RimWorld

urmgnnhgh i looooove rimworld but i cant play it because then i'd get fat... but its soooo good

Rimworld is like a more accessible, futuristic version of Dwarf Fortress with heightened modding possibilities. The content of the base game alone is enough for plenty of play time with tons of fun to be had from running a cannibal cult, to being invaded by an army of rabid tortoises. The UI is easy to understand, the premise is fun and freeing, the gameplay itself is a simple yet engaging loop that makes you never want to put it down, and the music is some of the most relaxing and fitting pieces I've heard in my years of gaming. What really puts this game over the top though are its DLCs and the modding community. Each DLC provides a unique, useful, and worthwhile expansion to the vanilla game that gives you a plethora of new possible situations to play out in an equally expansive amount of different ways, and the modding only further serves to enhance that. The workshop is full of a lot of questionable low effort content, but also plenty of gems - full conversions (KOTOR, ESCP, FCP, Rim Effect), DLC sized expansions (Vanilla Expanded, Biomes!, Landforms, Multiplayer), and an endless selection of smaller individual mods to craft your own personal experience. I for one enjoy creating collections to convert Rimworld into other franchises I wish had a similar game like Star Wars, Tarkov, Elder Scrolls, Baldurs Gate, etc. Basically what I'm saying is, Rimworld is more than one game, it's quite literally whatever you want it to be. It's so modular that there isn't really an end-all-be-all to what a reviewer could say playing it is like other than "settlement management". It's a good game, give it a shot - it rarely ever goes on sale, and when it does it isn't a big difference so don't bother waiting. If you're tight on cash the DLC isn't necessary although I would say Ideology, Royalty, and Biotech are absolutely worth the extra money (in that order).

78 hours. Bought this years ago on a Christmas sale and it's been quietly eating my evenings ever since. Yes, it looks like a sad stickman mood board. No, you will not care after your colonist loses a leg, his wife, and his mind in that order within one in-game week. The workshop content alone is basically a second game — RimWorld with mods is one of the best experiences in gaming, RimWorld without mods is still pretty great, and RimWorld with my budgeting skills is why I've never bought a single DLC. Those things cost more than my first two games combined. 9/10 storytelling, 3/10 for my colony's survival rate, 1/10 for my wallet.