Games like Before We Leave

The Squirrel's verdictA card-based build system draws each structure from a shuffled deck rather than an open menu, and multiple playable cultures change starting conditions and available tech. Kingdoms Reborn supports native co-op and trades constrained island maps for larger, flat worlds. Reviewers note the mid-game can collapse into import/export dominance once you claim a land with a luxury good.

Not for you if you want the resource loop to keep evolving late-game rather than settle into repeatable trade-and-export patterns.

The Squirrel's verdictPlan B builds its logistics on a 3D globe — the same planet-scale framing Before We Leave uses — but limits you to three cities and factory-style production chains rather than open-ended settlement expansion. Depots consolidate collect, store, and distribute into one unit; trains replace roads. Reviewers note depots give limited routing control, which simplifies large builds.

Not for you if you want deep control over individual logistics nodes rather than automated depots, or need fast pacing rather than a slow, chill build-up.

The Squirrel's verdictBoth are peaceful colony builders with tech-driven production chains and no combat. The Colonists narrows focus to a single landmass and turns city-building into logistics: you design road networks and let bots haul goods, with tier-based research gating growth. Co-op is supported. Suits players who liked Before We Leave's building loop but want tighter transport-puzzle mechanics over multi-island expansion.

Not for you if you want expanding island exploration rather than optimizing one map's road and hauling network, or bot pathing AI frustrates you.

The Squirrel's verdictOf Life and Land focuses on medieval settlement management where animals and plants have their own simulated needs alongside your colonists', adding an ecological layer absent from Before We Leave. There is no direct NPC control — you set conditions and the simulation responds. No combat, no spherical map; the game runs on a flat world with resource chains and population logistics.

Not for you if you want direct control over individual colonists rather than pure system-level building and supply chain management.

The Squirrel's verdictRival companies compete with you for territory on the same planet, and pollution from your industry directly triggers natural disasters — both mechanics are central to Imagine Earth's loop rather than edge cases. That distinguishes it clearly from Before We Leave's solo island-hopping expansion, though it shares the no-combat, industrializing-a-small-world structure.

Not for you if you want a solo builder without AI rivals contesting your land, or dislike pollution tied to climate disasters.

The Squirrel's verdictBoth games ask you to build production chains on constrained land while resources run out and space gets tight. Mini Settlers strips out Before We Leave's survival threats and violence-adjacent enemies entirely, focusing purely on road-based logistics puzzles: population targets replace combat, and single-goods roads force constant rebuilding rather than open-ended expansion.

Not for you if you want ongoing threats and narrative tension rather than a pure logistics puzzle with no combat or survival pressure.

The Squirrel's verdictKubifaktorium shares the island-by-island settlement expansion and resource-chain colony management of Before We Leave, but pushes further into automation: you manually configure stockpiles, transport routes, and production chains for every good, closer to Factorio-style logistics than simple city-building. Reviewers note each island plays out nearly identically once you've learned the loop.

Not for you if you want variety between settlements rather than repeating the same objectives on each new island, or dislike manually configuring stockpiles and transport routes for every resource.

The Squirrel's verdictWorkers die if goods don't reach them in time, making supply chains across multiple islands fragile in ways Before We Leave's threats don't replicate. One More Island is built around Anno-style logistics at a much smaller scale — median playtime is 9.5 hours. Reviewers note the game becomes less polished in its later research tiers, where bugs and balance issues surface.

Not for you if you want a long campaign or expect the later tiers to match the quality of the opening hours.