Every Tropico game, ranked
All 4 Tropico games we hold, spanning 2009 to 2019: 3 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 44,112 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Tropico 4 (GamingPickz Score 7.7), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with Tropico 3 (2009) and follow the release-order timeline below.
- For the money: Tropico 3 gives the most score per dollar right now.
The Tropico games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 3 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.
3 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 3 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.
- 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.
3 best Tropico games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
Tropico 4 at a glance Released 2011 Studio Haemimont Games Player sentiment 92% positive of 12,737 Critics 78/100 Price $14.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 92% shrinks to 91.8 on 12,737 reviews, then blends with the 78 critic aggregate, giving 7.7.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 92 against 78. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
Tropico 6 at a glance Released 2019 Studio Limbic Entertainment Player sentiment 88% positive of 29,431 Critics 78/100 Price $39.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 16 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 88% shrinks to 87.9 on 29,431 reviews, then blends with the 78 critic aggregate, giving 7.4.
- 3
Tropico 3
Best for: A smaller game its players are unusually fond of
7.2GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTropico 3 at a glance Released 2009 Studio Haemimont Games Player sentiment 89% positive of 1,944 Critics 79/100 Price $9.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 89% shrinks to 88.1 on 1,944 reviews, then blends with the 79 critic aggregate, giving 7.2.
Only the 3 Tropico games with Steam review data can be scored and ranked. The complete series, scored or not, is charted in order below.
Best and worst entry
The best-received Tropico game we can score is Tropico 4 at 7.7. The lowest is Tropico 3 at 7.2, a 0.5-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
How the series scored over time
GamingPickz Score against release year, 2009 to 2019. It has held roughly steady across the years.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Tropico 3 at $9.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Tropico 3, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Tropico entries on Steam:
- Playable: Tropico 3, Tropico 6
- Unsupported: Tropico 4
Platforms across the series
Where the 4 Tropico games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 4 of 4 |
| PlayStation | 1 of 4 |
The Tropico series, game by game
Every Tropico game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2009
Tropico 3
7.2Become the dictator of a remote island during the Cold War. Charm, persuade, intimidate, oppress, or cheat your people to stay in power! Are you a kind and generous leader? A corrupt and ruthless tyrant ruling with an iron fist? (Steam)
Reception
Reception Tropico 3 received generally favorable reviews at Metacritic , with an average of 79/100 on the PC, and 75/100 on the Xbox 360. GameSpot commented that "playing a banana republic dictator in Tropico 3 might not be easy, but it certainly is rewarding. " GameZone's Dakota Grabowski gave the game a 7 out of 10, stating, "Containing a 15-mission campaign, short tutorial, sandbox mode and special challenges, Tropico 3 has enough replay value to keep… (Wikipedia)
- 2011
Tropico 4
7.7The world is changing and Tropico is moving with the times - geographical powers rise and fall and the world market is dominated by new players with new demands and offers - and you, as El Presidente, face a whole new set of challenges. (Steam)
Plot
The game follows the protagonist, El Presidente, as he works towards restoring the power that he lost in the Caribbean after averting a nuclear war that the US vice president perpetrated in order to facilitate his own rise to power. It is divided into three acts: El Presidente arrives at his new island where he begins to work toward his goal of building an ideal nation for his people. To do so, he focuses his administration on several islands, developing… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The game has received generally positive reviews and holds a 78/100 score on Metacritic based on 46 reviews for the PC version and 77/100 based on 18 reviews for the Xbox 360 version. Certain reviewers praised the game's visuals and attention to detail, while describing it as not particularly challenging. GameSpot commented that " Tropico 4 is a likable and engaging sequel that expands on its predecessor but doesn't offer much new depth. (Wikipedia)
- 2019
Tropico 6
7.4El Presidente is back! Prove yourself once again as a feared dictator or peace-loving statesman on the island state of Tropico and shape the fate of your very own banana republic through four distinctive eras. (Steam)
Reception
Reception Tropico 6 received "generally positive" reviews for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while the Switch port received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic . It was the fastest-selling game in the franchise, with the revenue it generated being 50% higher than that of Tropico 5 ' s debut. CGM called Tropico 6 the "strongest entry in the franchise", praising its music, graphics, and writing, while recognizing… (Wikipedia)
- —
Tropico 5
Metacritic 75No sourced description on file.
Reception
Reception According to review aggregator Metacritic , the PC, PlayStation 4 , and Xbox One versions of the game received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, while the Xbox 360 version received "mixed or average" reviews. GamesRadar+ praised many new features of the game, including eras and the constitution, stating "Eras and intermittent world events are the perfect antidote to the jagged pacing of previous entries, and the added layers of… (Wikipedia)
Tropico, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Tropico vs other series
How Tropico stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Tropico vs Anno, Tropico vs Age of History, Tropico vs Beholder, Tropico vs Bloons TD, Tropico vs Brothers in Arms, Tropico vs Call to Arms, Tropico vs Crusader Kings, Tropico vs Day of Defeat, Tropico vs Door Kickers, Tropico vs Dungeons, Tropico vs ENDLESS Space, Tropico vs Europa Universalis, Tropico vs Frostpunk, Tropico vs Hearts of Iron, Tropico vs Insurgency, Tropico vs Jurassic World Evolution, Tropico vs Kingdom, Tropico vs Men of War, Tropico vs Overcooked, Tropico vs Payday, Tropico vs Poker Night, Tropico vs Red Orchestra, Tropico vs Soda Dungeon, Tropico vs Stronghold, Tropico vs Stronghold Crusader, Tropico vs The Escapists, Tropico vs The Sims, Tropico vs Transport Fever, Tropico vs Universe Sandbox, Tropico vs Victoria
Common questions
How many Tropico games are there?
We hold 4 Tropico games in the catalogue, released between 2009 and 2019. 3 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Tropico game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Tropico 4 rates highest at 7.7. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Tropico games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2009 to 2019. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
More franchises
Browse every game franchise ranked the same way, or head to the full grid.