Games like Aven Colony

The Squirrel's verdictTrading between separate cliff-cities sits at the center of Cliff Empire's design: each city runs its own budget, and resource transfers require actual market transactions rather than direct transfers. That friction gives standard food-water-power management more ways to spiral if trades are mismanaged. Players who liked Aven Colony's resource juggling but wanted economic interdependence between settlements are the target.

Not for you if you want resource categories to behave intuitively — the game classifies only grain as food, which catches reviewers off guard in goal-completion scenarios.

The Squirrel's verdictRadiation zones and soil contamination add failure states to the familiar food-water-power-housing loop, and difficulty settings make build order consequential in ways Aven Colony's forgiving structure did not. Reviewers describe strong positive snowballing when things go well and accelerating negative spirals when they don't, which gives decisions more weight throughout a run.

Not for you if you want a forgiving difficulty curve — reviewers describe setbacks compounding quickly, with higher difficulties called unforgiving without a solid build order.

The Squirrel's verdictImagine Earth shares Aven Colony's core loop: balancing food, water, air, and power while expanding a colony. The difference is consequence—pollution from industry triggers disasters, and rival colonies compete for the same resources, forcing tradeoffs that Aven Colony's build-what-you're-told structure never requires. Built for players who wanted the resource juggling to carry actual risk.

Not for you if you want colony building without pollution-driven disasters, rival companies racing you for resources, or the climate-change framing some reviewers flagged as political.

The Squirrel's verdictSurvivor recruitment, robot helpers, and underground base-building distinguish Mercury Fallen from Aven Colony's surface-colony structure. Power conduit management and food chains carry real failure risk in the early game, and reviews cite strong replayability for players who push through a slow opening. Released out of Early Access in August 2023 by a solo developer; last update was June 2024.

Not for you if you want ongoing patches or a balanced late game — the developer has moved to another project, and reviews report late-game progression locks.

The Squirrel's verdictSurviving the Aftermath adds expeditions, specialist survivors, and random events to the standard food-water-power-housing loop, giving more decision points than Aven Colony offers. Reviewers note the added complexity plateaus after a few hours and the resource grind settles in regardless. Worth considering for players who want post-apocalyptic framing and a broader toolset, even if the long-term arc stays shallow.

Not for you if you want complexity that keeps growing — reviewers describe challenge and variety dropping off after roughly three to five hours.

The Squirrel's verdictOxygen suits players who want a low-pressure, open-ended builder with no defined win condition. Resources become easy to maintain once the systems are understood, difficulty stays flat throughout, and the game continues indefinitely without a completion goal. Median playtime across sampled players is around 17 hours, and the price point is $14.99.

Not for you if you want escalating challenge or a clear endpoint — reviews describe resources as easily obtainable and no completion state exists.

The Squirrel's verdictPlayers who want denser industrial chains in a historical setting will find more to engage with in Pax Augusta than in Aven Colony's lighter structure. Production runs through interdependent buildings — lumberjack, wood processor, warehouse — with a Roman civic layer on top. Released in 2025 and built by a solo developer, with active updates in progress.

Not for you if you need a stable, polished release — reviews report save-corrupting city wipes, campaign progress resets, and systems with little to no in-game explanation.

The Squirrel's verdictProject AURA shares the dome-colony survival loop: manage food, water, air, and population growth under an enclosed environment. Where it diverges is in production chain depth—basic food alone requires a ship, a hangar, and a pilot before anything reaches your colonists. Suits players who want layered dependency chains that demand real planning rather than straightforward build queues.

Not for you if you want a readable interface — reviews describe unscaled, cramped menus that make deep production chains hard to parse.