SimCity 4
Shares rank 11 of 21 city builder games by recommenders
Deep, long-lasting city simulation that people still replay for its micromanagement and scope; the interface is often called dated and cluttered.
Deep, long-lasting city simulation that people still replay for its micromanagement and scope; the interface is often called dated and cluttered.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Timeless, still impressive for its age
“Both are timeless and I still play them a few times a year.”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Ask HN: What game have you replayed more times than any other?” “Pretty impressive for a game released in 2003”
Comment from 28 May 2026 in “SimCity 3k in 4k” Deep micromanagement and large scope
“I really like the sweaty micromanagement and bigger scope of 4”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “SimCity 3k in 4k” “Another reason SimCity 4 is still be best one of these to be made.”
Comment from 3 Oct 2026 in “City building games have a Soul Problem pt.2”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Dated, cluttered interface
“Four Squares in a Grid Button > All Apps > EA Games > Sim City 4 describes crap I'm clicking on in the UI”
Comment from 18 Jun 2026 in “What was nice about the UI of Windows 2000”
Other city builder games people recommend
The four most recommended other city builder games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SimCity 3000 | 23 | 2 | 92% | 5 | — | Approved |
| SimCity 2000 | 20 | 7 | 74% | 11 | — | Approved |
| SimCity | 20 | 12 | 63% | 9 | — | — |
| Cities: Skylines | 20 | 18 | 53% | 9 | — | — |
| SimCity 4This page | 7 | 1 | 88% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Another reason SimCity 4 is still be best one of these to be made.”
“I love that simcity4 has an applesilicon and big name recent releases don't.”
“Four Squares in a Grid Button > All Apps > EA Games > Sim City 4 describes crap I'm clicking on in the UI”
“Pretty impressive for a game released in 2003”
“I really like the sweaty micromanagement and bigger scope of 4”
“they proceeded to make all the advisors 3D-rendered Sims”
“Both are timeless and I still play them a few times a year.”
“SimCity 2000 and especially SimCity 4 had a huge impact on me growing up”
“A city builder doesn't have to LOOK amazing to be great.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.