Everyone likes to build a nice virtual city or base every now and then. There’s something satisfying about neatly laying out a town or factory that you just can’t easily get in the real world. Or maybe you like spaghetti conveyor belts and building dead end roads with no rhyme or reason. Whatever your inner architect desires, Steam has you covered with their Base Builder Fest going on now until January 30th. There’s a lot of great deals on a lot of great games, but choosing the right one(s) may be difficult, so here’s a list of 5 indie base builders that I think are worth your time (and also happen to be on sale).
Satisfactory
This is THE factory game at the moment. It’s been in Early Access for a few years, but gets consistent patches as well as major feature updates. It’s more than a complete package at this point with hundreds of hours of content, a massive world to explore that’s full of secrets, and an infinite amount of ways to build your factory. Being a first person base builder can make it a little finicky, but the perspective makes it very accessible and there are tons of gadgets to unlock that make getting around a lot fun. Hyper tube the planet!
It also has a great sense of humor with the developers at Coffee Stain being even more famous for Goat Simulator. It’s sure to make you scratch your head while trying to make everything as efficient as possible, while also putting a smile on your face.
Satisfactory is currently $17.99, which makes it an absolute steal.
Oxygen Not Included
Oxygen Not Included is a colony management game by Klei, who also make the Don’t Starve games. It’s more hands-off than other base builders because you essentially assign tasks to your colonists who perform them on their own time. You can’t directly control any of the colonists, but you can set priorities and give certain members specifics jobs. It’s focused around building a habitable colony inside of an asteroid, with the ultimate goal of breaching the surface to contact other colonies. It has a lot of survival elements as your colonists have needs like food, water, sleep, and of course oxygen. It does require a lot of practice and patience, but is also rewarding and has a rye sense of humor about all the death that may or not occur on your way to the top.
Oxygen Not Included is currently $7.49 and should provide dozens of hours of entertainment.
Subnautica: Below Zero
Subnautica: Below Zero is more of a survival game than pure base building, but you can definitely build some underwater bases. Exploring and discovering new things on the sea floor never gets old, even if you’ve already done it in the first game. What really brings this, and its predecessor together, is the cryptic story that unfolds naturally as you progress through the game’s milestones. While the survival stuff may get in the way if all you’re looking for is pure base building, it can also add variety to what you’re doing. It’s a gorgeous game full of beautiful underwater flora and fauna to find, just make sure to bring an extra oxygen tank.
Subnautica: Below Zero is currently $12.59 by itself, or $22.48 bundled with the original Subnautica. They are both great games at this price.
Townscaper
Townscaper is the simplest, most laid back recommendation on this list. No survival mechanics, no drowning, no death, just chill tile-based city building. All you do is plop down premade plots that merge together to form cool looking Victorian cityscapes. It’s designed to be chill with a soft colorful aesthetic and soothing music. The developer self describes it as a “toy,” so don’t expect anything more than a nice way to wind down after a long day.
You can grab Townscaper for $3.89 right now on Steam.
Against the Storm
Against the Storm is a great classic-style RTS city builder with a slight twist: It’s actually a roguelike. You carve out several small villages in a dark, never ending forest while trying to satisfy your villager’s needs and discover the secrets the forest offers. Each run has you balance your town’s specific needs with the “Patience of the Queen” which drops if you take too long to fulfill the Queen’s requests. The Queen also rewards you with new buildings and resources, so it’s important to make sure both your citizens and the omnipotent Queen stay happy. It’s a satisfying mix of traditional RTS base building and exploration.
While it’s still in Early Access, there is more than enough content and replayability to justify jumping in. It also looks really nice and allows you to move buildings once they’ve been build, which is always a nice feature.
Against the Storm is currently $15.99. There’s also a free demo if you want to try before you buy.
That’s the list! I hope you find something here that you enjoy. You should also check out all the games currently on sale during the Base Building Fest because there are certainly more games on offer than I could fit on this list.
Please keep an eye on VoxelVoice.com for more, and make sure you follow us on YouTube and Facebook to stay up to date with everything we do!
