Stonehearth is a village-building colony sim that gained massive popularity a few years ago. While it still has its fair share of players, most have left the game behind and moved on. A big reason for that is the developers completely abandoning the game, with only a few mods to keep it company. So if you are a Stonehearth fan who’s bored and looking for alternatives, you’re in luck. We have compiled a list of games similar to Stonehearth, so you can continue building villages and cities without issues. Have a look at the best Stonehearth alternatives in this guide.
1. RimWorld
Starting off the list with a sci-fi colony, RimWorld is a space-themed building game that follows a top-down style. RimWorld has been inspired by popular city-building games like Fortress, Space Dwarves, and Dune. As a player in RimWorld, you start out with 3 survivors on a shipwreck in an unknown world. It is now up to you to make sure these colonists survive and thrive in this world.
- RimWorldBanishedCities: SkylinesFrostpunkANNO 1800Founders’ FortuneIgnomiaOdd RealmHammerHelmAgainst the StormTropico 6Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Rimworld is driven by an intelligent AI storyteller that generates the narrative by simulating world elements like psychology, ecology, gunplay, melee combat, climate, biomes, and more. This means every event that happens in the game is randomized while being planned at the same time. So while you manage your colony and recruit more folks, be ready for what this Stonhearth alternative throws at you.
2. Banished
Banished is a game that’s similar to Stonehearth in more ways than one. The game follows a similar art style to Stonehearth and focuses on world-building elements. True to its name, Banished gives you a group of exiled travelers who have nothing left but their own clothes and a cart. You must now take the banished people and rebuild their lives from scratch.
A good thing about this game is that city building is effortless. Instead of waiting to unlock buildings, you can build any structure at any time, provided you have the resources. While there is no currency in the game, Banished people can barter their resources with trade vessels that arrive at the shore. These ships are also vital to managing the town’s food system.
3. Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines is a game like Stonehearth but brings a different take by jumping to the 21st Century. As the mayor in-game, you are tasked with building an entire city from the ground up. While this might sound easy enough, Cities: Skylines comes with modern challenges that make building and running a city difficult. While you can build any amount of buildings and shape your city, the simulation mechanic forces you to deal with more aspects.
This means, as the Mayor, you will manage the city’s various needs such as the economy, policing, healthcare, water, electricity, and, of course, traffic. You can divide your space into districts, implement policies, and more. The city will go through day and night cycles and conditions like traffic changes.
Frostpunk is a society survival game that takes things in a darker direction. This is to be expected as the game is created by the folks behind This War of Mine, a survival game. In Frostpunk, you are the ruler of the last city on Earth. Set in an entirely frozen world where survivors rely on steam-powered tech, Frostpunk’s environment is less than friendly. As the ruler of this city, it is up to you to not only build the city from scratch but also protect the people from certain elements and keep their spirits up.
Like before, you must manage various aspects, including healthcare, food, work, and more. Frostpunk enables the player to develop existing technologies and make a world that is modern and futuristic. However, it goes deeper than that. At one point or another, you’re given a chance to explore the surrounding areas for more information.
One of the most loved ANNO games in the series, ANNO 1800 is a city-building game that takes place in the 19th century. As a ruler in ANNO, you have to head the Industrial Revolution and all that comes with it. Like other city-building games, you have to build an entire city and convert it into a metropolis. This, of course, comes with an amazing combination of up-and-coming technologies while keeping your traditions alive.
While ANNO 1800 players get to manage their city, they also have the option to explore other places by sending people out on expeditions around the globe, settling in new areas, and more. However, be aware that you’re not alone in this world as AI opponents have their own cities.
As the ruler, you must use various tactics, including diplomacy and warfare, to keep your cities safe and sound. If you make friends out of the opponents, you can even establish trade routes for profit. So yeah, ANNO 1800 is a game similar to Stonehearth that expands on city building and takes it closer to the Age of Empires.
Coming back to the art style of Stonehearth, Founder’s Fortune boasts similar graphics that veteran players will like. Set in a fantasy land, Founder’s Fortune is a village-building game that includes resource management, research, defense, training, and much more. You are responsible for building the entire village while meeting the citizens’ needs.
Founder’s Fortune has good building mechanics but takes it a step further. While you can place existing designs, you can design your own houses and build them to your liking, offering you variety. For those looking for more, Founder’s Fortune also has research that leads to better construction elements, furniture, and overall technologies.
You can fund all of the city’s projects by trading with traveling traders. Like FrostPunk, Founders’ Fortune comes with a harsh winter and Tikigoblins, so be on your guard if you want to survive. Install Founders’ Fortune if you wish to play an interesting game similar to Stonehearth.
Ignomia is a strategy base-building game currently in early access. The game is inspired by popular builders such as Dwarf Fortress and Gnomoria. The devs have tried to make the best of both worlds, and the reviews indicate the same. While the game borrows assets from Gnomoria, the entire engine has been rewritten from scratch.
Ignomia is a colony-building game that focuses on base building, resource management, and a healthy variety of choices. You have a top-down view of the entire colony, making it easy to monitor the base. While new players may not find the graphics not as pretty as, say ANNO or Frostpunk, it retains good visual fidelity to remain attractive.
Get Ignomia on Steam (Free)
Joining the early access list is Odd Realm, a colony sim-building game that is top-down in nature. While the main focus here is building your base and caring for people, Odd Realm expands on the concept. The entire game is set in a procedurally generated world that translates to a plethora of landscapes to choose from. Whether it’s a magical mountain range or the ribcage of a dead giant, there sure is variety.
There is also a good amount of freedom while building, as you are not restricted by designs. You are free to place anything both over and underground. There are 100+ buildable blueprints to choose from, ranging from structures to cosmetics. Further, populating the in-game world are two different races, with three more to come.
9. HammerHelm
If you love city building but want a bit more freedom, then HammerHeml will be a good choice for you. While this game is like Stoneheath in terms of city building, it adds variety elsewhere. HammerHelm makes you a dwarf who was exiled for thinking differently. As the newly homeless, you decide to build a safe haven for other dwarves who want to live above ground like you. As such, it’s your duty to create a huge dwarven town and keep folks happy by managing their needs.
However, what makes HammerHelm different is that it blends base building with some third-person action. So while you build the city, you can go out and explore it. It has also added a fast-paced combat system for some action. Players can outfit their dwarves with weapons and armor to make sure they can take the fight. Check out HammerHelm to combine building and fighting.
Against the Storm is a Stonehearth alternative that takes the beautiful base building metric and combines it with FrostPunk’s dark premise. You act as the Scorched Queen’s Viceroy, who’s put in charge of progressing the Smoldering City by doing all you can. You’re living in a destroyed world, where your city is the last one standing. However, instead of neverending frost, you get wilderness and its storms.
Moreover, Against the Storm takes building to the next level. Instead of focusing on a single city, you are tasked with creating a chain of settlements full of different races and cultures. Your villagers are integral to your progress to keep them happy. However, as the weather keeps changing, make sure to change your tactics to keep your city safe.
Besides the races, the game is also populated by a multitude of enemies so be on your guard. However, what takes the cake is that Against the Storm is also a roguelike builder. That means you carry your resources to the next game in case your current one ends. So if you are looking for a city builder that branches into so much detail, check out this game similar to Stonehearth.
A long-standing series in the base building genre, Tropico 6 is the latest installation. As the El Presidente of your land, it is up to you to progress the island state of Tropico and lead it through different eras. While Tropico 6 carries over the building aspects of previous games, you can now manage different archipelagos and connect islands together through bridges. Tropico 6 comes with a new transportation system that lets players move citizens in different ways.
Since you are a dictator, after all, Tropico 6 lets gamers become exactly that. The newest iteration also added a new research system to let users rack up more political points. If you want to take it a step further, there’s even an option to give election speeches. However, that doesn’t stop the game from letting players do something unusual, i.e. steal the wonders of the world, including the Statue of Liberty.
Get Tropico 6 on Steam ($39.99)
If you think AOE is far off from Stoneheart, you might be right and wrong at once. However, as a special mention, we had to put one of the best base-building story-driven games on this list. For those who aren’t aware, Age of Empires II is a massively popular activity-building strategy game. The world in AOE is not determined by a single city and instead revolves around a ton of civilizations and stories. While you can start a solo map, it’s fun to play the conqueror campaigns.
Maps in AOE are divided across different biomes, and each has its own specialties. That is combined with different civilizations that come with their own cultural history, including military units. Once you get building, you will see the extensive variety of buildings you can make, including popular Wonders of the World. Moreover, players can progress their cities through different ages, including Dark, Feudal, Castle, and Imperial to unlock newer structures and units.
