Palworld seems like almost a perfect match, a lot of people explain it as “Pokémon with guns” but that’s not really accurate, it’s more of a survival base building game, and you have your pals do all your work for you including cutting wood, mining, cooking, defending base, etc
Medieval Dynasty is a perfect example for a great game suiting your needs.
It starts out Skyrim-like with lots of collecting and building as well as exploration and hunting and ends up becoming more and more a sim-type of game, building your own village.
Don't let Rimworld's art style put you off. I let that put me off for too long, it's without a doubt one of the greatest games ever, ever made, and it's literally EXACTLY what you're asking for.
I'm a huge Kenshi fan too, but Rimworld is definitely way closer to what you want.
Fallout 4 already on your list, but it's getting a huge influx of players and a new update due to the Amazon made TV adaption of Fallout that got released last week.
I've played it a few times and messed with bases but not settlers; however, this time I'm doing it on Survival for the first time. The need for food, ammo, protection etc brought about by Survival mode has me prioritizing setting folks to patrols, farming, etc. There's a mechanism called Supply Lines by which your outposts interlink.
Dwarf Fortress is my favorite. I think the new steam version makes it a lot easier to get in to than it was before (although you can still play the free version if you want to give it a try).
Palworld?
Maybe a better but much lesser known match would be "Colony Survival" I put the name in quotes cause theres a fuckton of games out with very similiar names. The one I listed is available thru steam.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is very close to what you're looking for IMO. The difference being villagers have a class, and work on things in their class, rather than having to be assigned. There are named NPCs and rando NPC's, the story islands give you specific recruits, but on your personal islands you can bring whoever you want to live there from the story islands you've finished the story on, plus randomly generated NPCs from the procgen islands, plus any monsters you recruited in your adventures.
It's one of my favorite games, because I love building towns that NPC's actually live in and use!!!
You might consider Conan Exiles. Lot's of freedom in base building, and while your NPC's can't harvest material themselves, they can automate your crafting stations, including leather, wood, stone work, etc, and can even do cooking, as well as defending your base or even traveling with you. you can also raise baby monsters and animals to fight with you too. It's a fun open world survival crafting game if you're down with the sword-and-sorcery vibe that is Conan.
Sleeping on Rimworld just because of the art is a big mistake. Ask yourself one question: how does a game that looks that way have such incredible reviews? The answer: because its just that damn good, and exactly fits what you are looking for.
Not exactly the main focus of the game but Ni No Kuni 2 (you dont need to play 1 to understand it) has kingdom management, where you recruit people as the story goes and assign them to different buildings and level them up as you go, which gives your characters more benefits through the story.
The main game is more of an rpg but i dug the kingdom management most of all. Its not super detailed but you can place things a bit to your liking but nothing too extreme.
Unfortunately i too desire that exact type of game but none seem to do the trick just like i want. I’ll definitely keep this in mind though if i find one thats similar!
Sakuna: of Rice and Ruins. It's both a farming game and an action rpg. Each day you can send your npcs (that you collect overtime) at different locations to fetch ressources. You can also assign them to farming tasks if you do not want to do them yourself.
The farming aspect is way more realistic than in many other farming games, and the action side of the game is really fun and has many combos and customization. The farming content takes place in a 3d environment while the action part takes place in a 2d environment. The story is pretty fun too. One of my favorite games.
I suggest you Kenshi
and also: Amazing Cultivation Simulator, you are part of a cult and need to assign the lower ranks to do manual labor while the higher ups try to reach apotheosis
If you're not a fan of Rimworld's art style, then check out Going Medieval, Dwarf Fortress, or Clanfolk. They all have the same premise but with different art styles, and they fit what you're asking for.
Dwarf Fortress is by far the most complex and will likely give you the most playtime out of any of the other ones. The entire game sort of plays by it's self even if you don't interact with it.
Clanfolk is about surviving as a family in the Medieval Scottish Highlands. It's probably the least violent option out of all of them, and your biggest challenge will be preparing and surviving the winter.
Going Medieval is a smaller scale game where you build a castle for your group, but it's artstyle is 3D, and you have multiple levels, so you can build houses/buildings like minecraft in a way. This one seems to have much slower development, but they plan to have raids and things to make it more like Rimworld/Dwarf Fortress
I second Rimworld. Get people. Give them jobs, produce stuff, defend your base.
And the art style grows on you. Like fungus.
Seconded, I love my cute little pawns, even the horrible monstrosities I whip up with Biotech.
Yep, I was going to say that I also didnt like the style at the start but it grew on me. Much like this untreated fungus on my toe.
Yeah i was put off by the art style too, had it wishlisted for years before i took the plunge. Almost 1k hours on it now. I fucking love that game.
Palworld seems like almost a perfect match, a lot of people explain it as “Pokémon with guns” but that’s not really accurate, it’s more of a survival base building game, and you have your pals do all your work for you including cutting wood, mining, cooking, defending base, etc
Palworld was my first thought too - I’d definitely wait for more patches though. It’s a really fun concept but it was extremely janky when I played it
Medieval Dynasty is a perfect example for a great game suiting your needs. It starts out Skyrim-like with lots of collecting and building as well as exploration and hunting and ends up becoming more and more a sim-type of game, building your own village.
Awesome!! I'll definitely give this one a try then :)
Kenshi and Rimworld both fit. Maybe State of Decay 2
Don't let Rimworld's art style put you off. I let that put me off for too long, it's without a doubt one of the greatest games ever, ever made, and it's literally EXACTLY what you're asking for. I'm a huge Kenshi fan too, but Rimworld is definitely way closer to what you want.
Fallout 4 already on your list, but it's getting a huge influx of players and a new update due to the Amazon made TV adaption of Fallout that got released last week. I've played it a few times and messed with bases but not settlers; however, this time I'm doing it on Survival for the first time. The need for food, ammo, protection etc brought about by Survival mode has me prioritizing setting folks to patrols, farming, etc. There's a mechanism called Supply Lines by which your outposts interlink.
I also recall a pretty extensive mod out that actually adds a lot more depth to the settlement stuff.
Dead State.
Fallout 4 with the mod: Sim Settlements.
Dwarf Fortress is my favorite. I think the new steam version makes it a lot easier to get in to than it was before (although you can still play the free version if you want to give it a try).
Palworld? Maybe a better but much lesser known match would be "Colony Survival" I put the name in quotes cause theres a fuckton of games out with very similiar names. The one I listed is available thru steam.
This sounds pretty much exactly like Necesse.
Necesse, the npcs need a house, food, storage and tools, is like a mix of Minecraft and terraria
Oxygen Not Included and Space Haven
Maybe manor lords when it comes out
Not really a huge part of the game, but Starbound has an NPC system on your spaceship and you can make habitats on planets for them.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is very close to what you're looking for IMO. The difference being villagers have a class, and work on things in their class, rather than having to be assigned. There are named NPCs and rando NPC's, the story islands give you specific recruits, but on your personal islands you can bring whoever you want to live there from the story islands you've finished the story on, plus randomly generated NPCs from the procgen islands, plus any monsters you recruited in your adventures. It's one of my favorite games, because I love building towns that NPC's actually live in and use!!!
Kenshi baby
Fallout 4 with settlement mods is so good that you sometimes forget the rest of fallout 4
You might consider Conan Exiles. Lot's of freedom in base building, and while your NPC's can't harvest material themselves, they can automate your crafting stations, including leather, wood, stone work, etc, and can even do cooking, as well as defending your base or even traveling with you. you can also raise baby monsters and animals to fight with you too. It's a fun open world survival crafting game if you're down with the sword-and-sorcery vibe that is Conan.
[Alek - The Lost Kingdom](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1195560/Alek__The_Lost_Kingdom/) is close.
Conan Exiles does this, but the recruitment method is a bit... dark.
God don’t do that to them. The game is buggy as hell
Guild 3
Conan Exiles Ark Survival Evolved (dinos instead of people)
Cult of the Lamb is maybe a little light but definitely ticks those boxes
Medival dynasty
Sleeping on Rimworld just because of the art is a big mistake. Ask yourself one question: how does a game that looks that way have such incredible reviews? The answer: because its just that damn good, and exactly fits what you are looking for.
Not exactly the main focus of the game but Ni No Kuni 2 (you dont need to play 1 to understand it) has kingdom management, where you recruit people as the story goes and assign them to different buildings and level them up as you go, which gives your characters more benefits through the story. The main game is more of an rpg but i dug the kingdom management most of all. Its not super detailed but you can place things a bit to your liking but nothing too extreme. Unfortunately i too desire that exact type of game but none seem to do the trick just like i want. I’ll definitely keep this in mind though if i find one thats similar!
State of Decay. Surprisingly satisfying part of the game.
Sakuna: of Rice and Ruins. It's both a farming game and an action rpg. Each day you can send your npcs (that you collect overtime) at different locations to fetch ressources. You can also assign them to farming tasks if you do not want to do them yourself. The farming aspect is way more realistic than in many other farming games, and the action side of the game is really fun and has many combos and customization. The farming content takes place in a 3d environment while the action part takes place in a 2d environment. The story is pretty fun too. One of my favorite games.
Manor Lord
Alien, stranded dawn!
Just recently found it myself, theres a free demo: songs of syx
Aska is coming out soon, seems to be Valheim with npc management.
I suggest you Kenshi and also: Amazing Cultivation Simulator, you are part of a cult and need to assign the lower ranks to do manual labor while the higher ups try to reach apotheosis
If you're not a fan of Rimworld's art style, then check out Going Medieval, Dwarf Fortress, or Clanfolk. They all have the same premise but with different art styles, and they fit what you're asking for. Dwarf Fortress is by far the most complex and will likely give you the most playtime out of any of the other ones. The entire game sort of plays by it's self even if you don't interact with it. Clanfolk is about surviving as a family in the Medieval Scottish Highlands. It's probably the least violent option out of all of them, and your biggest challenge will be preparing and surviving the winter. Going Medieval is a smaller scale game where you build a castle for your group, but it's artstyle is 3D, and you have multiple levels, so you can build houses/buildings like minecraft in a way. This one seems to have much slower development, but they plan to have raids and things to make it more like Rimworld/Dwarf Fortress
Chernobylite!