Feeling organised? Ready to manage? Our list of the best simulator games will give you a choice of fresh new careers to try. Whether that’s as a university administrator trying to keep students happy, a pilot, or even the new owner of a PC building business. Start writing your to-do list now because it’s time to get simming.
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00:00Feeling organised, ready to manage, our list of the best simulator games will give you a choice of fresh new careers to try out.
00:12Whether that's a university administrator trying to keep students happy, a pilot or even the new owner of a PC building business,
00:19start writing your to-do list now because it's time to get simming.
00:30The best simulation games serve up something that should be a chore and turn it into something dangerously compelling.
00:37Power Wash Simulator just shouldn't work, yet, when faced with endless miles of dirt and grime,
00:42all we want to do is grab our machine with its variety of nozzles and get down to filthy business.
00:47There's something truly meditative about tackling the maps of career mode as the muck disappears under gallons of water,
00:53with a rewarding pling as you finish each section, giving you a little dopamine hit.
01:00Just another few hundred of those and this place will be sparkling.
01:04Oh, and you can even ask a friend to join you in co-op mode to get together for some good clean fun.
01:10City Skylines came along in 2015 to restore the city sim genre to its former glory,
01:24offering a contemporary reworking of Maxis' original SimCity formula.
01:29Skylines feels like a modern city sim in every sense of the word,
01:33and watching your metropolis expand and thrive in real time has never looked so good.
01:38But don't worry, not too much has changed.
01:40Your city dwellers still really don't like it if they live too close to the sewage plant or don't have clean water.
01:46So fussy.
01:47City Skylines is also one of the growing number of simulation games that's available on console 2,
01:53and the sleek user interface turns the comfort of a controller into a totally viable,
01:58not to mention enjoyable option for those less au fait with a mouse and keyboard.
02:03The 2020 release of Microsoft Flight Simulator was the first time the series appeared on console,
02:14and it was immediately right at home on Xbox Games Pass.
02:18If you've always wanted to take to the skies but never had the gaming PC to power your cloudy dreams,
02:23Asbo Studios' incredible sim is here to switch your brain to airplane mode.
02:28The game is a visual marvel and the level of realism applied to the technicalities of flying
02:33is simultaneously impressive and terrifying.
02:36The nice thing though is the understanding that you might just want to take off and see the sights,
02:41in which case you can just turn on all the assists and the game just becomes beautiful tourism.
02:47As a pilot you can take in the photorealistic 4K planet Earth, complete with realistic weather,
02:52and whether you want to see the wonders of the world or just find your house,
02:56Microsoft Flight Simulator will happily oblige.
03:08This is probably going to make you feel really old, but The Sims 4 is now 8 years old.
03:14The reason there's never been a sequel is simple.
03:16Maxis has added so many expansion packs, stuff packs and game packs over the years,
03:21that The Sims 4 now feels like hundreds of games in one.
03:24Maybe you want to look after an entire family of vampires or werewolves,
03:28or perhaps build yourself the ultimate tiny home,
03:31or live by the beach, or take on the lives of the rich and famous sims,
03:35or even just spend hours constructing the ultimate countryside mansion.
03:39Whether you just want to build or really want to dive into the lifestyle element
03:42that's constantly being updated with more diversity and depth,
03:46The Sims 4 is still the cream of the management crop.
03:51Ready your anti-static armband, grab your thermal paste and prep that can of pressurised air.
04:02PC Building Simulator is here, and it's more satisfying than we could ever have predicted.
04:07There's something very soothing about taking on a small PC business
04:11and simply sorting everyone's hardware problems, one rig at a time.
04:15This sim is ultra-granular, meaning you have to undo screws and untangle wires
04:20before you can even get to the good stuff.
04:22Excitingly too, you can play with a huge range of real-life hardware components.
04:26Brands like Intel, AMD and Nvidia are all here to bring some gravitas to your ultimate builds.
04:32There's also a free construction mode to build your dream gaming PC.
04:36You might even feel like building your own PC once you're done.
04:49Ready to go back to school?
04:50Don't worry, you don't have to go that far back.
04:53Two Point Campus is all about building the ultimate university and, if you've played Two Point Hospital,
04:58you'll be familiar with the humorous tone of this in-depth management sim.
05:02Unlike Two Point Hospital though, where we could look at the bigger picture
05:05and not really worry about the patients turning into spooks in the corridor,
05:09Two Point Campus forces us to really care about our students.
05:12If they're not happy learning gastronomy or riding their horses and jousting at night school,
05:17then they won't want to pay you to keep educating them.
05:19Not only that, but we need to take care of their social lives too,
05:22throwing parties in the student union and even adding items to help them build friendships.
05:27You better be having the time of your lives.
05:37Ever wanted to be the lone member of a professional kitchen?
05:40The correct answer is, yes Chef!
05:42And Cooking Simulator is here to test your skills in a sprawling realistic kitchen.
05:46If your only experience of Chef Sims is cooking mama,
05:49consider this a trip from the frying pan into the fire.
05:52Your diners are demanding, and not only that,
05:55but cooking is no mere matter of waving a wooden spoon in the general direction of a pan.
05:59Instead, you need to perfectly measure every ingredient,
06:02slice and dice your meats and veg,
06:04and perfectly cook each item in the correct saucepan.
06:07Thankfully, if you're more in the mood for mindless destruction,
06:10that's also possible here.
06:12And how a lot of our first meals went,
06:14with developer Big Cheese giving you the ability to start fires,
06:18break plates and blow up the microwave.
06:20Whoopsie!
06:29Of course we couldn't have a best Sims list without the sound of screams
06:33coming from a frankly dangerously designed theme park ride.
06:36But hey, it's what your guests are paying for, right?
06:40Planet Coaster from the management sim specialists Frontier Development
06:42is here to scratch all your old school rollercoaster tycoon itches.
06:46Building your own Disneyland or Universal Studios has never been this much fun,
06:50as you craft the theme park of your dreams from the flower beds up.
06:53It can be a little intimidating for first time players,
06:56as there's just so much to get to grips with as you build, organize and staff your park.
07:00But once you've got the basics, Planet Coaster feels limitless.
07:04There's also no chance of running out of new items,
07:06with all of the endless DLC packs on offer,
07:08so whatever kind of park you want to build,
07:10you'll find everything you want here.
07:12So that's the best simulator games you can play right now.
07:17Go forth and manage, or, you know, just clean loads of stuff.
07:21And let us know in the comments below if you've got your own recommendations
07:24of what we should be playing.