Choose The City Must Grow
Choose The City Must Grow if you want an Early Access experience. On Steam, it's currently about 50% cheaper on the Steam Store. The City Must Grow launched in 2021.
The City Must Grow vs ISLANDERS: New Shores
The City Must Grow and ISLANDERS: New Shores both land in Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam. The City Must Grow (2021) is 4 years older than ISLANDERS: New Shores (2025). ISLANDERS: New Shores scores higher on Steam reviews (97.1% positive) than The City Must Grow (71.8% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose ISLANDERS: New Shores
Choose ISLANDERS: New Shores if you want the Adjustable Text Size, Camera Comfort, and Custom Volume Controls side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2025) and ships with the modern feature baseline. ISLANDERS: New Shores launched in 2025.
Both The City Must Grow and ISLANDERS: New Shores sit in Strategy, Indie, and Simulation on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 The City Must Grow |  ISLANDERS: New Shores | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2021 | 2025 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Casual, Early Access | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Verified |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 71.8% positive (39 reviews) | 97.1% positive (797 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Tunaic Games | The Station |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam.
- The City Must Grow (2021) is 4 years older than ISLANDERS: New Shores (2025).
- ISLANDERS: New Shores scores higher on Steam reviews (97.1% positive) than The City Must Grow (71.8% positive).
- The City Must Grow is currently ~50% cheaper on Steam than ISLANDERS: New Shores (4.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: The City Must Grow is Deck Playable, ISLANDERS: New Shores is Deck Verified.
The City Must Grow vs ISLANDERS: New Shores — FAQ
- Should I play The City Must Grow or ISLANDERS: New Shores first?
- If you want chronology, The City Must Grow (2021) came out before ISLANDERS: New Shores (2025). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The City Must Grow and ISLANDERS: New Shores similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.