The Final Earth 2

This game was my childhood, and having played it for years on the mobile port and finally having the chance to experience the full game (although the 'demo' practically is a whole game in and of itself), I can confidently say it still holds up, and I still love it like I did when I was younger; cannot recommend enough if low-stakes base-building or space-island architecture is your thing <3

I first played this game on CoolMath games when i was eleven. The simplicity of it drew me in. The simple textures, the linear progression, the calming and nostalgic music. God, the music. Every time i launch the game now i have to fight back tears. Stijn Cappetijn is a true artist. Seven years later, i still get the same excitement from creating a new save. I still get the same dopamine rush when the rocket is finally complete. I love how the game has grown, but it is still strikingly similar to when it released. This game is spectacular for people who like attention to detail, and are good at following/noticing trends, such as resource depravity/surplus and population growth. Maybe you just have to be autistic. I can tell you for sure its not as brain-cell-devouring as Satisfactory.

I remember playing this game for the first time on Kongregate several years ago, and the Dev was very friendly in the comments when we posted about bugs and stuff, and it's come a very long ways since then. At it's heart, it's a city-builder game, complete with resource management, population happiness, and technology to be unlocked. If your people get unhappy, it can be an uphill battle to get the resources you need to make them happy again, but if they are happy then the resources pour in, so you do have to keep a close eye on it. Or, preferably, get ahead of it as soon as possible. The resource management part doesn't really stop, or slow down, until you hit your population limit. Many resources need one or more of the previous resources to create, so there's always something more you can do until then. Even once you hit that point, you can explore all of space around you, settle another colony on another planet, or tear everything down and rebuild it to make your city more aesthetic or fit around a theme. There's seasonal buildings, a couple of factions with questlines that unlock unique buildings, and some cool and silly little things mixed in. Witch hats that spawn frogs, hacker schools that'll eventually generate little inventions that help your city, 100 year old grandpas who party in your massive nightclubs. I've found there's a lot of replay value in this game, especially on the random mini-worlds maps since you have to get a bit creative with how you place things. I do wish there was a way to get some of the unique buildings from scenarios into main game play after you beat them, and maybe a few appearance options for custom houses that let them connect to parks, but even as is I would say this game has been well worth the $10 I spent on it.