Okay! Let's start with 2024 games.
View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1675830/1000xRESIST/
You might see 1000xRESIST show up in this thread multiple times. I don't care, I'm mentioning it anyways, because it was such an astonishing piece of art that I need people to experience it. If it touches even one more person in the same ways it touched me, then it will have been worth it. This may very well end up my 2024 game of the year.
(Since I've seen a few people ask what kind of game this is: it's mostly a walking simulator where you explore dreams and habitats, and talk to people a lot. It also cribs from Nier's playbook a bit by changing up the gameplay perspective/style a few times to accentuate certain story points or setpieces. There is no combat and it's not an action game. Most of the time you'll be playing in a third-person camera.)
View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2659900/Sixty_Four/
Sixty Four sits somewhere in the space between an automation/factory game and an idle clicker game. You start in a void where the only action you can take is to mine cubes. Things escalate rather quickly from there. It has a striking visual style and atmosphere, and there's a certain pleasure in optimizing your building layouts to get through phases of the game faster. I quite liked it when it came out, and it sounds like there have been a bunch of gameplay tweaks since then.
View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1284190/The_Planet_Crafter/
I've seen Planet Crafter described as Subnautica without the scary bits, which was right up my alley. You've been sent to an inhopsitable planet to terraform it for a company you may or may not be in indentured servitude to. Your goal: thicken the atmosphere and make it breathable, start the water cycle, and spread biomass. Build bases on the planet surface, gather and mine everything in sight, and craft an increasingly complex and varied set of equipment to assist in your task. There are no enemies besides the planet itself, but suffocation and thirst know no mercy, so don't let your guard down.
View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2678990/Minami_Lane/
I don't know that I'd call Minami Lane a city-builder exactly; street-builder is more like it. Manage a cute city street by constructing houses and businesses, setting up store inventories and customizing your offerings to suit the people who visit. The devs set expectations upfront by saying Minami Lane is a 3-4 hour experience, and the mechanics are just deep enough to be interesting and to make you feel like you've figured everything out just as the game ends. Also, the vibes are outstanding here--great soundtrack, adorable art style. Just a lovely game all around.
