Top 10 Games Like Civilization

Updated:

05 Jun 2016

If you liked Civilization, you'll love these 10 games

Sid Meier's Civilization 5, one of the most successful and popular 4x strategy games of all time, is a title gamers worldwide are madly in love with. Fans of the game and Civilization series flock to countless online communities, sharing screenshots, strategies and stories, bragging to each other about how many hours they've logged playing the game.

Obviously, Civ 5 did a ton of things right. But it wasn't the first 4x strategy game, and it definitely won't be the last. The gaming world is filled with all kinds of awesome games where you can build empires, fight wars, and explore new lands.

Since the earliest years of gaming, strategy games have been fulfilling fantasies of gamers worldwide, and there are so many games out there that do it just as epically as Civilization does. Check out this list of 10 games like Civilization to see all the ways you can conquer the world.

10) Endless Legend

Endless Legend is a large-scale 4x strategy game set uniquely in a fantasy setting, the world of Auriga, a planet filled with magic and monsters. You choose 1 faction out of 8 to play as, including undead medieval knights, sorcerers, insect-like creatures, and even a race of ancient dragons. Like in Civ 5, each faction has its own unique characteristics and backstory.

You set out upon a randomly generated world broken up into regions which are broken into hexagonal tiles, determined to build an empire. Thanks to the game's gorgeous graphics and sleek, modern interface, you're bound to have fun along the way.

Build a city to be remembered in legend.

There are many different paths to victory. If you're feeling merciful you could aim for a diplomatic or economic approach to success, or you could become the world power by researching the best technology. And in the end, of course, there is always the old-fashioned option for all-out war. For its sleek design, pretty graphics, and endless replayability, we at Gamers Decide give Endless Legend a solid 5/5.

9 ) Endless Space

Endless Space is a sci-fi 4x strategy game where you take charge in an interstellar empire and attempt to conquer planets, extending your grasp throughout the universe. You get to choose between 8 different space-faring civilizations to play as. You can play as a race of genius aliens, intelligent machines, insectoid hunter-gatherers, and, yes, an evil empire ruled by villainous humans.

With fleets under your command and planets within your reach, you are sent out to explore countless star systems to collect the resources you'll need to accomplish the game's main goal: victory. Like in Civ 5, your ability to gather and capture important resources is key to finding success in the game.

Endless Space is a predecessor to Endless Legend, having been released in 2012, two years before Endless Legend's 2014 release, and produced by the same development studio. Don't let the connection fool you, though! Endless Space is on a completely different level and scale: a galactic one.

The final frontier.

With exciting sci-fi combat and gorgeous visuals of the wonders of deep space, Endless Space makes the road to victory long, pretty, and full of adventure. The game's large scale does end up in a few problems, though. Exploring space can become repetitive as you collect the same resources and navigate the same menus, and perhaps you'll find the game isn't so deep as it promises.

That being said, Endless Space was an ambitious attempt at 4x strategy awesomeness, and for that, we personally give it a score of 4/5.

8) Age of Wonders III

Age of Wonders III, a 4x strategy title released in 2009, is yet another game set in a fantasy world. This time, the setting of the game is more traditional high fantasy, bringing the complicated gameplay of a strategy title to a land from a fairytale. You play as any one of various fantasy races as you build up your own character, roleplay, and fight to control the wilderness of a beautiful fantasy world.

There's a whole bunch of mystical creatures that have their own factions in the game: elves, dwarves, orcs, and goblins all make appearances. The game is still very much dedicated to strategy, though, and just like in Civ 5, you can build cities, besiege them, and establish new cities wherever you wish.

While the fairytale setting is about as old as the Middle Ages, the gameplay is nothing but new. Age of Wonders III is notable in that it blends innovative RPG elements into the main mechanics of the game, leading to the player having to balance classic empire-building with dynamic characters, a full-fledged story, and customization options galore.

Preparing an epic siege.

Upon its release, Age of Wonders III was well-met with praise for its creative design, although some critics had doubts on the quality of the story mode, and some players noticed that there could have been greater differences between the playable races. That being said, the game was an impressive and bold new step in the 4x world, and we give it a 4/5 in honor of that.

7) Total War: Rome 2

In Total War: Rome 2, you play as any one of various historical factions that were active during the Classical Period of history, including the Romans and the Carthaginians and other regional powers as you fight to make history yourself.

The Total War series's second visit to the Roman Empire of old, this strategy title sits you on the thrones of emperors, chieftains, and kings from all around Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

This is a series known for its combination of 4x strategy depth with intense, huge tactical battles, simulating the greatest wars of history. Like Civ V, players will become immersed in their chosen faction and in the historical backgrounds through which this game plays.

All wars lead to Rome.

While genre purists sometimes call games like these false 4x titles, their sheer capacity for awesomeness cannot be ignored. In Total War: Rome 2, the single most popular and highest-selling entry in the series yet, you can lead your legions of men into countless skirmishes and sieges, controlling them live and watching battles as they unfold.

Whole hordes of hundreds of men are all represented in-game, and you can watch as they fight and die, bleeding, screaming, enraged in the spirit of war.

With gorgeous, high-budget, intensely colorful graphics and an unprecedented sense of scale, it might not come as a surprise that the game was plagued with technical issues, especially during its launch. Controversy surrounded the game based on difficulties players had running it, since it was so intensive and demanded so much of player's machines.

When the game ran well, however, it was a beautiful experience. Total War: Rome 2, a solid 4/5, will make you feel epic.

6) Civilization: Beyond Earth

In Civilization: Beyond Earth, you're tasked with rebuilding civilization on a newly-discovered planet after the Earth was destroyed in a cataclysmic event known only as the Great Mistake. Each faction serves as the remnant of a human civilization, and must either cooperate or fight against each other to establish a new home.

Yes, you might think including another entry in the Civilization in a list of great games similar to Civ 5 would be cheating. But really, Beyond Earth is a breed of its own.

A departure from the historical, realistic setting of the main editions of the franchise, Beyond Earth is more a spiritual successor to 1999's Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri than it is a part of the Civilization franchise, though it does borrow quite a lot from it in terms of gameplay mechanics and art design; veteran players of Civ V will certainly be able to recognize the skeleton of the game below the new coat of paint.

Fight for a new home.

The premise is definitely exciting, but does the game live up to it? Well, some players criticized how heavily it borrowed from Civ 5 as far as art and design are concerned, and it was plagued with bugs and technical issues at release. To reflect this, we give it a score of 3/5.

5) Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars

In Conquer the Stars you play as one of 10 races vying in a race for interstellar power. Players must make sure their supplies of food, money, and natural resources are plentiful, and must build militaries to defend themselves from danger. Like Civ V, the victory state in the game can be reached by either violent conquest or diplomatic unification, although it does seem to be missing Civ's scientific or cultural victory.

Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars is a modern reimagining of the beloved Master of Orion 4x strategy game series that is currently under Steam Early Access. The original series paid host to some of the most popular and critically-acclaimed strategy games of the 1990's, so Conquer the Stars is certainly standing on the shoulders of giants.

Choose the place of your beginning.

Since the game is still in Early Access though, it is obviously still plagued with unfinished content and technical issues. But that's alright. It's to be expected, really, and if things continue to go as they have been, Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars is bound to be spectacular. We give it a tentative 3/5 for now, and are excited for the developers to finish the game.

4) Galactic Civilizations III

GalCiv III is set in a universe where competing alien empires have conquered known space, with the human race exiled on Earth under a protective shield. It is up to the player to lead the people of Earth to their rebirth into a new interstellar power.

Another modern installment in a beloved 4x strategy franchise, 2015's Galactic Civilizations III had a proud reputation to uphold. It succeeds yet again to replicate the franchise's balancing of intricate, immersive strategy gameplay with an active plot, something that many strategy games don't bother with.

Create a civilization out of stars.

That's what the story mode is about, anyway. Really, GalCiv III is just as good as a sandbox, like most other games in the genre, where you can explore and conquer to your heart's content. The title was also notable in that it adopted some gameplay elements similar to many other modern 4x games, especially Civ 5, such as hex-based tile movement and multiplayer modes. A solid update and a well-produced experience, we gladly give it a 4/5.

3) Sins of a Solar Empire

Sins of a Solar Empire is a 4x strategy game series inspired by space operas, science-fiction stories such as Star Wars that focus on epic scale and high stakes. The player leads any one of various factions in an attempt to establish a galactic empire and rule over the other competing races of the game. The gameplay in the title reflects this inspiration beautifully: it is known for its intensity.

Like in the aforementioned Total War series, the battles in Sins of a Solar Empire are huge, loud, and exciting. So many things go on at once, and the void of space is lit up endlessly by explosions and cannonfire and the burning of colossal engines as great spaceships and elegant starfighters weave around each other, violently duking it out for the sake of their peoples' futures.

Creation through destruction.

If that description makes Sins of a Solar Empire sound epic to you, that's because it is. Battles are cinematic, action-packed, and look like something out of a high-budget sci-fi film. But battles are hardly the only focus of the game. Sins is proud of its 4x heritage and incorporates very intricate and diverse systems of resource collection, population management, and research trees, just like Civ 5. For its intricacy and well-designed action, this game earns a definite 5/5 score from us.

2) Crusader Kings II

Crusader Kings II is a historical 4x strategy game taking place in the Europe and the Middle East during the medieval era, specifically during the time of -- you guessed it -- the Crusades. You can either play as one of the various European kingdoms who rose to prominence at this time, or any of multiple Middle Eastern factions clashing amongst each other for territorial gain.

Knights in shining armor.

Like as in Civ 5, Crusader Kings II also features a large amount of historical figures and locations that you can interact with as part of the game. In addition to this, however, Crusader Kings places a lot of emphasis on being able to create and customize your own character, and to lead them and their descendants in ruling a great empire. A well-designed game with large scale, we give it a 4/5.

1) Europa Universalis 4

Akin to the system in Crusader Kings, in Europe Universalis IV, you play as a monarch in a simulated map of the real world as you establish an empire for you and your descendants to rule. What distinguishes it from its predecessor, however, is the massively expanded scope. Instead of being limited to the Middle Ages, in Europa Universalis IV you are able to play all the way up until the Early Modern Period and, to reflect that, North and South America are added to the game map.

Just like our first two items in the list, Endless Legend and Endless Space, the last two items, Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis IV, also share a mutual developer. Both CK2 and EU4 were created by Paradox Interactive, a longstanding game studio and the origin of many great strategy gaming titles.

Conquer the warring kingdoms.

Each of the countless different factions in the game are all diverse and unique in their own ways and, like in Civilization, there is a myriad of different ways for the player to achieve victory. There is no strict rule on how to beat the game, but with the tools you are given, you can truly conquer the world if you want to. In Europe Universalis IV, you can build an empire that will stand the test of time. We proudly give this title a complete 5/5.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed our list of 10 great strategy games just like Civ 5, readers of Gamers Decide! It was a challenge to find games that were similar enough to the Civilization we all love, but new and innovative enough to give this list a cutting edge.

When you're talking about gaming, there isn't any other genre as complex and epic as 4x strategy, and we hope we were able to do it justice. Strategy game fans are known to be super passionate about their favorite titles, though, so feel free to speak your minds.