10 Best Management Sim Video Games You Need To Play

The obvious appeals to gaming are escapism, and the ability to let your imagination run wild.

Closed off and linear worlds can offer short stories rich in emotion and convincing narratives, and large open worlds can let us craft our own narratives which influence the person we will eventually become in-game (or in real life).

But we're not here to talk about either of those. We're here to talk about essentially being a god - or in other words: Management sims.

There is no other genre quite like management simulators. Depending on the game, the options and minute settings at your disposal will allow you to tinker with the societies and worlds you have built up in the most exciting or mundane of ways. The possibilities seem endless.

What happens if you slightly increase the taxes for industries in your city? Or what if you hire the least experienced engineer to oversee the building of your race car?

Not only are you able to awaken your inner scientist and experiment with your creations and the game's world, but you can attempt to push the boundaries of the game's mechanics to create something spectacular.

There are some things in life we don't have control over, but these ten management sims will give you a bit of respite from that fact.

Let's face it: SimCity is dead, unfortunately. With the honestly shameful launch of 2013's SimCity, the last vestiges of what was once the best city management title in the market died in 2003.

But fear not, for there are other heroes in the city management genre to rise in its place. From the ashes comes the gorgeously detailed Cities: Skylines.

Developed by Colossal Order, Cities: Skylines is almost literally the new SimCity but better. With advanced graphics, the game contains city management features from the old SimCity and even more.

Create your city and micromanage to the max by choosing bus stops, outlining districts, and fine-tuning highways. On top of all the features that will appeal to analytical players, buy up to eight plots of land (without mods) and you still won't run out of space for your expansive city.

We can't talk about Cities: Skylines without mentioning the shockingly creative modding community. It's said that it's not fair to judge a game based on community created mods, but look at the mod list for this game on Steam and you'll see that there's nothing holding you back from creating the most realistic city you've seen in a simulation.