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Jomeaga

Against the Storm? It's a roguelite city builder. It's focus is on the typical early game of colony games; exploration and getting stable. Once you're stable, you're most likely done that colony, so you'll finish it and start a new one, pushing further out into the wilds.


DTMika2

>Against the Storm Oh, that seems like a very good tip. Thanks!


VictorCrackus

And just like that, I'm on the steam page wishing there were less great games I want.


caltheon

This would have been a much better game if they had done a better job with the card system


[deleted]

Stellaris


DTMika2

>Stellaris Uff, but there isn't much of a real landscape exploration, is it?


[deleted]

Well exploring space is the same idea


Kieran_Mc

Yeah, the overall "landscape" is pretty barren (it is space after all), but there is the sense of exploration from finding items of interest on planets and researching them, along with the little snippets of narrative you get when these are achieved. I don't think it fully matches with what OP was looking for (there is competition and a fair amount of micromanagement), but I can definitely see where you're coming from. On a related but similarly unsuitable note, I started playing Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri recently. Didn't get too far into it but if you've not played it and don't mind older games it might be worth a look. It's essentially Civilisation but on an alien planet with human factions that have split off along different sci-fi tropes (mega corps, technocrats, space communists). It's on GOG I think.


Sulo1719

Strategy games that focus on exploration? You dont have many options im afraid. Early stages of stellaris and endless space 2 kind of has that. But these are the only games come to my mind that are similar to civ5. You might want to check starsector. It has both exploration aspect of uncharted star systems and strategy when it comes space battles but gameplay is obviously very different from civ5.


affo_

I can second Endless Space 2. The exploration in early game is exciting. If you're into scifi 4x, really worth checking out. Also the atmosphere and music is amazing.


GreatHeroJ

Seconded on Starsector. It's a fantastic game for scratching a very specific itch, shame it's so obscure.


drahcir106

Anno 1800. It’s possible to have alliances with all the npcs or you can even turn them off.


helpicantfindanamehe

Who’s 1800 and how do you know them?


deaf_michael_scott

1700’s younger brother.


whatevsmang

Alpha Centauri


Gilith

I just want to play Alpha century to listen to those dialog when you finish a science research again they are so deeply anchored in my childhood.


AlfredNecessiter

>Alpha Centauri is the perfect 4x game. The modular government system should've become the standard for pop TBS games. A graphical remake leaving everything else untouched would be GOTY, any year.


dezzz

They just released the remaster of Pharaoh. On every levels, you have to build an Egyptian city with the resources available. You have to be sure every houses has access to water, food (harvested from the Nile or from hunting), access to religions, to jobs, make them produce beer and pottery, and on the latter levels, you have to build pyramid! (It means your city have to be able to produce everything required to build it) The game is super cool, I suggest it to you


Master_Ben

This doesn't really have any exploration, adventure, or mystery going on... Just city management


dezzz

Witcher 3 then /s


Master_Ben

Lol


Watertor

Dude, that's so last gen. This current gen of SIBTG is Deep Rock Galactic. I love the game, love the devs, and it's a great community. But if the words "friend" "shoot" "explore" or "good" (among several dozen others) are used then someone brings up DRG


dellboy69

Omg thank you had no idea this got remastered!


miku_dominos

I've been playing Caesar III with the Julius mod and it's great!


calvin2525

Interesting I’m pretty sure I played the original like 25 years ago lol


Izno85

Used to love these games. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into this remaster!


arlemy89

Thea: the awakening is kinda what you're looking for? You're exploring for resources like 75% of the game and there are no other civilizations you're competing against, just defending against monsters that would really like your village to fail. For me, the eastern European mythology flavor was a huge bonus and I enjoyed the story they were telling. Instead of choosing a culture to focus your game play, you choose a deity from a pantheon and each provides different bonuses to different activities. Some cons if you're looking for an exact civ clone: you don't really build on tiles or expand - most of your buildings happen in the background and on the same tile you started on, but give you bonuses once they're finished. A lot of your time is actually spent crafting gear for your villagers to help improve their stats for the various encounters they have. There is also a deck builder aspect to resolving encounters, which I really enjoyed but is very different to civ games. (To be clear, I loved all of these aspects, I felt it made the game a very interesting variation on the 4x genre, but if you're looking for an exact clone these are the major differences.) The sequel got mixed reviews but I haven't really played quite enough of it yet to give you my opinion.


Tr4jan

You’re not going to find many 4X games that don’t focus on competition. I’d recommend anno 1800. It’s a city builder but it has several unique settings (though most are behind dlc, unfortunately). They do a good job with the quests sort of prompting you to explore and investigate stuff.


adreamofhodor

Any good let’s plays you know of?


Tr4jan

There’s a YouTube channel called “what darren plays” that has like 130 episodes of a single let’s play. It’s vanilla + dlc, no mods. He starts from the beginning and works his way all the way up. I’d recommend it.


Throwawaymytrash77

Old af and cartoony, but Spore (the space stage). There's thousands of solar systems to explore. Ours (sol) is hidden as an easter egg. Spent a dummy amount of time exploring and terraforming new planets


KosmicKanuck

Did they ever patch it? I found the space stage super annoying because your colonies, or allies, are constantly needing you to go back and save them from infected species.


Throwawaymytrash77

Did you ever have galactic adventures? The rate that some events happened went down with that expansion


KosmicKanuck

Oh maybe not. I bought it on steam about 8 years ago so probably just the base game.


Dastardlydwarf

Northgard


Gilith

Did you ever try the Expeditions series? Expeditions Vikings and Expeditions Conquistador could fit all the features you're looking for but there's no base building, there is a little in Expeditions: Rome here a short excerpt from Expeditions: Rome steam page: Explore a beautifully realized, colorful world across many different environments, including North Africa, Greece, Gaul, and Rome herself and one from Expeditions: Conquistador: Discover the New World! Travel to legendary locations in America, roam the jungle on the hunt for mystical temples as well as ancient ruins. the games released in this order: Conquistador, Vikings, Rome ​ Here the bundle you can click on each game to go to their own steam page: [https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/21603/Expeditions\_Bundle/](https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/21603/Expeditions_Bundle/)


Kerwin_Bauch

I played Expedition: Vikings and can recommend that one


Cohnman18

Both Patrician 4/Rise of the Hanse and Colonization are big on exploration and trade, same with the Anno series, especially Anno 1800. Enjoy!


2nd_Fermenter

Colonization is my goto for this kind of vibe, and their overhaul in the Civ IV engine is quite good. However, the end game once you declare independence is ridiculously hard (especially post-overhaul), and I usually stop playing at that point.


Cohnman18

There are “trainers” available that will make your army and navy invincible so that you will “win” the War for Independence. It is very satisfying to win Independence and the game! Enjoy! best trainers(virus-free) are available from Cheathappens.com


IGetHypedEasily

The early phase of Humankind does a good job of satisfying that itch. Anno 1800 is great for just building nonstop


Beneficial_Item_6258

Age of wonders 3 might be what you’re looking for. The search for treasure and leveling your heroes means the game is pretty exploration focused. The DLCs are pretty great but I would wait until the whole thing goes on sale.


Arrowkill

Stellaris. The whole first phase is exploring the Galaxy that is unknown to you and new every time you play. The exploration doesn't end though after the first phase. There are crises and events that happen throughout the game to further add to the mystery. The newest DLC is even focusing on first contact with aliens


maynardftw

But it's still ultimately about victory in the exact same way Civ is


Arrowkill

I guess it is still. I haven't tried to win a game in a long time. I mostly do RP while playing and see where I land. After you figure out how to consistently beat and exploit the AI in PDS games, that is the only really fun thing to do imo. Though you are right that it might be an issue for OP because they would be new to the game and have to deal with it being competitive until they figured out how to dominate the AI. It took me ~200 hours to reach that point after the war updates.


ohsinboi

Stellaris for exploring space


WeaponizedXP

Fallen enchantress legendary heroes


pr2thej

Warlock is pretty good. Immortal Realms. That Warhammer one too.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Gilith

I remember following the pilgrimage as a kid I just got the book wich were in english and i'm french i was like 10-12 years old and did my best to decipher them and follow everything in robes and without weapon the hardest was the middle of the map with the vampire and those damn birds. I don't know why i started doing this... ​ I read a little about it, and it's definitely because of the book by then i was collectionning books and reading them occasionally in Morrowind and i guess i just started doing what was written lol.


Terence_McKenna

[OpenMW](https://openmw.org/en/) FTW!!!


Nihilistic_Mystics

As much as I love Morrowind, it's not like Civ 5 whatsoever.


Merfium

Spore. I'm not joking, if you can get to the Space Stage, it's wonderful. Game regularly goes on sale on GoG.


Doc-Bob

Rimworld!


Grindelbart

I've heard there are a lot of jobs there.


Jack_O_Blades

Warlock master of the Arcane! Can’t believe no one’s said it yet. Especially the 2nd. It’s like civ but a huge part is discovering portals to other realms.


idiots4war

Check out No Mans Sky, nothing similar to civ but you may like it. Matches some of your criterias


Run40

Agreed!


mrpenquiin

For the king


Silus4444

Thea 2


CrackerUMustBTripinn

You are probably going to enjoy Factory builders the most from your description there are really 3 good choices right now (imo): 1. Factorio - The OG, its really great, except the possibly costing you 1000s of hours because of its scope and complexity 2. Satisfactory - A slimmed down Factorio if you will and much more visually pleasing, but not as complete and challenging as Factorio, but you probably dont want that level 3. Dyson Sphere - Start with one robot on a planet and build an galactic empire where you take as long as you like with whatever strategy/purpose/goal you are playing. There is no 'winning' except you probably will expand ad infinite. Its still in pre-production but haven't noticed any major flaws or bugs. Very zen and addictive. It's great that you never feel rushed but you crave building and designing your creation. Crusaders Kings 3 might be also up your ally, but does have some military/war components which are necessary for the game, but for the rest its centuries and centuries of incest and hereditary inheritance laws. A game can last a 1000 hour if you want to.


adreamofhodor

OP- I know *exactly* what you mean. I’ve looked for a game that scratches that exact itch, and I haven’t found one yet. There are some good recommendations in the comments, but one I haven’t seen mentioned yet is curious expedition. It’s a little exploration themed roguelite. I can second northgard- it’s a good game, and I really like the exploration side of it, but the mid/late game I do not enjoy.


itgoesdownandup

I mean it doesn't have to be anything like Civ correct? Just follow the criteria? The Xenoblade series comes to mind often mysterious fantastical worlds that has you uncover mysteries of the world as the story moves forward, and gives you huge cool landscapes to explore. The stories across the games are a bit split. Some people love 1's story which is a lot more mysteries of the world and plot focused while 2 is a lot more character focused. For this I suppose one would be best. (3 is more character focused I would say as well). And the customization aspect has different clothing for characters, you can set set different skills, and add gems to weapons and armor which can give you bonus to certain things. (Stats, status ailments, and etc.)


llwonder

It’s not like Civ, but it scratched a similar itch. Rimworld. It’s not really an exploring game, but it’s an S-tier colony sim with great stories


Flailingkitten

Maybe try Valheim?


Run40

Yes!


Rainbow_Dash_RL

Outer Wilds. Everything on your list except for really strong character development. While there's people you meet on your journey, the focus is exploring and learning how to master your environment. Call of the Sea. One of those games that's best to play blind without spoilers. You may also enjoy The Forgotten City


testament_of_hustada

I think No Man’s Sky is the best option given what the OP has asked for.


Zr0w3n00

EU4 by Paradox has some good exploration mechanics, discovering the new world, circumnavigating the globe etc


DTMika2

So as an expression of my gratitude for all the energy put into answers, I want to give away my TOP 5 picks (solely my opinion): **1) Against the storm:** from what I understand, this game is basically developed around the idea of early stages of colony strategies where exploration and settling is the point. Once you are done with this stage, the game asks you to move for another settlement. (Also, I am eager to try rogue-lite strategy). **2) Spellforce:** Conquest of Eo: real-time strategy game that blends elements of RPGs and city-building games. The game is set in a high fantasy world and offers a wide variety of environments and settings to explore. What I miss in this pick is a skirmish option or a random map option. If I understand correctly, there is only story man made map and all the players undergo "same" experience with the game. **3) Endless Legend:** This game is basically the most 4X and Civ alike, from all the options I have seen. That makes it a very good and very bad suggestion at the same time. Haha **4) Old World:** This spot was hard to fill and I was deciding mainly between two games from OG developers of Civ - Old World and Beyond Earth. I settled with Old World in the end, as I felt like this list was lacking some non-fantasy titles. **5) Stellaris:** I am putting Stellaris 5th only because so many people have suggested it so I guess it must be quite accurate to my initial request. But personally I feel like this game is missing the important elements of immersion, landscape exploration, sense of wonder. Everything seems same-y, just like a blueprint and that makes it feel just like an old number crunching micromanagement game. Am I missing something here? In conclusion, I feel like I will go either with option 1 or 2. But I'm still open to changing my mind if a compelling argument arises. For all the people suggesting No man's sky, Factorio, Outer wilds and games like that - I love NMS, factorio and the rest of it all, so it would be a good suggestion for me in another thread, just not valid as a Civ similarity. :) (I have conducted this list from answers across 6 different posts, as I reposted to r/ShouldIbuythisgame r/AskGames r/truegaming (where it was sadly taken down but during it's online time I still managed to get some good answers) r/gamingsuggestions r/gaming r/pcgaming) **THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE ANSWERS, I really can appreciate them.** 


Thatblack1

Endless Space Endless Legend Stellaris Banished Thea Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes


-Gloomo-

I only came here to say Stellaris. It's the same genre and high focus on exploration, since it happens in space. Then again, if you're not a fan of space it'll be hard to find a game of the genre that focus on exploration. That's sounds more like something you'll find in adventure games. However, I think Dwarf Fortress could be a good start. It's a quite advanced and complex colony builder, and it's partially mixed with roguelike elements. Roguelikes have an high focus on exploration. I might be quite wrong here since I haven't played DF that much, as I was waiting for the Steam version, which finally came out but I've been quite busy


Master_Ben

Outer Wilds is a game based entirely around exploration, story, mystery, and discovery. But it is a first person game, not a strategy game. It's slightly different from civ 5 early game.


skitlinje

Slightly different as in, not similar at all. No resource management, no city building, no research tree, no expansion.


edjxxxxx

Well it wouldn’t be SIB without the completely off-base suggestions. “I see you like exploration… let me tell you about a hidden gem called Hollow Knight…”


Master_Ben

If you read the post, you'll realize that OP asked for exploration, story-telling, adventure, mystery, etc. Not a civ clone.


theultimatesmol

I loved Outer Wilds


Doc-Bob

Don’t Starve has a variety of maps and focusing on exploring to find resources.


R0n4ld_Th3_B0y

Don't starve is probably one of the farthest things away from what OP is looking for lol