Games like They Are Billions

The Squirrel's verdictReal-world map support is Infection Free Zone's most distinctive feature: you build on actual geographic data from anywhere in the world. Squad micromanagement is the dominant time sink—players report spending most of their time shepherding squads through looting runs and reacting when enemies appear. Worker priority micromanagement drew criticism after a patch slowed movement significantly. Median playtime sits at about 40 hours.

Not for you if you find constant squad-shepherding and worker-priority micromanagement tedious rather than engaging.

The Squirrel's verdictDiplomacy is Not an Option puts active unit micromanagement at the center of its horde defense loop: walls and towers draw criticism for low durability, and many missions reward charging the enemy over building defenses. Checkpoints replace campaign-wide permadeath scoring, and the game runs to roughly 37 median hours. Players who enjoy direct unit control during fights and can tolerate steep mid-campaign difficulty spikes will get the most out of it.

Not for you if you want pure pre-battle planning and strong defensive structures rather than high-APM unit micro during waves.

The Squirrel's verdictDrill Core shares the no-mid-run-save structure and punishing permadeath that define They Are Billions: mess up and the run is gone. But you hire and assign miners to tiles rather than directly commanding units, runs are single sessions of one to three hours rather than a campaign, and the core loop stays mining and base defense instead of horde combat.

Not for you if you want direct unit control rather than assigning tasks to miners, or find long single-session runs with no mid-game save tedious rather than tense.

The Squirrel's verdictJudgment drops you into a demon apocalypse with a handful of survivors on a randomly generated world, managing research gates, looting expeditions, and base construction across a persistent map rather than a single punishing mission. Combat receives mixed reviews—several players flag it as weak for a game that revolves around it—and build orders feel forced early on. Median playtime is around 35 hours. Suits players drawn to the colony-management and scavenging side of this genre more than wave-defense precision.

Not for you if combat quality matters to you, or you dislike forced build orders with little early freedom.

The Squirrel's verdictAfter Inc structures play around mission campaigns and a mobile-style energy system that caps daily session length—finishing the campaign and daily challenge can leave players locked out of further play until the next day. There is no endless mode or random scenario generator. Reviewers from Ndemic's prior games describe the mechanics as more simplified than Plague Inc or Rebel Inc. Median playtime is around 25 hours across available content.

Not for you if you want unrestricted session length, an endless mode, or strategic depth beyond linear mission campaigns.

The Squirrel's verdictSame core tension as They Are Billions: build a colony, defend it against waves, and lose everything if you slip. Final Outpost compresses that dread into a single strict path rather than a full tech tree and long campaign, with active manual tasks like guard assignment and click-harvesting replacing macro-scale base management. Runs are shorter, median playtime under 8 hours.

Not for you if you want multiple viable strategies rather than one correct sequence, or find repetitive manual clicking tedious rather than tense.

The Squirrel's verdictSurvive the Fall splits into two loosely connected systems: top-down action-RPG combat with pause, and a separate base-management layer. Reviewers describe both halves as underdeveloped and unbalanced relative to each other. A save-loading bug that prevents progress has been reported. The game runs about 17 median hours. Players willing to tolerate a rough, bug-affected release who want action-RPG encounters alongside colony building are the likely fit.

Not for you if you want base-building and combat tightly integrated rather than running as separate, loosely connected systems, or need reliable save functionality.

The Squirrel's verdictReviews flag broken combat accuracy—rank-5 soldiers missing repeatedly at close range—walls that enemies shoot through, and pillboxes that offer little protection. There is a single map, no tutorial, and the AI draws consistent criticism. The mixed Steam rating (60.6% positive) reflects persistent bugs that reviewers say have gone unaddressed. Players who can tolerate rough mechanics in exchange for a save-reload survival loop at a low price point are the target audience.

Not for you if you need working defensive structures, reliable combat accuracy, or map variety.