8 City-Builders With The Best Disaster Management Systems

City-builders have grown to become part of a huge, expansive genre that covers a plethora of different tastes. Whether players want to sink their teeth into strategic, tactical economic simulations and manage the infrastructure of their society, or lose themselves in the machinations of a fantasy world, there is always something available for fans of every stripe within the city-builder genre.

New players and veterans alike in this genre can always be thrown off course when something goes awry. Freak weather events, cascading infrastructure failures, a surprise zombie attack, almost every city builder has events that can throw a player off course, and potentially even bring their settlement to collapse before it’s truly reached its peak. These games, in particular, aren’t just defined by the disasters they throw the players’ way, but how the players can respond to these events and keep their cities thriving.

8 New Cycle

An Industrial, Post-Apocalyptic City Builder

New Cycle is a post-apocalyptic city-builder that immerses itself in a grim, ruined Earth. Like a lot of post-apocalyptic base-building games, the setting is also one of the main antagonists driving the player to consistently innovate and remain on their toes.

Players will have to come up with efficient, robust means of countering dust storms, wildfires, freak accidents, and other not-so-natural disasters like civil unrest and populace revolts. In line with other games that focus on less-than-idyllic city construction settings, disease is also a major factor that players will have to prepare to address over the course of the game.

7 Frostpunk 2

Withstanding The Cold Takes Skill And Practise

Strategy

Survival

City Builder

Systems

Released

September 20, 2024

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

In Frostpunk 2, the question of a disaster isn’t so much “if” as it is “when.” Players constantly need to be prepared for when the going gets tougher from the very second they begin their game. It’s not enough to simply keep citizens fed, there needs to be an abundance of food for when the crops start to die.

The most novel way to mitigate disaster in Frostpunk 2 is preparedness. The game doesn’t let players fill up oil and food until the city’s needs are met. Instead, it lets players go beyond this, building huge stockpiles to last for months when access to vital resources might be restricted by whiteouts.

6 Kingdoms And Castles

A Lightweight But Incredibly Engaging Title

Kingdoms and Castles

Systems

Released

July 20, 2017

Developer

Lion Shield, LLC

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Kingdoms and Castles is an incredible game — not too fussed about overwhelming the player with details, this game provides a set of basic rules and then lets the player shape the kingdom of their dreams. It’s the very essence of “easy to learn, hard to master” in a genre that can sometimes take the mantra of “hard to learn, sociology degree required to master.”

Players who have prepared ahead of time will still find managing disasters challenging, but not unreasonable. Well-trained archers and soldiers will do well against Viking raids, and having firefighters with nearby wells can mitigate the damage from dragon attacks.

5 Kenshi

Characters And Structures Can Be Used To Great Effect

Kenshi

Systems

Released

December 6, 2018

Developer

Lo-Fi Games

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Kenshi is a game with an amazing, surreal, somewhat terrifying setting that challenges the player in various ways. The weather and the many hostile inhabitants on the continent are constantly forcing players to adapt and forge a settlement designed to weather that particular area of the continent.

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Players will need to manage constant raids from bandits and animals with fortifications and their characters. The intuitive mix of exploration, RTS-style gameplay, and settlement management makes for an incredibly dynamic disaster management system.

4 Terraria

Invasions And Bosses Pose A Risk To All NPCs

Terraria is the culmination of a variety of different mechanics and gameplay loops. From tweaking builds to beating bosses and collecting trophies, the exploration and survival in this game really hinges on a single concept — despite the many directions the game takes.

NPCs are the lifeblood of Terraria, and whether they are houses in gorgeous villages or utilitarian, vaguely dystopic hive cities, players will need to defend them from random events such as the Blood Moon or Goblin Invasions, as well as the occasional boss that might assault the player at night.

3 Against The Storm

The Entire Setting Is A Disaster — Players Just Have To Survive It

Against the Storm

Strategy

City Builder

Simulation

Systems

Released

December 8, 2023

Developer(s)

Eremite Games

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Against the Storm finds its niche in an addictive and novel mix of city-builder and Roguelike elements. This is a game where disasters are not just constantly happening, but the gameplay is predicated on them. Earning meta-buffs that will serve future playthroughs is a victory in its own right, even when the players’ settlements are swept away.

Due to the nature of this game, every gameplay mechanic is a disaster management mechanic. Every unit hired, every fortification produced, all go towards stemming the tide of rain and monsters inevitably coming the player’s way.

2 Rimworld

Disasters Shape The Story

Rimworld is not an easy game, and there’s always some way for players to improve. The game’s distinct storytellers and their difficulty settings will all shape what players experience, from a natural progression of steadily increasing difficulty to all-out chaos.

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Pawns and the player’s settlement will need to be equipped for random events that can strike at any time. Flash storms and snap freezes can disrupt the seasonal produce and clothing of players, while raids become more frequent as time goes on.

1 Dwarf Fortress

Building A Mountain Home Is No Easy Task

Roguelike

Strategy

Simulation

Systems

Platform(s)

Linux , macOS , Microsoft Windows

Released

August 8, 2006

Developer

Bay 12 Games, Tarn Adams, Zach Adams

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Few games can claim to have the depth and intricacy of Dwarf Fortress. In fact, it has shaped and inspired many of the other games on this list. The myriad of different systems all come together to create an organic system in which events can occur.

Maybe a blacksmith, drinking in grief after the loss of his wife, enters a blind rage, builds a masterwork chair, then starts killing every other dwarf in sight. Perhaps a lava flow has gotten out of hand, and now the bottom of the player’s fortress is stewing in molten iron. There’s always some new disaster to manage in this fantastic and challenging title.

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