Best Simulation Games in 2025

'Cities: Skylines' is a robust city-building simulation that allows players to design, build, and manage a sprawling urban center. Building roads to optimize traffic flow, managing utilities, and balancing the needs of the citizens, while constantly reacting to emerging problems – it's like being a mayor, with all the good and all the bad, in a virtual setting. Its depth of gameplay, coupled with extensive modding support, provides a highly customizable experience. The game is well-regarded by players and critics, and provides immense replay value. However, it's demanding on hardware, so you should have a powerful PC to run it smoothly. It requires significant time to master.

For those passionate about flight simulation, 'Microsoft Flight Simulator' is a must-have. It provides an incredibly realistic aviation experience, featuring stunning graphics, accurate flight models based on real-world flight data, and a vast, detailed world. The use of real-time weather conditions enhances the immersion, and the game offers an extensive selection of aircraft to fly, from small single-engine planes to large commercial jets. It's best for aviation enthusiasts who are willing to invest in a premium experience, including a flight stick/yoke, to get the most out of the game. The depth and scope of the game are unparalleled. Its performance requirements are very demanding.

For those who enjoy farming and management simulation, 'Stardew Valley' is a compelling and charming experience, which draws players in with its beautiful, pixel-art graphics, easy-to-learn gameplay, and vast amount of content. Unlike some other simulations, 'Stardew Valley' is approachable, and easy to learn. It allows for a great sense of progression, and provides a relaxing experience. Though it may not provide the graphical prowess of others, its gameplay ensures that it can compete. With new content added regularly, 'Stardew Valley' has a huge following of players.

'Factorio' is a unique automation game where players craft machines to produce increasingly complex items. The core gameplay lies in the building, optimizing, and scaling of automated processes to extract resources, manufacture goods, and defend against alien threats. This offers intense strategic mechanics, but can be overwhelming to beginners. Even so, 'Factorio' delivers an incredibly rewarding game with excellent replayability and immense depth. It is an acquired taste, but for those who love strategy and automation, 'Factorio' will provide an unmatched gaming experience.

'Kerbal Space Program 2' builds upon the foundation of its predecessor, offering an elaborate space exploration where players can build and launch rockets, and then manage a space program. The improved graphics, and tutorials help make the experience more accessible, compared to the original. The initial launch was problematic; however, the game has undergone significant improvements. It's best suited for players who enjoy science, and strategic simulation. Those who are willing to tolerate a difficult game, combined with the excitement of space exploration, will be pleased with 'Kerbal Space Program 2'.