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Squirrel's Pick Squirrel's PickThe best game on this page. If you only try one, try this. Closest Match Closest MatchThe most similar game to the anchor, by what players say.
SurvivalCraftingBase Building
$34.99 ~61.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 85.8% of 12k
The Squirrel's verdictThe Last Caretaker puts players on a mobile ship-base as a robot, with crafting, base customization, and exploration driving 61 hours of median playtime. Combat against enemies is frequent, and scavenging takes up more play time than base-building according to reviewers. Solo only, no villagers to manage, and the survival mechanic reduces to power rather than food or water.
Not for you if heavy combat and scavenging loops outweigh base-building, or you want colony management with autonomous inhabitants.
2
Budget Pick Budget PickThe best game here for the least money.
Colony SimCity BuilderBase-Building
$24.99 ~23.4 hr median no co-op complexity: light 80.8% of 4k
The Squirrel's verdictA low-combat, cute-art colony sim built around expanding outward, managing resources, and watching settlements grow — median playtime runs about 23 hours. Reviews flag persistent bugs even post-1.0: buildings leave ghosts on deconstruction, villager AI breaks, and some placement issues can softlock key structures mid-run. Suits players who can absorb rough edges in exchange for a relaxed, forgiving building pace.
Not for you if persistent post-1.0 bugs around building deconstruction, villager pathing, and placement would break your experience.
3
Colony SimCity BuilderGod Game
Strong Mods Strong ModsA deep, active modding scene extends it past its base content.
$24.99 ~48.9 hr median co-op complexity: moderate 82.4% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictColony-building with co-op intact: unlock crafting chains, build self-sufficient settlements, manage resource trade across a planet-scale map. Movement and carrying capacity are slower than most builders, and the world is large enough that setting up supply chains between distant settlements takes real time. Median playtime sits near 49 hours. For players who want the build-with-a-partner format at a bigger, slower scale.
Not for you if slow movement, limited carry capacity, or a sprawling world pace would frustrate rather than satisfy you.
4
Colony SimSurvivalCity Builder
$9.99 ~10.7 hr median no co-op complexity: light 81.4% of 420
The Squirrel's verdictA prehistoric colony sim: gather resources, construct buildings, and advance a settlement through a tech tree at around 11 hours median playtime. No enemies appear and no hard winters hit, so difficulty comes entirely from managing build pacing and resource flow rather than survival pressure. Solo only, with no co-op mode.
Not for you if combat, survival threats, or playing with a partner are part of what you want from a colony sim.
5
Sci-fiSurvivalColony Sim
$9.99 ~37.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 78.5% of 316
The Squirrel's verdictUnderground colony-building with a 37-hour median playtime: dig out rooms, gather resources, unlock research chains, and manage crafting progression on a solo alien-planet base. Late-game balance problems are real — miss early steps and you can hit a wall with no way through — and the developer has moved on to another project since mid-2024. Suits players who want a compact, self-contained colony sim.
Not for you if late-game balance dead-ends or an inactive developer would end your run early.
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SurvivalOpen World Survival CraftCrafting
$14.99 ~18.9 hr median co-op 71.6% of 894
The Squirrel's verdictBoth are building/crafting games where progression and tier balance drive absorption over hours. Solace Crafting keeps co-op intact, unlike Havendock, though reviews describe multiplayer sync issues of its own: animations not lining up, building parts failing to spawn for other players. Rough controls and thin content are part of the deal at this price.
Not for you if you need polished combat, animations, or reliable co-op syncing rather than a rough, grindy building loop.
How the Squirrel matches games
Not tag overlap. We compare what players actually say across hundreds of
thousands of reviews about how each game feels to play, then break
the comparison into the mechanics you can see in each card. The mark on
every bar is Havendock's own score, so you can read where a match runs
hotter or cooler than the anchor.
Verdicts are written against a fixed editorial standard, machine-audited,
and human spot-checked. Which games make the cut is a human call. Prices
and review data refresh automatically. Full method & AI disclosure →