One of the best simulation games in the medieval genre, Life is Feudal: Forest Village has taken the reigns supreme for watching your hard-built village die off in a forest. 

A genius mix of survival and simulation, it’s not the only one. What are some others that absolutely kill in the genre?

12. Banished

Banished gameplay

Build. Farm. Hunt. Die. Repeat. Banished set the groundwork for Forest Village and other survival sims, proving to devs that players don’t mind restarting their village a hundred times over. Cast off from a nameless European medieval civilization, you’re tasked with creating a village and growing it without dying off too quickly. Build houses. Forage for food. Chop down trees and die from the cold.

People head across the river to get their food at the town market

Fishing is one of the easiest ways to keep the food stocks up

11.  Anno 1800

Anno 1800 Gameplay

Feel the excitement of the Industrial Revolution. Steam engines chug through and empires are forged. This 19th century simulation from Ubisoft focuses on supply chains, trade, and war. Manage farmers, workers, and artisans to create the perfect industrial era city. The Anno series has dominated the Renaissance and this latest edition doesn’t hold back. It’s currently in a closed Beta, sign up at Ubisoft’s website or preorder on Steam.

Make your peasants fawn at your cultural discoveries and gems at the state museum

Fail to manage your workers right and they could end up going on strike

10. Colony Survival

Colony Survival gameplay

The monsters come at night. Build up your fortress and send your men to arms in this voxel world. Unlock new techs, upgrade your weapons, and build forts only limited by your imagination. But do it quick, with the night comes the zombies. Kind of a mix between Kingdoms and Castles and Minecraft.

Keep your soldiers fed with farms, but make sure you’ve got some guards keeping watch

The nightly invasion of zombies plagues even the most beautiful lands

9. Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation

Judgment: Apocalypse Survival gameplay

The end is here! The world has been ravished by demons. You and your friends make it out of the city and build a cabin. From there you’ve got to farm, put together weapons, and occasionally go out and slay some demons, rescuing folks to join your colony.

Make sure your colonists are ready for some demon slaying action

Build spell chambers, experiment rooms, and walls to protect your people from demon invasions

8. Northgard

Northgard gameplay

Some Vikings went raiding and pillaging across Europe, others discovered a land of direwolves, zombies, and giants. Guess which group you were in? Can you keep your Viking expedition alive from the dangers of this new world?

Gather your warriors and prepare to conquer enemy lands

Fearsome monsters abound in this mysterious world of the North

7. Kingdoms and Castles

Kingdoms and Castles gameplay

Build your tiny hamlet into a massive kingdom. The toy like graphics lend an extra fairy-tale feel to this medieval city simulation. Resource management is the key - mine and farm your way to success, but watch out for invading Vikings.

Your village grows into a castle, ready to take on any raiders

Don’t let your walls stop your sprawl, manifest destiny the whole continent!

6. Driftland: The Magic Revival

Driftland: The Magic Revival gameplay

Conquer a world of floating lands in Driftland. As an Overlord Mage, your rule starts from one of those floating lands. Move quickly to expand your domain and manage an empire. Advance your minions, teaching them new spells and how to ride on the backs of flying beasts as you expand your lands. Driftland combines RTS and simulation with a nice balance, available on Steam early access now.

Cast magic spells to keep your enemies at bay

Use your magic to bring drifting lands together, or break enemy bridges to tear them apart

5. Craft The World

Craft the World gameplay

Lead your tribe of dwarves to gather their resources and build a great kingdom. But beware, portals open and monsters attack! This 2D take on the sim building genre is a brand new take on the old tower defense games, building not just for defense, but for the prosperity of your dwarven civilization.

Use your resources to craft your own tools to expand your dwarven kingdom

Build your dwarven holds both above and below ground

4. Dawn of Man

Dawn of Man gameplay

As the chief of a tribe of cavemen, they depend on you to plan their settlement, lead their hunting parties, and protect them from the wild. Raise your civilization across a thousand years of time, from the rock tools of the stone age, the spears of the iron age. Now on Beta release with the full release on Steam expected in March.

Build fires and huts to keep your early families warm from the winter

Lead hunting expeditions for woolly mammoths for meat, wool, and tools

3. Stronghold Legends

Stronghold Legends gameplay

Build your castles, squash peasant revolts, and crush your enemies! Stronghold Legends is all about figuring out how to develop the best castles. Block by block, lay your fortress and prepare for the siege. Choose from legendary characters, like King Arthur or Vlad Drakov, and go on multiplayer mode to siege enemy castles.

Build massive castles on mountain perches to protect your resources

Take your men to the field and enlist the help of wizards to lay siege to others

2. The First Men

The First Men gameplay

First, there was nothing. Then there was light. Raise up the earliest civilizations, manage hundreds of traits and characters as they try to stake their claim on this world that looks something like the original Final Fantasies. Lead your people out to explore and find new resources, but beware the dangers of the wild, as spiders, snakes, and dragons make their claim on your population.

What to do when the treants come for your home?

A dragon flies over, is he friend or foe?

1. The Universim

The Universim gameplay

Twist a mass of rock and air together, plan new worlds and new civilizations. You are a god, tasked with guiding your people through the ages, and trying to keep your planet alive in the process. Reviving the spirit of Black & White, Universim goes so much further.

The world is yours to lead your people, called nuggets, to prosperity

Teach them the ways of advanced civilization, but be careful not to blow up your planet in the process

You may also be interested in:

• Top 10 Games Like Banished 
• Top 10 Ultimate Best City Building Games 
• 30 Best City-Building Games for PC