Management games can take on many different forms. Between colony-simulators that task players with managing miniature civilizations, base-building games that have players managing resources, tycoon games, and the many other forms of management game, it can be hard to find good science fiction titles.
Despite the genre initially using more grounded, realistic settings as a jumping-off point (with games likeRollercoaster Tycoon,Theme Hospital, andGangsters: Organized Crimeusing everyday themes before injecting a little personality after the fact), science fiction can often make for more exciting and engaging settings.
This latest game intheSteamWorldfranchisetakes the iconic characters and style ofSteamWorldand brings it into the city-building genre.SteamWorld Buildfeatures an abundance of gameplay elements to manage while simultaneously managing to be an all-around accessible experience for newcomers to the genre.
WhileSteamWorld’scity-building mechanics are simple, the gameplay is both easy to learn and intuitive, allowing players to manage and expand their Western-themed city with ease.SteamWorldBuildalso features a unique dual-layer design in which players must manage an underground mining operation in order to gather unique resources from beneath their town, adding some much-needed depth and complexity to an otherwise simplistic game.
This combination of management gameand real-time strategyfeatures a simulated economy driven by the player, taking place on a futuristic colonized Mars. Unlike most games of its ilk,Offworld Trading Companyhas a heavy focus on trading, with much of the game’s skill coming down to buying and selling the right resources at the right time.
Offworld Trading Companyrevolves almost entirely around this player-driven market and the acquisition of stocks. While this may not be for everyone,Offworld Trading Companyoffers a truly unique, albeit dense, experience that’s heavy on the management while remaining intensely strategic.
This combination of colony-sim and city-builder tasks players with building and managing a colony on Mars using habitat domes and life support systems that rely on an efficiently managed power grid. The game features simulated colonists with their own wants and needs, as well as a random research tree that helps with the game’s replay value.
Surviving Marsfeatures a truly unique futuristic-60s aesthetic that helps to make its open desert setting less boring to look at, something that is furthered by the game’s retro-futuristic building designs.Surviving Marsalso features a variety of mysteries that can be explored through multiple runs through the game, heightening the game’s replay value and helping to mix up the gameplay.
This base-building colony simulator has players managing and developing a colony on a spaceship,managing the crewand catering to their needs.Space Havenis especially great for its intuitivespaceship building systemsand simulation elements.
Space Havenfeatures a simulated gas system that players must keep in mind when designing and managing their ship in order to optimize their crew’s life support. Furthermore, players will also have to worry about simulated temperature and power systems, as well as the mood and condition of their crew.
This sequel to the reveredJurassic World Evolutionhas players creating and managing their very ownJurassic Park, full of a broad variety of awe-inspiring dinosaurs.Jurassic World Evolution 2expands upon the original game by adding new features and dinosaurs, among other things.
Jurassic World Evolution 2tasks players with building and customizing a variety of buildings in order to expand and upkeep their park, catering to the needs of park guests and dinosaurs alike. The game features over seventy distinct dinosaurs, and even systems for bioengineering that allow players to customize their dinosaurs by altering their DNA.
For those that have never experiencedXCOM, a game about tactical turn-based strategy may seem out of place. However, success inXCOMis as much about management as it is about tactical decision-making.
Efficiently managing soldiers, both in their progression and in their deployment, is necessary for a successful campaign inXCOM: Enemy Unknown; poorly managing available units, spreading too thin, or putting every egg in the same basket is a good way to end up on the slow and steady slope to defeat. Furthermore, expanding, developing, and managing the headquarters strategically is arguably key to victory.
This complex colony-sim management game from developers, Klei Entertainment (the team behind theindie survival game,Don’t Starve), tasks players with managing a burgeoning colony on an alien asteroid.Oxygen Not Includedtakes some time to learn, since some of its more complex mechanics don’t show themselves until later in the game, when it might already be too late for the player to act on their newfound knowledge. However,Oxygen Not Includedis a game worth persevering through.
Oxygen Not Includedis heavily focused on resource-management, with a simulation-heavy world that simulates the movement of gas and liquid alike. Players will have to worry about waste disposal, water, power, and most importantly, the oxygen levels of their colony. So many things can go wrong inOxygen Not Included, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but its challenges offer a uniquely engaging experience that’s worth trying out for any fan of management games.
Thisscience fiction colony-simulatorfeatures heaps of gameplay mechanics to juggle and manage, constantly throwing new and exciting threats at the player, depending on the difficulty mode that they choose (represented by the game’s AI-storytellers).RimWorldis packed with complex systems and depth, making for challenging and rewarding gameplay with a high replay value.
Visually,RimWorldwill look familiar to fans of other management games such as thehit indie game,Prison Architect.However,RimWorldis unique in its design and gameplay.RimWorldtasks players with building a colony on a hostile planet, choosing their starting location from a variety of environments (all of which affect gameplay) and slowly expanding, defending from wild animals and violent raiders along the way. There’s plenty to manage inRimWorld, and many players will find it difficult at first, but it’s arguably one of the most replayable and rewarding sci-fi management games on Steam.
