The 20 best simulator games to play right now

The 20 best simulator games to play right now

Sometimes you want real, but not too real, and that’s where the best simulator games come in. Experience a new activity, time period, or career without the commitment required for real life. While some are challenging, delivering absolute accuracy and forcing you to learn technical skills, some are like playable ASMR, inducing a flow state that will give you a welcome break from the real world. 
We’ve included something for everyone here, whether you want to let your inner middle-aged man run wild with a jet washer, swap your corporate life for tending turnips, or start a new career as a producer behind the scenes of a British TV channel. 
We update this list regularly as more weird and wonderful simulators arrive on PC and consoles, so check back whenever you need a new hit of sweet sim satisfaction. 
 20. PowerWash Simulator

19.  Farming Simulator 17

Available on: PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Google Stadia
The core of Farming Simulator’s experience remains the same: buy more fields, upgrade equipment and enjoy your day-to-day routine among the green hills. The range of machines and equipment available to you is exceptionally broad, with the kind of brands that are familiar household names (if you are a farmer). As one of the most authentic farming experiences that you can get without getting your wellies dirty, the game is only enhanced by its updated visuals, customizable farms, and rideable horses.
If you’re looking to get away from the more high-octane gameplay of other titles and try something more tranquil, Farming Simulator 19 may be an ideal escape. That’s not to say that there isn’t any mechanical depth to the proceedings- those crops aren’t going to grow themselves after all, but Farming Simulator 2019, if nothing else, works as a therapeutic break from the stress and intensity of its genre contemporaries. 
18. Mad Tower Tycoon

17.  Project Cars 2

16. Railway Empire

15.  Cities: Skylines 

Available on: PC, Xbox One, and PS4
After the much fêted but flawed SimCity reboot, Cities: Skylines thankfully came along in 2015 to restore the city-sim genre to its former glory. By offering contemporary reworkings of Maxis’ original formula, Skylines feels like a modern city-sim in every sense of the word, and watching your metropolis expand and thrive in real-time has never looked so good. 
It’s one of the few simulator games that’s also available on console, too, and Cities: Skyline’s sleek user interface turns the comfort of a controller into a totally viable and enjoyable option for those less inclined to the mouse and keyboard. 
14. Thief Simulator

13. Football Manager 2020

 12. Silent Hunter 3 

Available on: PC
It’s still a relatively unknown piece of trivia that one of the best submarine simulator games out there comes from a Ubisoft studio, but don’t worry, there isn’t a watchtower to be found in the open seas of Silent Hunter 3. Instead, the third game in the WWII-set series was praised for its attention to detail and action-oriented battles. 
Even if the ins and outs of historical watercraft aren’t your thing (understandably), Silent Hunter 3’s meaty campaign is worth playing for its enrapturing atmosphere and open-ended pace. There’s a somber beauty to the destruction too, with the lavish detail designed to draw you in and keep you there, even when the intensity of the warfare becomes almost overwhelming. 
11. PC Building Simulator

10. X-Plane 11

9.  Euro Truck Simulator 2  

Available on: PC
Who knew a game about driving a truck could be so addictive? SCS Software did, clearly, as their trucking sim sequel is currently one of the highest-rated games on Steam, sat above the likes of Dishonored, Civilization V, and Half-Life 2. The reality is that Euro Truck Simulator 2 offers that devastating blend of being both immensely relaxing and fiercely captivating, with the pleasant journeys along your designated trade routes segmented by junctures of deep strategy, as you consider factors such as fuel, finance, and furbishing your ride with new upgrades. Euro Truck Simulator 2’s greatest achievement is that it isn’t just a game made for transport enthusiasts, but the appeal extends to anyone with even the slightest appreciation for the simple pleasures of the open road. 
8. Two Point Hospital

7. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam

6. Not for Broadcast

5. ARMA 3

Available on: PC
Most people will recognize the ARMA brand for its wildly popular zombie mod based on ARMA 2, DayZ, but it is ARMA 3 which deserves some of the spotlight for what it brought to the military-sim table. Bohemia Interactive executes the essential elements of sandbox strategy with aplomb, and ARMA 3 serves as an open-ended arena for organic, dynamic war stories that can be played out with friends and foes. 
The depth of simulation is comprehensive, but only to a point, so as to sustain the immediacy of every interaction. Indeed, ARMA 3 can be extremely stressful and even terrifying at times, but that truth is nothing less than a testament to its immersive power as an undiluted evocation of modern warfare. 
4. Cooking Simulator

3. Planet Coaster

2.  The Sims 4

1. Microsoft Flight Simulator

Need something else to play? Whether you’re a fan of turn-based tactics or a good RTS, there’s something for everyone in the best strategy games

#simulator #games #play

The 20 best simulator games to play right now

Sometimes you want real, but not too real, and that’s where the best simulator games come in. Experience a new activity, time period, or career without the commitment required for real life. While some are challenging, delivering absolute accuracy and forcing you to learn technical skills, some are like playable ASMR, inducing a flow state that will give you a welcome break from the real world. 
We’ve included something for everyone here, whether you want to let your inner middle-aged man run wild with a jet washer, swap your corporate life for tending turnips, or start a new career as a producer behind the scenes of a British TV channel. 
We update this list regularly as more weird and wonderful simulators arrive on PC and consoles, so check back whenever you need a new hit of sweet sim satisfaction. 
 20. PowerWash Simulator

19.  Farming Simulator 17

Available on: PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Google Stadia
The core of Farming Simulator’s experience remains the same: buy more fields, upgrade equipment and enjoy your day-to-day routine among the green hills. The range of machines and equipment available to you is exceptionally broad, with the kind of brands that are familiar household names (if you are a farmer). As one of the most authentic farming experiences that you can get without getting your wellies dirty, the game is only enhanced by its updated visuals, customizable farms, and rideable horses.
If you’re looking to get away from the more high-octane gameplay of other titles and try something more tranquil, Farming Simulator 19 may be an ideal escape. That’s not to say that there isn’t any mechanical depth to the proceedings- those crops aren’t going to grow themselves after all, but Farming Simulator 2019, if nothing else, works as a therapeutic break from the stress and intensity of its genre contemporaries. 
18. Mad Tower Tycoon

17.  Project Cars 2

16. Railway Empire

15.  Cities: Skylines 

Available on: PC, Xbox One, and PS4
After the much fêted but flawed SimCity reboot, Cities: Skylines thankfully came along in 2015 to restore the city-sim genre to its former glory. By offering contemporary reworkings of Maxis’ original formula, Skylines feels like a modern city-sim in every sense of the word, and watching your metropolis expand and thrive in real-time has never looked so good. 
It’s one of the few simulator games that’s also available on console, too, and Cities: Skyline’s sleek user interface turns the comfort of a controller into a totally viable and enjoyable option for those less inclined to the mouse and keyboard. 
14. Thief Simulator

13. Football Manager 2020

 12. Silent Hunter 3 

Available on: PC
It’s still a relatively unknown piece of trivia that one of the best submarine simulator games out there comes from a Ubisoft studio, but don’t worry, there isn’t a watchtower to be found in the open seas of Silent Hunter 3. Instead, the third game in the WWII-set series was praised for its attention to detail and action-oriented battles. 
Even if the ins and outs of historical watercraft aren’t your thing (understandably), Silent Hunter 3’s meaty campaign is worth playing for its enrapturing atmosphere and open-ended pace. There’s a somber beauty to the destruction too, with the lavish detail designed to draw you in and keep you there, even when the intensity of the warfare becomes almost overwhelming. 
11. PC Building Simulator

10. X-Plane 11

9.  Euro Truck Simulator 2  

Available on: PC
Who knew a game about driving a truck could be so addictive? SCS Software did, clearly, as their trucking sim sequel is currently one of the highest-rated games on Steam, sat above the likes of Dishonored, Civilization V, and Half-Life 2. The reality is that Euro Truck Simulator 2 offers that devastating blend of being both immensely relaxing and fiercely captivating, with the pleasant journeys along your designated trade routes segmented by junctures of deep strategy, as you consider factors such as fuel, finance, and furbishing your ride with new upgrades. Euro Truck Simulator 2’s greatest achievement is that it isn’t just a game made for transport enthusiasts, but the appeal extends to anyone with even the slightest appreciation for the simple pleasures of the open road. 
8. Two Point Hospital

7. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam

6. Not for Broadcast

5. ARMA 3

Available on: PC
Most people will recognize the ARMA brand for its wildly popular zombie mod based on ARMA 2, DayZ, but it is ARMA 3 which deserves some of the spotlight for what it brought to the military-sim table. Bohemia Interactive executes the essential elements of sandbox strategy with aplomb, and ARMA 3 serves as an open-ended arena for organic, dynamic war stories that can be played out with friends and foes. 
The depth of simulation is comprehensive, but only to a point, so as to sustain the immediacy of every interaction. Indeed, ARMA 3 can be extremely stressful and even terrifying at times, but that truth is nothing less than a testament to its immersive power as an undiluted evocation of modern warfare. 
4. Cooking Simulator

3. Planet Coaster

2.  The Sims 4

1. Microsoft Flight Simulator

Need something else to play? Whether you’re a fan of turn-based tactics or a good RTS, there’s something for everyone in the best strategy games

#simulator #games #play