Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic

This game is consuming my entire life. Not sure if that is good or bad. I put in 200 hours in the last 2 weeks... Then I did the math and realized there are only 336 hours in 2 weeks... Essentially I have spent the majority of my waking hours life playing this game. The is one of those rare games, that is so good, it might be bad for me.

Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic is a deeply ambitious city-building and economic simulation game by 3Division, one that sets itself apart by focusing not on capitalist expansion, but on the intricacies of planning and sustaining a socialist republic during the Cold War. Unlike most city-builders, which simplify production chains and rely on abstract budgets, Soviet Republic asks players to manage every inch of their infrastructure—down to the flow of coal, fuel, and bus schedules—while keeping their population educated, housed, and loyal. At its core, the game is a sandbox of logistical complexity. Roads, railways, pipelines, and power grids all need to be meticulously planned, and every factory, farm, and school must be supported by a functioning network of workers and resources—true to the game’s name. There are no magic budgets here; everything must be produced, transported, and maintained by your republic’s own economy. It’s a simulationist’s dream come true, and also a significant challenge for those unprepared for its depth. What makes Soviet Republic stand out is its dedication to realism. Trains and trucks move goods in real-time. Workers must physically travel to their jobs. Power outages, heating shortages, and traffic jams are consequences of poor planning, not random events. This emphasis on physical logistics gives the game a strong sense of place and cause-and-effect that few other city-builders capture. The learning curve can be steep, especially for players used to more forgiving systems, but the reward is a level of immersion and satisfaction that feels earned. Visually, the game strikes a utilitarian tone that suits its theme: concrete apartment blocks, smokestacks, and sprawling factories dominate the landscape, set against bleak but occasionally beautiful Eastern European environments. The interface is dense but increasingly refined, and ongoing updates have made significant improvements in usability and performance. The soundtrack is sparse, but the ambient sounds of machinery, trains, and city life lend a grounded atmosphere to your industrial empire. In conclusion, Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic is a rare and rewarding simulation for players who want more than glossy graphics and simple supply chains. It’s not for everyone—its pace is deliberate, its systems complex, and its presentation utilitarian—but for those who appreciate planning, realism, and ideological flavor, it offers one of the most compelling and unique city-building experiences available today. Whether you're laying out your first rail line or trying to power an entire republic without imports, it challenges you to build not just a city—but a functioning society. Rating: 8/10

It is a flawed game, buggy at times, but no other city builder even comes close to doing what it's trying to do.

Play on Realistic Mode. Fail. Look up videos on how to play. Try again. Fail. Watch more Youtubers, discover bballjo. Fail but fail much MUCH slower this time. Realize you are learning comrade. Watch more videos. Read the wiki. Find other famous Youtubers with guides. Slowly, over time, you begin to succeed comrade. Let loose the Communism Comrade. One of us one of us!

Combine Factorio-level of logistic complexity, combine it with Cities Skylines simulation depth, add a UI from the 90s (both visually and functionally). And now micro-manage that all. This game is definitely not for everyone. But if you like to torture yourself with micromanagement and really slow (yet rewarding) progress, this might be your poison.

I wanted to play this because it seemed so detailed, but the mechanics just aren't baked out enough. For example the micromanagement options are quite limited unless you do everything manually. For example you can't automatically stop importing stuff if your storages are full. You also can't manually assign your road cranes to the most important buildings. Another example is that excavators can't build roads that are too short for some reason, which means your road system is bottlenecked due to some tiny crossing, which also stops guest workers from coming, who only come with like 10 people at a time in a Bus that fits 80 people to work on the building that needs 300 workdays.

yes comrade. build great Soviet empire to crush the west!

I almost completed the first campaign but after 16 hours of gameplay my save suddenly stopped loading. It instead started crashing the game while I try to load my save file without any reason whatsoever. I tried to re-install the game, search for possible fixes on steam discussions, youtube and internet in general but to no avail. I hope devs will fix this issue very soon and I can play on my save again.

I love this type of games but I couldn't get into this one. I tried starting multiple times and every time I place the first road and first building, I just want to exit. It simply doesn't feel good and fun. I think it's the low visual quality models and how badly they blend into the environment. I get it's an indie game but even games like Factorio or Surviving Mars have a better feel

Bloody good game. Factario meets SimCity Eastern Bloc style. But mad and intense and challenging. Like 1980s Elite challenging. Don't believe me? I just completed the second level and the award said "1% of players have this achievement".

It's a cool concept and a very in depth city builder...it was basically just the learning curve for me that made me quit. If you are the type that likes to get into that, it's a great game for sure. I approached the game far too casually and it kicked my ass immediately for it. For people saying that the graphics are dull or whatever, that's not true, the 80's Soviet vibe is awesome. Honestly, If I wasn't so lazy this would probably would be my favourite city builder.

0.000000001% of communism has been built. Evil child murdering billionares still rule the world with a shit eating grin. Pros: best city builder to date. Cons: a lot of mechanics are downright obscure and a lot of frustration can be had when things dont work like you want them to ( snowplows not plowing essential roads, rail track builders deadlocking your rail network, citizens not staffing essential infrastructure ) . All of these problems can be overcome its just that the game wont teach you how to.

I really liked a lot of things in theory, like optimizing walking paths and producing / mining enough goods to have a self-sustaining city. However, the gameplay was extremely clunky... I found that some things such as train depos were not well explained or easily built (having trains pass each other on the same track for instance was difficult to maneuver but I did not want to have 10 different tracks side by side). When the game tutorial got to the power lines and water pipes I lost it because trying to connect the two was just horrible, the pipes never went where you wanted them to and they would always be curved instead of going straight... if the roads, trains, pipes and cables were easier to connect and deal with I would play this game to death but right now it's so frustrating I don't even want to continue.

Great game love it;however, some tips/tutorials are completely useless like my iron processing facility saying it cant store iron but not telling my why.

Good game, very rewarding. I love that you can increase the complexity of the simulation over time as you learn.

amazing game if you want a more complex cities skylines, not so amazing if you want something as engaging as cities skylines as the game can get pretty slow paced at times, especially early game, would benefit a lot from faster speed settings

One of the best City builders out there. Its also very fun to play and basicly doesnt have any bugs. The only Down side is that it may be a bit to complicated.

This game is too addicting. If you like city builders and Factorio it's the perfect game for you. I learned more about how shit it is to run a real city is. Expand here and build there. Stressful but rewarding.

If u are city builder enthusiast just buy and play, u wont be disappointed. Its a promise.

very complex and high learning curve but when you get into it is very fun as it a factory game mixed with a city biulder

very in depth simulator, it used to be janky back in early access but now it's good. you do need a decent computer to run it, mine struggles a bit

I've been a lover of management, city-builder, factory, and logistics games for over the past decade of my adult life. Worker & Resources Soviet Republic takes all of these concepts and blends them in a really, really well-blended cocktail of immersive systems and intertwined mechanics. I've been playing exclusively on the Realistic difficulty which slows the game down dramatically but does also require that all of your actions be decisive and meticulously planned ahead. This *is* a wiki game. While there are in-game tutorials that I recommend playing through, there's far too many nuances that aren't taught in them. Watching YouTube videos helps a lot with learning the game as well, even if it's just a Let's Play, you'll be able to pick up on all of the habits that others have learned through experience. Highly recommend, this game stands as a pillar to the city-builder genre.

Workers and Resources has ruined all other citybuilders for me. It requires depth and detail of city design that make success difficult and satisfying. In fact, you are really designing a state with an interlocked web of logistics and civil infrastructure. The game has been getting constant updates that make it (optionally) even harder. The vast range of difficulty settings let you choose a chill or challenging experience. Somehow I always pick realistic, early start, Siberia... Highly addictive and highly recommended.

Fantastic and deep micromanagement. For people who like to build a nice city... a little bit complicatet

One of the best city simulators ever. The simulation of industries is very detailed. Infrastructure details are great as well. Highly recommended!

Game good, like mighty Russian tank. Play for glory, play for Yuri, play for the little Russian voice inside your head screaming DA COMRADE!

Loving the game so far. I'm not usually one for hyper realistic/micromanagement city builders but it doesn't feel like that. At the basic level learning everything comes easily. There's definitely a lot of mechanics I still don't understand, and I keep getting a couple hours into my sessions then having to restart because I screwed up with little funds to recover or didn't realize a certain mechanic only worked a certain way, but I enjoy restarting and doing it again and there's not many games I can say that about. My only complaint would be the tutorials are robust, but don't seem to go over how to fix common problems such as power grid failures, finding water/sewage errors, or how to make public transportation operate more efficiently.

Greatest city building sim and amazing planned economy sim, a game like no other

A very stylistic and wholesome game that can be adjusted to be challenging or just simply fun. A great buy and solid developer who continues to deliver!

This is my first experience with a city-building game, and it is quite the good game in my opinion. It is difficult to understand at first, especially trains, and I have not even thought of electricity, heating, and criminality yet in my game, but this game brings me a reward of satisfaction when I manage to pull a task off. I would highly recommend this socialist city builder game.

It's janky but its so deep and has such detailed systems that it might be my favourite city builder of all time.

If Oxygen Not Included and Cities Skylines had a baby. Really needs a UI overhaul tho it looks like some early 2000's game

The game just gets more and more satisfying the more persnickety you get with your settings. Add in trash management. Add in demolition management. Turn on self-construction, where instead of just paying and having each new building be built instantaneously, you have to bring all the gravel, concrete, bricks, boards and steel to the construction site yourself. The more tedium you add, the more enjoyable the game is.

Für mich das beste Aufbaustrategie Spiel / city builder das je entwickelt wurde, die tiefe die das spiel entwickelt ist unvergleichbar. Für alle Einsteiger viel glück bei den ersten 10 - 20 Spielen die werden es wohl nicht schaffen. Selbst nach 1000h ist es nicht einfach auf den Schwersten Einstellungen es immer zu schaffen. Der Art Style ist Perfekt getroffen und schmeichelt den Spiel. Die Community ist bei der Entwicklung mit eingebunden worden und durch die immense Ansammlung an Workshop Items ist kann man sich weiteren Herausforderungen stellen. Alles im allen: Gameplay: 10/10 Grafik : 7/10 <- es ist gut aber auch schon etwas älter. Story : ? /10 <- es ist ein city builder also gibt es da keine Story Sound: 10/10 Schwierigkeit: 1-10/10 <- Je nach ausgewählter Komplexität Spielzeit: 10/10 <- Never endig Story

Really deep and engaging game. Once I figured how it all works, I only play on realistic mode. its fascinating watching every step of making even a simple road happen. Nothing happens quickly, and it is all a complex task. Definitely need more of these deeply realistic games. For me, it has crashed a few times, but reload and its fine again. I bought every DLC, as I support developers that put more thought into their game like this.

The aesthetic of this game is perfection. The realism is what I'm here for - I wish I had more time to build a city. Alas I am doing the dishes instead.

First of all, I would highly recommend the game. I like that the amount of depth you want to add into the game is quite customizable and I'm impressed by how far you can take it, considering that you can manually construct each building. I also am amazed by how much the game has to offer. As of writing this review I have more than 100 hours and I feel like I hardly scratched the surface. I haven't even touched ships and aircraft yet. I just love the freedom the game provides. Great game, if you like city builders or managment games you can't go wrong.

A slightly different kind of city-builder, with beautiful depth and big wonky tech-trees. It is hard to say "If you liked [X] you will enjoy this game!" because it doesn't really compare to anything. Do you want something where you might occasionally find the death-spirals you can get in Banished, because there were not enough workers going to the heating plant, and the majority of citizens in one of your cities ended up freezing, getting sick, and then died? Well here you can. Do you want to feel a level of incredible mastery when you finally construct a building from resources and manpower all originating from the motherland, without anything getting imported for the Soviet Union? It will take real effort to get there, but the feeling when you finally do is amazing!

A punishingly complex game that will take away your free time. 10/10 Highly recommend

It's factorio + simcity. What else do you want? (avoid realistic mode unless you have alot of free time, patience and know what you are getting into. For some people tho, it's the best part of the game)

brick roads good. control economy good. alcoholism best.

Most complex city builder ever created - I am completely addicted to this game!

I am in love with this game, and have over 600 hours played. My one and only complaint is that the new brick roads/footpaths are grey, when they clearly should be red! The bricks I'm using to build them are red, why isn't the road (at least) red(-ish) as well? The "brick" footpaths especially look more like cobblestones which I would expect to use the quarried stone resource not bricks. Thanks for the amazing game though!!

Great(est) game for city planners and those who wanna be one some day.

[h1]Finally! This is what I've been waiting for![/h1] If you are like me, you have played games like Tropico, Cities Skylines, Mall Tycoon (if you're old enough) and other similar games where you manage cities, resources, economies etc. and had fun playing them, but If you are even more like me, you also felt that those games didn't quite scratch the itch of what you were looking for. I wanted something where I had more control over the economy, resources, trade and other logistics. Pretty soon after I started playing this game I realized it definitely scratches that itch. This is the game I was looking for. I'm still learning the game and I have the occasional frustration with something not working (probably because I just don't understand how to make it work), but yeah, this game is great. If you're anything like me you'll love this game. [h2]Warning: Complex Game[/h2] Don't expect to pick up this game and know how to play quickly, it is quite complex and takes time to learn. There are a lot of mistakes I made in my first few custom games(one of which was doing realistic mode for my first one, which it literally said was not recommended for new players, but I did it anyway and it went about how they probably expected it to go for new players) I'm probably on my 6th or 7th restarted custom game (doing realistic mode again, although I did give myself more money to start to make it a little easier), and I finally feel like I have a decent grasp of how it all works. I did go through the tutorials and campaigns before I started my custom games though, so that helped, but I still need to look up answers to questions I have occasionally. I'm weird and I intentionally avoid videos that tell me the "best way to play the game" I like to figure it out as I go and make all the mistakes they would prevent me from making. The only video I ended up needing so far was someone to explain a good way to set up train semaphore signals for complex junctions because I was completely lost (as were my trains). [h2]DLC[/h2] I haven't actually purchased any DLC yet, so don't let the amount of DLC scare you off, you don't need it to enjoy this game. I'll probably look at buying some later, but right now I'm just enjoying the base game.

Absolute gem! The only thing I would love to see added is Weapons/Tanks/Aircraft that you can produce and ship to a far away conflict in order to influence market prices.

Its a great game. If you like simulation builds this is the ultimate game. There is a pretty big learning curve but its not a frustrating or awful experience. If you have patience and like simbuilds, this is the game for you. It's basically a city planning game with the ability to add multiple mods to make a city that functions on so many different and complicated levels, that no other game has previously provided. There are severel types of game play and currently im playing realistic mode which provides the greatest challenge through planning and foresight, its A LOT OF FUN.

Great game. Play on the realistic mode to get the most out of it.

i suddenly feel im alcholic, bcs it boost my morale up, then i start vomiting but there is no sewere i was paniced, technical services come and say, thats ok.. just get a million credits loan i cant stop man, did i set that sewere load at %60? ok than. this game is not for one who has a life. be aware.

The most intense city builder. No handholding on planned greatness. Could it be improved yes but with every update it certainly inches closer and closer to perfection. So support your local central committee gentlemen and purchase the game.