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Had enough of Minecraft?
There are a ton of games like Minecraft but only a few games are worth it, compared to Minecraft, that is. We are talking about the best-selling video game of all time. Respect where it’s due.
It’s hard to even consider a game with as extensive a building system as Minecraft and its cube world, but gaming is just about to explode and there are games that can somewhat provide a substitute experience.
Must Read : 30 Amazing Minecraft Facts That You Should Know
In this article, we will go over the 17 best games like Minecraft, other games with virtual worlds where you can play around with your own objectives.
List Of The Games Like Minecraft
1. Eco
Platform Supported: Linux, Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS
Imagine Minecraft being the foundation for all block games to follow. Eco seems like the obvious step forward. It builds upon the mechanics and gameplay that Minecraft has laid.
The underlying concept of playing Eco is to build an entire civilization from scratch, with some survival game elements.
This is a master builder similar to Minecraft but here, you have to construct buildings in a more modern setting, with specific objectives in mind.
For example, when cutting a tree, you need to be careful that it might erode the soil around you. Or if you’re crafting a lot of things, it leads to waste which can cause pollution to the nearby water source.
Every action has a reaction in this game, first released on Steam Early Access in 2018. There are different modes of play, some quite challenging, and all of them worth the while. You’re required to build a civilization that will withstand a meteor hit in a procedurally generated world that will depend on your actions and that of other players also in it.
Eco is one of the game worlds that depends on user-generated content and then builds on it!
Try to save everything during the collision. Good luck! It’s a game like Minecraft with better graphics and is top on our list because of all the tiny yet important details.
It’s still in Steam Early Access and probably the best Minecraft-style game around!
2. Dragon quest builder
Platform Supported: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3
There are a lot of games like Minecraft but dragon quest builder is one of the better clones out there. It has a lot of recipes for users to build and craft items to survive and is a block construction game like Minecraft.
The Dragon Quest franchise will require dedication mind you, with over 400 hours worth of campaigns and missions to keep you seriously occupied.
The game also focuses a lot on combat unlike its rival, Minecraft. If you’re looking to just chill and build things, test your construction skills, you can open sandbox mode.
The full features of the sandbox mode are unlocked after you finish the main story. The reason for that is the main story mode serves as a tutorial.
It will help you learn a lot of controls, combat, and building skills with an excellent storyline that will keep you hooked for days.
3. Subnautica
Platform Supported: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems
Subnautica is one of those unique games like Minecraft that laid new foundations for a survival game. The game requires you to survive underwater surrounded by hostile creatures.
You are not only required to collect food for staying healthy but also need to ensure that you are getting enough oxygen when going deep in the ocean to scavenge.
As the game starts, the plot will slowly unravel itself. A storyline is usually missing with building and survival games, however, Subnautica really delivers on the plot, ably helped out by a hauntingly beautiful procedurally generated world.
The game also has VR support which is really great and gives gamers an immersive experience like nothing before. There are a few expansions that add more hours to the game.
We recommend Subnautica!
4. Roblox
Platform Supported: Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Android devices, iOS, macOS, Fire OS, Classic Mac OS
Now, this is pretty interesting because a lot of people think that Minecraft was the original block-building game which is not true. Minecraft can be considered a clone of Roblox since Roblox was released in 2005.
It is a massively online multiplayer game world that can be a bit tricky to wrap your head around, especially if you’re trying to build your own game. But as an online game creation platform, there’s nothing like it.
This isn’t simply a sandbox-like Gary’s mod but an almost full-scale game world and a dedicated game dev community.
As a creator, you can sell your games for in-game currency which can later be converted to cash. How about that?
Roblox is free.
5. Fortnite
Platform Supported: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS
Fortnite caught on a trend frenzy with millennials hopping on servers and making it almost the next PUBG.
This doesn’t mean that Fortnite is all talk, it is as much of a fun survival game but it’s nothing like Minecraft, other than the sandbox building.
There are several different game modes like battle royale, co-op, and more. You start off with a giant pickaxe that you can use to deconstruct trees, rocks, and anything else for materials to help you build a base.
Fornite brought battle royale to PCs and consoles, competing with Warzone, steering away from the survival genre but making it big in a battle royale with its procedurally generated world.
Fortnite is free-to-play!
6. Junk Jack
Platform Supported: Nintendo Switch, Android, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Macintosh operating systems
Junk Jack is a 2-D classic that revolves around exploring and an extensive crafting system. This is one of the games that popularized the sandbox-crafting genre.
If you’re into devious killing and trapping then you’ll have a great time too. The game is devised to please everyone with all sorts of motives.
But be sure not to venture too far from the base or delve too deep in the undergrounds as it will never end well.
Just Jack has a really lengthy tutorial making sure that the player understands the mechanisms and controls of the game.
It has a much simpler crafting recipe than Minecraft which looks to attract less experienced players.
7. Don’t Starve
Platform Supported: Android, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Xbox One, Windows, Linux, Macintosh Operating System
This is not really a block-building game but is a crafting and survival game. Just like what the title says, it is a game about not starving.
Players are required to scavenge for food, craft weapons to hunt animals, create fire at night to stay away from monsters, and more. Not only that, but players also have to ensure that their characters do not go crazy and each character has a different personality.
This is very important to understand as some characters are prone to going insane if not taken care of. It is not an easy game, to begin with, but like Minecraft, it is addictive.
It has a very gothic-like hand-drawn art style which makes the game visually appealing too.
Don’t starve starts by dropping you off in the middle of nowhere on your own where you start to figure out how to survive and make sense of a lot of things.
8. Space Engineers
Platform Supported: Microsoft Windows
This is a fun classic sandbox game focused on construction and crafting at its heart. Space engineers allow gamers to create their own spaceships, vehicles, bases, etc. There are two game modes, survival, and creative mode.
The physics engine on this game is superb, enabling gamers to build or destroy almost anything. In some ways, it’s a whole different game world, where you can enjoy a large degree of freedom for building and progressing.
Multiplayer mode has 16 players per world that work together or fight each other to gain control.
The game has an active community that delivers many different mods allowing you to try different spaceships and fly off to other planets. This is one of the best space sandbox games around.
9. Craft the world
Platform Supported: iOS, Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS
Craft the World puts you in charge of an underground labyrinth with a group of dwarves. These dwarves are miners and will mine for resources throughout the day under your command.
Once they’ve gathered enough resources for you, you can start the construction of bases, weapons, and more through the in-game library of simple recipes.
If you’re being attacked by a couple of monsters or bad guys, order your dwarves to fend off the base.
If you want to get creative, you can set up a couple of traps for the baddies too. This is an interesting survival game with city-building and management mechanisms as well as some sandbox crafting capabilities, an addictive mixture to say the least.
10. Rust
Platform Supported: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Classic Mac OS
Rust is a ruthless survival crafting game that became really popular as soon as it was released. The game drops you off in the wilderness without any directions.
You’ll have to slowly figure out the controls, the crafting methods, recipes, base building to avoid other players and gear to survive the weather, radiation, and the land.
This all might sound like rust being a game like Minecraft, however, rust is a game that plays around with human psychology, behavior, and also depravities of human nature.
You might encounter friendly people willing to work together and support you but then you might even encounter betrayals or traitors among your group.
The game building system is complex and substantially challenging from the start, fusing survival and crafting mechanics with modern-day graphics.
Also Read: 13 Survival Games Like Rust
11. Lego worlds
Platform Supported: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Many people describe Minecraft to be replicating the real-life lego, hence, is referred to as virtual lego. It’s only fair that we bring in the real lego building game. Lego world is all about exploring an open world made from lego.
It is a game very similar to Minecraft with a familiar mode of construction. However, users can game building tools to change the world and reframe it.
This game, unlike Minecraft, is more vibrant. It has a lot to offer, many characters, vehicles, unique structures, and more. There are different modes in the game that allow users to experience sandbox and also RPG as well.
12. 7 Days to die
Platform Supported: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
7 Days to die started with a bang. It had one of the easiest crafting recipes and mechanics of all construction building games. What made it stand out was the horror element of a Zombie outbreak on the 7th day.
It feels realistic and is dark, unlike Minecraft. It has great options for gamers to create traps, shelters in abandoned buildings, or a base that would stand the 7th night.
The game is extremely fun where you can scavenge for weapons, armor, clothes, food, etc. while on the way bashing zombies since they are pretty slow. But be careful of the night.
The zombies become active and hungry and will chase you throughout the map if you’re not careful. And most definitely be careful of the horde night that is on every seventh night.
It brings a relentless horde of much faster and stronger zombies right at your door.
The fun slowly turns into a nightmare giving you terrors as you try to survive the night. It is absolutely a fantastic game that keeps getting updated.
13. Kerbal space program
Platform Supported: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, Linux, Wii U
Launching a rocket from almost scratch – this is what the Kerbal space program is all about. This is No Man’s Sky stripped down to the bare basics and minus the randomly generated world.
You need serious analytical skills to launch the first rocket and engineer further space travel. The core gameplay is about launching rockets to the moon and to the rest of the solar system with added survival features too.
Challenges are aplenty, requiring you to collect resources, craft parts, and most importantly, get the orbital trajectory just right. Definitely one of the best Minecraft alternatives around if you’re looking for a 5-10 hour small game. It’s a cool educational tool too.
The Enhanced Edition’s on sale for $9.99 at GameStop right now!
14. Terraria
Platform Supported: Android, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Windows
This is another 2-D gem of a game that starts with chopping down trees to build a shelter. You need to be fast in creating a space for you to hide in the night.
Terraria is more than a sandbox game, it’s a sandbox world with an open-world survival experience with the core gameplay based on collecting resources and crafting.
The game is very flexible in terms of construction and also combat. There are unique items that will help you fight monsters and stronger bosses.
The game has made a recent large update, Journey’s End, making it more of a reason to play it.
Related Read:
15. Ark Survival
Platform Supported: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, Windows, Linux, MacOS
This is Minecraft on steroids and with a prehistoric setting. Expect all sorts of dinosaurs on the land, in the sea, and above coupled with alarming survival mechanics that blend in with the sandbox environment.
You wake up on a beach that is filled with prehistoric animals and your aim is to dominate the place as fast as you can. Gather resources, build a base, just as you would on other survival games.
You need to be in charge of the jungle therefore you can also tame animals and create your entire arsenal of dinosaurs that you can use to travel or attack other dinosaurs.
The game starts you off naked on a beach and turns you into an apex predator if you play your cards right. It is a slow survival game that takes time to get used to it but is a power fantasy. It aims at emulating the evolution concept like no other game.
16. Robocraft
Platform Supported: Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Classic Mac OS, Steam Machine
The name speaks for itself. It is an online robot battle brawler. You are required to construct your robot from different block-based components and you’ll enjoy a somewhat sandbox crafting experience.
Let your creativity run free and create a robot that survives others, clobbering them while on the way to victory. But beware, if you think you can break somebody else’s bot, then there is another gamer who thinks the same.
It’s not just a robot battle but a battle of skills, creativity, and more. The possibilities to create something impressive are endless. The construction screen has a lot to offer, so you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed.
But don’t worry and give it some time. There are impressive guns, armor, shielding cloaks, and more to look forward to. Your creativity is what will push you to create the ultimate blocky bot.
Robocraft is free to play!
17. Stardew Valley
Platform Supported: Nintendo Switch, Android, PS 4, Linux, Xbox One, iOS, Windows, PS Vita, MacOS
Stardew Valley is one of the best single-player PC games around, one of the best Minecraft clones around with a beautiful 2D world game, a cross between Minecraft, and 7 days to die.
You start off by inheriting old farmland. You can either socialize with people in a small weird town or spend your time earning money harvesting crops on your land.
There are plenty of unique settings to explore. Each of these offers various resources, weapons, and enemies making this game more interesting than it sounds.
It is a combination of many different games but stands on its own as one of the best PC games ever, with RPG elements, a vintage story, character progression, and great gameplay.
Around $15 on GameStop! (Digital Code)
Conclusion
We could’ve added a lot more, popular titles considered as games like Minecraft, e.g. – Animal Crossing, No Man’s Sky. But none of these offer the sandbox world creation and direct environment interaction on the level of Minecraft.
Instead, we have listed similar games based on survival elements mixed with sandbox crafting and building. We know you’ll like it!
