Deal | “The Dark Souls of City Builders”: Complex strategy game drops below $10 on Steam

Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic is set in a fictional Soviet republic during the Cold War. However, the goal here isn't simply to build a particularly attractive city. Instead, players are tasked with transforming an initially impoverished country into a wealthy and independent industrial nation. In true socialist fashion, players take virtually complete control of the state – from cities and factories to resource extraction and goods production, as well as education, healthcare and public transportation.

Compared with many other city builders, Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic goes into considerably more detail. Production chains, logistics, energy supply and population management are closely interconnected. A factory, for example, needs not only raw materials but also electricity, workers and functioning transport links. Those workers, in turn, need somewhere to live, food, healthcare and a way to get to work in the first place. Even small planning mistakes can therefore quickly bring large parts of the republic to a standstill. A more detailed look at the gameplay and mechanics can be found in our previous article on the game.

On Steam, players particularly praise the in-depth economic simulation, complex production chains, detailed logistics and extensive freedom the game offers. At the same time, Workers & Resources is anything but a relaxing city builder for a quick session. Its enormous complexity, heavy micromanagement and steep learning curve can quickly overwhelm newcomers in particular. It's no coincidence that one Steam user describes the game as “the Dark Souls of city builders.”

Overall, the game has a 90% positive rating on Steam from more than 27,000 user reviews. Metacritic also lists a Metascore of 81 and a User Score of 8.3. On the Steam Deck, the city builder is rated “Playable.”

75% off on Steam

Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic comes from Slovak studio 3Division and normally costs $39.99 on Steam. Until September 5, however, a 75% discount brings the price down to $9.99. This isn't a new all-time low, though. According to SteamDB, the same discount was already available in July 2026. The current deal therefore brings Workers & Resources back down to its previous lowest price.

Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.