10 years after development began, this city builder that lets you play God to entire planets has finally gotten a full release

The Universim
(Image credit: Crytivo)

City builders offer endless hours of entertainment as you shape and manage your own cities, savoring the successes and weathering the hardships along the way. Still, if you're eager to take on more responsibility after overseeing your fair share of those, look no further than The Universim, the city builder that lets you play God to entire planets. 

Developed by Crytivo, The Universim tasks you with managing resources and overcoming challenges as you guide your flock, known as Nuggets, through various technological eras. They'll start out as Stone Age cave painters, but alas, civilizations grow up so fast, and before you know it, they'll be flying the nest on their own space adventure.

"Every planet in The Universim is procedurally generated and offers unique characteristics and challenges, ensuring that every world and every game is unique and engaging," reads the game's Steam page.

There are over 200 technological advancements to explore, as well as 15 godly powers you can call upon to aid and protect your followers - or if you want to remind them who's boss, you can always throw a tornado or a few lightning bolts in their direction.

Crytivo has shown incredible dedication to realizing its vision for The Universim. A Kickstarter for the game was launched all the way back in 2014 and managed to smash its funding goal with the help of 11,617 supporters. The game arrived in Steam Early Access in 2018, and now the full version is now out in the wild.

If The Universim looks like your jam, you can grab it at a 25% discount right now on Steam, bringing the price to $22.49 / £17.24. This deal ends on February 5, so don't hang around if you'd like some little Nuggets to call your own.

Looking for something similar? Check out our guide to the best city building games.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and 12DOVE. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.