Summary
There are plenty of games that let playersstretch their creative wings, giving them the tools to create buildings, contraptions, and even entire levels. Creative games likeMinecraft, level creators such asHalo’sForge mode, and the construction simulation of games likeRimWorldallow players to construct buildings, which has proven to be a strong core gameplay loop.
Although players can build castles in games likeMinecraft, these more creative-focused games often lack gameplay loops that center on castle-building. While many of these games contain strong mechanics for building castles in a way that affects the gameplay, some are more focused on creative freedom.
Updated by Harry Ted Sprinks on July 08, 2025:Castle-building games are a relatively underserved market in the world of PC gaming, even though they’re relatively popular. However, the successful release of both Stronghold: Definitive Edition and Cataclismo shows that there’s still a need for good castle-building experiences, so much so that people will still happily purchase a game that’s over twenty years old. Furthermore, the substantial success of the recently-released Tiny Glade has shown a clear want and need for expressive castle-building games.
1Castle Story
A Voxel-Based Castle Builder
This voxel-based castle builder has players building and defending castles while managing their denizens.Castle Storycombines its castle building with strategic gameplay, tasking players with micro-managing their small colony of workers.
AlthoughCastle Storymay not have lived up to its potential, its castle-building mechanics remain competent, revolving heavily around interactions with the user interface. While this system can be tedious at times, it allows for a great deal of freedom.
2Castle Flipper
A First-Person Building Game With A Great Sense Of Scale
As its title may suggest,Castle Flipperplays very similarly to games likeHouse Flipper, but with a medieval theme. While castles aren’t the only thing players will be building and repairing,Castle Flipperallows players to build large, impressive castles.
The first-person perspective and large 3D environments makeCastle Flipperparticularly immersive and give the buildings a great sense of scale. WhileCastle Flippermay be a little rough around the edges, it gives players a great deal of freedom to build impressive fortresses.
3Castle Constructor
Build Castles Out Of Modular Pieces
This 3D indie tower defense game has players building castles out of modular pieces and defending them from a variety of enemies and medieval siege weapons. The modular system makes building castles easy, allowing players to focus on the best strategy without fighting against the user interface.
Castle Constructorfeatures several campaign levels for players to progress through, learning new technology along the way. While this is the main way to play,Castle Constructoralso features an endless mode and a creative sandbox, giving it a great deal of replay value.
This classic real-time strategy game has aged tremendously well, thanks in part to its 2019 definitive edition, which helped bring the game to modern audiences. Like many real-time strategy games,Age Of Empires 2features base-building. However,AoE 2arguably features more depth in this department than the average RTS.
Age Of Empires 2focuses on many things other than building castles. However, the game’s variety of factions to control and buildings to construct give players a lot of freedom when it comes to base-building.
This tough-as-nails multiplayer survival game takes ona Viking themeand focuses its gameplay on exploration, combat, and building. With a strong fan-base and dedicated developers,Valheimremains a relatively safe bet for fans of survival games.
Valheim’sbuilding tools are incredibly intuitive and merge with the survival gameplay perfectly, allowing players to get creative as they explore and gain access to more resources. The potential for complex and large-scale castles in the world ofValheimcan be seen in the community. YouTube alone is heavily populated with complex and large-scale castles built by dedicated players. AlthoughValheimis one of the most well-received castle-building games, its focus on exploration and combat makes its gameplay less centered around castle-building than others.
Thisbase defense gameis all about building and defending a castle from waves of enemies in a fantasy setting. The game features increasingly difficult sieges to defend from, resource management, and light RTS elements that help to add a layer of depth to the game.
Becastledfeatures a cartoon visual style and centers itself around building castles, resulting in a focused experience. It’s also somewhat more simplistic than other castle-building titles, providing an experience that’s perhaps more accessible to beginners.
This open-world top-down survival game puts players in the role of a vampire attempting to take down a variety of increasingly challenging bosses in fluid, fast-paced combat. Outside of combat, players gather resources and slowly construct a Gothic castle to call home.
V Risingbegan as an Early Access title and has since lived up to its full potential with its 1.0 release. ThoughV Risingfeatures plenty of combat, the game’s customization options when it comes to building a base allow players to easily construct menacing, looming Gothic castles.
Diplomacy Is Not An Optiontasks players with building and defending a sprawling castle from waves of enemies.Diplomacy Is Not An Optionis arguably one of the best castle-building base defense games thanks to its well-crafted minimalist art style and truly massive hordes of physics-simulated enemies, as well as its intuitive building mechanics.
Diplomacy Is Not An Optionallows players to build defenses and even armies to control via light RTS mechanics. Furthermore, the game also features an entire spell system that can provide powerful advantages to the player in their most dire moments.Diplomacy Is Not An Optionconstantly throws huge amounts of enemies at the player’s castle, making it less focused on creativity and much more focused on strategic construction.
Foundationis a relaxing city-builder that’s relatively typical in its design. However, the overall experience is elevated by a focus on resource management and a grid-less construction system that allows players a great degree of creative freedom. This system is particularly freeing for those that enjoy placing objects exactly where they want them, resulting in an experience that’s immediately less stressful than similar titles.
Because ofFoundation’slaid-back nature, players are given more freedom to focus on the city-building aspects of the game, rather than worrying about constant threats looming over their growing city. Furthermore,Foundationalso features a variety of difficulty modes and even a creative mode for those that just want to build in peace.
This colony-sim plays very similarly toRimWorldbut takes place ina medieval setting. The game gives players easy-to-use tools to build a variety of strongholds amid an untamed wilderness, attempting to keep their villagers safe and happy while defending against vicious raids.
Going Medievalisvery much a colony-sim, but includes heavy elements of base defense as well. In order to succeed, players will need to be strategic with the placement of traps and defenses, all while maintaining the infrastructure of their colony. While certainly engaging, this aspect establishesGoing Medievalas a more strategic experience than a creative one.
