Best Base-Building Post-Apocalyptic Games, Ranked

Highlights

• Post-apocalyptic settings in base-building games add pressure and a sense of survival, upping the stakes for players to thrive.
• Base-building games like Project Zomboid offer deep RPG mechanics, where each mistake educates players for future survival.
• Fallout Shelter, despite initial criticism, offers a fun, low-stakes experience with iconic Fallout art style for fans to enjoy.

Base-building games have carved a niche for themselves in the gaming landscape. Plenty of players enjoy an immense sense of satisfaction as they construct massive structures and urban sprawls that let them flaunt their creativity and problem-solving skills. For the most part, most base-building games aren’t very strenuous and allow players to take their time as they form some truly impressive architectural specimens.

However, not all games with this core loop need to make players feel safe and secure. After all, the last thing a developer wants is for their game to feel like every other thing on the market, and setting a base-building game in a post-apocalyptic setting is a great way to up the stakes and make players feel a palpable sense of pressure as they try to survive in these tough times by constructing practical bases.

Updated February 20, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: The post-apocalyptic setting is one of the most popular areas for games to take place in. Players love the possibilities that open up after the world has been shredded apart by a global calamity. This setting goes well with base-building gameplay, in which players try to attain a sense of civilization after everything around them has been completely destroyed. There are many base-building post-apocalyptic games that players can check out which do justice to this amalgamation of genres.

9 Project Zomboid

Metascore: N/A

One of the most fleshed-out and engaging survival games out there, the rudimentary graphics of Project Zomboid might compel most players to feel that the game is far from enjoyable, but this statement couldn’t be further from the truth. The sheer amount of things that players can accomplish in Project Zomboid more than makes it worth checking out for fans of the survival genre who want to interact with deep RPG mechanics during an apocalypse.

Players are encouraged to build a base where they can reside to protect themselves from the threat of aggressive zombies while leveling up their skills and ensuring that their survivor isn’t affected by any adverse conditions. Project Zomboid is a truly engrossing experience. Each death educates the player and makes them realize what they did wrong, so that they can avoid these mistakes in future playthroughs.

8 7 Days To Die

Metascore: 35

Many survival games with base-building are set during the zombie apocalypse, and it’s easy to see why this is the case. After all, players are constantly thrown into tense situations as they have to build a structure to protect themselves while being hounded by zombies, and 7 Days to Die is a great example of why this gameplay loop thrives in such a setting.

Building a base in 7 Days to Die is paramount to survival, since the zombies end up becoming extremely ferocious and home in on players at the end of every week. This makes it important to build up defenses and shoot up zombies without a care in the world if players wish to survive during this brutal portion of the game. Survival means that players have finally grasped the best way possible to deal with the undead when they’re at the peak of their powers.

7 Fallout 76

Metascore: 52

Settlement building was a part of Fallout 4‘s gameplay that some people enjoyed. It may not have been the deepest mechanic, but it let players enjoy the idea of constructing huge settlements with amazing defenses where settlers could come and make a home for themselves.

This gameplay mechanic was migrated over to Fallout 76 in the form of the CAMP system. These mobile homes could be deployed in the game world, and players could customize the various aspects of their domiciles. This included everything from cosmetic decorations to security contraptions.

6 State Of Decay 2

Metascore: 66

Xbox gamers don’t have a lot of exclusives to boast about, which is why State of Decay 2 is so revered by fans of this console, even though the mechanics of the game aren’t all that deep. However, it’s the human aspect of this game that makes it so tantalizing. Survivors feel like their own people who are affected by the events around them, which shape their character.

Building an outpost is important if players don’t want to be swarmed every step of the way and want some refuge from the constant threat of zombies that plague their existence. Players will enjoy State of Decay 2, even if its survival and base-building gameplay isn’t as intricate as most other titles.

5 Fallout Shelter

Metascore: 71

Most people derided Fallout Shelter when it first came out originally. Many people felt that it focused on a freemium model, which made it seem way more predatory than it had any right to be. While these complaints are justified, that shouldn’t take away from the muted brilliance of Fallout Shelter.

This simulation game features an iconic art style that will help fans of the Fallout games feel right at home. Despite the worries people have regarding this IP, Fallout Shelter is a fun and relatively low-stakes title that fans can enjoy for themselves.

4 Kenshi

Metascore: 75

The scope of Kenshi is truly massive, offering RPG mechanics along with heaps of survival and base-building gameplay. Unlike most other titles where players are important figures with the world revolving around them, Kenshi is a game where players start out as a nobody and have to make a name for themselves with a combination of hard work and pure luck.

Players can either settle into the life of a generic trader or follow their lofty ambitions by creating a base and forming a faction that they’re the leader of. The latter is extremely engrossing and brings its fair share of challenges along the way, which makes it all the more impressive that this part of the game is almost completely optional! In fact, a lot of people can spend a ton of hours in Kenshi without even touching the base-building aspect of the game, which is a testament to how open-ended this RPG is.

3 Frostpunk

Metascore: 84

One of the most challenging games that players can check out, Frostpunk is not a title for the faint of heart. The game can be punishing at times, and players need to understand the best way possible to survive a volcanic winter by keeping their residents as warm as possible while making a lot of tough decisions along the way.

Players have to either rule with an iron fist or show empathy, and both approaches have their pros and cons. This, coupled with the difficulty of the game as players slowly grasp the mechanics, makes Frostpunk one of the most difficult yet rewarding post-apocalyptic city-building games that fans can check out for themselves.

2 Subnautica

Metascore: 87

Most people don’t even know that Subnautica is based in a post-apocalyptic world until they make some progress in this title. People with thalassophobia (fear of deep water) should give this game a wide berth, since this title is not for the faint of heart.

Subnautica‘s relatively relaxed base-building gameplay hides something sinister underneath that isn’t revealed until either players make a lot of progress in the main game, or push their luck by entering the Crater Edge. The alien world that players explore has its own backstory. Players will love the idea of building their base and coming back to a safe zone after braving the many dangers present in this title.

1 Fallout 4

Metascore: 87

Fallout 4 garnered a mixed reception upon launch. Many weren’t fans of the simplified RPG mechanics or the poor dialogue system. However, there were certain additions made to the game that fans enjoyed. The inclusion of settlement building, for example, was a great optional activity for fans to invest a lot of hours into.

It may not be the most fleshed-out base-building that fans can enjoy in a video game, but many people appreciated this Fallout 4 option and what it brought to the table. Players could either ignore this mechanic altogether or spend many hours trying to upgrade the living situation in every settlement.