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What are the best Management games on Steam?

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The 2 must play gamesWhy?

7 Options Considered	Price	Steam Rating	Platforms
93 Prison Architect	$29.99	Very Positive	Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox 360/One, Android
92 Factorio	$20.00	Overwhelmingly Positive	Windows, Linux, Mac
-- Cities: Skylines	$29.99	Very Positive	–
-- Tropico 5	$24.99	Mixed	–
-- Anno 2070	$19.99	Mixed	–

Prison Architect

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Top Pro

Great freedom of playstyle

You can run the prison in the way that you see fit. You can put the wellbeing of prisoners at the top of the priority list by making sure their living spaces are comfortable, that they're well-fed, have the opportunity to educate themselves and often get to go outside in the yard to socialize and exercise or you can run the prison with an iron fist by instituting regular shakedowns, putting CCTVs, metal detectors, K-9 units and armed guards in every corner. Whichever play-style you choose, the game will offer challenges that will keep the game interesting. See More

Top Con

Gameplay is poorly explained

The game does a poor job of explaining all the mechanics to the player when they begin the main game which leaves the player guessing as to what they need to do in order to be successful. See More

Top Pro

Amazing depth

The game consists of a wide variety of overlapping systems that work together to create excellent depth. You have to figure out the layout of your prison, how to manage the needs of your inmates, how to earn enough money to expand and hire new staff, what to do in the case of a natural disaster, a riot or attempted escape and so on. Every decision you make will impact all other elements of the game. For example, instituting regular shakedowns will help prevent prisoners from carrying banned items like forks taken from cafeterias that can be used to dig tunnels, but will also make the inmates more angry and thus more likely to riot. You can decide to instead use tunnel-sniffing dogs set to patrol around the perimeter, but that will cost more money and if the inmates pick up on the patrolling patterns they will tunnel around them. Or you may decide to check each inmate individually to see who's tired from staying up late to dig while everyone else has been sleeping though that approach may not scale. See More

Top Pro

Lots of mods available

A wide variety of user-created modifications to the game are available including mods that change the theme of the game, look of the game, add new objects, grants, programs, scenarios and new mechanics. They're listed in the game's wiki, here. See More

Top Pro

Works great for both long and short play sessions

The gameplay lends itself well to both doing a couple of things around the prison every once in a while or setting up elaborate systems that can take hours upon hours of time. The game can be saved at any time so you don't have to make commitments in one way or another. See More

Top Pro

Relaxing to play

Building your prison is almost zen like. There are periods of stress when there are riots or things going wrong, but you can always pause to take your time and figure out a good solution. See More

Top Pro

You can check how the prison you built works from the other perspective

You can become a prisoner yourself in your self-made prison to see how it really is as a prisoner. See More

Top Pro

Developers are releasing free updates and additions to the game

Developers have been updating the game almost every month with new content, improvements and tweaks to the game. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

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Factorio

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Top Pro

Endless solutions

With proper planning users can "code" together very precise ways to create all the things needed for the game, some in very inventive ways that can differ quite a bit. This allows for tons of replayability. See More

Top Con

Still in Alpha

The game is still in Alpha which means there will be bugs as well as missing features. See More

Top Pro

Massive and infinite procedurally generated world

The playing world is as large as you want to explore, it automatically generates it as you explore more areas. See More

Top Con

Can become rather repetitive

There's really little payoff for being able to build really long chains of automation, it usually results in being able to open a new tech tree which allows the player to continue the process of building automation chains ad infinitum, which, admittedly can become rather boring after a while. See More

Top Pro

Charming old school graphics

While not the most technically advanced graphics the look of the game is much like a game from the 90s but seeing it in action when an assembly line starts moving there is an impressiveness to it that suits the game quite well. See More

Top Con

Still in Alpha

The game is still in Alpha which means there will be bugs as well as missing features. See More

Top Pro

Cooperative or PvP building

Factorio also supports multiplayer, allowing many players to cooperate and assist each other, or work against each other in PvP. By default, multiplayer games run the CO-OP freeplay scenario where all players work together to launch a rocket with a satellite into space. See More

Top Pro

Under active development

The game is still in Alpha which means endless future possibilities. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Realtime Strategy (RTS)

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5 Other Games Considered

Cities: Skylines

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Top Pro

Large scale

At a total of 36 square kilometers of area to use (compared to Sim Cities 4), there is quite a bit of room to build and play. See More

Top Con

Can be difficult to glean what one has done wrong in game

Cities: Skylines has difficulty letting the player know what they have done wrong, which results in a lot of head scratching. See More

Top Pro

Depth of field

There is a depth of field effect that will blur distant buildings, which mimics Sim City's diorama effect. It can of course be adjusted with a slider as to how much or little to use. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Tropico 5

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Top Pro

Allows for choice in play

There is a mission mode (which is great for those that want to learn the ins and outs of the game through progression) and a sandbox mode (which is more like a city builder where it is up to you how to create your civilization). This makes for a good choice of different play depending on what the user wants at the time. There is also a multiplayer mode that works through competition (who can export more cigars, build a bigger plantation, etc.) that can extend the endgame content when the player feels they have experienced all the single player has to offer. See More

Top Con

Poor representation of changing times

The art in the game does not represent different time periods very well. The game starts out in the early 20th century and eventually builds up to the modern era. It does not matter what time period the player is in, little in the design of the games is representative through graphics changes. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

Anno 2070

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Top Pro

Addictive gameplay

This game is easy to find yourself sucked into. Many in game events that alter the environment for the good or the worse and each has their own consequences. Thus your city building must have prior planning to make sure it is the most productive and does not cause disasters. See More

Top Con

A little long

While the game is fun, the match times require a few hours or multiple game sessions just to get anywhere. See More

Top Pro

Focus on efficient building placement

Your economy will rely on the placement of your buildings, farms, etc. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

Concrete Jungle

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Top Pro

Deep gameplay

How the puzzle aspect is implemented allows for a lot of depth to the strategy gameplay See More

Top Con

Games can last a long time and difficulty is unknown until level is started

Not knowing how long a game will last can be frustrating for those just looking for a quick sessions. On top of this the terrain will not be known until a round is started, which means it could potentially be stacked against the player, which makes for unknown difficulty before a round is started. See More

Top Pro

Campaign mode that eases the player into the gameplay

By playing the campaign mode users can easily get used to the game at a comfortable pace, with new elements getting introduced the further one makes it. This is a great way to learn the gameplay as it can get complex. See More

Top Pro

Great mix of strategy and puzzle

Concrete Jungle mixes city building strategy with aspects of line clearing puzzlers such as Tetris in a very original way. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Frostpunk

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Top Pro

Engaging moral choices

You can enact and carry out laws in your city that will affect both the survival and happiness of your citizens in interesting ways. These moral choices add an entertaining and engaging depth to gameplay. For example, if your workers are frostbitten, you can house them in hospitals which costs resources. Otherwise, you can choose to amputate them which effectively takes them out of your workforce, yet they still have to be housed, kept warm, and fed. Children can be kept protected and warm, or you can send them off in the frozen wasteland to work like the adults. Every single action you take affects how content or upset your population is. Whether you keep them safe and warm, or make tough calls in the name of survival is your choice. These systems must be carefully balanced if you want to succeed. All in all, Frostpunk offers no shortage of interesting moral choices for you to make. See More

Top Con

Camera zoom may ruin immersion for some

After building up your city, you can't zoom in to see workers headed down the bustling streets or admire the fine details on the cyberpunk style buildings. You're stuck with a zoomed out camera, which can sometimes ruin immersion. See More

Top Pro

Unique premise

Frostpunk takes place in a steampunk-themed 1886 England. A freak snowstorm has wiped out most of the world's population and plunged Earth into a deep freeze. As the last remaining bastion of humanity, you'll be building and managing an outpost as you fight the weather and human nature itself. It's out of this dark and desolate post-apocalyptic premise that allows the game to offer a lot of grim, yet interesting gameplay choices. See More

Top Con

Not much replayability

Due to no open sandbox/endless mode, a large amount of scripted events that will play out the exact same in every playthrough, and skill trees that essentially accomplish all the same end goals, there's not much replayability. See More

Top Pro

Balanced simulation experience

Overall, the simulation aspects are handled quite well, and there is a lot to micromanage. Resources such as lumber and coal must be harvested and managed to construct buildings and keep your city warm. Rationing and finding food is important too, as your citizens need to eat to work. You will also be managing your "hope" and "discontent" metrics which is a general indicator of your population's happiness. Overwork them and they may revolt or die of exhaustion. Underwork them and they may starve or freeze to death. Finding this delicate balance between survival and keeping people content is where the game truly shines. See More

Top Con

Limiting experience overall

Frostpunk's main scenario only runs about 45 in-game days (6-12 hours). There is no sandbox mode where you can keep growing and building indefinitely, making it a rather limited simulation experience overall. This may be disappointing to those who would prefer to keep their city going as long as possible. See More

Top Pro

Captures the grim reality of survival incredibly well

As the world lies in a deep freeze and your city is just barely clinging to life, many situations will arise where tough choices have to be made in the name of survival. When facing a shortage of adult workers, you may opt to send children to work, and possibly their death, out in the wasteland collecting coal and lumber. When people die, you can bury the dead or, in the most dire of times, use them as a food source. When coming across survivors, you have to weigh the benefits and downsides of taking them in. They may provide extra labor, but it's just another mouth to feed. As the temperature plummets, you can order workers to double shifts to keep the heating going, but it puts them at risk for starvation and exhaustion. There are just so many little decisions that add up to driving the point home that you are really in the middle of a crisis and its captured incredibly well in-game. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:City-building, Survival

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63 Community Recommendations

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EncouragingMarzyana

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Prison Architect

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Recommended 3 months ago

Endless solutions

Can become rather repetitive

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Prison Architect

Recommended 5 months ago

Relaxing to play

Great freedom of playstyle

Works great for both long and short play sessions

Lots of mods available

You can check how the prison you built works from the other perspective

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Prison Architect

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