RimWorld

RimWorld is a colony simulation set on a remote planet, where a handful of crash-landed survivors gradually builds an entire settlement with fields, workshops, a hospital, and defensive positions. The game looks down on a simple two-dimensional map with figures that look almost like paper cutouts, but underneath runs an unusually deep simulation. Each colonist has their own skills, personality traits, relationships with others, illnesses, scars, and moods affected by everything from lack of sleep to an ugly dining room. The player doesn't issue commands directly, only sets work priorities and lets the colonists figure out what needs doing.

The plot isn't driven by a script but by the so-called Storyteller, an AI that sends events to the colony based on the chosen style. One time a trade caravan arrives, another time it's a raid by raiders, a plague, a lightning-caused fire, or a refugee begging for asylum. This is where the stories arise that players tell each other: the tale of a colonist who went mad in winter, or of a doctor who botched a single operation and thereby sealed the fate of the whole settlement. The game doesn't shy away from dark themes either, from organ trading to drug addiction, leaving it up to the player how far they go.

Technically, RimWorld is undemanding and runs almost anywhere, which, combined with exceptionally open mod support, has given it a huge and still-active community; thousands of mods exist, changing the game from minor tweaks to entirely different settings. The music relies on calm guitar that lets the sounds of work and combat stand out. Reception was very good, the game launched after a lengthy early-access period, and it has received several substantial expansions. Today it ranks among the best building simulations of all, because at its core it's not about building a base but about the people who live in it. The simple graphics even work as an advantage: they leave room for the imagination to fill in scenes that realistic visuals could never convey so powerfully.