10 Architecture Games That Let You Build Houses | Game Rant

For players looking to show off their architectural prowess, doing it in a video game is intuitive and user-friendly. Whether your building follows the science behind making a structurally sound home, or it’s a whimsical artistic masterpiece, a video game can bring your imagination to the building phase, then fruition.

Playing a game like The Sims 4 won’t make you an expert in architecture, but it will help you unleash your creative mind. The following games let you build houses. They place you in real-life situations where you have to build under budget constraints or with limited resources.

Updated on March 25, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: Each of these incredible games appears in various capacities across all platforms. However, some are widely available and should be grabbed the next time one sees them on sale if one seeks a fun way to build their dream home (among other activities, like slaying monsters and exploring a vast, vivid world).

10 Minecraft

Players who own the PC version of Minecraft can use mods to enhance the building experience. One can build their dream house and live in it if they choose to. Minecraft is a sandbox game that gives players various tools to build. Find a location where you want to build your house, level the terrain, create a crafting table, and build away. You may want to make a bed before starting, as it acts as a respawn point in case baddies attack you. Evidently, a house made out of blocks can look brilliant.

Minecraft was released on November 18, 2011, and is available on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows
Mac OS X
Linux
Android
iOS
Xbox 360
Raspberry Pi
Microsoft Windows Phone
PlayStation 3
Fire OS
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
PlayStation Vita
Universal Microsoft Windows Platform
Wii U
tvOS
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo 3DS

9 House Flipper

One can renovate the heck out of a home in House Flipper. The idea is to take dilapidated homes and remodel them into something you can sell. You get a variety of tools to turnaround homes in this indie simulation game.

This hidden gem is available on the Steam Store for a bargain. You won’t regret buying this game if you’re into building houses. With DLC, you can find new locations to build houses and plant gardens.

House Flipper was released on May 17, 2018, and is available on the following platforms:

Mac OS
Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Nintendo Switch
iOS
Android

8 Prison Architect

Played from the top-down perspective, Prison Architect gives you the tools to build a personalized penitentiary. You’ll make everything from the infirmary, a cafeteria, and a workshop. This game accomplishes its goal of doing what it sets out to do; create a simulation game with a prison theme. There is a level of excitement contained in this game, as well as horror elements; Prison Architect is unlike any architecture game out there.

Prison Architect was released on October 6, 2015, and is available on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows
Mac OS
Linux
PlayStation 4
Xbox 360
Xbox One
iOS
Android
Nintendo Switch

7 Cities: Skylines

One can build entire cities, including suburban houses, in Cities: Skylines. This game is open-ended, meaning there is virtually no end. Take control of the urban planning and road placement involved in the development of a city. The houses in Cities: Skylines are easily created in the game’s sandbox mode, which offers more freedom. Without mods, however, you can’t customize homes. You make the zoning, and houses improve if their occupants are looked after.

Cities: Skylines was released March 10, 2015, and is available on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows
Mac OS
Linux
Xbox One
PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch

6 Rimworld

The construction and management simulation game Rimworld is set on a distant planet where you need to build a colony to survive. Watch out for raiders since you’ll likely need double walls to withstand impending attacks.

Using mods adds layers of complexity to building houses; they let you get things like doormats and can allow you to create more beds in homes, adding more realism. The top-down perspective has its limitations, yet Rimworld has plenty of customization for fans of architecture.

Rimworld was released on October 17, 2018, and is available on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows
Mac OS
Linux

5 Fallout 4

Although Fallout 4 can be criticized for its bugs and predictable plot points, it has a fun building component. The story revolves around the only survivor of Vault 111; one of survival and betrayal.

One can build thousands of items in the most complex crafting system thus far. Build a single house or an entire settlement. Fallout 4 provides you with the tools to build standout homes of the wasteland. From the rubble, you can build and develop until you’re satisfied with the result.

Fallout 4 was released November 10, 2015, and is available on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One

4 Subnautica

Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s Subnautica takes the best elements of survival games and pushes them into the depths of an alien ocean world. Visit marine life as you partake in a perilous adventure.

In addition to creating underwater houses (called seabases), one can craft things like submarines and equipment. Explore Subnautica’s open-world as you descend into an ocean filled with coral reefs, volcanoes, and networks of caves.

Subnautica was released on January 3, 2018, and is available on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows
Mac OS
Xbox One
PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch

3 No Man’s Sky

When the open-world game No Man’s Sky released, unfulfilled promises held it back from reaching its potential. Developer Hello Games has since done a turnaround with the game, integrating features that bring the game to life.

No Man’s Sky is a game that encourages exploration, but there is also a substantial building component. The game’s procedurally generated universe is the ideal setting for its building. If you have some architecture chops, you can build a polished home. The Beyond Update 2019 brought depth to No Man’s Sky’s base designs.

No Man’s Sky was released on August 9, 2016, and is available on the following platforms:

PlayStation 4
Microsoft Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation 5
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S

2 Terraria

This indie game has role-playing elements, but many will love it for its substantial building component. Not only can you build a house, but you can also build entire cities to house allies you meet along the way.

Terraria is a sandbox game in a sense you get a great degree of creative potential. This is a game you can invest over a thousand hours playing. It contains exploration and boss fights, so you know you’re getting more content than building.

Terraria was released on May 16, 2011, and is available on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
PlayStation Vita
iOS
Android
Microsoft Windows Phone
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Mac OS
Linux
Nintendo 3DS
Wii U
Nintendo Switch
Google Stadia

1 The Sims 4

DLC The Sims installments bring more customization to an already great series. One can build modern and sleek homes that are the envy of your Sim neighborhood. Pour your imagination into quaint homes or construct a mansion for a family of Sims. You have the creative license to make stunning homes. Paint the outside or furnish the interior of a home. The Sims 4 could be the best building game for architecture geeks.

The Sims 4 was released on September 2, 2014, and is available on the following platforms: