10 Best City-Building Games Like Airborne Empire 

Building an entire city sounds fictitious in the real world. However, virtually anything is possible, and with city-building games, you can become the proud owner of a city that portrays your personality. Not only do you get to build and design cities, but you also get to manage their daily activities. Additionally, you can form relationships with other players or AI-generated characters. Airborne Empire is an example of a title in this genre where players explore a vast and rich open world, constructing unique cities in the sky. Below, we discuss the 10 best city-building games, like Airborne Empire.

10. Dyson Sphere Program

Set in a futuristic sci-fi realm, players dive into a society that exists in a virtual computer space. The society requires a significant amount of power and strong computer skills to run. As the protagonist, you embark on a mission to the real universe to construct a Dyson sphere that will help in society’s expansion. You collect resources from a nearby star cluster that the game randomly generates. Players collect resources using a mecha called Icarus, which they combine into structures like assembly plants, transport systems, and power devices.

9. Timberborn

The title is quite impressive and has you controlling a colony of beavers. They reside in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where humans once occupied. You build cities that utilize power from water wheels sourced from dams. You aim to transform the land into one that is more habitable. Additionally, players must prepare for drought seasons where water levels drop, which can result in crop failure. It also makes it harder for layers to collect the wood required for building. Players get to unlock new settlements and technology as they play.

8. Against the Storm

Heavy storms plague the Smoldering City, and the villagers are struggling to survive. When the storm subsides, players have to set up villages in a short playtime before the storm grows stronger again. The village has six different species, including humans, beavers, harpies, lizards, foxes, and frogs, and each one has different requirements. However, each village can only host three species. You gather resources from the forest, like food or items to help you obtain fuel and building materials.

7. Manor Lords

Engage in tactical warfare as you strive to build your city in late 14th-century Franconia. Players take part in three different game modes that include Rise to Prosperity, Restoring the Peace, and On the Edge. You can customize and modify in-game values such as your starting position or off-map threats. As part of games like Airborne Empire, the main goal of Manor Lords is to expand on a small settlement by collecting resources, managing supplies, and building formidable trade networks. Also, you must handle any threats that face your settlement. 

6. Anno 1800

The setting of the game is the Old World at the beginning of the Industrial Age in the 19th century. It features elements of colonial trade with Victorian Era architecture, and the main economic engine is factory labour. There’s also a New World city that assembles critical products that labourers in the Old World require and obtain through trade. You have access to a blueprint that helps you map out the city’s construction plans. Anno features a story campaign, a sandbox mode, and a multiplayer mode. 

5. Before We Leave

You play as a group of people called Peeps residing in a fallen civilization. In the game, you emerge from a bunker and set out to explore the area around you. Afterwards, players guide their characters as they attempt to restore their society to its former glory. Your role is to ensure the Peeps’ happiness levels are high, which increases their productivity and decreases the time they take to complete tasks. Ultimately, the main goal is to set up a strong civilization that allows the Peeps to launch themselves into space and take over other planets. 

4. Cities: Skylines – Green Cities

In Green Cities, you act as a jack of all trades. As one of the games like Airborne Empire, you play the role of an esteemed urban planner, responsible for controlling zoning, road placement, taxation, public services, and public transportation. Furthermore, you are in charge of many other aspects of the city, including health, traffic, and employment. Players start with a piece of land and an interchange exit from a nearby highway. They also gain access to a water source and receive in-game money to spend on their activities. As you progress, you unlock new city improvements like schools and hospitals. 

3. Forge of Empires

This is another masterpiece on the list of games like Airborne Empire. Starting from the Stone Age, you get to develop and expand a city to the future era and establish a Space Age Space Hub. Houses in the city provide players with coins and population. Additionally, they receive facilities that produce goods, decorations, and cultural buildings that provide happiness. Players gain access to specialized buildings during special events and daily challenges, or they can purchase them from the antique dealer. Happiness is a key factor in the gameplay as it boosts the output of the resources in the city.

2. Kingdom Two Crowns

As a mounted monarch, you must build your kingdom and protect it from a race of monsters called Greed. Cast in a day and night cycle, you construct the city through the day, but when night falls, you go toe to toe with the Greed. Players collect gold, which they use in the expansion of the kingdom. He also uses the coins to hire new subjects that reside outside the kingdom. They include builders, farmers, and archers. The recruits remain idle until you purchase equipment for them to employ in certain activities.

1. Frostpunk

The whole world is experiencing a volcanic winter. You journey to the city of New London in the late 19th century, where you embody a leader tasked with building and maintaining the city to ensure your citizens are comfortable. Additionally, you manage resources, make survival choices, and explore the area outside the city for other survivors, resources, or other useful items. Frostpunk starts with a small group of survivors and a few supplies with which you begin moulding your city. Players then go around gathering new resources and building new facilities to survive.