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Squirrel's Pick Squirrel's PickThe best game on this page. If you only try one, try this.
RPGCity BuilderColony Sim
Strong Mods Strong ModsA deep, active modding scene extends it past its base content.
$23.99 ~71.4 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 89.1% of 21k
The Squirrel's verdictGoing Medieval applies the pawn-management and verticality-based base defense familiar from colony sims to a medieval settler setting, with 3D construction and multiple building styles as its main creative draw. It holds a Very Positive rating at 89.1% and a median of 71.4 hours played. The developer team is described in reviews as actively listening to player feedback.
Not for you if you want a family or lineage system, or expect melee combat and pawn pathfinding to be more polished than a typical colony sim.
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Base-BuildingSpaceColony Sim
$24.99 ~47.1 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 85.8% of 11k
The Squirrel's verdictSpace Haven moves the colony-management loop onto spaceships: survivors need food, rest, and morale while players craft, build, and defend against threats in space rather than on a planet's surface. Ship construction is the creative core, with power and resource routing replacing terrain and seasons. The game reached full release in 2026 and carries a Very Positive rating at 85.8%, with a median of 47.1 hours played.
Not for you if you want a smooth interface and gentle tutorial rather than a control scheme reviewers consistently describe as fighting you at every stage.
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Closest Match Closest MatchThe most similar game to the anchor, by what players say.
ExplorationColony SimBase-Building
Strong Mods Strong ModsA deep, active modding scene extends it past its base content.
$29.99 ~53.8 hr median no co-op complexity: heavy 87% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictStardeus uses the same Rimworld-style loop of managing survivor needs, researching tech trees, and defending a base, but the setting is a damaged spaceship rather than a planet surface. Power routing, hull integrity, and ship layout replace terrain, biomes, and seasons as the main environmental systems. It carries a Very Positive rating at 87.0% and a median of 53.8 hours played, with a review as recent as 14 days ago.
Not for you if you want ground-level terrain and biomes rather than a ship interior, or dislike research walls gating basic survival needs in the early game.
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Budget Pick Budget PickThe best game here for the least money.
Colony SimSurvivalBase-Building
$6.99 ~34.8 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 80.7% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictJudgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation puts three survivors in a randomly generated world after a demon apocalypse, with base-building, crafting, scavenging expeditions, and research gates that require looting specific items to advance. Combat is central to every loop—reviews note the game is built around constant fighting and preparation for it. Priced at $6.99 with a median of 34.8 hours logged across players.
Not for you if you want combat to be optional rather than the constant grind the base-building loop is built around.
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Sci-fiSurvivalColony Sim
$9.99 ~37.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 78.5% of 316
The Squirrel's verdictMercury Fallen is a solo-developed colony sim where survivors wake underground on an alien planet and dig out their base while researching and managing pawns individually. The digging and underground construction are more central here than in most colony sims, and the scale stays small throughout. The last update was June 2024, after which the developer moved to a different project.
Not for you if you need late-game balance and ongoing content, since reviews describe stalled progression and no updates since mid-2024.
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Colony SimBase-BuildingSurvival
Strong Mods Strong ModsA deep, active modding scene extends it past its base content.
$14.99 ~30.9 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 78.2% of 211
The Squirrel's verdictAfter the Collapse shares Z-level verticality with Stranded, letting terrain factor into defense without forcing killbox designs. The setting is post-nuclear rather than alien-planet, and the developer has maintained an active presence on forums and continued updating the game through its 1.0 release. Suits players who want a small-group base-building loop with expeditions and a colonial feel in an apocalyptic setting.
Not for you if you need polished UI and reliable pawn AI — reviews describe clunky menus, workers getting stuck, and rough combat behavior.
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City BuilderPost-apocalypticSurvival
$29.99 ~36.4 hr median no co-op complexity: light 70.8% of 5k
The Squirrel's verdictBoth are RimWorld-descended colony survival games about small groups rebuilding from nothing, with tech progression, expeditions, and base construction. Surviving the Aftermath drops Stranded's individual pawn micromanagement and Z-level verticality for a more macro, story-guided settlement layer—less direct AI control per survivor, more event and resource decisions at the camp level. Reviewers note the systems plateau after the early hours.
Not for you if you came to Stranded for granular per-pawn control and vertical base defense, or you dislike DLC-gated content and games that feel shallow past the opening hours.
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Colony SimBase-BuildingSurvival
$24.99 ~31 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 60.4% of 389
The Squirrel's verdictEmbark shares the colony-sim core of Stranded: Alien Dawn, small groups managing needs, crafting, and base-building under Rimworld-style influence, but adds full 3D terrain with underground strata for digging and vertical building instead of Stranded's elevation layers. Median playtime sits at 31 hours. Suits players who want geological depth over Stranded's alien-planet survival framing.
Not for you if you need a polished, bug-free experience rather than a Mixed-rated title still carrying reported stability issues.