Summary
The once labyrinthinecity-builder genrehas steadily accrued a great number of sub-genres andbeginner-friendly entries, broadening its appeal and showcasing this genre’s ability to go beyond simple resource management and branch out into full-fledged stories. City-builders excel at telling stories of more than just a single person, but of an entire civilization, or an entire people, and they usually do so through procedural events and colossal, far-reaching decisions that the player can make.
That doesn’t mean that all the games in this genre have forgotten abouttheir difficulty factor. In fact, some titles have enhanced their difficulty by fusing with another genre known for its difficulty and persistent charm: the Roguelike.These city builders in particular have Roguelike aspects that make them more challenging — but also more engaging.
Building cities is the key toalmost any victoryinAge of Wonders 4, as it simply gives the player more ground to cover, more resources to work with, and more abilities to activate. Cities are never really a resource drain, so building them up to the current maximum, and expanding them often with population and provinces, is an incredibly sound strategy to building up a strong resource base in the early game. For those going for military victories, more cities mean more units can be produced at any one time, allowing colossal armies to form in the blink of an eye.
WhileAge of Wonders 4might be a title that thrives on building cities, it is fully immersed in the high fantasy genre. Delving into dungeons across procedurally generated maps is an excellent way that this game weaves Roguelike elements into its structure. Similar to most Roguelikes, the reward for delving into perilous dungeons is loot — legendary items and gold that can turn the tide of a game in the right quantities.
Terrariais one of the highest-grossing games of all time, and it’s easy to see why. The astonishing variety of equipment among thefour major classesmakes for an incredible crafting journey as players delve deeper and deeper into the world, continuing to explore and grow stronger. Especially on harder difficulties, it’s hard to avoid the Roguelike elements ofTerraria.Players lose items on death in the same fashion asMystery Dungeontitles while also being compelled to explore deeper and deeper into these randomly generated areas.
Founding a settlement inTerrariais also an incredible city-building experience, as players will constantly have NPCs looking to join their ranks as they continue to grow in both prosperity and power. Just be careful, however, as a larger settlement will attract unwanted attention from forces like goblins or pirates, who will invade and can decimate the population of any land not properly defended.
Unlike a lot of titles on this list,the fantasticKenshidoes not have a randomly generated map. It still has many Roguelike aspects, however, including its perilous difficulty and its emphasis on permadeath. A character might only be injured or maimed after a battle goes wrong, but if they should die, that’s it, it’s over. Once a settlement has been established and has lots of people all doing their part, this threat of death only grows stronger, as invasions begin to strike the player’s settlement.
There’s a great deal of focus on production inKenshias a city-builder. Producing goods, and using workers to transport them to other settlements where they can turn a profit (especially if they’re illegal!) is one of the major tenets of this apocalyptic city-builder with Roguelike elements.
The endlessly replayableRimworldis a title like no other, depicting a desperate struggle to survive in a distant world as a fledgling colony in a hostile land.Rimworldis a game that celebrates the procedural storytelling that base builders, survival games, and Roguelikes often produce. It gives players all the ingredients they need to fall in love with their characters and watch as a sci-fi story unique to their experience unfolds.
While the game is focused on settlement building, the random events, procedurally generated map, and permadeath elements are all exceptional Roguelike mechanics that help define what makesRimworldspecial to a lot of players.
Perhaps the epitome of what it means to make a perfect fusion between Roguelikes and city-builders,Against the Stormis a game like no other. It combines the Roguelike elements of replayability and procedural generation with simple but satisfying city-building elements.
New players looking toget startedin this game will uncover an incredible experience of forging forward by building settlements in a hostile world, collecting legendary progression items, and fighting against a deadly and ceaseless storm.
