5 Stonehearth Similar Games: Different Stories, Same Vibe
Stoneheart is a game where you help a group of settlers build their homes, food supplies, shelters, and more in a forgotten land. You also monitor their mood, find different ways to grow your cities, and defend your people against monsters and skeletons.
If you have already built the city for Hearthlings, provided them, and defended them against all danger and now want to try other Stonehearth similar games, you have stopped at the right place. In this article, you will dive into different virtual worlds of gaming where you can play the hero, build new towns, and help your people.
1. Dawn of Man
If you want the feel of a primitive world and want to ride back in history through the ages, Dawn of Man is for you. This game takes you to the Stone Age, where you will hunt, build, fight, and expand your settlement through strategy.
The game starts with a small population and a few tents. You, as the builder, then take it into your hands to help your people survive and evolve from the Stone Age to the Iron Age by attaining knowledge and unlocking new technologies.
Gameplay
You can play this game in Freeplay or Creative modes. The basics are the same as in other games like Stonehearth, where you micro or macro-manage the settlement, assign work zones, achieve milestones, and gain certain population numbers.
The game UI is quite intuitive. It’s heavy, but I really like the wide map where you can choose your place of settlement, hunt, gather, and progress. It’s a slow-paced game, so you won’t jump into Iron Age in a few plays. Rather, you will gradually unlock new maps and challenges and eventually advance into the Iron Age.
2. Cities: Skylines
Now, If you want to build a modern city, you can play Cities: Skylines. It’s another Stonehearth alternative that requires you to build a city from scratch and manage its policies, economy, health, and other aspects that help your city thrive. You play this game as a Mayor and can divide your city into districts and implement rules and laws.
Moreover, like other city-building games, your performance will be judged by the citizens, and they will react to the stuff happening in the city. There is too much attention to detail, such as zoning for road development, water pipelines, and more.
Gameplay
The gameplay is great. You play as a single-player managing the whole city. You can choose from a few maps and start building your city. You can play under standard conditions or increase the difficulty level, play in a sandbox, or have unlimited money mod to develop a futuristic city by throwing creativity into the development.
You also get to choose other mechanics, such as constructing commercial, residential, or industrial buildings. Overall, this virtual chair of the mayor allows you to expand your city to 36 square km and immerse in the art of policy-making to run the city.
3. Gnomoria
Gnomoria is another city-building game like Stonehearth. In this game, you are thrown into the middle of nowhere with eight other settlers, and from here, your journey is to build the city, supply resources, and expand establishments. But that’s not it; every time you build something, monsters, and disasters are ready to take it down.
Gameplay
You will have control over a lot of customizations from the beginning of the game and will be allowed to choose a starting zone. You will also get plenty of tools and hard-working gnomes to build the statements.
There is a lot to do in Gnomoria, from underground farming of mushrooms building tunnels, workshops, bone carving, etc. You can assign jobs to your population, revamp and improve your town after catastrophic events, and more. The map is not as wide as in more detailed builder games like Dwarf Fortress, but this game has a variety of things to keep you engaged.
4. Anno 1800
Anno 1800 is also a game similar to Stonehearth, but it takes place in the 19th century, and you have to build, develop, and manage the metropolis during the Industrial Revolution and tackle the challenges that come with it.
The landscape of Anno expands beyond the immediate map and allows you to send players into the vast world to explore and build new settlements. Moreover, you will need to be aware of the AI adversaries that have their cities and are playing to stop your progression. The campaign story is also interesting. You have to clear the name of your father who is accused of treason. Overall, it is an immensely exciting game that keeps you glued to your screen for hours.
Gameplay
Anno 1800 is one of my favorite builder games that comes with complex yet intuitive mechanics. You can play in a campaign mode that guides you to complete challenges and achieve goals to reach the end of the campaign.
Moreover, there is a sandbox mode, where you can set your own parameters of development, and Multiplayer, where you can play with human companions to triumph in the new world together and win against AI opponents or play against each other to see which player makes it to the top and build a better world. The features of the game are intricate, so you have to be careful to strategize production lines, trades, and town layout.
5. Against the Storm
Against the Storm is one of the Stonehearth like games that revolve around an apocalyptic world ruined due to magic-driven hurricanes. It’s also similar to Frostpunk, where you have to survive in the frozen world.
However, in Against the Storm, you are a Queen’s Vicecory, and you are in charge of the last city standing in the world. You have to build settlements, populate them with different races, keep the people happy, and make strategies to keep your city safe against the changing weather and creeping whispers. Moreover, there are other enemies that you have to protect your people against.
Gameplay
You start the game in an open space surrounded by a dark forest, and your goal is to go through the forest to set new glades and collect wood or other items that might contain resources. You might also stumble upon ruined buildings that can be revamped and collect metal like copper.
These glades might have more rewarding resources, but you will have to deal with certain dangers, overcome obstacles, and send the resources back to the queen to please her. Each time you achieve a goal, you will lower the queen’s impatience bar and gain more time to complete the task. The game becomes complex with time, and you have to unlock buildings with more advanced materials to keep the development going.
Bottom Line
Now that you don’t get Stonehearth latest update, you might want to change the course and try other Stonehearth similar games. So, for your next adventure, you can try any of the above-mentioned amazing builder games, dive into different stories and exciting gameplay, and rule a brand-new world.
FAQs
1. Is Stonehearth still playable?
Yes, Stoneheart is still playable, but you will not get the latest updates and will have to play with the already-provided features.
2. What happened with Stonehearth?
Stoneheart’s development was stopped by Riot Games back in 2018. Although many promises were made, the game was simply left abandoned.
3. Is Stonehearth worth buying?
Yes, it is worth buying and exciting to play. However, it depends on your preferences if you want to play a game labeled as abandoned and finished.