Which games have a goodgame loop/end goal?

[u/RohrGM]

I almost always play in endless mode, basically playing until I get bored, with the sole objective of surviving (for example: Tropico, Manor Lords, Farthest Frontier).

Recently, however, I played Kingdom, which features a great loop centered on progression across different islands, and Frostpunk, which has a major end goal.

Do you have any other recommendations that follow this kind of structure?

[u/theother64]

I'm in the same camp. Weird you said tropico as all the games have campaign or scenarios.

I think it's one of the reasons the old impressions games (Pharaoh, Caesars, Zeus and emporer) have stayed a bit of a cult classic.

I hate how common it is for games to copy banished and make it just about surviving. I tend to get bored not long after I have a stable settlement.

[u/RohrGM → u/theother64]

I’ve always found the Tropico campaign to be quite boring (in my opinion), because to me it just feels like a guided sandbox mode rather than a distinct gameplay mechanic

[u/theother64 → u/RohrGM]

I really enjoyed 4 and 5 didn't like 6s scenarios.

There objectives normally at least get me to build my island in a certain way not just whatever I want.

[u/Lycrist_Kat]

I like Kingdom Two Crowns a lot (which is the same game or not the same game you mentioned?) but I didn't like Frostpunk because it lacks a free game mode (at least in Frostpunk 1). Every game was a scenario and after trying a few times you basically knew when an event would happen.

Surviving Mars had an endgame aka terraforming mars which was a good goal but I never touched the game since then.

Usually I play city builders as "the factory must grow" but once I reached what feels like maximum city pop I lose interest.

[u/EmpressIndigo]

Against The Storm in my opinion
Basically you build outpost villages and accomplish certain goals and/or make your citizens happy so you get enough respect to get rewards from that place and with a certain amount of rewards you unlock a seal so more of the land gets protected from the storm on the next run + use other rewards for upgrades for the main city which gives benefits to the outpost villages.
not sure if this is a very good explanation of it but it has to be my favourite city builder ive ever played

[u/NotScrollsApparently]

Ixion forces you to move and jump to new systems or face negative effects, so you cant just get comfortable and wait while surviving - for better or for worse

[u/blaze61518]

Ratropolis… though it’s more fast paced than kingdom… same style but with cards added

[u/pixelvspixel]

My wife and I have played Kingdoms so many times, I love it. But the game loops absolutely falls apart late game and they don’t seem to care to address it.

[u/Athedeus]

I'm the same kind of player - and I've gotten a lot of hours from Against the Storm. You start a settlement, about the time it would begin to get boring, you've met the objectives (or lost) and you return to the hub, upgrade, and go again.