Best Simulation games: 25 ranked (2026)
390 simulation games ranked by the GamingPickz Score, a published composite of player sentiment and critic reception. The formula is below in full, and no placement on this page can be bought.
The short version
- Top pick: People Playground, GamingPickz Score 9.5/10 from 317,401 player reviews.
- 105 score 8.5 or above out of 390 ranked simulation games.
- Price range free to $69.99, median $14.99, with 56 free to play.
- 108 are Steam Deck Verified by Valve's own testing.
- 42 declare six or more accessibility features. Listed per game below.
Why trust this list
Most "best games" lists are either one person's taste presented as fact, or an affiliate feed with the highest commission at the top. This is neither. It is a ranking of 390 simulation games computed from two third-party signals we did not generate, using a formula printed below.
Our team has played and reviewed games for over twenty years, somewhere around 3,000 titles across every generation since the PS1. A good number of the simulation games on this page are among them, and that experience is what lets us tell you which of these numbers are worth trusting.
It is not, however, what set the order. The formula did, and we think that is the right way round: a list ordered by one person's memory is a list you have to take on trust, and this one you can check line by line.
The order comes out of the grid. Every game in the catalogue is placed on eighteen measured axes, each one a number read from a named source rather than an opinion: player sentiment and its sample size, the critic aggregate, review volume, Wikipedia language editions, price, install size, Steam Deck rating, accessibility features. A ranked list is that grid collapsed to one dimension. The map further down this page plots these same 25 games on two of those axes, so you can see the position the ranking gave each one and check it against where the game actually sits. If the list and the map ever disagreed, the list would be wrong, and they read the same numbers so they cannot.
None of the entries on this page carry a full written review from us yet. The score reflects how other people received the game. Where we do publish a review, it is marked and linked.
Update history 1
- First published with 25 entries ranked.
At a glance
The top 12 side by side. Full entries below.
| # | Game | Best for | Score | Players | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | People Playground | The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence | 9.5 | 98% (317,401) | $9.99 |
| 2 | Schedule I | The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence | 9.5 | 98% (314,499) | $19.99 |
| 3 | Project Zomboid | The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence | 9.3 | 94% (476,732) | $24.99 |
| 4 | Satisfactory | Players who need accessibility options that actually exist | 9.3 | 97% (278,668) | $39.99 |
| 5 | Totally Accurate Battle Simulator | Handheld play, small install and Deck verified | 9.3 | 98% (153,489) | $6.79 |
| 6 | MiSide | A consistently well-received pick in this category | 9.3 | 98% (141,903) | $14.99 |
| 7 | Euro Truck Simulator 2 | Players who need accessibility options that actually exist | 9.2 | 97% (940,049) | $19.99 |
| 8 | DAVE THE DIVER | Handheld play, small install and Deck verified | 9.2 | 97% (161,518) | $19.99 |
| 9 | Factorio | Handheld play, small install and Deck verified | 9.1 | 98% (233,978) | $35.00 |
| 10 | Buckshot Roulette | Playing with other people | 9.1 | 95% (125,085) | $1.49 |
| 11 | Dyson Sphere Program | A consistently well-received pick in this category | 9.1 | 97% (91,586) | $19.99 |
| 12 | Volcano Princess | A consistently well-received pick in this category | 9.1 | 98% (49,009) | $10.99 |
How we chose these
This ranking is a projection of the same axes the grid plots, not a second scoring system sitting alongside it. The grid answers where a game sits on two chosen measures; a ranked list needs one number, so the axes are collapsed using published weights. A game cannot be high on the grid and low here for a reason nobody can point at, because both read the same values.
Every ranked game gets a GamingPickz Score out of 10. It is a weighted blend of the axes below, and these percentages are read directly from the code that computes the ranking rather than written out separately, so the published formula cannot drift from the applied one.
| Component | Weight | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 55% | The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000. |
| Critics | 25% | Metacritic and OpenCritic aggregate, normalised to 0 to 100. |
| Popularity | 20% | A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it. |
Shrinkage is the part that matters most. Without it a game with nine reviews at 100 percent outranks Half-Life 2 with 278,000 at 98. Player sentiment is pulled toward the catalogue average of 84 using a 400-review prior, in proportion to how thin the evidence is.
Popularity is deliberately a minority weight. At 20 percent it nudges well-known games up without letting fame decide the order. Weight it higher and the list becomes "games you have already heard of", which nobody needs a ranking for. Weight it at zero and a game almost nobody played can top the list on the strength of a few hundred enthusiastic reviews. Neither is useful, so it sits in between. How popularity is measured.
Where a game has no critic aggregate, that 35 percent is redistributed onto player sentiment rather than counted as zero, and the entry says so.
Games with fewer than 50 reviews are excluded outright. Shrinkage is symmetric, so a game sitting at 0 percent on one review would otherwise be pulled up near the average, which flatters something nobody has actually assessed.
What we deliberately do not do. No paid placement, no sponsored slots dressed as editorial, no hidden weighting. If sponsorship is ever introduced it will be labelled and will sit outside the ranking. The formula above is the whole formula.
The simulation games on a map
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 25 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
25 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 25 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Nintendo
- PC
- PlayStation
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
How to choose between these
25 entries, six things that separate them
The ranking answers "which is best received". It cannot answer "which is best for you", because that depends on things no formula knows. Here is what actually separates these 25 simulation games, in the order worth thinking about it.
Check the sample size before the score
A score is only as good as the evidence under it. 21 of these have more than 50,000 player reviews, which makes their number very hard to move.
Look at where critics and players disagree
The widest gap here is Euro Truck Simulator 2, where players sit above critics by 18 points. A gap that size usually means the game changed after launch, or that it does something critics undervalue. It is worth reading why before deciding which number you trust. The disagreement map plots this across the catalogue.
Decide what you are actually willing to spend
The median here is $19.99, and the cheapest paid entry is Buckshot Roulette at $1.49. Prices move constantly, so a game a place or two down the list is often the better buy this week. Filter by price below rather than assuming the top pick is the right purchase.
Match it to the hardware you own
11 of these are Steam Deck Verified by Valve's own testing, and install sizes vary by more than an order of magnitude. If you are choosing for a handheld or a drive that is nearly full, that narrows the field faster than any score.
Check it supports how you want to play
Solo, with a friend online, or two people on one sofa are different requirements, and a well-reviewed game that does not support yours is the wrong game. The filters below answer this directly.
Look for the things a score hides
6 declare six or more accessibility features, and 0 carry in-game purchases. Neither shows up in a review score, and both change the experience substantially. Each entry lists its own.
Choose one if…
Tick what matters to you. This filters the ranking above rather than reordering it, so the order you see is still the order the formula produced, minus the games that do not fit. Every filter reads a field from the game's own store listing.
Nothing selected, so all 25 simulation games are shown below. Pick one or more above to narrow it.
25 best simulation games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
People Playground
Best for: The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence
9.5GamingPickz Scoremedium confidencePeople Playground at a glance Released 2019 Studio mestiez Player sentiment 98% positive of 317,401 Critics No aggregate Price $9.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 0.34 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 98% shrinks to 98.0 on 317,401 reviews, giving 9.5. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 98% positive across 317,401 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Small install at 0.34 GB.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 2
Schedule I
Best for: The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence
9.5GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceSchedule I at a glance Released 2025 Studio TVGS Player sentiment 98% positive of 314,499 Critics No aggregate Price $19.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 8 GB Accessibility 6 declared features Raw 98% shrinks to 98.0 on 314,499 reviews, giving 9.5. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 98% positive across 314,499 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Small install at 8 GB.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 3
Project Zomboid
Best for: The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence
9.3GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceProject Zomboid at a glance Released 2013 Studio The Indie Stone Player sentiment 94% positive of 476,732 Critics No aggregate Price $24.99 Steam Deck verified Install size Not stated Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 94% shrinks to 94.0 on 476,732 reviews, giving 9.3. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 94% positive across 476,732 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 4
Satisfactory
Best for: Players who need accessibility options that actually exist
9.3GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceSatisfactory at a glance Released 2024 Studio Coffee Stain Studios Player sentiment 97% positive of 278,668 Critics 91/100 Price $39.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 20 GB Accessibility 9 declared features Raw 97% shrinks to 97.0 on 278,668 reviews, then blends with the 91 critic aggregate, giving 9.3.
What the data supports- 97% positive across 278,668 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Declares 9 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
- 5
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
9.3GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTotally Accurate Battle Simulator at a glance Released 2021 Studio Landfall Player sentiment 98% positive of 153,489 Critics No aggregate Price $6.79 Steam Deck verified Install size 4 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 98% shrinks to 98.0 on 153,489 reviews, giving 9.3. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 98% positive across 153,489 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Small install at 4 GB.
- 6
MiSide
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
9.3GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceMiSide at a glance Released 2024 Studio AIHASTO Player sentiment 98% positive of 141,903 Critics No aggregate Price $14.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 2 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 98% shrinks to 98.0 on 141,903 reviews, giving 9.3. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 98% positive across 141,903 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Small install at 2 GB.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 7
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Best for: Players who need accessibility options that actually exist
9.2GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceEuro Truck Simulator 2 at a glance Released 2012 Studio SCS Software Player sentiment 97% positive of 940,049 Critics 79/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck verified Install size Not stated Accessibility 9 declared features Raw 97% shrinks to 97.0 on 940,049 reviews, then blends with the 79 critic aggregate, giving 9.2.
What the data supports- 97% positive across 940,049 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Declares 9 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 97 against 79. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
- 8
DAVE THE DIVER
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
9.2GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceDAVE THE DIVER at a glance Released 2023 Studio MINTROCKET Player sentiment 97% positive of 161,518 Critics 90/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 10 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 97% shrinks to 97.0 on 161,518 reviews, then blends with the 90 critic aggregate, giving 9.2.
What the data supports- 97% positive across 161,518 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Small install at 10 GB.
- 9
Factorio
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
9.1GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceFactorio at a glance Released 2016 Studio Wube software Player sentiment 98% positive of 233,978 Critics 90/100 Price $35.00 Steam Deck verified Install size 5 GB Accessibility 7 declared features Raw 98% shrinks to 98.0 on 233,978 reviews, then blends with the 90 critic aggregate, giving 9.1.
What the data supports- 98% positive across 233,978 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Declares 7 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
Buckshot Roulette at a glance Released 2024 Studio Mike Klubnika Player sentiment 95% positive of 125,085 Critics No aggregate Price $1.49 Steam Deck unsupported Install size 0.49 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 95% shrinks to 95.0 on 125,085 reviews, giving 9.1. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 95% positive across 125,085 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Small install at 0.49 GB.
Worth checking first- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
- 11
Dyson Sphere Program
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
9.1GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceDyson Sphere Program at a glance Released 2021 Studio Youthcat Studio Player sentiment 97% positive of 91,586 Critics No aggregate Price $19.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 5 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 97% shrinks to 96.9 on 91,586 reviews, giving 9.1. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Small install at 5 GB.
- 12
Volcano Princess
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
9.1GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceVolcano Princess at a glance Released 2023 Studio 养蛋人 Egg Hatcher Player sentiment 98% positive of 49,009 Critics No aggregate Price $10.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 5 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 98% shrinks to 97.9 on 49,009 reviews, giving 9.1. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Small install at 5 GB.
Slime Rancher at a glance Released 2017 Studio Monomi Park Player sentiment 98% positive of 156,780 Critics 81/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 1 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 98% shrinks to 98.0 on 156,780 reviews, then blends with the 81 critic aggregate, giving 9.0.
What the data supports- 98% positive across 156,780 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Small install at 1 GB.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 98 against 81. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
- 14
Oxygen Not Included
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
9.0GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceOxygen Not Included at a glance Released 2019 Studio Klei Entertainment Player sentiment 97% positive of 143,589 Critics 85/100 Price $24.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 3 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 97% shrinks to 97.0 on 143,589 reviews, then blends with the 85 critic aggregate, giving 9.0.
What the data supports- 97% positive across 143,589 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Small install at 3 GB.
- 15
My Summer Car
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
9.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceMy Summer Car at a glance Released 2025 Studio Amistech Games Player sentiment 95% positive of 117,158 Critics No aggregate Price $14.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 1 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 95% shrinks to 95.0 on 117,158 reviews, giving 9.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 95% positive across 117,158 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Small install at 1 GB.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 16
Cookie Clicker
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
9.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceCookie Clicker at a glance Released 2021 Studio Orteil Player sentiment 96% positive of 92,880 Critics No aggregate Price $4.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 0.34 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 96% shrinks to 95.9 on 92,880 reviews, giving 9.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Small install at 0.34 GB.
- 17
CarX Drift Racing Online
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
9.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceCarX Drift Racing Online at a glance Released 2017 Studio CarX Technologies, LLC Player sentiment 95% positive of 89,251 Critics No aggregate Price $16.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 8 GB Accessibility 8 declared features Raw 95% shrinks to 94.9 on 89,251 reviews, giving 9.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Declares 8 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
- Cloud saves and cross-platform play, so progress follows you between machines.
- 18
Noita
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
9.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceNoita at a glance Released 2020 Studio Nolla Games Player sentiment 95% positive of 88,598 Critics No aggregate Price $19.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 1.56 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 95% shrinks to 94.9 on 88,598 reviews, giving 9.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Small install at 1.56 GB.
- 19
Blade and Sorcery
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
9.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceBlade and Sorcery at a glance Released 2024 Studio WarpFrog Player sentiment 97% positive of 62,074 Critics No aggregate Price $29.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 97% shrinks to 96.9 on 62,074 reviews, giving 9.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
- 20
TCG Card Shop Simulator
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
9.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTCG Card Shop Simulator at a glance Released 2024 Studio OPNeon Games Player sentiment 97% positive of 49,304 Critics No aggregate Price $19.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 5 GB Accessibility 5 declared features Raw 97% shrinks to 96.9 on 49,304 reviews, giving 9.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Small install at 5 GB.
- 21
Crime Scene Cleaner
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
9.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceCrime Scene Cleaner at a glance Released 2024 Studio President Studio Player sentiment 98% positive of 34,147 Critics No aggregate Price $21.89 Steam Deck playable Install size 35 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 98% shrinks to 97.8 on 34,147 reviews, giving 9.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 22
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
9.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTouhou Mystia's Izakaya at a glance Released 2021 Studio 二色幽紫蝶 Player sentiment 99% positive of 32,698 Critics No aggregate Price $4.79 Steam Deck verified Install size 1 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 99% shrinks to 98.8 on 32,698 reviews, giving 9.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Small install at 1 GB.
- 23
BeamNG.drive
Best for: The safest bet on this list, by weight of evidence
8.9GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceBeamNG.drive at a glance Released 2013 Studio Not recorded Player sentiment 97% positive of 416,293 Critics No aggregate Price $24.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 60 GB Accessibility 7 declared features Raw 97% shrinks to 97.0 on 416,293 reviews, giving 8.9. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 97% positive across 416,293 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Declares 7 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
- 24
Teardown
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
8.9GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTeardown at a glance Released 2022 Studio Tuxedo Labs Player sentiment 96% positive of 135,539 Critics 80/100 Price $29.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 12 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 96% shrinks to 96.0 on 135,539 reviews, then blends with the 80 critic aggregate, giving 8.9.
What the data supports- 96% positive across 135,539 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- Small install at 12 GB.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 96 against 80. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
- 25
Supermarket Together
Best for: Trying the genre without spending anything
8.9GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceSupermarket Together at a glance Released 2024 Studio DeadDevsTellNoLies Player sentiment 94% positive of 98,337 Critics No aggregate Price Free Steam Deck playable Install size 7 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 94% shrinks to 94.0 on 98,337 reviews, giving 8.9. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Free to download, so trying it costs only time.
- Small install at 7 GB.
Simulation games by the numbers
The figures below describe all 390 entries on this page together, not the top pick. They are recomputed on every build, most recently on 2 September 2026, from 19,558,569 player reviews.
What the pricing looks like
299 of the 390 carry a listed US price, with a median of $19.99 and a mean of $20.05. The mean sitting above the median tells you the field is pulled up by a few expensive outliers. The cheapest is Drift Streets Japan at $0.49, the most expensive NBA 2K25 at $69.99. 56 are free to download. 61 carry in-game purchases on top of whatever they cost. Prices are read hourly from the US Steam storefront and move constantly.
How much this field agrees with itself
Player sentiment spans 70 points across these 390 entries. That is a wide band, which means the position of an entry here genuinely matters rather than splitting hairs. 160 carry a critic aggregate, averaging 77 out of 100. Players rate this field 8 points higher than critics on average, which is worth knowing before you weigh either number. See where the two diverge.
Who makes them, and what they overlap with
The studios appearing most often here are Visual Concepts (9), Sports Interactive (7), Frontier Developments (5), GIANTS Software (5) and Bohemia Interactive (4). The genres these entries also sit in are simulation (390), strategy (139), rpg (70), sports (49), mmorpg (40) and racing (22), which is a fair map of what you are actually choosing between.
Which way attention is moving
We track Wikipedia pageviews over 28 days for 28 of these. 7 are gaining attention and 8 are losing it, with the rest flat. Attention is not quality, and we do not feed it into the ranking. The full monitor shows the movements across the catalogue.
Common questions
What is the best simulation game?
People Playground ranks first, with a GamingPickz Score of 9.5 out of 10 drawn from 317,401 player reviews. That is a statement about how it was received, not a claim that it is the one you personally will enjoy most.
How is this ranking calculated?
The GamingPickz Score is 55% player sentiment adjusted for sample size, 25% the critic aggregate published on the game store page, 20% popularity, from review volume and Wikipedia language editions. Player sentiment is pulled toward the catalogue average of 83.8% using a 400-review prior, so a game with a handful of reviews cannot outrank one with hundreds of thousands. Nothing on this page is paid for and no placement can be bought.
How many simulation games are ranked here?
390 of them qualify. A game needs at least 50 player reviews to be scored, which excludes titles with too little evidence to place fairly.
Why is a game I love missing?
Three likely reasons. It has fewer than 50 player reviews, so it is excluded rather than ranked on noise. It has no Steam listing at all, which is normal for console and Nintendo exclusives. Or it is not in the catalogue yet.
Do you get paid for these placements?
No. Positions are computed from the formula above and nothing else. The site carries advertising, and advertisers can neither see nor influence this page. A position is not an endorsement, it is a measurement of reception.
How current is this?
Recomputed on every build from source data read on a stated date. This page was last rebuilt on 2 September 2026. Player review counts move daily, so positions in the middle of the list shift more than those at the top or bottom.
Reader comments
Comments are not switched on yet. When they are, they will be moderated before they appear: an unmoderated thread on a page carrying advertising is a policy problem as well as a reading problem.