Live Steam prices
Games like RimWorld
Updated · Hand-picked by GameHunch
RimWorld is special because of four things: a colony you build from nothing, stories that emerge from chaos, colonists with moods, needs and relationships, and raids you have to defend against. Every pick below shares at least two of them, and we show which. Every pick shows today's Steam price, and 2 are on sale right now.
Quick picks
15 games like RimWorld
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#1
Dwarf Fortress
Best for: Closest match
The game that inspired RimWorld: a colony full of characters, absurd emergent stories and sieges.
How it differs: Deeper and stranger, with a steeper learning curve.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Emergent stories✓ Colonists with needs and moods✓ Defence against threats
Very well reviewed: 94% of 29,416 players recommend it.
Solo2022Deck playable$29.99View on Steam -
#2
Going Medieval
Best for: 3D RimWorld
Settlers with moods and needs, base building across levels, and raids.
How it differs: Medieval setting in 3D, with multi-storey buildings and terrain you can dig.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Emergent stories✓ Colonists with needs and moods✓ Defence against threats
Very well reviewed: 88% of 17,153 players recommend it.
Solo2026Deck playable$29.99View on Steam -
#3
Stranded: Alien Dawn
Best for: 3D sci-fi alternative
Survivors on an alien planet with needs, injuries and moods.
How it differs: Fewer, more detailed characters, with more crafting.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Emergent stories✓ Colonists with needs and moods✓ Defence against threats
Mostly positive: 84% of 9,789 players recommend it.
Solo2023Steam Deck ✓$34.99View on Steam -
#4
Oxygen Not Included
Best for: Hard simulation
Colonists with stress and needs, and disasters that snowball.
How it differs: Side-on asteroid colony where air, heat and plumbing are the enemy.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Emergent stories✓ Colonists with needs and moods
Overwhelmingly loved: 96% of 136,217 Steam reviews are positive.
$24.99View on Steam -
#5
Kenshi
Best for: Open-world sandbox
Build outposts and recruit a squad that grows its own stories.
How it differs: You roam a huge, brutal open world; base building is optional.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Emergent stories✓ Defence against threats
Overwhelmingly loved: 95% of 99,333 Steam reviews are positive.
$29.99View on Steam -
#6
Space Haven
Best for: Spaceship colony
Crew with moods, needs and relationships, and emergencies to handle.
How it differs: You design and fly a spaceship instead of building on land.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Emergent stories✓ Colonists with needs and moods✓ Defence against threats
Very well reviewed: 85% of 10,416 players recommend it.
Solo2026Steam Deck ✓$24.99View on Steam -
#7
-90%
Frostpunk
Best for: Hard moral choices
Keep a settlement alive while its people react to your decisions.
How it differs: City-scale survival against the cold; you manage laws, not individuals.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Emergent stories
Very well reviewed: 92% of 115,147 players recommend it.
$29.99$2.99View on Steam -
#8
-55%
Frostpunk 2
Best for: Large-scale survival
Society reacts and divides over your choices.
How it differs: You run a whole city's factions and politics.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Emergent stories
Mostly positive: 74% of 21,117 players recommend it.
Solo2024Deck playable$44.99$20.24View on Steam -
#9
Songs of Syx
Best for: Huge scale
Colony that grows from a few settlers into a city-state, with wars.
How it differs: Thousands of citizens and a fantasy empire map.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Defence against threats
Very well reviewed: 94% of 9,144 players recommend it.
Solo2020Deck playable$24.99View on Steam -
#10
Against the Storm
Best for: Roguelite city building
Settlers with needs and hard choices under constant pressure.
How it differs: Each settlement is a short run, and you move on to the next.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Colonists with needs and moods
Very well reviewed: 94% of 33,630 players recommend it.
Solo2023Deck playable$29.99View on Steam -
#11
Prison Architect
Best for: Managing people
Design a facility and keep its inmates' needs and moods in check.
How it differs: Run a prison instead of a colony, with riots instead of raids.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Colonists with needs and moods
Very well reviewed: 89% of 59,903 players recommend it.
$29.99View on Steam -
#12
Timberborn
Best for: Building with water
Colony building with needs and logistics.
How it differs: You play beavers, and droughts and water engineering are the big threats.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Colonists with needs and moods
Overwhelmingly loved: 96% of 39,175 Steam reviews are positive.
$34.99View on Steam -
#13
Project Zomboid
Best for: Survival stories
Emergent, often tragic stories about survival.
How it differs: You play one survivor in a zombie apocalypse, not a colony manager.
Shares:✓ Emergent stories✓ Defence against threats
Very well reviewed: 94% of 372,600 players recommend it.
$24.99View on Steam -
#14
Banished
Best for: Classic survival builder
Grow a settlement from a handful of families through harsh winters.
How it differs: No combat; individuals are less detailed.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony
Very well reviewed: 90% of 37,962 players recommend it.
$19.99View on Steam -
#15
Craft The World
Best for: 2D dwarf colony
Command a group of dwarves, build and defend against night attacks.
How it differs: Side-on and more about crafting than personalities.
Shares:✓ Building and managing a colony✓ Defence against threats
Very well reviewed: 88% of 15,146 players recommend it.
Solo · Co-op · Versus2014Deck playable$18.99View on Steam
Questions about games like RimWorld
What is the closest game to RimWorld?
Dwarf Fortress, the game that inspired RimWorld. Its Steam version adds graphics and mouse controls to the deepest colony simulation ever made.
Is there a 3D game like RimWorld?
Going Medieval and Stranded: Alien Dawn are the closest 3D versions: colonists with moods and needs, building and raids.
Are there colony sims like RimWorld in space?
Space Haven puts you in charge of a ship and its crew, with RimWorld-style needs, moods and emergencies.
Which games like RimWorld are on sale right now?
2 of the 15 games on this page are discounted today. Prices update hourly from Steam.
How we picked these games
We chose and described every game on this page by hand, starting from what players love most about RimWorld: building and managing a colony, emergent stories, colonists with needs and moods and defence against threats. Each card shows which of those it shares and how it differs, so you can pick the one that fits what you're after. Prices, reviews and Steam Deck status come live from Steam. More about GameHunch.