Ahh… power. One of three timeless ‘aphrodisiacs’ for men (you know the other two, don’t you?).
And what gives one of the most striking power boosts conceivable to men? Being a dictator ruling your banana republic with an iron fist. Or a chalk fist, if it is for the benefit of all (meaning you 😉 ).
Published in 2001 and spanning 6 sequels, with 7th currently under way, Tropico series set unparalleled standards in gaming industry by blending city-building tropes with trade, politics and economics as well as external factors which shape the current state of affairs in your beautiful country.
All of this finely covered in a tongue-in-cheek layer of humor. Today we recommend 7 alternatives for El Presidente machinations.
| Game | Release | Developer | Trailer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Banished | 2014-02-18 | Shining Rock Software | |
 | Anno 1800 | 2019-04-16 | Ubisoft Blue Byte | |
 | Evil Genius | 2004-09-28 | Elixir Studios | |
 | Anno 2205 Ultimate Edition | 2015-11-03 | ||
 | Evil Genius 2 World Domination | 2021-03-30 | Rebellion Developments | |
 | Spacebase Startopia | 2021 | Realmforge Studios | |
 | Settlement Survival | 2021-10-11 | Gleamer Studio | |
 | Victoria 3 | 2022-10-25 | Paradox Development Studio | |
 | Anno 1602 AD | Max design gesmbh | ||
 | Clanfolk | 2022-07-14 | MinMax Games Ltd. |
Victoria 3
| Release date: | 2022-10-25 |
| Genre: | Strategy |
| Developer: | Paradox Development Studio |
We open our list with a title which spells “brain-racking” with a capital B.
Victoria 3, another brainchild from Paradox Games Entertainment – the masters of Grand Strategy games themselves – with Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron series in their portfolio, is set, just like previous installments, during Victorian age. We choose one out of 100 countries and turn it into superpower.
Plethora of cause and effect dependencies, gazillion other options, and even more factors and indicators to consider, from taxing hundreds types of good in order to repair the government budget, to implementing long-term strategy to weaken one of political factions – Victoria 3 offers it all.
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Spacebase Startopia
| Release date: | 2021 |
| Genre: | Strategy |
| Developer: | Realmforge Studios |
How would you like to experience a tycoon gameplay in zero gravity, where your ‘city’ is a space station and your workforce consists of aliens of various planetary origin?
Look no further because Spacebase Startopia is here.
A 2020 release by Realmforge Studios and also a reboot of 2001 Startopia, the game found its way on many platforms, including Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo. Your space station comprises three decks: Bio Deck, Fun Deck and Sub Deck, whose crafty and leveled organization you shall maintain in order to live long and prosper. What’s more, Spacebase Startopia tycoon-ish character comes with a twist, as we may provoke skirmishes taken straight out of thoroughbred RTSes.
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Settlement Survival
| Release date: | 2021-10-11 |
| Genre: | City Builder |
| Developer: | Gleamer Studio |
Heavily inspired by another game on our list – Brandished – Settlement Survival is a colony building game where we control a group of shady individuals who are to make a living out of creating a settlement.
Graphics with bright colors and enhanced polygons looks splendid and encourages to plow that field and set up another orchard. Tech trees are finely balanced and interdependencies between farming, industry, as well as other branches of our colony ensure a lasting gameplay.
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Evil Genius
| Release date: | 2004-09-28 |
| Genre: | Economy |
| Developer: | Elixir Studios |
Have you ever wondered how villains from James Bond movies came to power?
What terrible managerial machinations and dastardly deeds must they have undertaken in order to establish their position as main antagonists? Well, wonder no more because Evil Genius brings all the necessary answers to the table.
The oldest position on our list, yet it somehow resonates with the overall Tropico vibe best. You take on a role of a baddie par excellence, who is hell-bent on forcing the whole world to kneel before your despicable presence by causing a series of acts of infamy, as well as accomplishing your main goal – create a doomsday device. Exotic locations for your lair like a volcano caldera and some 60’s/70’s spy movies references only add to the brilliant style Evil Genius possesses
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Anno series
| Release date: | 2019-04-16 |
| Genre: | Economy |
| Developer: | Ubisoft Blue Byte |
Another long-lasting series, its number of installments on a par with the number of Tropico video games, Anno doesn’t need any introduction.
A hallmark of colony-building simulators, every Anno sequel added that extra something to the magical formula of establishing your settlement by extracting resources, developing industry and orchestrating bureaucracy. No matter if it happened in 1503 or 2205. A must for every colony-building/city-sim aficionados out there.
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Clanfolk
| Release date: | 2022-07-14 |
| Genre: | Farming Sim |
| Developer: | MinMax Games Ltd. |
We teleport ourselves to Scottish Highlands where our task is to take care of a clan and make it prosper.
Simple as it may sound, it is anything but. Clanfolk is the real deal life simulator, which is being led on windy moorlands in extremely harsh conditions.
Interestingly, we don’t have any enemies to crush, our sole adversary is nature. And she is as relentless and unforgiving as ever. Our clan members need to literally do everything and work their butts off in order to survive. Thankfully, they specialize in different things and their skills often complement each other. Graphic-wise, Clanfolk may be straightforward, but rarely do you find a simulator which so many items to craft.
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Banished
| Release date: | 2014-02-18 |
| Genre: | Economy |
| Developer: | Shining Rock Software |
Banished, as the title itself indicates, is a game about settlers who had been exiled and ended up on an untouched land to start over.
With no skill trees and no money, the people are your key resource to manage. They live, work, have children, and they eventually die. So they need to be taken care of to have as productive lives as possible.
Living conditions are harsh: the weather changes according to seasons, so if you e.g. forget to build a woodcutter hut, your people won’t have anything to heat up their houses with and freeze to death. The toils and moils of colonists are enhanced by disasters like tornadoes, fires, pest infestations and your livestock being prone to catching some nasty diseases.
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That’s it – the titles similar to Tropico. El Presidente and his banana republic is cool, but, as old proverb goes: “there’s always something cooler in store”. So go to our marketplace and get all of these titles.