Thriving City: Song on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
Quick menu
In 960 A.D., the Zhao Song Dynasty was established. As the mayor, you'll need to help the townspeople settle down, cultivate the land and expand. However, when the emperor issues a national mandate, conflicts between factions threaten city development—what strategy will you adopt?
Thriving City: Song is a simulation, city builder and strategy game
developed by White Star Studio
and published by IndieArk.
Released on May 29th 2024 is available on Windows and MacOS
in 2 languages: Simplified Chinese and English.
It has received 2,921 reviews of which 2,373 were positive and 548 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.8 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 12.94€ on Steam with a 30% discount, but you can find it for 7.12€ on Instant Gaming.
The Steam community has classified Thriving City: Song into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Thriving City: Song through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4590
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: nVIDIA GeForce GTX 750ti
- Storage: 2 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: MacOS
- Processor: 苹果 M1 或英特尔酷睿 M
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Rise as mayor, build a bustling city, and keep everyone fed—until bandits, drought, and imperial taxes make you wish you were a wandering poet instead. Expand wisely, govern fairly, and pray the emperor doesn’t send an edict that ruins everything. 8/10, would hoard rice again. 🌾🏯📜 Follow my curator page for more dynastic dilemmas, poetic plagues, and emperors with very expensive tastes! 🏯📖✨ [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42602807-Osiris-Reviews/] https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42602807-Osiris-Reviews/
Expand the review
If you are english player, I would say the language is serviceable and not the worst i have ever seen. However, as always the text overflow might trigger you a little bit. On the gameplay itself, I only played the story mode which is a controlled environment that has locked features in each of the stages. I would say this game is not bad and has the potential to be one of my favourite city builder game with chinese culture twist. The learning curve is not that steep but I would really like they explained more about the priority setting and jobs. That system is a little bit clunky but not game breaking. I would recommend this game to be bought during sales unless you like this type of game a lot.
Expand the review
The best Chinese city-building game ever! Absolutely love the graphics, and it's fantastic that I can play it on my Mac. It's often difficult for Mac users to find great games, but this one is top-notch. Totally obsessed—love, love it!
Expand the review
This is a nifty city-builder, similar in the vein of the old Impression Games from the early 90s to mid-2000s, but with key differences. For starters, housing & structures are not built instantaneously but require resources that must be harvested/mined. In that sense, it resembles an RTS, to a passing extent. Speaking of, unlike the Impression city-builders, Thriving City's military elements are a bit more fleshed out, with similarities to the Stronghold series, albeit in a much more limited capacity. The soundtrack should also be commended, as it is quite pleasing to the ears. As for the setting, per its name, the game takes place over the course of 319 years of that 10th to 13th century imperial Chinese dynasty. The game's nine (itself a symbolic number in Chinese history & culture) campaign missions encompass that time period, beginning with military general Zhao Kuangyin acceding to the Dragon Throne as Emperor Taizu of Song following the Chenqiao Mutiny on February 2, 960, and concluding with Zhao Bing, the child-emperor of the greatly reduced dynasty who died alongside his loyal servant Lu Xiufu at the Battle of Yamen on March 19, 1279, where both committed suicide to escape the grasp of the invading Mongol armies as they fought to establish the succeeding Yuan Dynasty. For anyone who is a history buff like myself, especially Chinese history, it makes for an interesting turn of things when, as you play the missions, you encounter famous personages from the Song Dynasty, including the poet Liu Yong, the calligrapher Ouyang Xiu, the imperial chancellor Fan Zhongyan, and even the famed Bao Zheng, whose dedication to integrity and incorruptibility still remains a byword among the Chinese peoples nearly a thousand years after his lifetime. As a county magistrate (县令), the player is also tasked with adjudicating on cases that crop up every now and then, some of which are based on the gong'an fiction genre. Not only that, you also hire skilled assistants who bring benefits to your city, a reflection of the centuries-old Chinese imperial examinations. Not to mention juggling between the residents' demands and the decrees from the imperial court. If anything, the game is an ironic reminder that imperial Chinese county magistrates were often overworked & underpaid, afraid of their constituents & terrified of the mercurial whims of the Emperor or his immediate subordinates. Thriving City has few drawbacks; I don't recall any major game-breaking bugs. The few I can mention includes the lack of a map radar, which is essential in a city-builder game. Similarly, there is no fire alert button which takes you to the site of the incident, forcing you to search the whole city to determine where the flames are. The lack of immediately visible basic statistics like population size is also a drawback, as you need to look at the in-depth stats tab to find out. Its primary shortcoming, I must admit, is the lacklustre localisation. Since I cannot read/write Mandarin, I won't comment on that. But the English translations often leave something to be desired. For example, the player's residence is translated as 'Parliament', which is not only a historical anachronism but also an inaccurate term. It would have been better to refer to it as the magistrate's residence or court. Naturally, as the game's developer White Star Studio appears to be an indie outfit, and likely made this game for the Chinese-speaking market first and foremost, I suppose they can't be blamed altogether for additional localisations, let alone an improved English one. The tutorial's audio dialogue is wholly in Mandarin, with only the text in English. I imagine making more localisations might be a strain on their resources as is. Overall, I have no major complaints about Thriving City: Song, since it's a reasonably enjoyable game. But the localisation hinders replayability, and hopefully (since the game was fully released over a month ago, as of this review) that can be improved, with more languages added later on.
Expand the review
I have really enjoyed this game so far. I wanted a city builder to while away some time, and Thriving City: Song attracted me because of its Chinese historical setting and hand-drawn art. The mechanics should be familiar to fans of the genre. In playstyle it reminds me most of Kingdoms and Castles, though it has its own gimmicks and a story mode. I like the Imperial Examination system, as well as the different kinds of shrines and their effects, both of which add meat and flavour to the game. I played this in English, and the localisation is entirely serviceable. However, it needs a bit of polish. Some issues include: * Terms translated inconsistently * Obscure or unclear choice of translation * Tense or mood choices not matching the situation * Text not fitting on UI and overflowing. Overall I am having fun with the game and will continue playing, but I hope the developers can revisit the localisation and improve it.
Expand the review
Similar games
View all
Children of the Nile: Enhanced Edition
Children of the Nile™ is a unique gem of a city-building game, unparalleled in both grandeur and attention to detail.As Pharaoh you will guide your people through thousands of years of history: from simple hunter-gatherers to the creation of an immortal civilization.
Grand Ages: Rome
As Governor of a Roman Province in the time-honoured Roman Empire, its fortune very much lies in your hands. Choose one of five Roman noble families such as Caesar’s Julii with different abilities to accomplish the comprehensive missions.
Sumerians
Sumerians is a city building game set in ancient Mesopotamia. Attract new citizens and grow by expanding your irrigation system, building walls, palaces, temples and ziggurats. Research new technologies, manage your production, hire workers, and trade.
Manor Lords
Manor Lords is a medieval strategy game featuring in-depth city building, large-scale tactical battles, and complex economic and social simulations. Rule your lands as a medieval lord – the seasons pass, the weather changes, and cities rise and fall.
Caesar™ IV
Starting as governor of a newly formed province in the Roman Empire your goal is simple: advance up the empire's political ladder to become the next Caesar.
Pharaoh + Cleopatra
Immerse yourself in Ancient Egypt from the age of the great pyramids to the final years of the New Kingdom.
Pax Augusta
Pax Augusta is probably the most authentic ancient city-building simulation. Build flourishing cities and look after your citizens. Earn gold with production and trade of goods and build impressive monuments. Strengthen your influence and become a Roman emperor!
Hearthlands
Hearthlands is a medieval/fantasy city-building real time strategy game in which you take a role of a king in a procedurally generated world. You can not control your subjects directly; instead you focus on city-building, resource management, diplomacy, heroes, magic and other things a typical king deals with on a daily basis.
SimCity™ 3000 Unlimited
SimCity 3000 Unlimited brings you the classic strategy gaming of SimCity 3000 with all-new scenarios that open up a whole world of city planning and building possibilities! The thrills of the classic SimCity 3000 are here again!
CivCity: Rome
CivCity: Rome, an innovative city builder inspired by the world of Sid Meiers Civilization, and created by a collaboration between Firefly Studios and Firaxis Games, invites players to shift focus from building a multi-city empire and zoom-in on the great cities of the Roman Empire, culminating in Rome itself!
Frequently Asked Questions
Thriving City: Song is currently priced at 12.94€ on Steam.
Thriving City: Song is currently available at a 30% discount. You can purchase it for 12.94€ on Steam.
Thriving City: Song received 2,373 positive votes out of a total of 2,921 achieving a rating of 7.84.
😊
Thriving City: Song was developed by White Star Studio and published by IndieArk.
Thriving City: Song is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Thriving City: Song is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Thriving City: Song is not playable on Linux.
Thriving City: Song is a single-player game.
There is a DLC available for Thriving City: Song. Explore additional content available for Thriving City: Song on Steam.
Thriving City: Song is fully integrated with Steam Workshop. Visit Steam Workshop.
Thriving City: Song does not support Steam Remote Play.
Thriving City: Song is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Thriving City: Song.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 10 June 2025 14:10 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 11 June 2025 18:05 |
| Steam price | 15 June 2025 04:46 |
| Steam reviews | 13 June 2025 19:56 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Thriving City: Song, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Thriving City: Song
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Thriving City: Song concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Thriving City: Song compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
52
Developer
White Star Studio
Publisher
IndieArk
Release
29 May 2024
Platforms
By clicking on any of the links on this page and making a purchase,
you may help us earn a commission that supports the maintenance of our services.