10 Best RPGs With Town Building

An RPG becomes especially inviting when your next adventure also helps build a place to come home to. Recruiting a new resident, opening a workshop, or turning an empty patch of land into a settlement gives progress a visible shape. Your equipment improves, but so does the world around your characters. These ten RPGs offer different versions of that idea. Some let you place structures yourself; others develop a headquarters through recruitment or let you choose facilities from a management screen. The ranking weighs how meaningfully that community connects to the adventure. For a broader look at the genre, see our best RPGs on PC.

10. Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Pathfinder: Kingmaker adds the responsibility of ruling a realm to a party-based fantasy adventure. You explore the Stolen Lands, deal with their dangers, and develop a kingdom with settlements and decisions that reach beyond the next fight. Building here is tied to planning and governance rather than walking around placing individual walls. That makes it an appealing option for players who want the town to be part of a larger strategy. It also asks for patience with rules, character builds, and the consequences of administrative choices. Start here if you enjoy a substantial computer RPG and want your achievements to include governing a territory, as well as improving the adventurers who defend it.

9. Ever Oasis

Ever Oasis makes you the chief of a desert refuge, giving dungeon exploration a direct connection to the people you are trying to help. You venture out with companions, solve environmental puzzles, gather materials, and meet characters who can contribute to the growing oasis. Back home, new residents and their shops make the settlement more useful and more lively. The appeal is the back-and-forth between a dangerous expedition and a community that benefits from it. This is a Nintendo 3DS release, so access to the hardware and a game card matters; the 3DS eShop no longer sells new downloads. It remains a distinctive fit for players who already have a way to play.

8. Suikoden I & II HD Remaster

The Suikoden remaster collection gives you two classic RPGs where gathering allies changes your headquarters. Recruiting the Stars of Destiny is about more than filling a battle roster. Your base becomes a place that reflects the people joining the cause, with useful services and recognizable personalities making it feel increasingly occupied. Treat this as recruitment-driven community building rather than a freeform construction game. You will not spend the campaign choosing where every wall belongs. Its strength is making a growing resistance feel like a group of people with a home. Choose it if you want your settlement to tell a story through its inhabitants while a larger political conflict gives your journeys their urgency.

7. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes carries the growing-headquarters idea into a modern turn-based RPG. Recruiting characters supports both your adventuring options and the development of the home base, where new facilities give the wider cast useful roles. Finding someone new can be exciting even when they are not the next fighter you intend to use. The headquarters develops through a more structured upgrade system than a freeform building sandbox. That is part of its attraction if you prefer clear goals and a lively destination between story sections. Pick it for the combination of a large ensemble, traditional party battles, and the pleasure of watching a shared home become more capable as your group expands.

6. Dragon Quest Builders

Dragon Quest Builders asks what happens when rebuilding becomes the hero’s main talent. You gather materials, craft equipment, and put rooms together in the ruined world of Alefgard. Residents and story objectives give those structures a purpose beyond looking impressive in a screenshot. Its chapter-based approach creates a useful rhythm for players who like guided projects and fresh starts. That structure is worth understanding before you settle in expecting one uninterrupted town-building campaign. It earns a place alongside the sequel because its focused rebuilding stories have their own appeal. Choose the original when you want an approachable mix of action, exploration, and construction with a clear sense of what the community needs next.

5. Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Building Evermore gives Ni no Kuni II a satisfying center. Evan’s adventure is about creating a kingdom, and the management systems make that ambition something you participate in. You recruit citizens, assign them to facilities, and pursue research that supports the wider journey. This is a planned kingdom with facility slots and upgrade decisions, rather than a block-by-block building tool. It works because the fantasy of gathering people around a hopeful new home runs through both the story and the systems. Try it if you want colorful action battles and a kingdom that rewards checking in regularly, without turning every building project into an exercise in architectural precision.

4. Fallout 4

Fallout 4 turns the Commonwealth’s scavenged junk into the foundations of new settlements. Once you have access to a workshop, you can assemble structures and provide practical essentials such as beds, food, water, power, and defenses. A location you first approached as another stop on the map can become a place you recognize in detail. The settlement layer gives exploration another purpose because a useful component may matter as much as a new weapon. You can also spend a surprising amount of time arranging a home between quests. Choose it if you want freeform construction inside a large open-world RPG. The base game includes settlement building, while optional workshop expansions add further tools and possibilities.

3. Medieval Dynasty

Medieval Dynasty starts at the level of everyday survival and lets that work grow into a village. You gather materials, construct buildings, recruit residents, and organize production while developing your own character’s skills. Planning a settlement means thinking about the people who will actually live and work there. Its pace suits players who enjoy a long project with visible, practical steps. Seasonal needs and resource demands give your choices consequences, so the attractive landscape comes with responsibilities. This is a survival and simulation hybrid with RPG progression, rather than a quest-heavy party adventure. Pick it when the idea of steadily establishing a working community appeals more than rushing toward a dramatic final boss.

2. Kenshi

Kenshi lets a squad of vulnerable travelers become the foundation of an independent settlement. You can research technologies, construct defenses, and establish production as part of a much wider sandbox. A base is a serious undertaking in a world that does not stop being dangerous because you have started building. That difficulty gives the settlement unusual significance. Protecting workers and bringing injured companions home can become more memorable than a conventional quest reward. It is a strong choice for players who want their own stories to emerge from systems and setbacks. Expect a demanding learning curve, and consider exploring before committing to a remote outpost. The satisfaction comes from making the place viable rather than receiving safety automatically.

1. Dragon Quest Builders 2

Dragon Quest Builders 2 gives construction a starring role without losing the sense of going on an adventure. Story islands teach you new ideas, introduce communities, and provide reasons to create useful spaces. Your developing skills then feed into more ambitious projects, with the Isle of Awakening offering a home for your growing creativity. The important part is how building and daily life meet. Residents can use the spaces you create, making a project feel like somewhere people belong. It takes our top spot for bringing guided progression, characterful adventures, and flexible construction together so naturally. Start here if you want to build with your own hands while still having a story, companions, and a reason to head out exploring. For hands-on construction, begin with Dragon Quest Builders 2, Fallout 4, or Medieval Dynasty. If recruiting residents is the part you love, look at Ever Oasis, Suikoden, or Eiyuden Chronicle. You can also browse our best Dragon Quest games for more adventures in that world.