallout Shelter
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
- Release Year: 2015
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Simulation, strategy
- Platforms: iOS, Android, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Fallout Shelter puts you in charge of managing your very own Fallout vault. You’ll have to keep your dwellers happy, healthy, and productive as they work and expand your underground settlement. Like Frostpunk, surviving and thriving requires balancing resources, expanding your population, fending off threats from the wasteland, and making difficult decisions.
- Charming retro visual style
- Recruit dwellers with unique skills and personalities
- Design and customize your vault
- Send dwellers out on quests into the wasteland
- Defend against raider and creature attacks
- Free-to-play with optional in-app purchases
2. Townsmen
- Developer: HandyGames
- Publisher: HandyGames
- Release Year: 2016
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Simulation, strategy
- Platforms: iOS, Android, PC
In this medieval city builder, you’re tasked with growing a humble village into a thriving kingdom. It’s up to you to manage resources like gold, food, and tools to keep your townsfolk happy and productive. Random events will keep you on your toes as you balance growth with survival.
- Charming voxel art style
- Variety of resources to manage, buildings to construct
- Random events such as plagues and thieves
- Unlock new technologies and evolve your settlement through the ages
- Campaign mode with increasing challenges
- Zen mode for more relaxed play
3. The Battle of Polytopia
- Developer: Midjiwan
- Publisher: Midjiwan
- Release Year: 2016
- Mode: Single-player, multiplayer
- Genres: Strategy, civilization building
- Platforms: iOS, Android, PC
This ultra mini 4X strategy game packs all the strategy and civilization building of games like Civilization into a neatly condensed mobile format. Like Frostpunk, you’ll be exploring and settling new lands while dealing with resource management, technology research, and conflict with rival tribes.
- Cute, minimalist low-poly visuals
- Research technologies and unlock new units
- Variety of biomes to explore and settle
- Online multiplayer and single player tribes
- Short, bite-sized games for on the go
- DLC adds new tribes with unique units and playstyles
4. Pocket Build
- Developer: Moon Bear LTD
- Publisher: Moon Bear LTD
- Release Year: 2017
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Simulation, creativity
- Platforms: iOS, Android, PC
Pocket Build allows you to construct your own fantasy villages, kingdoms, and more. You’ll gather resources, craft buildings, and manage villagers as you create your medieval-themed settlements. With its emphasis on creation and freeform gameplay, it should appeal to Frostpunk players who enjoyed the city building aspects.
- Charming low poly visual style
- Huge library of medieval buildings and decoration
- Terraform landscapes and create your own biomes
- Day/night cycle impacts villager behaviors
- Relaxing, open-ended creative experience
- Cross-platform cloud save support
5. TheoTown
- Developer: Blueflower GmbH
- Publisher: Blueflower GmbH
- Release Year: 2017
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Simulation, strategy
- Platforms: iOS, Android, PC
TheoTown offers the deep city simulation management that Frostpunk fans crave on mobile and PC. You’ll lay down roads, zoning, public services, and transportation to create a functioning settlement from scratch. Keeping your growing population happy via parks, jobs, and more is the key challenge.
- Deep, complex city management simulation
- Realistic, modern city visuals
- Zone residential, commercial, and industrial areas
- Manage traffic, public transit, emergency services
- Supply water, electricity, sewage, education
- Sandbox and scenario modes provide different challenges
- User-generated content extends gameplay
6. Dungeon Village
- Developer: Kairosoft
- Publisher: Kairosoft
- Release Year: 2011
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Simulation, strategy, role-playing
- Platforms: iOS, Android
Kairosoft’s quirky simulation hits puts a unique twist on the city builder formula by having you construct a fantasy village to support aspiring heroes. You’ll build shops, housing, weapons, and more for your adventurers before sending them off on quests. Proper village management leads to greater rewards. The pixel graphics and expansive progression system provides plenty of engaging management gameplay.
- Cute retro pixel art style
- JRPG charm and humor
- Create housing, shops, services for heroes
- Grow and level up your adventurers
- Send heroes on quests for loot
- Progression provides plenty of depth
7. Forge of Empires
- Developer: InnoGames
- Publisher: InnoGames
- Release Year: 2012
- Mode: Single-player, multiplayer
- Genres: Strategy, simulation
- Platforms: iOS, Android, PC
This free-to-play strategy game is all about growing your city through the ages, from a fledgling stone age settlement to a thriving modern metropolis. Along the way, you’ll research new technologies, manage resources, optimize production chains, trade with neighbors, and expand your empire. The progression from primitive tools to modern convenience mirrors Frostpunk’s survival focus.
- Progress from the Stone Age to the Modern Era
- Deep production chains and resource management
- Compete and trade with other players
- Participate in events and seasonal content
- Optimize population and building layout
- Plenty of depth for long-term progression
8. Banished
- Developer: Shining Rock Software
- Publisher: Shining Rock Software
- Release Year: 2014
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: City-builder, survival
- Platforms: PC, Xbox One
Banished directly inspired Frostpunk with its take on survival city-building. As the leader of an exiled travellers, you have to build a settlement from nothing while managing resources and the happiness and health of your citizens. While smaller in scope than Frostpunk, it captures the challenge of surviving in an inhospitable environment.
- Open-ended survival sandbox gameplay
- Challenging resource management focus
- Unique citizens with personalities, ages, and skills
- Vibrant, detailed visuals
- Mod support allows new buildings, professions, resources
- Starts slow but deeply rewarding long-term
9. Surviving Mars
- Developer: Haemimont Games
- Publisher: Paradox Interactive
- Release Year: 2018
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Strategy, survival, simulation
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Surviving Mars puts you in charge of colonizing the surface of Mars and establishing a functioning human settlement. With its sci-fi twist, it provides a similar challenge to Frostpunk as you build domes, manage resources like oxygen, water and food, maintain colonist morale, and research new technologies. Terraforming Mars provides long-term goals.
- Sci-fi setting provides a twist on survival
- Manage complex systems like oxygen, water, power
- Research new technologies
- Colony sim with lots of replayability
- Terraform the surface of Mars
- Guide your colony to self-sufficiency
10. Aven Colony
- Developer: Mothership Entertainment
- Publisher: Team17
- Release Year: 2017
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Simulation, strategy
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
As the governor of humanity’s first extra-solar colony, you’ll have to build a sustainable settlement on an alien world with hostile conditions. Aven Colony takes the survival city-builder template and adds an interplanetary twist. Fans of Frostpunk’s setting and sci-fi technology will find lots to love here.
- Colonize an alien planet rife with hazards
- Manage food, oxygen, and water infrastructure
- Research alien technologies
- Customize colonist housing and infrastructure
- Catastrophes and storms pose ongoing threats
- Send out expeditions across the planet
11. Islanders
- Developer: GrizzlyGames
- Publisher: GrizzlyGames
- Release Year: 2019
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Strategy, building
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
Islanders distill the city building genre down to its core in a relaxing, minimalist package just like other games similar to Frostpunk. Your goal is to build and expand your settlement onto new islands by managing resources and earning points. Lacking complex systems, it provides a uniquely chilled take on strategic building games like Frostpunk.
- Soothing, minimalist low poly visuals
- Relaxing, zen-like atmosphere
- Procedurally generated islands
- Earn points to unlock new buildings
- Adaptive difficulty keeps it challenging
- Highly accessible, easy to pick up
12. SimCity 4
- Developer: Maxis
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Release Year: 2003
- Mode: Single-player
- Genres: Simulation, strategy
- Platforms: PC, Mac
The classic SimCity series helped define the entire simulation/building game genre, providing inspiration for modern games like Frostpunk. SimCity 4 represents a high point, allowing players to construct truly massive, sprawling cities while managing countless intricate systems. The deep simulation, expansive scale, and endless challenges cement its place as a must-play for fans of complex virtual urban planning and management.
- Massive scale, deeply complex simulation
- Classic simulation gameplay perfected
- Extensive customization and control
- Challenging scenarios and sandbox modes
- Impact of every design choice is visible
- Still has an active modding community
Conclusion
Frostpunk’s brand of survival management gameplay is truly unique, but these 12 games like Frostpunk capture some of its magic while also providing their own twists. Whether you’re looking for more icy dystopias, sci-fi futures, charming pixels, or just deeper simulation and strategy, these titles will give you plenty more challenging worlds and communities to build, manage, and protect.
The addictive struggle to lead people through harsh conditions against all odds is something Frostpunk nails exceedingly well. But with so many great options out there, no one needs to endure the cold forever.
