Best Games Like Salt and Soil for City Building
The top pick for fans of Salt and Soil is Foundation. It nails the same organic, gridless city-building feel while adding a deep economic chain and a relaxed pace, making it the most direct spiritual successor. Its medieval setting and focus on resource-driven expansion mirror the core loop you already enjoy, with modern polish.
What to Look For
When searching for games like Salt and Soil, focus on these key features that define its appeal:
- Gridless or Organic Building: Salt and Soil lets you place buildings freely, creating natural, winding towns. Games with rigid grids feel very different.
- Deep Resource Chains: The game is about transforming raw materials into complex goods. Look for titles with multi-step production lines (wood → planks → furniture).
- Historical Setting: Medieval, ancient, or early industrial themes provide the right atmosphere. Fantasy or sci-fi settings often change the gameplay priorities.
- Strategic Depth over Combat: While some games include warfare, the best alternatives prioritize economic management, trade, and satisfying growth over military tactics.
- Pacing: Salt and Soil encourages thoughtful, slow expansion. Avoid games with constant pressure from enemies or disasters if you prefer a chill experience.
Foundation
Strengths: The most similar feel to Salt and Soil. Its gridless building system is a joy, letting you create truly unique towns. The economic chain is deep but intuitive, and the game’s “no fail� state makes it perfect for relaxing strategy.
Trade-offs: Still in early access, so some features are incomplete. The lack of challenge might bore players who want threats or crises.
Best for: Players who want the purest Salt and Soil experience with modern graphics and a focus on aesthetics.
Manor Lords
Strengths: A gorgeous medieval city-builder with a strong emphasis on realistic logistics. It features a detailed gridless building system, complex supply chains, and a dynamic seasonal cycle. The optional combat is well-integrated and adds stakes without overwhelming the core building.
Trade-offs: Still in early access and can be demanding on your PC. The simulation depth can be overwhelming for casual players, and the combat, while optional, feels underdeveloped compared to dedicated RTS games.
Best for: Players who want a more ambitious and historically grounded experience, with a hint of military strategy.
Farthest Frontier
Strengths: A challenging survival city-builder where you manage a small band of settlers. It has a deep resource system, detailed production chains, and a strong focus on environmental hazards like soil depletion and disease. The game is visually stunning and offers a real sense of progression.
Trade-offs: The difficulty is brutal, especially in the early game. You’ll constantly be fighting to keep your people fed and healthy, which can be stressful. It also uses a more traditional grid-based road system.
Best for: Players who enjoy a hardcore survival challenge and don’t mind a steep learning curve.
Banished
Strengths: The classic that inspired many modern city-builders. It’s a pure survival sim with a simple but elegant resource system. The focus is on population management and long-term sustainability, with no combat at all. It’s lightweight and runs on almost any PC.
Trade-offs: The graphics are dated, and the building placement is grid-based. The game can also feel repetitive after a while, as there is no end-game goal beyond survival.
Best for: Players who want a pure, no-frills survival city-builder that focuses on the basics of resource management.
Anno 1800
Strengths: A masterpiece of economic strategy. It features an incredibly deep production chain system across multiple islands and trade routes. The historical setting (Industrial Revolution) is rich, and the game offers a huge amount of content, including a campaign, sandbox mode, and multiplayer.
Trade-offs: The grid-based building system is restrictive compared to Salt and Soil. The complexity can be intimidating, and the DLC model means the “complete� game is expensive.
Best for: Players who want the most complex and rewarding economic simulation, and who don’t mind a steeper learning curve.
Kingdoms Reborn
Strengths: A unique blend of city-builder and card game. You build a medieval settlement, but you also play cards to unlock new buildings and abilities. This adds a fresh strategic layer and replayability. It features a gridless building system and a beautiful, low-poly art style.
Trade-offs: The card mechanic can feel gimmicky to some. The game is less polished than the other options, and the AI opponents in the single-player mode are not very challenging.
Best for: Players who want something a little different and enjoy deck-building mechanics mixed with city-building.
How to Choose
Your choice ultimately comes down to budget and what you value most. If you want the closest match to Salt and Soil and are okay with early access, go with Foundation. If you prefer a more polished, complete experience and enjoy a challenge, Farthest Frontier or Banished are excellent. For pure economic depth and scale, Anno 1800 is unmatched, but it’s pricier and more complex. If you want a relaxed, creative experience without much pressure, Foundation is the best. If you want a mix of building and combat, Manor Lords is your best bet. Consider your tolerance for early access bugs and your preferred level of challenge before buying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are any of these games free?
No. All of the games listed are paid titles. Kingdoms Reborn occasionally goes on deep discounts, but none are free-to-play.
Which game has the best modding community?
Banished has a mature and large modding community, with mods that add new buildings, mechanics, and even total conversions. Anno 1800 also has a strong modding scene.
Can I play these on a low-end PC?
Banished is the most lightweight and will run on almost anything. Foundation and Kingdoms Reborn are also relatively light. Manor Lords and Anno 1800 are more demanding.
Which game is the most relaxing?
Foundation is the most relaxing due to its lack of fail states. Banished can be relaxing once you get the hang of it, but early on it’s quite stressful.
Is there multiplayer in any of these?
Anno 1800 has a robust multiplayer mode. Kingdoms Reborn also supports multiplayer co-op. The others are strictly single-player.
Which game has the best graphics?
Manor Lords and Farthest Frontier are the most visually impressive, with stunning detail and lighting. Anno 1800 also looks great, though its art style is more stylized.
Bottom Line
Foundation is the definitive recommendation for fans of Salt and Soil who want a similar experience with modern quality-of-life improvements. If you want a complete, finished game with a strong survival element, Banished is a fantastic and affordable choice. For players who want the deepest economic simulation and don’t mind a steeper learning curve, Anno 1800 is the ultimate pick. Regardless of your choice, you’ll find a game that captures the joy of building a thriving historical settlement.
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