GAMERS DECIDE - adventure capitalist

[Top 15] Best Free Indie Games

Alina Lazarte — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 02:41:34 +0000

15. Realm of the Mad God Exalt - 2012 (PC / PS4 / XBO)

Realm of the Mad God is an MMORPG bullet hell type of game. An extreme shooter following the theme of Space Invaders. In the style of 8 bits, Realm is a challenging experience. More than a dozen of classes to pick from and epic bosses to battle. Realm has a cooperative mode where you can share experiences with other people.

The game has a permanent death state. You die, you lose everything. Thus, you have to survive to make it through. Collect weapons, potions, gear, and rings. Are you good enough to reach the final level? You can play for hours or just a few minutes. Enjoy it your way!

Choose this game if you like...

Intense shooters. Enemies feel endless in the Realm of the mad god.
Simple graphics but hardcore gameplay.
Rogue-like bullet hell type of games. If you're good at keeping calm in overwhelming situations, this game is for you.

Fun factor score: 90/100

As you can see here the characters are divided between those who live and those who lie on the graveyard.

14. Brawlhalla - 2017 (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBOX / Nintendo Switch / iOS / Android )

The perfect fighting game. Brawhlhalla is a 2D platform fight game. Epic battles with 8+ players gathered from around the world. Brawhlhalla will test your fighting and dodging skills on the platform. Those who fall, lose. Those who stand, win. This beautiful game has over 50 characters to choose and master. You can also pick a weapon and gadgets, each one with unique abilities. The game allows cross-play so you can play with friends on different devices.

Brawlhalla has many different playing modes and is completely free. There is no pay-to-win bait. A game that will keep you entertained for several hours.

Choose this game if you like...

Simple fighting games. There’s nothing too complex in fighting and kicking other players off the arena.
Cute characters with cartoonish designs.
Kung Fu Panda. At Brawlhlla, the characters from Kung Fu Panda are playable!

Fun factor score: 100/100

Look at these stunning scenes from the battlefield. Four players remain on the platform, and each one is going to do its best to be the winner.

13. Sono - 2020

A simple, fast, and relaxing experience. Sono is a 2D exploration game. A game to chill while you discover its three worlds. Surrounded by beautiful sounds, Sono is an abstract microcosm where everything you have to do is collect souls.

It needs little requirements, everybody can play! This game is perfect for taking a break at work and relaxing. Discover this amazing microworld and chill!

Choose this game if you like...

Small but beautiful experiences. That is what Sono is in simple words.
Short games. Sono is a very short game but very worth it.
Simple games where you don't have to do anything. Almost like playing Yuumi in League.

Fun factor score: 100/100

Take a look at this amazing hive design. Did you know that the hexagonal hive shape is commonly seen in nature’s microcosm?

12. DDraceNetwork - 2020

Known as the hardest 2D platform game. DDraceNetwork is a cooperative game where you have to climb through different maps using a grappling hook. Each map has a different difficulty level. You can also build your map in the editor. Thousands of maps have been already built by the community. It's impressive.

The weapons available have challenging skills. It's a game that requires time and a lot of coordination. DDraceNetwork is worth a try. Maybe it becomes your favorite game of the year.

Choose this game if you like...

Challenging platformers. This one will hit on the right spot if you're a fan of platformers!
Creating inside the game system. Building maps is one of the greatest things of DDrace Network.
Spending a lot of time in one game to master it. DDrace is one of those games that need time to make your brain get used to it.

Fun factor score: 90/100

This is one of the many maps available to play. Such a cute place in the sky.

11. Star Fetchers

A bloody adventure that follows the story of two thugs who are hunting the toughest gangster. This 2D game is an incredible journey where you'll have gory battles. Defeat your enemies with your sword while you explore this decadent world. The goal in Star Fetchers is to become the most famous gangster. Fight against other gangs, help vulnerable people, and discover the secrets of this great game. A bizarre story where cults, government, conspiracies, and a lot of violence are involved.

Choose this game if you like...

Gory games. In Star Fetchers there's a lot of blood everywhere, every time.
Gangsters and dark events. The story is focused on this.
2D simple battling games. Star fetchers are not hard at all. You can kill and dodge your enemies easily.

Fun factor score: 70/100

A small view of what the art of the game looks like. There’s no need to make it realistic for it to be good.

10. Soda Dungeon 2

Soda Dungeon is a 2D turn-based strategy game. The game consists of exploring dungeons where the "Dark Lord" hid all kinds of valuable loot. Defeat the enemy hordes by recruiting an army and sending them to fight! All of this while you're safe in your tavern. Improve your army and gear to fight the darkest monsters. Build a town and become a mighty and respected boss. Classified as one of the bests idler/clicker games, Soda Dungeon deserves recognition. A nice and chill experience with charming graphics. Play anytime, anywhere!

Choose this game if you like...

Turn-based games. You have to enjoy this genre to get into Soda Dungeon.
Dungeons and more dungeons! This is the main aspect of this game. Endless dungeons to explore.
Old nostalgia games. This title is the best representation of every idler in history.

Fun factor score: 90/100

A capture of Dimension 3. Look at how colorful everything is. But not happy colorful, it’s more like toxic colorful.

9. The Dawn - 2020

The Dawn is a first-person shooter in anime design. Follow the story of Maya and Max, a girl who can manipulate time and a hacker boy. Both trying to save humankind from the Artificial intelligence that has rebelled against humans. The AI is now dominating mankind. They are making experiments and exploiting humanity. Located in a decadent Korea where language and communication are no longer allowed.

Help Maya and Max reach the palace where the AI resides and save the human race. With Maya's unique skills, this game provides a few hours of intense fun. Or maybe a speedrun? You can try it!

Choose this game if you like...

Futuristic designs. This world is filled with technology. Although Maya is a mage, her abilities have that particular techno-design.
Post-apocalyptic worlds. The location of the game is going through this situation.
Short but challenging games. To complete The Dawn you'll need no more than an hour. If you're good enough.

Fun factor score: 100/100

Here we see Maya in the foreground and a thug in the background about to fight inside a weird trippy room. Epic.

8. Stay Out - 2019

Stay Out is an MMORPG first-person shooter. It offers the experience of urban exploration in an Alienation Zone. A place abandoned and forgotten. The world of Stay Out has its laws and principles. Dive into unknown areas to discover secret laboratories, alien life forms, anomalies, and artifacts that challenge our laws of nature. Join the "Stalkers" and become one of them. The Stalkers are a group of people who dedicate their lives to exploring dangerous places in search of valuable artifacts and knowledge. Help them find out what is going on in this mysterious world.

Choose this game if you like...

Urban exploration. The game is accurate to that experience. It will grant you the feeling of danger and fear of the unknown.
Alien concepts. In Stay Out cosmic horror is a constant.
Shooters with RPG and survival elements. Shooting a gun is just the way you survive, but the actual importance of Stay Out is the RPG survival element.

Fun factor score: 90/100

Just a group of guys around a bonfire, resting and warming their bodies.

7. Dark Deception - 2018

Dark Deception is a horror escape game with RPG elements. We're trapped in a labyrinth. Our goal is to escape the maze. You'll have to run and escape from the creepy creatures who are trying to hunt you down. The first chapter introduces the player to the story. Investigate what is going on in this hellish place while you find your way out.

The game is a decent scary experience similar to Five Nights at Freddy. With many features like a fast-paced arcade horror where enemies can be stunned. A progress system that helps you survive longer. Dark humor. Mazes filled with traps, hazards, and other dangers. This game is one of the best escape games I've played.

Choose this game if you like...

Escape the room games. You'll be in certain scenarios that resemble a house or a hotel. Everything you have to do is escape.
Adrenaline situations. The gameplay is intense and there are many things you have to pay attention to.
Runners. One of the main features of Dark Deception is that you're always running.

Fun factor score: 90/100

This hall is gold and red. Looks like the creepy monkey is important to the design. I see it similar to the monkey in Toy Story 3.

6. Animal Royale - 2021

Animal Royale is a 2D battle royale game with an isometric view. Over 60+ fierce animals will fight in different scenarios. From cute cats to cute sloths to collect and personalize. Collect them all and beat other players to become the alpha. Explore a paradisiac island with diverse biomes and mysteries to be discovered. Invite your friends and have fun with the cutest game.

The strategic style of Animal Royale makes it entertaining to play. Plus a lot of adorable and deathly furries to play with.

Choose this game if you like...

Furries. If you're a big fan you're going to love Animal Royale with all your heart.
2D battle royales. The gameplay mechanics are very simple but fun to play.
Surprises! Animal Royale will give you a big one. Just try it and you'll see.

Fun factor score: 100/100

Two small furries fighting each other in a toxic field. They are so cute and the environment is terrible!

5. Adventure Capitalist - 2015

This game is a capitalism simulator. But in the shape of click and earn (sometimes not even click). The player will start earning from zero and it can get as far as you want. The goal is to earn money or accumulate it. As simple as it sounds.

Adventure Capitalist plays itself while you're offline. It makes it easier to earn. It's the perfect game to take a little break or to play while waiting. Although the game says it's so easy even a socialist could do it, I wouldn't recommend it to them. But they would surely be entertained.

Choose this game if you like...

Capitalism and money. Lots of money,
Doing something simple while waiting for another game to load. The purpose of Adventure Capitalist is to keep you entertained short enough.
Click and earn games. You have to do little to nothing to play this one.

Fun factor score: 80/100

The main character is dressed in gold, this one does have a monocle. Unlike Mr. Monopoly.

4. Poppy Playtime - 2021

Poppy Playtime is a survival horror game set in an abandoned toy factory that you'll have to explore. The goal is to stay alive while investigating what happened in the place. Survive the creepy toys trying to hunt you down. Use your GrabPack to help yourself survive. The game is divided into several chapters but only Chapter One (this game) is for free.

The design of the toys is great. Poppy Playtime has fascinating graphics. Along with the mechanics of the GrabPack, the game offers everything a horror survival needs.

Choose this game if you like…

Screamers. Poppy Playtime uses this resource several times.
FNAF. The ambient and general design of Poppy Playtime is similar to FNAF.
Solving puzzles, investigating, and using your brain to understand each level.
Creepy toys.

Fun factor score: 100/100

“Make a friend” is how they welcome us into this spooky place. The rust gives quite the atmosphere.

3. Eternal Return - 2020

Eternal Return is a mix between MOBA, Battle Royale, and Survival genres. Choose one of the diverse characters available and face 18 players at Lumia Island. Survive the encounter with the best strategy and win. Very simple. But you can also explore and gather materials to make gear or food for your character. Many valuable artifacts will become more and more important as you advance in the game. You can play by yourself or with friends. You can even create tournaments in personalized games.

With anime visuals, Eternal Return is an innovative and engaging game. A challenging game where you'll have to invest time and effort if you want to become the best and master a character (maybe all of them).

Choose this game if you like...

MOBA's. Eternal Return is mostly focused on the MOBA gameplay mechanics.
Challenging and different experiences from the usual. The game is not exactly like LOL or Dota. It has unique features.
Anime designs.

Fun factor score: 90/100

As you can see there are a lot of elements you can use. The game has many features and the design is so soothing.

2. Sheepy: A Short Adventure

Sheepy is a short platformer in the style of pixel art. The game tells the story of Sheepy, an abandoned plushy who has been brought to life. Help him explore this forgotten world while listening to a beautiful soundtrack. The game is only a demo for now. Adding it to the wishlist is a wise decision. A very promising platformer with beautiful visuals and sound effects.

The mixture between a cute character and a post-apocalyptic world with surrealism and cryptic events around you is what makes this game so interesting.

Choose this game if you like...

Pixelated art. All the world inside Sheepy is in this style.
Dark stories but cute characters. This contrast makes the game quite catching.
Relaxing platformers. Everything inside Sheepy is a calming experience.

Fun factor score: 80/100

As you can see there are a lot of elements you can use. The game has many features and the design is so soothing.

1. Helltaker - 2020

"The game is damn short and not very smart, but at least it's free. Maybe you'll find it fun". This is how we're introduced in Helltaker. I think this is the most accurate description. Helltaker is a 2D puzzle with RPG elements. The player wakes up in hell and is surrounded by a harem of demons. A portal has been opened by the protagonist to fulfill his darkest desires. Help him reach his goal in this deathly place. Solve the different puzzles as efficiently as possible and don't get killed by succubus.

Helltaker is an adventure that lasts an hour or less. A very fun experience with great visual elements. The game is simple and requires little effort to play. It's worth a try!

Choose this game if you like...

Succubus. This is pretty much what makes the game good.
Dark humor. A lot of it can be found inside this hell.
Anime-like designs.
Solving puzzles. It's important that you like this because most of the game is about solving puzzles.

Fun factor score: 100/100

One of the many succubus with who you can interact and do… things.

Sale Tags:

Top 15 Best Indie Games on Steam (To Play in 2019 & 2020)

SkyLib37 — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 14:09:30 +0000

Even our favourite Indie games can get dry, and there's always time to try some out new ones.

Try some of these 15 Steam games to spark a new love for Indie games.

15. This War of Mine

This War of Mine / Gameplay Trailer

Survive in a group on civilians as a war rages on in your country. Scavenge for food, medication, and supplies in an almost entirely deserted city.

Meet survivors and avoid snipers as you traverse the war-torn buildings and landscapes.

Make choices that walk the line between life and death of your friends and fellow survivors.

Choose dialogue and actions that could change the course of your game.
Avoid snipers and militants as you try to protect fellow survivors as well as yourself.
Craft your own weaponry, beds, cooking equipment, and other survival items.

Protector: Find and rescue abandoned NPC’s and make life and death choices.

Exploration: Find and carefully explore ‘abandoned’ building looking for new materials and survivors.

14. Starbound

Starbound 1.4 - Bounty Hunter Update Trailer

Build your base and your story in Starbound. Choose a unique race and personalise your character before finding yourself lost in the depths of space.

Inhabit a nearby planet and scan for resources and survival materials. Work on your ship until it’s strong enough to explore the vast darkness of space.

Forage for food and materials to make your way back into deep space.
Build your base and repair your ship with friends or alone.
Build your skills and add items and areas with mods.

Home Base: Build your base up from nothing as you fight to survive.

Adventure: Find more impressive loot and new NPC’s as you go through the map.

13. FTL: Faster Than Light

FTL Advanced Edition Trailer

Save the galaxy with your own spaceship.

Fight against other ships and build yourself into an unstoppable force whilst progressing on your quest to save the galaxy from enemies and other hostile ships.

Permadeath means dying isn’t an option. Plan every move with great caution and pray your risks pay off.
Make difficult choices as you order your crew and try to keep the ship up and running.
Play in a unique story with more random enemies and events.

Difficult Decisions: Modify and upgrade your ship and crew as you fight to save lives.

Sleeping With One Eye Open: Watch your back and keep your crew happy.

12. Prison Architect

Prison Architect Trailer

Plan and build your own high security prison as you fight to keep inmates under control.

Keep an eye on every aspect of the prison as you fight against time to expand your prison, whilst keeping riots and fights under control.

Follow the story of one man; Edward, as you begin your story.

Play in different modes (story or escape).
Struggle to keep riots under control whilst trying to accommodate the huge influx of prisoners
Build toilets, canteens, cells, and work spaces to take in more prisoners.

Expanding: Watch your prison grow and flourish as you build up.

Under Control: Contain riots and fights to keep your prison up and running.

11. Banished

Banished Gameplay Trailer

Build your city from the ground up and control your own group of outcast travellers and expand from very humble beginnings.

Watch as your townsfolk grow older and wiser. Learn to barter and build as you breed more livestock, learn to fight, mine, and even teach the town.

Learn tonnes of new skills, as well as teaching your townspeople skills, too.
Manage your limited resources and make life changing decisions for your townspeople.
Keep the people of your town from hunger, whilst making sure they’re happy and healthy, too.

Expanding Upwards: Outgrow your initial spaces as your town grows in space and numbers.

Townsfolk: Watch the people of your town thrive and have children of their own.

10. Oxygen Not Included

Oxygen Not Included [Official Launch Trailer]

Find yourself in an alien environment, and build your knowledge of your sorroundings as you fight to survive. Learn about the alien technology and watch your space colony thrive.

With every second you loose breath and risk death, so every outing must be meticulously planned.

Control your environment, with gas, temperature, and gravity.
Take good care to protect your colony from any harm as you watch it grow.
Build enviable new tech and delve deeper.

Stay Alert: Keep a close eye on oxygen levels and judge if a situation is survivable or not.

Thriving: Expand down into the ground and up into the sky as you gather more resources and find more exotic loot.

9. Adventure Capitalist

Adventure Capitalist Trailer

Follow the story of a man with absolutely nothing but a lemonade stand, as you push closer to success. Each investment brings new items and opportunities for profit and expansion.

Look after yourself and your investors as you upgrade and watch your businesses flourish.

Grind out the time based game, where your choices may take time to come into effect.
Watch as your businesses grow exponentially and your life takes shape.
Chase achievements and stickers with every milestone.

Humble Beginnings: Start with only a few lemons and a lemonade stand.

Rich and Famous: Build your businesses to unimaginable heights, But make sure to keep a close eye on your own stats and happiness.

8. Undertale

Undertale Release Trailer

In this classic masterpiece of an RPG, become one unlucky person who’s fallen underground into a world saturated with dangerous beasts and monsters.

Battle or negotiate your way through the dangerous depths if you want to escape… Partake in tactical and brutish attacks on enemies and even befriend bosses on your journey to the surface.

Unique emphasis on humour and a wholesome, humour filled storyline.
Take on underground bosses and creatures on your way to the surface.
Dogs. That’s right, there’s dogs in Undertale (just when you thought it couldn’t get any better).

Story: Meet lovable characters as you progress.

Festivities: Attend different celebrations with NPC’s.

7. Terraria

Terraria - Journeys End

Start with only a few simple tools and a strong will to survive. Build a shelter and explore the treacherous Planes, Deserts, Mines, and even Temples.

Build up impressive weapons and armour to seek and destroy vicious bosses and reap the loot.

Fight unique mythical bosses and fight to survive.
Seek out loot from bosses, chests, quests, and the mines.
Meet travelling NPC’s and animals and expand your following.

Mystical: Fight unique bosses, tame mythical creatures, and meet unlikely characters.

Allies and Friends: Play with friends or introduce NPC’s to your home.

6. Don’t Starve Together

DST Launch trailer

Fight hunger, insanity, and dangerous creatures with friends as you traverse the world of DST.

Enter a deceptively simple world, where you forage to survive and explore new biomes, and build your knowledge of science and crafting. Soon, however, it becomes apparent this world isn’t quite so innocent.

Dabble in the dark arts and face horrific nightmares and monsters.

Hunt down elusive beasts for their precious hide.
Fight against Mother Nature as you try to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
Explore dark magic and try not to drain too much sanity in the progress.

Looming Darkness: Stay close to the campfire to keep your insanity and the demons away.

Chaos: Fight intimidating bosses and meet new friends and allies along the way.

5. RimWorld

RimWorld Launch Trailer

Build your colony in a new world every time you play.

In ‘RimWorld’, you will find yourself shipwrecked with only three survivors, and with no idea where you are.

Keep your growing colony happy and healthy as you expand into forests, jungles, deserts, and tundra.

Discover more advanced medicines and keep your colony flourishing as new dangers threaten to end your story.

Fend off monsters, pirates, thieves, and tribes.
Learn more advanced crafting and medicine as your progress.
Tame adorable animals for pets and raise them as your own.

Workers: Watch your colony grow as everyone does their part.

Defence: Protect your people from intruders and threats.

4. Kenshi

Kenshi Full Length Launch Trailer

Choose your walk of life, whether it be a thief, a noble trader, or a warlord.

Traverse the dangerous world of Kenshi and fight your way to each objective.

Fight off cannibals and monsters, in a ‘no level-scaling’ game, where low levels will be difficult to progress from, but very rewarding.

Fully customise your own character, and choose their life path.
Explore a constantly changing world as you grind up the levels.
Fight to free the slaves, or perhaps become one yourself?

Survival: Fight off any threats if you want to progress.

Party: Group up and try not to ail your team, as injuries can greatly slow down the party.

3. The Forest

The Forest Trailer

After your jet crashes on a remote island, you quickly realise you’re the only survivor of the crash, and must think quickly to stay on your feet.

Fight flesh eating mutants and use improv weapons to stay alive.

Craft with natural resources for shelter and food, as well as laying traps in an attempt to stave off the hunger the wilderness brings.

Unique weapons and killing dynamics.
Fight against the genetically modified cannibalistic mutants that roam your new home.
Sneak around enemies or brave close quarters combat.

An Unforgiving World: Kill without hesitation if you want to stay alive.

Take Aim: Steady your hand or face almost certain death.

2. Town of Salem

Town of Salem Trailer

A classic ‘Who-dunnit’ game with an entertaining twist sums up ‘Town of Salem’ fairly well.

In an online lobby, each person begins with a secret role and must convince the others of their role, or try to lie their way to the innocents hearts, picking them off one by one.

Take on a different role every time and try to sell your character to the lobby.
Play carefully and think every move through well.
If you happen to be a killer, try to hide your ill intent from the others...

Keeping Your Wits About You: Don’t be too quick to trust anyone as you try to solve the mystery...

Unexpected Results: Solve the puzzle before its too late.

1. Stardew Valley

Stardew Multiplayer Update

Take to the farm in ConcernedApe’s Stardew Valley alone or with friends. The game begins with you inheriting a farm from your grandfather, and armed only with a little gold and a few tools, you must learn to sustain and grow your idyllic farm. However, the game doesn’t stop there; you can even delve into the deep caverns and dungeons, create bonds with the cheery townsfolk, participate in events, mini games, and even get married.

As the year unfolds, participate in different events and opportunities for rare items.
Fight battles in dungeons as you delve deeper, each level bringing more precious loot.
Improve your farming, fishing, and fighting skills over time with up to 4 friends..

Annual Events: Take part in plenty of yearly events and festivals for rare items.

Upgrades: Build your farm up from the ground until it runs like clockwork.

Also be sure to check out:

The 10 Best Indie Games Loved By Millions Worldwide

Top 15 Best Indie RPGs To Play Right Now

Main Image caption:

The Forest: Explore unfamiliar lands infested with hideous monsters

Image Gallery:

Sale Tags:

The Top 15 Best Tycoon Games To Play in 2018

TheKay72 — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 01:01:28 +0000

Want to experience the thrill of making money without having to leave your home?

In a world of get-rich-quick schemes and a capitalist mindset, it’s not surprising that 100% of people have asked themselves at least once if there was a way to make infinite money sitting at home (which is a fact I totally didn’t make up). Unfortunately, that’s not a realistic aspiration for us common folk, so that’s where tycoon games come in! I present to you a list of 15 fantastic tycoon games for PC so you can unleash your inner capitalist and experience the pleasure of earning capital from your desk chair, even if none of it is real and in the end, nothing matters… Right then, moving along.

15. AdVenture Capitalist

AdVenture Capitalist Gameplay

If you’re looking for a quick fix of success, then AdVenture Capitalist is the game for you. You start with a simple lemonade stand and before you know it, you’re a bazillionaire with shares in everything from hockey teams to oil companies.

AdVenture Capitalist has a clean and approachable user interface and an art style and background song that make you feel like a young bright-eyed up-and-comer from the 1920s. You can hire managers to generate constant profit for you at each of your ventures, upgrade your services to earn more money from them, and earn bonuses to sales by owning a certain number of each business type. Unique to AdCap, as it’s lovingly referred to, is the Angel Investor system, which allows you to sell all of your businesses to bring on Angels. Angels provide a variable percentage bonus to the businesses you buy after you’ve restarted. Ka-ching!

The best part? It’s FREE! Who doesn’t like free stuff? Just be sure to do some finger stretches before a session, because this game is a clicker, and it takes this job very seriously.

A young upstart enters the game.

Holy profits, Batman! You officially own Earth!

14. Big Pharma

Big Pharma Gameplay

Always wanted to get into the sciences but never had the grades? Well, with Big Pharma your 57% in high school biology doesn’t matter and they’ll put you in charge of a pharmaceutical company anyway!

Big Pharma is an in-depth strategy tycoon. You start with an empty warehouse and a few ingredients at your disposal to create cures and treatments. You’ll have to hire explorers to discover new ingredients, scientists to develop new machines and processes, and build your company from a single production line to a profitable conglomerate.

There are a ton of variables to keep in mind as you manage ingredient concentrations and side effects, take into consideration the seasons and common afflictions associated with them, plan your production lines to maximize space and efficiency, keep an eye on your competition to make sure they don’t patent a cure you’re working on, and more. There are 8 CEOs to pick from, 35 scripted scenarios to complete, a free build mode, and mod support. Get out there and make some drugs!

Collecting them ingredients.

A well-oiled machine.

13. Game Dev Tycoon

Game Dev Tycoon Startup Gameplay

Game Dev Tycoon took the tycoon world by storm when it was released in 2012. With its subdued art style, great sound design, and engaging gameplay, Game Dev Tycoon is sure to stick around as a classic.

The goal is to go from a lonely developer working out of their garage to an industry leader with a fully staffed team. When you start development on a game, you have a lot of decisions to make. You choose a topic, genre, and platform, then you decide how much time to spend on things like graphics, sound design, and dialogue. As you progress and your team grows, you can research and develop new engines and platforms and unlock tons of topics and genres to pick from.

A really cool feature that I appreciate is the ability to have each member of your team specialize in different areas. Betty can be an expert sound designer, while Kyle can specialize in dialogue writing. This allows you to really hone in on the details of a game and make it the best it can be, thus maximizing your profits. There is a lot to unpack with Game Dev Tycoon and I could go on for days, so you should just go play it already.

From humble beginnings...

...to a complex enterprise.

12. Transport Fever

Transport Fever Tutorial Gameplay

Planes, trains, and trucks, oh my! Transport Fever is the game for you if you enjoy managing moving systems.

You can choose to play one of the numerous campaign scenarios on various difficulties, or to go off on your own in endless mode. Start in the year 1850 with only a few steam engines and some horse drawn carriages and work your way through the years until you are building airports and harbours. You will be transporting everything from passengers and livestock to food stuffs and luxury items. Want to see what your lines look like up close? Transport Fever lets you go into first-person mode in your vehicles and ride them to their destination!

Developer Urban Games focused on making Transport Fever as realistic as possible by drawing every map as close to scale as possible and including an aging system where your vehicles will slowly become rusted and need to be repaired or replaced. The one thing to take into consideration is the demand on your PCs innards once you reach late game because the framerate has been known to drop due to the highly realistic graphics and dynamic cities. Transport Fever is well paced on the lower difficulty settings and makes it easy for new players to get a hold on things. But don’t worry, there are plenty of options to get into the nitty gritty and they also have mod support!

Watch goods get stockpiled at factories and await your vehicles coming to deliver them.

So many lines to consider!

11. Banished

Banished Gameplay Trailer

A unique city-builder, simulation, tycoon crossbreed, Banished has procedurally-generated maps, tons of custom content, and a system that lends itself to a new game experience every time.

Early game goal? Survive. Late game goal? Thrive. Take your small group of exiles and help them establish a self-sufficient colony. There are so many variables to take into consideration from resource collection to illness to education to population growth. Every building you place and every job you assign to your villagers will immediately affect your productivity, sometimes not for the better. You can customize your HUD and curate which information you see at any given time, which is super helpful when your town starts taking over the whole map and you need to be able to react to changes quickly.

What I love most about this game is the dynamic gameplay. You have to make decisions that not only benefit you in the short term but have enough forethought to play the long game with regards to planning. If you build too many houses without thinking about food production, your population will bloat and starve, but if you build too few then the number of available workers will fall drastically and cause a major slowdown in resource gathering. Banished offers so much depth and replay value and after 200 hours I’m still going back to it regularly to try and get those last few achievements.

A quaint little village.

And a starving little village.

10. Zoo Tycoon

Zoo Tycoon (with expansions) Gameplay

Just about everyone I know who has ever been to a zoo has had the dream of becoming a zookeeper. While most of us never follow that dream, we can at least appreciate the thought of the whole thing with games like Zoo Tycoon.

Zoo Tycoon, the original collection, is one of the games that helped ignite many a player’s passion for tycoons and simulators. It has solid gameplay, a fantastic soundtrack, and is, like most games from the era, filled with secrets and cheats. For example, if you call an exhibit Xanadu, it will unlock unicorns. Yes, unicorns!

You can release predators on your guests, put multiple species in one exhibit, create marine shows, and place shops and atriums to squeeze your guests for every last penny. I suppose you could always play the sequel if you wanted fancier graphics, but nothing quite beats the nostalgia of a pixelated masterpiece like Zoo Tycoon.

Look at those giraffes!

Rocky terrain makes for happy goats.

9. Parkitect

Parkitect Gameplay

Don’t let the “Early Access” label throw you off, Parkitect is full of fun and getting better all the time. It takes all the expected features of a theme park sim and adds some new ones and it’s worth checking out.

You think you know what you’re getting into with a theme park sim; build rides, place shops and services, design rocking coasters, keep guests happy. But Parkitect takes it one step further and adds a stock system. You have to build infrastructure to keep your shops stocked with products or else they won’t be selling, which costs you money. This provides a spicy new flavour to the traditional theme park sim dish.

Parkitect also has several info view modes that allow you to quickly assess your park. Perhaps the most useful one is Fun-o-Vision, which grays out the scenery and highlights your guests on a red to green spectrum, indicating how happy or unhappy they are. This means you can immediately spot the Debbie Downers and figure out what you need to add or change to impress them. There isn’t a campaign mode yet, but the very attentive dev team say it’s in alpha testing right now, so look forward to that when it’s released!

Blast off!

Oh look, a weather system!

8. Factorio

Factorio Multiplayer Gameplay

Factorio is complex, in-depth, and blends Minecraft-style gameplay with tycoon-style goals. While its learning curve is quite steep, the reward of figuring out how to get the most out of it is well worth the time investment.

What surprised me when I jumped into the game for the first time is that rather than having god-like control over the world, you are instead controlling an avatar from a third person, top-down perspective. This makes for a very different kind of strategy, but if you have any experience with Minecraft, the shift shouldn’t be too off-putting. There are good tutorial levels and plenty of campaign scenarios to complete, and, of course, infinite possibilities for how you set up your production line. Oh, and there’s online multiplayer.

No doubt many of you are thinking about arguing that it’s not a tycoon. Well, according to this post by sunandshadow, a tycoon game is any that involves “the player [making] strategic choices” about the production and distribution of time and resources. So, even though there isn’t a market to sell to, the goal of Factorio is to gather resources and craft them into objects and machinery to build a base, defeat aliens, and eventually automate the entire process. I think we can at least put Factorio on the fringes of this definition, but I’ll let you make the decision for yourself.

Quite the accomplishment with this one.

Defend yourself and your machines from alien attacks.

7. Roller Coaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack

Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 Gameplay

“Whoa,” you might say, “wasn’t there a Roller Coaster Tycoon 3?” Well, to that I say, “Was there?” RCT2 is a classic full of secrets, cheats, and quirky humour, and to my mind beats out its sequel in just about every regard.

Before I get you all excited about one of my favourite tycoons, I should tell you that the Steam port is a little buggy, so make sure you’re ready to do a few minutes of compatibility troubleshooting after installing it. Disclaimer out of the way, let’s do this. I love this game for a lot of the same reasons I love Zoo Tycoon, admittedly it’s mostly nostalgia, but still. The UI is easy to grasp, the HUD is clean, it’s got good sound design, and the graphics may be outdated but they aren’t painful like some older games (cough, Silent Hill…).

The plan is simple; lay some paths, place some rides, open the park and watch your profits grow. I’ve read that some people think the game is too slow, but isn’t the real problem that life is too fast? For real though, if you do it right then you should be making enough money to be building pretty consistently. If not, you could always just cheat. Remember, these were the good old days before modding took a true hold on the PC gaming world, it was up to the devs to build in their own mods. That being said, if you don’t mind older games and love theme park sims, then you should definitely check this one out because it is a staple of the genre.

This is a level of complexity I could only ever dream of achieving.

Little pixelated people everywhere, not suspecting they are soon to be dropped into a water feature as punishment for being unhappy…

6. Theme Hospital

Theme Hospital Gamplay

Theme Hospital is a quirky hospital tycoon that has you treating afflictions like invisibility and bloated head while listening to announcements from a wonderfully sarcastic receptionist.

Probably the biggest draw of this game, aside from it’s wonderful UI and gameplay, is the writing and humour. Theme Hospital has a unique personality and it fully commits to that personality. For example, the receptionist, in her peppy English accent, says things like, “Patients are asked not to die in the corridors.” To run your hospital, you hire doctors and nurses with different skills and personalities (which directly affect their effectiveness and patient satisfaction), build rooms, and research treatments and machines, all while watching your bottom line and making sure you pass health inspections.

For a while there, Theme Hospital was hard to find, but you can get it on Origin for around $6 if you’re interested. I mean, if you are one of the 12 people who use Origin. Fear not, good people, because it is soon to be followed by its spiritual successor, Two Point Hospital, which is being worked on by a lot of alumnus of the original Bullfrog classic.

A clean and welcoming reception goes a long way in creating a smooth hospital visit.

Better keep an eye on your staff! Tired doctors and nurses make mistakes, and those could be deadly.

5. Tropico 4

Tropico 4 Gameplay

If you can’t vacation in the tropics, why not just become El Presidente? Tropico 4 takes your traditional city building sim and adds political strategy and intrigue, making for a one-of-a-kind tycoon experience… unless you’ve already played another game in the series.

You can jump into the campaign, or you can make your own randomized island and design your presidential avatar. This is important because the background you pick for your president will directly impact your game by endearing you to some populations more than others and giving you bonuses or penalties to different industries. This all ties into the complex economy and political system.

In Tropico 4, it’s important that you keep the different factions on your island happy, especially the dominant one. Why? Because you have to make sure that you get re-elected or it’s game over! If your island has a lot of capitalists, then appeasing the fascists is not going to help you. It takes strategy and careful planning to build a loyal constituent and strong economy. Will you be a leading provider of sugar and tobacco or survive on tourist dollars or something else entirely? The decision is yours, El Presidente.

What a beautiful vista.

There are a lot of systems to balance when planning your island.

4. Prison Architect

Prison Architect Gameplay

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had this strange fascination with media portrayals of prisons. With Prison Architect, you can build a renowned rehabilitation centre, or strike fear in the hearts of criminals by ruling with an iron fist.

I’m not afraid to admit that I have a serious addiction to this game. But it’s not a problem worth addressing because it’s just that good. Prison Architect has a deceptively simple exterior with its 2D graphics and straightforward building system. But once you dig deeper into the UI and start figuring out the numbers game behind it all, it becomes quite the strategic enterprise. You have to plan and build cell blocks, canteens and kitchens, staff pathways, and services like laundry and mail. Also, the scripted campaign is engaging and great for learning the ropes.

Prisoners are assigned one of three risk ratings when they arrive at your prison; minimum, medium, or maximum security. Once you’ve unlocked it, you can also assign the most dangerous prisoners a super max rating or put vulnerable prisoners like witnesses and ex-cops into protective custody to prevent them being murdered. There are too many systems to name like riots, gangs, heating, death row and more. The best part is you can customize what systems you want in each game, meaning it can be as simple or as challenging as you like.

They even have an Escape Mode where you play as a prisoner trying to escape your prison. It’s a little buggy right now, but it’s getting there. Seriously, just try this game.

Double outer walls are great to hinder tunnel digging.

Everybody sing: let’s start a riot, a riot, let’s start a riot, duh nuh nuh nah nah nah!

3. Railway Empire

Railway Empire Early Campaign Gameplay

Hot of the press is Railway Empire! Reviews are rolling in and the people are loving it. So, let’s take a look.

There’s a lot to look at: campaign and sandbox modes, challenge scenarios at various difficulties, plenty of characters to play as that give different bonuses, and competitors to provide motivation to keep moving up in the railway world. The tutorial, which is played in the video above, is really comprehensive and leaves you ready to play on your own. This is important because Railway Empire has a competitive system that includes sabotage! Engage in corporate espionage and stop your rivals from getting ahead.

It's your goal to grow cities by connecting them to different resources on your railway system. To do this, obviously, you build rails. What’s cool is that before you actually have to spend any money, you can build a rail and adjust it until it is the most efficient and cost effective and then confirm the purchase. This means no undoing and refunding at a loss. How kind of them!

And so, it begins.

There are more then 40 locomotives and 30 covered wagons to choose from when buying your trains.

2. Planet Coaster

Planet Coaster Custom Content Exploration

Planet Coaster is a masterpiece of a theme park tycoon. It gets frequent updates, has an active mod and custom content community, and provides a smooth experience for casual players while offering plenty of micromanagement options for the dedicated tycoon aficionado.

Planet Coaster offers two very distinct experiences; a creative journey and a capitalist journey. When you play in sandbox mode and money is no option, you can really let your inner ride designer free. Not only can you place tracks like other coaster sims, but you can add scenery and effects that you can set to triggers on the ride. So, you can blast your riders with water or fireworks when they reach the apex of a drop.

The stuff that people come up with is just astounding. I’ve linked to a video where you can see recreations of rides from Universal Studios. And having been on both rides, I can certify they are quite realistic. Don’t worry though, because if you’re more interested in the capitalism part (because you don’t have a creative bone in your body like me), you can download other people’s creations off Steam and earn money off their hard work. No shame.

Guards will chase down pickpockets and vandals which makes your park safe and your guests happy!

Design effects shows to entertain your guests and keep them in the park spending money.

1. Cities: Skylines

Cities: Skylines Starting a City Gameplay

Cities: Skylines is everything a city sim should be: good-looking, packed with content, blends creativity with strategy, and offers varying levels of difficulty and immersion for all kinds of players

To this day, I am still scared of a blank map. I find it intimidating to start building from nothing, but Cities: Skylines has a masterful tutorial that eliminates any apprehension and the ease with which you can demolish and rebuild areas makes it so much more approachable. Like most city sims, you have to zone areas for commercial, residential, and industrial development, place services and tourist attractions, and manage traffic and waste removal.

But beyond this are plenty of options for micromanagement. My favourite features have to be the neighbourhood zoning and policies. Policies are things like providing free smoke detectors, banning large vehicle traffic, or giving a tax break to certain zone types. You can set these policies to be city wide, or you can set them for designated neighbourhoods (which you set), allowing you to customize your city and really bring in those dolla’ dolla’ bills.

Bottom line is Cities: Skylines is great and given how reasonably priced the DLC is (especially on sale) I highly recommend it. But if my word means nothing to you, then just check out some gameplay videos and I know that you’ll soon find yourself making the purchase.

Start with a highway, end with a sprawling metropolis.

Such a clean HUD, don’t you agree?

There you have it, 15 of the greatest PC tycoon games of the last 2 decades. Whether you're looking for some nostalgia, some modern features, a slow-paced ride, or a complex systems manager, there is something for everyone in the tycoon genre. Now, get out there and earn those big bucks! Maybe then your mother will be proud of you. One can only dream.