1
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.
CrimeOpen WorldAction
$19.99 ~35.3 hr median co-op complexity: light 97.8% of 307k
The Squirrel's verdictSchedule I is a drug-production-and-dealing game with co-op support, an Overwhelmingly Positive rating, and a 35.3-hour median. The core loop — produce, distribute, manage a growing operation — is structurally similar to Obenseuer's resource-and-income grind. Reviews flag that endgame content thins out and repetition sets in once the operation scales up.
Not for you if the loop turning repetitive at endgame is a dealbreaker for you, or you want a setting beyond accumulating money through a dealing operation.
2
CraftingRPGMedieval
$19.99 ~52 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 85.4% of 54k
The Squirrel's verdictGraveyard Keeper is a graveyard management game that expands into brewing, farming, alchemy, zombie labor, and book-writing as you unlock quest lines. Released complete in 2018 at $19.99 with a median of 52 hours, the progression is fixed and won't be rebalanced after purchase. Reviews split on whether that sprawl enriches the experience or buries the graveyard loop under disconnected systems.
Not for you if you want a focused core loop rather than a web of branching systems pulling you away from the central premise.
3
Immersive SimFPSEconomy
$19.99 ~76.5 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 93.9% of 4k
The Squirrel's verdictWeed Shop 3 is a fully released business-building grind — scrounge, stock, upgrade, repeat — with a 76.5-hour median and a Very Positive rating. The loop rewards patience and tolerance for jank. The game has no mod support; anything that shortened the slower grind sections has been removed, so the full time investment is what the experience is built around.
Not for you if you want cosmic horror and authoritarian atmosphere rather than a business sim, or you need mod tools to pace the grind to your preference.
4
Hidden Gem Hidden GemLoved by the players who found it, but still under the radar.
Resource ManagementTurn-BasedRogue-lite
$17.59 ~49.3 hr median no co-op 95.1% of 3k
The Squirrel's verdictdotAGE is a turn-based village survival game with roguelike runs — you place workers, manage scarcity, and hold off mounting threats across runs that end in victory or failure. At 49.3 median hours and an Overwhelmingly Positive rating, it suits players who want structured, replayable scarcity management. Reviews compare it to a board game version of Rimworld with the stress of a colony sim and the replayability of a roguelike.
Not for you if you want real-time first-person exploration and building upkeep rather than turn-based, top-down worker placement with discrete runs.
5
SurvivalBase-BuildingPost-apocalyptic
$14.99 ~33.1 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 81.7% of 6k
The Squirrel's verdictBoth put survival management ahead of combat: scavenging trips, resource scarcity, and managing needs while threats lurk outside your base. Sheltered trades Obenseuer's open-world scrounging for a fixed shelter and a family of survivors you micromanage directly, with expedition RNG replacing free exploration. Suits players who liked the grind of scarcity but want a tighter, more contained loop.
Not for you if you want open-world exploration rather than managing survivors from inside one fixed shelter, or dislike heavy micromanagement of individual needs.
6
Hidden Gem Hidden GemLoved by the players who found it, but still under the radar. Budget Pick Budget PickThe best game here for the least money.
Life SimRPG2.5D
$9.99 ~37.5 hr median no co-op complexity: light 91% of 553
The Squirrel's verdictA stick-figure RPG where jobs, quests, and leveling structure the entire loop — the grind is the point, and the game is straightforward about it. Released in 2019 at $9.99 with a median of 37.5 hours, it suits players who want character progression without survival pressure or property management. Mandatory arcade-style minigames gate main quest progress, which reviews cite as the sharpest friction point.
Not for you if you can't complete arcade-style minigames required for main quest progress, or you want survival mechanics and atmosphere over a leveling loop.
7
SurvivalBase-BuildingCrafting
$19.99 ~21.7 hr median no co-op complexity: light 80.2% of 5k
The Squirrel's verdictBoth put you scrounging and building under a hostile authority you can't confront directly, with farming and resource loops driving progress. Mr. Prepper has a fixed story with an ending and a defined rocket-building goal, replacing Obenseuer's open-ended survival grind with a scripted A-to-B questline and finite scope at 21.7 median hours.
Not for you if you want open-ended systemic survival rather than a linear fetch-quest campaign toward one scripted ending.
8
$3.99 ~6.1 hr median no co-op 78.4% of 436
The Squirrel's verdictThe Happy Hereafter is a casual resource management game where you assign zombie workers to gather food, wood, stone, and gems, build and upgrade every structure on a fixed map, and reach a natural endpoint when everything is maxed. No survival pressure, no health management, no combat. The map layout and upgrade path are predetermined, and the median playtime is 6.1 hours.
Not for you if you want survival stakes, health management, open-ended progression, or a loop that doesn't conclude once all buildings are upgraded.