Best Games Like RimWorld

If you’re looking for games like RimWorld, here are 10 great experiences waiting to consume your hours (and your sanity) in the best possible way.

  • Platform(s) : PC, MacOS, PS4, Xbox One
  • Developer : Ludeon Studios
  • Publisher : Ludeon Studios
  • Release Date : October 17, 2018
  • Genre : Simulation, Strategy
  • Where to play : Steam

RimWorld isn’t just a colony simulator, it’s a storytelling machine that delivers madness, tragedy, and unexpected brilliance. Developed by Ludeon Studios, this sci-fi management sim drops you on a distant planet where survival depends on your ability to juggle resource management, base building, and the unpredictable psychology of your colonists.

No two playthroughs are ever the same: raiders, plagues, mad animals, and social meltdowns all conspire to turn your careful plans into desperate improvisations. The game’s AI “storyteller” ensures that every colony becomes a unique saga of triumph, disaster, and human drama. In a similar fashion to Civ or Total War playthroughs, the “just one more day” mentality can keep you playing until the early hours.

Below are 10 titles that deliver deep simulation, emergent storytelling, and that fragile balance between control and chaos.

Dwarf Fortress

  • Platform(s) : PC
  • Developer : Bay 12 Games
  • Publisher : Bay 12 Games
  • Release Date : August 8, 2006
  • Genre : Simulation, Strategy
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Deep simulation roots: Dwarf Fortress is the spiritual ancestor of RimWorld. Both games simulate entire societies where every individual has needs, emotions, and quirks that drive emergent stories. The sense of unpredictability and chaos is just as central, with triumph and tragedy often intertwined.

✅ Procedural storytelling: Like RimWorld’s AI storyteller, Dwarf Fortress generates endless narrative depth through dynamic world events, procedural characters, and cascading consequences. Every playthrough feels like a living history unfolding in real time.

✅ Complex management and creativity: Players must build, expand, and defend thriving settlements under constant threat. The sheer detail of Dwarf Fortress’s simulation outpaces almost anything else, rewarding patience and imagination.

📉 Accessibility and learning curve: Dwarf Fortress is far denser and less approachable than RimWorld. Its systems are legendary for both their depth and their difficulty to grasp, but mastering them can be immensely rewarding for dedicated players.

Similarity score : 9/10

Oxygen Not Included

  • Platform(s) : PC, MacOs
  • Developer : Klei Entertainment
  • Publisher : Klei Entertainment
  • Release Date : July 30, 2019
  • Genre : Simulation, Survival
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Survival-driven colony management: Oxygen Not Included shares RimWorld’s focus on balancing the delicate needs of a group of fragile survivors. Managing oxygen, heat, food, and stress levels feels like a constant puzzle that mirrors RimWorld’s complex colony dynamics.

✅ Emergent problem-solving: Both games thrive on chain reactions and unexpected consequences. A single broken pipe or mismanaged temperature can spiral into full-blown disaster, pushing players to adapt creatively.

✅ Distinct tone and style: While RimWorld leans into drama and storytelling, Oxygen Not Included emphasizes engineering precision and scientific experimentation. It’s less about emotional survival and more about perfecting a finely tuned system.

📉 Emotional storytelling: Oxygen Not Included lacks RimWorld’s social drama and narrative weight, focusing instead on mechanical depth. It appeals more to players who enjoy system optimization than to those chasing human stories.

Similarity score : 8/10

Amazing Cultivation Simulator

  • Platform(s) : PC, Android, iOS
  • Developer : GSQ Games
  • Publisher : Gamera Games
  • Release Date : November 25, 2020
  • Genre : Simulation
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Philosophical simulation depth: Amazing Cultivation Simulator captures the same unpredictable, character-driven storytelling that defines RimWorld, but within a mystical Chinese fantasy setting. Your disciples grow, evolve, and sometimes perish in ways that feel equally emergent and personal.

✅ Management and progression: Like RimWorld’s colonists, your cultivators have unique traits, skills, and desires that affect every aspect of base building and survival. Resource management and training balance long-term strategy with constant risk.

✅ Narrative unpredictability: The simulation regularly throws unexpected challenges at you, from internal conflicts to supernatural events, creating moments of triumph and catastrophe that feel familiar to RimWorld veterans.

📉 Accessibility and pacing: Amazing Cultivation Simulator’s heavy reliance on intricate lore and slower progression may not click with everyone. It offers immense depth but demands patience and time to fully appreciate.

Similarity score : 8/10

Kenshi

  • Platform(s) : PC
  • Developer : Lo-Fi Games
  • Publisher : Lo-Fi Games
  • Release Date : December 6, 2018
  • Genre : RPG
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Emergent storytelling through freedom: Kenshi captures the same spirit of unpredictability and self-driven narrative that defines RimWorld. Every character in your group has a story shaped by their choices, injuries, and encounters, creating moments that feel truly organic.

✅ Harsh, living world: Like RimWorld, Kenshi’s world is unforgiving and unscripted. Survival depends on smart decision-making, resource management, and knowing when to fight or flee. The open-ended design allows for colonies, mercenary bands, or solo wanderers to all feel equally viable.

✅ Deep simulation and autonomy: RimWorld’s colonists act according to their moods and needs, and Kenshi pushes this idea further. Every NPC in the world follows their own routines, creating a true simulation where you’re just one small part of a vast ecosystem.

📉 Pacing and polish: Kenshi’s systems are deep but clunky, with rough visuals and a slow start that can turn off newcomers. However, for those who embrace its freedom, it offers the same unpredictable, player-authored magic that RimWorld excels at.

Similarity score : 7.5/10

Stranded: Alien Dawn

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
  • Developer : Haemimont Games
  • Publisher : Frontier Foundry
  • Release Date : 25 April 2023
  • Genre : Simulation, Survival
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Colony survival and crisis management: Stranded: Alien Dawn channels RimWorld’s DNA through a sci-fi lens, focusing on managing a small group of survivors on a hostile alien world. Each member has distinct skills, needs, and relationships that shape the group’s success.

✅ Dynamic storytelling: Like RimWorld’s AI storyteller, Alien Dawn constantly throws new challenges at you, from alien attacks to extreme weather, ensuring variety in playthroughs. The result is a familiar blend of tension, improvisation, and satisfaction.

✅ Emotional and mechanical balance: The game combines base-building, survival strategy, and human drama in a way that feels directly inspired by RimWorld’s design philosophy, though with a slightly gentler learning curve and more structured pacing.

📉 Depth and unpredictability: While impressive, Alien Dawn’s systems are more streamlined and predictable than RimWorld’s. It delivers a polished experience but sacrifices some of the chaos and emergent storytelling that make RimWorld legendary.

Similarity score : 7/10

Going Medieval

  • Platform(s) : PC
  • Developer : Foxy Voxel
  • Publisher : The Irregular Corporation
  • Release Date : June 1, 2021
  • Genre : Simulation, Survival
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Medieval colony simulation: Going Medieval feels like RimWorld reimagined through a feudal lens. You’ll manage settlers, build fortresses, and survive raids and famine while shaping your colony’s future through careful planning and resource control.

✅ Emotional and social systems: Like RimWorld, your settlers have moods, skills, and needs that evolve over time. Managing morale, health, and community cohesion is just as important as constructing defenses or stockpiling food.

✅ Building focus and accessibility: Going Medieval offers deep base-building mechanics with intuitive 3D construction tools, giving the colony-building aspect more visual satisfaction. It’s RimWorld’s strategic management wrapped in a friendlier interface.

📉 Narrative and complexity: While engaging, Going Medieval currently lacks RimWorld’s emergent storytelling depth and event variety. It’s more structured and less chaotic, appealing to those who prefer building stability over enduring RimWorld’s beautiful chaos.

Similarity score : 7/10

Prison Architect

  • Platform(s) : PC, MacOS, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android, Nintendo Switch
  • Developer : Introversion Software, Double Eleven
  • Publisher : Introversion Software, Paradox Interactive
  • Release Date : October 6, 2015
  • Genre : Simulation
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Management-driven simulation: Prison Architect also shares RimWorld’s DNA in its focus on systems, logistics, and emergent chaos. You design, build, and manage a complex facility where every decision, from cell layouts to staff schedules, ripples through your ecosystem.

✅ Emergent narrative: Like RimWorld, stories naturally arise from disaster. A prison riot, a fire, or a sudden influx of new inmates can turn a routine day into chaos, creating memorable unscripted moments that feel personal and earned.

✅ Behavioral simulation: Both games revolve around the psychological management of individuals. Your prisoners, like RimWorld’s colonists, have needs, moods, and reactions that can either keep your system stable or send it spiraling.

📉 Emotional depth and theme: While mechanically similar, Prison Architect’s detached, satirical tone lacks RimWorld’s human warmth and moral ambiguity. It’s more about design and efficiency than personal attachment, though equally satisfying in its own right.

Similarity score : 7/10

Against the Storm

  • Platform(s) : PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
  • Developer : Eremite Games
  • Publisher : Hooded Horse
  • Release Date : December 8, 2023
  • Genre : Simulation, Strategy
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Strategic colony-building under pressure: Against the Storm captures the same tension and improvisation that define RimWorld. You manage settlements in a dark fantasy world plagued by storms, constantly balancing resources, morale, and expansion.

✅ Replayability through procedural generation: Every city you found faces new biomes, modifiers, and trade-offs, much like RimWorld’s randomized worlds. The constant cycle of risk, adaptation, and reward gives it strong long-term appeal.

✅ Personality through systems: While RimWorld builds stories through people, Against the Storm builds them through decisions. The focus on strategy and tradeoffs replaces personal drama with a strong, satisfying sense of progression and mastery.

📉 Emotional attachment: You don’t form personal bonds with individual settlers here. It’s a more abstract, city-level experience, trading RimWorld’s emotional highs and heartbreak for strategic depth and rhythm.

Similarity score : 6.5/10

Banished

  • Platform(s) : PC
  • Developer : Shining Rock Software
  • Publisher : Shining Rock Software
  • Release Date : February 18, 2014
  • Genre : City-builder, Survival
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Survival and community management: Banished remains one of the clearest predecessors to RimWorld’s survival-driven colony management. You oversee a group of exiles striving to build a sustainable town in a harsh, unforgiving wilderness.

✅ Focus on systems and scarcity: Like RimWorld, Banished is about balancing food, housing, and health while reacting to disasters. Success depends on efficiency and foresight rather than conquest or exploration.

✅ Emergent tension: Every decision carries long-term consequences. A poor harvest or an ill-timed winter can wipe out your entire population, creating that same razor’s-edge tension that RimWorld players know well.

📉 Narrative minimalism: Banished is emotionally subdued compared to RimWorld. There are no personalities or interpersonal drama, just systems, survival, and slow, methodical progress. It’s meditative where RimWorld is chaotic.

Similarity score : 6/10

Timberborn

  • Platform(s) : PC, MacOS
  • Developer : Mechanistry
  • Publisher : Mechanistry
  • Release Date : September 15, 2021 (early access)
  • Genre : City-builder
  • Where to play : Steam

✅ Unique civilization builder: Timberborn translates the colony-sim formula into a charming and inventive setting, with intelligent beavers rebuilding the world after humanity’s fall. Beneath its whimsy lies a deeply strategic city builder.

✅ Resource management and survival: Like RimWorld, Timberborn demands careful control of food, water, and housing as you balance short-term needs with long-term planning. The drought cycles add RimWorld-like tension, forcing adaptability and resilience.

✅ Strong systems and world design: The game’s vertical construction, water physics, and automation systems make it a mechanical sandbox that rewards creativity and foresight, much like RimWorld’s late-game colony building.

📉 Emotional distance: While clever and atmospheric, Timberborn lacks RimWorld’s human-level drama and narrative unpredictability. It’s serene and strategic rather than chaotic and character-driven, perfect for players who prefer order to RimWorld’s madness.

Similarity score : 5/10

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