Top 10 Best Simulation Games in 2021 (The Sims, Animal Crossing, and More)

In this city-building game, you can engage in urban planning, and there are a lot of things to keep in mind. Take control of zoning, road placement, taxation, public services, and public transportation in your very own city.

The game won’t impress you with a story, but your breath may easily be taken away by its scale and detail. This is an open-ended game, too, so you can enjoy it for a long time.

Reviewers really love this game! Most feedback is positive, with people saying they enjoy the challenge and attention to detail. Some compare it to the similar game SimCity, but it seems most prefer Cities: Skylines.

One thing to note is the pros and cons of playing on console versus PC. The PC version offers more features and extra DLC; the Switch version is portable, albeit not as easy to control.

Build your own island community in this social simulation that has taken the world by storm (who are we kidding; you've probably already heard of this game). Place buildings, paths, furniture, and decorations all over your island. Interact with your neighbors and make lifelong friends. Expand your tent into a full-fledged house by selling things you find around the world.

Players have fallen in love with this game. Many praise its quality-of-life upgrades from previous titles and love its crisp and colorful design.

One thing to note is that while the game supports multiplayer, you can only have one deserted island per console, which has led to minor disagreements between young siblings.

Create your own humans (or vampires!) in The Sims 4, build them a home, and watch a unique story play out. This life simulation has dominated its genre since its initial conception in 2000 and is now on its fourth installment.

There’s enough content to entertain you for hours and hours on end. You can build fantastic and heavily detailed structures, or have fun playing and leveling up your characters.

There are also expansion packs and DLC available that can customize your experience. And if you get deep into it, you can even mod your game!

Reviewers say this game makes a perfect gift, and kids seem to love it! It may take some time to get used to the controls, but it’s definitely worth the effort. Some reviewers recommend the PC version over a console one because it’s easier to play and has more content in it, but even the console versions are pretty popular!

This is the ultimate farming simulation. Grow crops, gather resources, build new buildings on your land, make friends in town, and much more - you'll never run out of things to do!

This game is addictive, reviewers say. It's a lot of fun, and they've sunk hours and hours into it. They highlight the freedom and vast amount of options you get, as well as the charming design.

Some compare it negatively to similar games like Harvest Moon and say it gets repetitive and boring after a while. While it's not for everyone, its overwhelmingly positive feedback pretty much speaks for itself.

Play as humanoids and oversee the spaceport Kerbal Space Center on an alien planet. Manage your crew, build complex spaceships, explore a star system, set up communication between your devices, and much more.

This game features excellent game mechanics and physics in order to give you a believable experience.

According to reviewers, this game has a bit of an initial learning curve, meaning it takes some effort to get into it. But it’s well worth it once you start to understand the physics. It’s a game for people who love space and exploration, they say.

Construct your own prison using federal funds and administer it in this construction and management simulation. Try your best to remain ethical and combat gang activities and more among the prisoners.

Players love this game and say it has kept them entertained for hours. They praise its sandbox qualities and the number of things you can do in it.

A few criticize the new publisher of the game, as it was sold to Paradox in 2019, and say it’s more buggy and less fun than previously. Even so, the reviews are very positive, and most still recommend the game.

Manage the survivors of a crash-landing on a distant world. Watch relationships be built and fall apart, build structures for your inhabitants, take care of medical issues that arise, create successful colonies, and more in this detailed simulation.

Reviewers highly recommend this game, saying it’s given them countless hours of fun. In fact, many say they lose track of time while immersed in this game.

They highlight the fact that creating your own story is a large part of the gameplay, and no player will have the same experience.

By buying or building railway stations, managing your workforce, and developing new technologies to make your business run smoothly, you can create your railway empire in North America. This game offers many fun management mechanics that will excite you.

This is a great game that strikes the perfect balance between micro and macro management, reviewers say. They enjoy building tracks and watching the graphics as the trains run on them.

A few criticized the game’s AI and interface, which seemed poorly designed and illogical to them, but overall, this game is highly recommended as a simulation game.

In this game, you start out taking quick jobs picking up cargo and delivering it, and as you gradually improve, you can buy your own truck and garage, and take on bigger gigs throughout Europe.

The selling point is the semi-realistic experience of working as a truck driver and being able to drive on European roads. The base game features 71 cities, but this platinum collection includes many add-ons and extra features, like extra locations and new vehicles.

Reviewers appreciate the challenge of this game; they say the premise sounds simple at first but turns into a fun race to complete as your driver still needs to fill gas and sleep between driving. And once you get into a nice groove, the game becomes a relaxing, almost zen-like experience, they say.

Some recommend buying extra equipment, like pedals and a wheel, to make the game even more immersive.

Cook anything you like in this realistic cooking simulation game. You’ll have access to a fully equipped kitchen, where you can do (almost) anything, including not cooking. Master over 60 recipes, or just throw knives around!

Reviewers love this game for its attention to detail. With so many food and equipment options, they say you can spend hours in this game. Some remark that it’s a bit too buggy, but overall it’s a well-recommended game, especially for foodies!