- Games like Westlanders blend open-world survival, 1800s frontier settings, and worker-driven automation
- Best overall match: Frontier Pioneer / frontier-era settlement builders with automation focus
- Best for automation fans: Factory and logistics sims with worker management systems
- Best for co-op: Multiplayer survival games where friends build outposts together
- Key tip: Westlanders itself is still in playtest — wishlist it while exploring alternatives
What Makes Westlanders Unique
Before recommending games like Westlanders, it helps to understand exactly what the game does. Westlanders is an upcoming survival game with automation elements published by Team17, set in the 1800s across a vast western landscape. You arrive in a valley after a catastrophic journey, repair your caravan (which doubles as a moving base and respawn point), and gradually build outposts, hire workers, and construct logistic networks between settlements that grow into your own cities.
The core appeal comes from three systems working together:
- Survival fundamentals: Health, hunger, thirst, and stamina bars, plus seasons and weather that affect survivability — winter is the harshest time of year
- Worker automation: Hire workers at camps, pay daily wages, assign them to industry outposts where they auto-harvest resources
- Settlement reputation: A separate progression track tied to buildings and quests that unlocks new map areas, build limits, and structures like the saloon
Video Highlights:
- Early playtest covers caravan repair, stat management, and first settlement setup
- Workers auto-harvest resources at industry outposts once logistics are connected
- Reputation levels gate worker capacity and unlock new buildings
- Playtest is open to everyone and best enjoyed in multiplayer
Most survival games force endless manual grinding. Westlanders stands out because automation takes over once you have workers and logistics. When choosing alternatives, prioritize games where progression shifts from "you gather" to "your systems gather for you."
Top 7 Games Like Westlanders Compared
Here are the strongest alternatives based on how closely they match Westlanders' three pillars: survival, automation, and settlement building.
| Game | Setting | Survival | Automation | Settlement Building | Match Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factorio | Sci-fi factory planet | Low | ★★★★★ | Low | ★★★☆☆ |
| Satisfactory | Alien planet | Medium | ★★★★★ | Low | ★★★☆☆ |
| Going Medieval | Medieval valley | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Colony Survival | Voxel frontier | Medium | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| Rise to Ruins | Pixel god-game | Medium | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| Banished | Frontier wilderness | ★★★★★ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| Necesse | Top-down sandbox | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ |
Match Rating weighs all three Westlanders pillars equally. A game can excel at automation (like Factorio) but still score lower overall because it lacks the survival and settlement layers.
Going Medieval
- Closest overall feel
- Survive seasons, build a hilltop settlement
- Villagers with traits and jobs
- Resource production chains
Necesse
- Settlement + automation
- Hire settlers and assign work
- Mining and farming automation
- Explore and expand territory
Factorio
- Automation king
- Build logistic networks between outposts
- Deep production chains
- Co-op multiplayer support
By Playstyle: Which Alternative Fits You
Different players love different parts of Westlanders. Match your favorite mechanic to the right game.
| You Love... | Best Pick | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Logistics networks between outposts | Factorio / Satisfactory | Train and conveyor systems mirror outpost-to-settlement hauling |
| Hiring and managing workers | Going Medieval / Necesse | Worker traits, wages, and job assignment systems |
| Harsh seasonal survival | Banished / Going Medieval | Winter prep and food storage pressure |
| Building cities from scratch | Banished / Colony Survival | Blueprint-style construction and civic planning |
| Multiplayer with friends | Satisfactory / Necesse | Co-op base building scales well with groups |
Pure open-world survival games (like classic wilderness survival titles) often lack the automation layer entirely. If worker-driven production is what drew you to Westlanders, check the Automation column in the comparison table before buying.
Identify Your Favorite Pillar
Decide whether survival tension, automation depth, or settlement growth is your main draw from Westlanders.
Check the Automation Layer
Read the game's feature list for worker assignment, auto-harvesting, or logistics — the defining Westlanders mechanic.
Consider Multiplayer Needs
Westlanders plays best in co-op. If friends will join, narrow your list to games with solid multiplayer support.
Test Cheap First
Pick one budget-friendly alternative (Necesse, Rise to Ruins) before committing to premium titles.
Building Your First Automated Settlement
Once you've picked a game like Westlanders, the opening strategy transfers surprisingly well across titles. This checklist mirrors the early-game priorities that work in Westlanders and its alternatives.
Automated Settlement Startup Checklist:
- Secure reliable food and clean water sources early
- Build basic shelter and a crafting station before winter
- Repair or establish a mobile/central base of operations
- Place production outposts near resource clusters
- Hire or recruit your first workers and assign roles
- Connect logistics so resources flow to storage automatically
- Grow reputation/population to unlock advanced buildings
Front-load the manual grind. Every minute spent building infrastructure early pays back multiplied once workers and logistics systems take over. Players who delay automation stay stuck gathering berries forever.
While You Wait: Track Westlanders Itself
Westlanders is still in active development, and the playtest showed genuine promise — six worker types, industry outposts, blueprint-based building, and a reputation system tying survival to settlement growth. Rather than replacing it, use the alternatives above as companion games.
Wishlist Westlanders on Steam and follow Team17's official channels for playtest announcements. The development team has been collecting community feedback on quality-of-life improvements, and future updates are expected to expand worker rosters, decoration options, and settlement population systems.
FAQ
Q: What is the closest game to Westlanders overall?
Going Medieval is the closest match for games like Westlanders. It combines seasonal survival, settlement building on a terrain grid, and villagers with individual traits and assigned jobs — mirroring Westlanders' worker and reputation systems in a different historical setting.
Q: Does Westlanders support multiplayer?
Yes. The playtest is best played in multiplayer, letting friends cooperate on outposts, settlements, and logistics networks. Invite friends before jumping into a playtest session together.
Q: Which alternative is best for pure automation fans?
Factorio and Satisfactory are the automation leaders. Factorio's train networks between outposts closely resemble Westlanders' outpost-to-settlement hauling, while Satisfactory adds a first-person 3D perspective.
Q: Is Westlanders free to play?
No official pricing has been confirmed. The playtest was open to everyone for a limited window, and the full release is expected to be a premium title published by Team17. Check the Steam page for current details.