In the category of building strategies on the PC there are not many candidates for the title of cult projects. This genre attracts some of the audience with its measured gameplay and the need to always use thinking. Nevertheless, over the years of the development of the gaming industry , several masterpieces have been released, which will be discussed in this article.
Whole series
Talk about building strategies on the PC should begin with the pioneers of the genre, namely the series The Settlers. This project has been developing since 1993 and has overgrown with a large number of sequels. The plot is missing due to uselessness. The player is told that some people, for certain reasons, decided to move to free lands, and he should help build their settlement and develop it to the highest level. The gameplay attracts with its complexity, because here you have to get a dozen resources and look for the right application for everyone. Surveillance of the mood of residents is also present. The player only has to choose an era and choose the appropriate part of the series for it.
Difficulty in mastering
The Banished project should be included in the list of the best building strategies on the PC. He does not invent new mechanics, but he observes all the laws of the genre, which is sure to please the inveterate fans. Players are encouraged to take control of a small village somewhere in the northern region of Europe. The charm is added by the Middle Ages with all historical difficulties. The journey begins with a group of people in several families deciding to settle on free land. They have a limited supply of resources, and therefore users will first have to arrange the supply of materials. Further construction takes place according to all the canons of the genre - the organization of housing, work, and the like. The main feature of the game is complexity. The harsh era constantly throws random events. This may be the attack of warlike neighbors, raging beasts, cold and several other conditions. The project challenges the player, and therefore attracts attention so much.
Survival in all its glory
In 2018, a masterpiece called Frostpunk quickly burst into the ranking of the best building strategies on PC. The plot takes the player to the 19th century. The world has experienced a global cooling, the temperature is rapidly falling. People found salvation only near huge coal generators that produce a significant amount of heat. Users have to manage one of these groups that left London and reached the pit with a technological miracle with losses. The game attracts a constant challenge. Resource tracking is an important part of the gameplay here. Coal ends, death from frostbite begins. Users will have to think carefully about building the necessary buildings, researching vital technologies, and laws that make moral choices. For example, the introduction of child labor or the use of corpses for organ transplantation. All this happens in conditions of a regular decrease in temperature. Users will constantly have to find a compromise between indicators of “hope” and “discontent”.
Another novelty
In 2018, a second remarkable game appeared - a PC building strategy called Surviving Mars. It deserves attention already for one setting, because infrequently the players have the opportunity to go to the development of other planets. The plot tells about how humanity has made tremendous progress in technical terms and went to explore Mars. On Earth, the amount of resources is rapidly exhausting, and therefore the colonists should not expect deliveries in shuttles. The user must begin development on his own, taking into account all the features of the area. Residents must constantly have access to the right amount of air, food, and the extraction of resources here does not follow the standard canons of the genre. The project was marked by a sticky gameplay with constant research of the surface of the Red Planet. Players will spend the first hour mastering all the mechanics, after which they will begin to actively improve the lives of the first inhabitants of Mars. For a real drive, you can choose high complexity.
State management
According to many fans, any construction strategy on a PC that deserves attention should take on a grand scale. There is no problem with this in a project called Tropico 5. This project focuses on the economic component. The user takes control of a small state in Latin America. A run-down region should turn into a real paradise, but for this you need to make the right decisions. Developers emphasize the players' attention on the standard of living and well-being of the population. Inspires an impressive list of buildings available for construction - from energy production to the entertainment sector. The classic canons on the type of tracking improvement, the correct location of buildings, and the establishment of supplies of resources have not gone away in the series. A feature of the series can be noted diplomatic relations. The leader of a small country is called El Presidente and even the most influential states want to be friends with him. It's better to choose the fifth part, but when searching for building games on a weak PC, the fourth is also suitable.
Epoch variations
Some players prefer to choose entertainment for themselves on computers so that it can spend many hours. Not all games with construction equipment on a PC and the development of their own settlements can offer this. A pleasant exception is the Anno series. The best representatives in it are projects 1701, 1503 and other older ones. A game process was born in them, in which the economic component was severely suppressed with research. Players are placed in an open area, where you need to start building your town. The accumulation of resources, the development of technology, increasing the satisfaction of the population and other canons of the genre are present. More interesting are travels in the region with exploration of new territories. In the course of development, the player will find other fractions. With them you can enter into diplomatic relations, trade or fight. Over the years, the Anno series has overgrown with various projects. One offers to go to the near future of 2070, while the other will immerse users in the futuristic changes of 2205.
Unusual setting
The best PC building games for players are associated with the current era in most cases. The reason for this is the popularity of new projects in this setting. Nothgard developers decided to bet on a different era. They propose to take control of the Viking settlement in the times of the 6-7th century, when this people actively developed in the northern regions of Europe. Instead of the usual realism, players are invited to experience the magical appeal of Scandinavian myths. During the passage of the campaign, players will encounter different creatures. Resources here are also not quite standard. The goals are more familiar - to lead your settlement to success. To do this, in addition to focusing on food abundance and warmth, players need to hire military units and form an army. You have to fight here often, especially to defend yourself. This perfectly fits into the setting of the constant confrontations of that era. The gameplay will often surprise even the most experienced fans of the category.
Classic in a lovely wrapper
All of the above construction strategies on a PC in the list of the best were marked with their chip. Be it a setting, game mechanics, a combination of genres and the like. Along with this, classic projects with typical gameplay are also present in the category. The developers of Cities: Skylines have adopted a proven method. They explored the category, selected the most familiar and perfectly working elements to put together. The result was a game that deserved excellent reviews from the press and the users themselves. This is a typical urban simulator, where it is proposed to build the world's best metropolis. The player begins with a clean huge field and with starting capital. The ultimate goal is one, and in the course of the assignment, smaller missions will be given. The main thing here is to monitor resources, improvement and carefully plan the placement of infrastructure. It would seem that nothing is original here, but the project attracts you from the first minutes, plus it has a nice visual component.
The construction of the eternal city
Games about construction equipment on PC are even less common than urban simulations. In them the scope of events is much smaller, each of the candidates in this rating is a confirmation of this. You must also add the game Caesar III to the list. This project casts users in the era of ancient Rome. The eternal city was an example of culture and greatness, while players are given the opportunity to surpass the original version on a blank map. The concept was created according to the canons of the genre, the main feature is the pretentiousness of buildings. Their style is completely written off from the buildings of those times. In the course of development, the player will receive different tasks from the governor. This may be an improvement in landscaping or raising entertainment infrastructure to a new level. They appear only at the moment when the player does not pay attention to important factors. The rest is complete freedom of action.
A good combination of genres
Not quite a standard project for The Guild 2 category is also worthy of mention in the ranking of the best building strategies on the PC. The game combines the economy and RPG elements in the form of a tree of development. It all starts with the fact that the player in the Middle Ages should build his dynasty and occupy the highest possible position in politics. This is the main goal of the entire campaign, and along with diplomatic upheavals, the construction of its own small empire takes place. Castle construction, economic issues of income, hiring workers - these elements are only part of the extensive gameplay. The project does not bother with time, because single-player training can be used for battles with other users. The developers have implemented a convenient multiplayer with different maps and tasks.
Transport operations
In such a genre of PC games, construction equipment is absent, buildings are erected automatically if the necessary amount of resources is available. Even Transport Fever developers have taken advantage of this feature. Many users do not like to watch a long construction in real time, they are interested in the result. The mentioned project is different from all the above games, because it focuses on creating a transport empire. The player during the development will go from the very first varieties of equipment to modern trains and planes. The main task is to lay the right trade routes. Near them are accessible to the construction of the city, but operations with infrastructure are limited. Settlements are completely dependent in their accomplishment on what income the user's transport in the region will bring. A huge number of variations of actions makes you plunge into the atmosphere of the game.
Space travel
Building technologies on PCs in this category of projects are poorly developed. The user will not see the detailed construction process of each of the buildings, but developers never focus on this. The players are involved in the dynamics of the development of their cities or settlements and there are no problems with this in the masterpiece of Aven Colony. The story tells how an experimental expedition into space was sent from Earth to explore its vastness. Colonists landed on an unknown planet, and at that moment the player takes action. He needs to create quality conditions for the life of citizens. They must have constantly clean air, food, places to sleep and work. Various cataclysms and unknown life forms will interfere with this.