As a leading sandbox adventure game, Minecraft has taken the gaming world by storm since its launch in 2009. Its distinctive pixelated graphics, expansive open world, and endless possibilities for creativity have propelled it to be one of the world's best-selling video games. Indeed, in Minecraft, there's no one "right" way to play. You can choose to survive in a randomly generated world teeming with blocky monsters, explore magnificent terrains or construct astonishing structures, design your own minigames within the Minecraft engine, or just spend your time farming and crafting. If you love indulging in your creative senses or relish the challenge of surviving against the elements, Minecraft certainly delivers.
Given the immense popularity and acclaim of Minecraft, numerous games have been inspired by or adapted from its original mechanics. These games breath new life into the sandbox genre by adding unique spins and features, thereby offering players with diverse experiences akin to Minecraft. From city builders to survival games, the list of Minecraft-esque games is expansive and sure to cater to a variety of gaming preferences. So, if you're engrossed by the world of Minecraft, you'll be delighted to find that there’s a wealth of similar games waiting to be enjoyed. But what are these games, you might ask?
25. Terraria
If you're a fan of Minecraft's creative and sandbox-style gameplay, the world of Terraria is a universe you will definitely love to delve into. It shares Minecraft's emphasis on exploration, crafting, building, and combat mechanics. You'll be thrust into a randomly generated 2D world where your survival depends on successfully mining resources, employing them to craft useful equipment and create masterful architectural marvels like your own castles or fortresses. The creativity is limitless! More excitingly, Terraria also offers an extensive array of weapons, magic spells, and armors for the adventures in combating various enemies and powerful bosses.
One of the intriguing aspects of Terraria is the colorful, detailed pixel art, which individually may remind you of older games, but as a whole creates a vibrant, full of life world much like Minecraft. Terraria, however, brings its unique metroidvania style twist on the sandbox genre, with more emphasis on adventure and combat. You’ll be interacting with different NPCs, each providing unique services, and uncovering hundreds of different items and resources, which adds additional layers to the gameplay. So, while it matches Minecraft's freedom and creativity, it also brings into play a separate beat of progress and exploration that keeps the game exciting and fresh.
Terraria is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android, typically priced around $9.99 USD.
24. Starbound
In Starbound, just like in Minecraft, you have the freedom to go wherever you want and do whatever you want. Much like Minecraft, Starbound is a procedurally generated sandbox game where you mine resources, craft items, build structures, and explore a massive universe. It encourages creativity and exploration just like Minecraft. You might absolutely love carving out your path, constructing bases, and decking them out with the fruits of your galactic travels. Imagine playing Minecraft in outer space where every planet you visit is a unique sandbox waiting to be dug up, built upon, and explored.
Starbound also carries similar survival and RPG elements and a wonderful multiplayer mode, definitely relatable to those of Minecraft. Designing and building your spaceship and colonies, engaging in epic battles with alien creatures, and visiting bizarre alien worlds will immerse you into a unique gameplay experience. The game allows you to capture unique monsters and have them as your pets or crew members, which is somewhat similar to taming animals in Minecraft. The game further offers an extensive variety of crafting options and an in-depth farming system, reminding you of farming and crafting in Minecraft but with a broader approach.
Starbound is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and typically priced around $15 USD.
23. Craft The World
If you're a fan of the sandbox, world-building fun of Minecraft, you might be interested in a game called Craft The World. This is a unique sandbox strategy game where, similarly to Minecraft, you will explore a random generated world made of blocks, full of different resources and creatures. The diversity of elements and freedoms you have in creating and interacting with your own unique world is a shared feature between these games. Crafting, building, digging, and defense are other common aspects where Craft the World echoes much of what made Minecraft so much fun.
Like in Minecraft, you'll have the freedom to manipulate the virtual environment in Craft the World. The fantasy dwarf-themed game adds a new twist as you control a tribe of dwarves by giving them commands to dig in certain places, build houses, and create advanced crafting objects. It comes with a tech tree for crafting and mining, daytime and nighttime cycles, weather conditions, and many more additions that give the game its unique flavor. Similar to the hostile mobs in Minecraft, Craft The World has its own array of creatures and monsters to keep the challenge up.
Craft The World is available on platforms such as Steam (for PC, Mac), iOS and Android. It is typically priced around $19 USD.
22. Don't Starve
Don't Starve shares a number of similarities with Minecraft, particularly its emphasis on exploration, crafting, and survival mechanics. The game presents players with an open world to traverse, resources to gather, items to construct, and dangers to avoid - all against a ticking clock of hunger, sanity, and looming threats. These aspects mirror Minecraft's key gameplay elements, while adding innovative features. Don't Starve introduces distinct biomes and unique creatures, each with their own set of challenges, engaging players in a continuous cycle of discovery, adaptation, and survival much like Minecraft does.
The art style of Don't Starve might not resemble Minecraft's pixel-based graphics, but its vibrant, hand-drawn aesthetic helps set a darkly whimsical and mysterious atmosphere that encapsulates the theme of survival in an unknown wilderness. It also presents a unique combat system where timing and strategy become crucial for dealing with foes, as well as a day-night cycle which alters the game environment dynamically and poses different challenges.Finally, just as in Minecraft, you can play Don't Starve with your friends using a separate cooperative multiplayer mode, Don't Starve Together, for a shared survival experience.
Don't Starve is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android, typically priced around $14.99 USD.
21. Rust
The game Rust brings familiar attributes from Minecraft such as the gathering of resources, crafting systems, and a heavy emphasis on survival. Like Minecraft, Rust places players in a wild, uncharted territory, challenging them to build shelters, find food, gather materials, fend off hostile entities, and navigate the world's natural hazards. Rust will certainly resonate with your love of open map exploration; only this time, your character is vulnerable to factors like cold, wildlife, and potential betrayal from other players, injecting a unique survival realism. Rust gives you the power to build practically anything you can imagine, similarly to Minecraft, but be prepared for other players online who might want to take it for themselves!
Another distinctive point of comparison is the Player-vs-Player (PvP) game mode in Rust. Unlike Minecraft, where your creations are relatively safe unless you initiate combat or intentionally draw a creeper's attention, Rust has an almost high-stakes, lawless feel about it. The game assuredly pushes the survival elements a notch higher by allowing other players to raid your base, which adds an exhilarating sense of rivalry and urgency to defend your territory. Admittedly, Rust's learning curve might be steeper than Minecraft's, but fans will find it adds layers of complexity and challenge that make it a rich, robust experience.
Rust is available on Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, typically priced around $39.99 USD.
20. 7 Days To Die
7 Days To Die is a game that resembles Minecraft in various ways especially in its core concepts of crafting, building, and surviving. Just as in Minecraft, you're thrown into a world with very little and have to build, mine, and scavenge to survive. However, the game brings an exciting, fresh twist by incorporating elements of horror and survival. The setting is post-apocalyptic and the game involves finding or crafting materials to help fortify your base before being attacked by zombie hordes, elevating the survival stakes higher than in Minecraft.
The voxel-based sandbox quality found in Minecraft carries through into 7 Days To Die. This means the landscape is completely destructible and craftable in a block by block sense. Like in Minecraft, you can build your base or structures to your heart's content with immense creative freedom and strategic depth. Additionally, the looting and crafting systems are finely detailed, with a vast array of materials and items to discover and utilize. There is a learning curve to the game, but the intricacies that you discover about crafting specific items or structures can be extremely satisfying and can continuously pique your interest, just like Minecraft.
7 Days To Die is available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $30 USD.
19. Roblox
Roblox, just like your beloved Minecraft, offers a limitless universe where players have the freedom to create and play games designed by them or other users. Through its dynamic platform, you can allow your imagination to run wild, just like in Minecraft; you can build, design, and explore new worlds catered specifically to your liking. The blocky nature of the graphics may remind you of Minecraft, it evokes a motivation for creativity and exploration, making every generated world feel like a unique adventure.
Beyond this, you’ll find that Roblox offers a strongly community-driven experience, much like Minecraft. You can join various communities or “groups”, and engage in tournaments, collaborate, socialize, and even trade in-game items. This social aspect has always been a big part of Minecraft and is equally, if not more present in Roblox. Essentially, if you enjoy the open-ended gameplay of Minecraft, the customization, and the sense of adventure or community, then there is a good chance that you'd also love Roblox.
Roblox is available on PC, Xbox One, and Mobile Devices, typically priced around $0 USD but with in-game purchases available for those looking to enhance their gaming experience.
18. Trove
Like Minecraft, Trove is a game rich in creativity and exploration where the world is your canvas. It is a voxel-based sandbox game that comes with the same blocky aesthetic popularized by Minecraft but incorporates elements of MMORPGs. This brings you the joy of not only designing, mining, and building in an infinite universe as you did in Minecraft, but also engaging in cooperative adventures with friends and players worldwide. From customizing your character to constructing detailed structures, Trove allows a fun, personalized experience similar to Minecraft.
Trove heavily encourages player-created content, a fundamental aspect of Minecraft that you already love. For instance, you get an area known as a Cornerstone which can be freely transported around the world. Here, you can construct your home, farm, or whatever masterpiece you can think of. Combat in Trove is also uniquely designed with different classes having diverse abilities which offer more strategy and engagement than Minecraft. Plus, with a variety of realms to explore, each with its own set of activities and challenges, the game offers a level of depth in gameplay that quite possibly surpasses Minecraft.
Trove is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $0 USD as it is a free-to-play game but with optional in-game purchases to enhance your gaming experience.
17. Stranded Deep
Stranded Deep, much like Minecraft, is a survival-based game where crafting and exploration are key components. You find yourself in the aftermath of a plane crash, stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and armed with only your wits. The game allows you to explore deserted islands and underwater ecosystems, all while combating the harsh realities of survival. Crafting and building are integral parts of the game, two of the main things you love about Minecraft. Furthermore, Stranded Deep has an impressive physics-based crafting system which involves combining different items you find during your explorations. You’ll feel right at home with constructing shelters, weapons, and tools in familiar ways, but with a fresh new setting and a set of challenges.
Just as in Minecraft, the game environment in Stranded Deep is both beautifully designed and dynamically interactive. The day-night cycle, change in weather patterns, and diverse wildlife render a living world that’s exciting to navigate while simultaneously posing survival challenges. The game employs procedurally-generated world elements, so each gameplay experience is unique, keeping you in suspense as you craft your own narrative in this sandbox-style world. The freedom to go spearfishing, island-hopping, treasure hunting or simply building your own beachfront paradise echoes the thrill of forging your own path in Minecraft.
Stranded Deep is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $20 USD.
16. Subnautica
First off, just like Minecraft, Subnautica shares an open-world sandbox style gameplay, where your limits are only curtailed by your own creativity. Both games thrust you into a world where survival is key and resource management is vital. Subnautica, however, trades the infinitely generating land masses of Minecraft with a vast underwater expanse, encouraging exploration and increasing immersion. You can mine resources, construct habitats, and much more, all while unraveling a compelling narrative that adds an additional layer of intrigue to the game.
Moreover, the crafting system in Subnautica is reminiscent of Minecraft's crafting mechanics. Although not as extensive, Subnautica’s crafting still feels satisfying, intuitive, and broad. There are plenty of tools, vehicles, and even habitats to craft which allow you to explore, survive, and conquer the game's underwater world more effectively. Just like in Minecraft, experimentation and discovery are crucial elements of the game.
Subnautica is available on Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $30 USD.
15. The Forest
Just like your beloved Minecraft, The Forest is a brilliant survival game that emphasizes crafting, exploration, and importantly, creativity. Offering a diverse range of tools, weapons, and structures, its crafting system sticks closely to the one you've grown accustomed to in Minecraft. Though it does one-up by adding an incredibly immersive layer of survival mechanics such as hunting, cooking, and also protecting yourself from the island's cannibals. Its atmospheric open world also immerses you in dynamic environments and challenges, reminiscent of the vast biomes spanning across the Minecraft universe.
Minecraft's brilliance lay in its openness and freedom which allowed each player to forge their own tale, and The Forest follows a similar path. It positions you in a captivating, mysterious crashsite story that grips you from the get-go. But it also lets you shape your own narrative, choosing how to survive and explore in the immersive world it offers. With night-to-day transitions, looming threats around every corner, and the constant need to adapt and evolve, it delivers an engaging, somewhat darker survival experience that stretches your strategic and decision-making skills, much like Minecraft.
The Forest is available on PlayStation 4 and PC, typically priced around $20 USD.
14. Creativerse
One of the video games you may want to try is Creativerse. Like Minecraft, Creativerse is a survival sandbox game set in a beautiful, procedurally-generated world. You can roam around huge forests, climb towering mountains, and dig deep into the underworld full of luminous mushrooms and glowing lava. Both games are creative and allow the player to build anything they want with an array of materials that they can find in the world. This is a recipe for endless fun!
Moreover, a large aspect of both games is crafting and surviving. From making tools, weapons, and various machines to surviving against monsters, Creativerse offers just as much challenge and depth as Minecraft. Whether you prefer a peaceful experience focusing on creativity or a more thrilling one fighting against creatures, Creativerse has the flexibility to cater to your playstyle. It also adds its own unique spins, like taming and keeping pets, or cooking different types of dishes, making it stand out while still feeling familiar.
Creativerse is available on Steam platform, typically priced around $0 USD as it's free-to-play with optional in-game purchases.
13. Ark: Survival Evolved
Ark: Survival Evolved could be considered the next level for fans of Minecraft. Like Minecraft, Ark is a game of survival, resource management and creativity. Both games drop you into a world filled with dangers, where you must gather materials, craft tools and build shelters to survive. Yet, Ark takes this concept and amplifies it with more complex crafting systems, stunning 3D graphics, diverse ecosystems and a wider variety of creatures that roam the land, sea, and air.
Exploration and creativity are key elements in both games. In Minecraft, you shape the world to your liking, pushing your creative boundaries. Ark: Survival Evolved gives you the same opportunity but on a much grander scale. You can build massive bases, breed dinosaurs, and even form alliances with other players. Additionally, Ark's player vs player (PvP) elements and focus on cooperation add new dimensions to the gameplay, making it an exciting step up from Minecraft.
Ark: Survival Evolved is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $60 USD.
12. Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley and Minecraft, while being distinctly different in their core gameplay, share many similar elements that you might find interesting. Both games center around the idea of creating your own world. In Minecraft, the main mechanism is building, whereas Stardew Valley focuses on crafting and farming. There is an absolute freedom in Stardew Valley as there is in Minecraft, as you're able to cultivate crops, raise livestock, build up your farm and interact with the local villager NPCs, creating your own unique farm-life experience. Moreover, the game incorporates mining and resource gathering, which you will find similar to the mining aspect of day-to-day life in Minecraft.
The aesthetic of both games is also continually compared. While Minecraft sticks to a more pixelated block-theme, Stardew Valley offers a unique 16-bit pixel art style that is reminiscent of old-school, top-down RPGs - sometimes giving off a Minecraft feel. The game also features its share of monsters and underground dungeons to discover and battle through. The mechanics of combat may not be as hearty as Minecraft’s player vs. creature system, but it offers up a unique challenge to players. Furthermore, both games offer an element of relaxation, how you can take things slow, unwind and really enjoy the simplistic yet engaging world around you.
Stardew Valley is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile platforms, typically priced around $15 USD.
11. Space Engineers
Space Engineers is similar to Minecraft in that it provides a sandbox environment that prioritizes the use of creativity and engineering. Like Minecraft, the game features a procedurally generated world which you are free to explore and manipulate, with a vast amount of resources available for you to shape and control. The main difference lies in the setting, as the game takes place in an outer-space environment, complete with zero-g mechanics, asteroids, and various types of celestial bodies. It also puts a heavier emphasis on mechanical and electronic workings, encouraging players to design and construct everything from fundamental space stations to intricate planetary installations.
The more advanced physics and engineering systems present in Space Engineers make for a different kind of gameplay compared to Minecraft, while still retaining the core concept of infinite creative freedom. There's just as much focus on survival, but with an added layer of challenge due to a more complex environment. If you adored creating and exploring in Minecraft but craved a bit more complexity, Space Engineers could be your next obsession. Multiplayer allows for collaborative or competitive play, adding another familiar dimension to both fans of Minecraft's survival and creative modes.
Space Engineers is available on PC and Xbox One, typically priced around $19.99 USD.
10. No Man's Sky
Well, if you've enjoyed Minecraft, you'll probably find a lot of elements to love in No Man's Sky. Both games showcase a huge open world, or rather, an open universe in the case of No Man's Sky that truly allows free-roaming exploration. You get to mine resources, which is very much like Minecraft, and these resources help you craft new tools, buildings, starships, and more. Both games employ a procedural generation system, which means each planet you explore or each biome you encounter is unique and unrepeatable, giving you a different experience every time you play.
A really striking similarity between the two games is the concept of survival and the importance of creativity. Just as in Minecraft, No Man's Sky features survival elements where you have to constantly monitor and manage your character's resources, health, and protection, especially when in hostile and alien environments. With regards to creativity, Minecraft allows you to build structures like houses and castles block by block. In No Man's Sky, you can construct bases, settlements, or just anything you can imagine using the resources you obtain from different planets. Some players even build intricate structures that really show off their creativity - much like what you'd see in Minecraft.
No Man's Sky is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and also on PC. It's typically priced around $60 USD.
9. Stonehearth
Stonehearth and Minecraft are very much alike in many exciting aspects that cater to fans of creative, build-your-own-world type games. Like Minecraft, Stonehearth offers a world of unlimited possibilities where the only limit is your imagination. You can gather resources, build structures, create complex designs, and interact with a variety of unique NPCs, much like you would do in Minecraft. Additionally, the voxel-based graphic style of Stonehearth will feel warmly familiar to any Minecraft player, giving you that welcoming, blocky aesthetic you love.
However, what sets Stonehearth apart, and perhaps makes it an even more thrilling option, is its unique gameplay features, offering a more in-depth civilization management alongside its building mechanics. Stonehearth combines elements of city management and strategy with traditional voxel building, so not only are you constructing your own world, but you're also managing an entire community of adorable little citizens, each with their own jobs, tasks, and needs. This added depth means more challenges and strategy, enriching the overall gaming experience while keeping the fun, creative aspects of Minecraft intact.
Stonehearth is available on Windows, macOS, and SteamOS+Linux platforms, typically priced around $24.99 USD.
8. Blockworld
Blockworld shares many similarities with Minecraft, both taking pride in their creative sandbox-style gameplay and blocky 3D graphics. Both games truly let your imagination run wild, allowing you to create structures, landscapes, and even intricate mechanisms. However, Blockworld takes it a step further, with its diverse range of blocks and options, providing a different level of complexity and detail to your creations. Like Minecraft, it features various biomes, weather systems, and a day-night cycle, ensuring each game experience feels fresh and unique.
Moving ahead, both Minecraft and Blockworld place a strong emphasis on survival gameplay. You are required to gather resources, craft tools, and build shelters to survive against the game's range of creatures. But once again, Blockworld manages to add its twist with advanced enemy AI and a wider array of obtuse critters who are determined to see your downfall. However, don't fret. With the game’s in-depth crafting system, you have more than enough tools at your disposal to tackle these challenges. So, whether you're a fan of relaxing in creative mode or living on the edge in survival mode, Blockworld offers an engaging alternative to your Minecraft experience.
Blockworld is available on PC, Xbox One, and iOS, typically priced around $20 USD.
7. PixARK
What immediately stands out about PixArk is its uncanny resemblance to Minecraft. Just like Minecraft, PixArk offers a sandbox-style experience featuring block-based graphics design. This voxel-based game invites players to mine, build, and craft items, which is a core feature of Minecraft. The environment is procedurally generated, meaning you will explore unique landscapes and biomes every time. And just like in Minecraft, the survival aspect in PixArk is significant; you must gather resources, fight off enemies, and build shelter to survive, creating an enticing challenge and an engaging gameplay experience.
But PixArk isn't just a Minecraft clone. While carrying over numerous mechanics Minecraft players love, PixArk also offers a unique twist by incorporating elements from ARK: Survival Evolved. This means PixArk introduces dinosaurs and mythical creatures into the mix, which you can tame and ride for a more exciting exploration. In addition, the game has RPG elements where you can level up, learn new skills, and advance technology tiers. PixArk rounds out these features with options for both single-player and multiplayer modes, enabling solo play or cooperative adventures with friends. For Minecraft fans looking for a slight variation, PixArk presents a great direction to lean towards.
PixArk is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, typically priced around $25 USD.
6. Dragon Quest Builders
In Dragon Quest Builders, just like Minecraft, a significant portion of the gameplay revolves around gathering resources, crafting tools, and building structures. You're given complete autonomy over your environment, free to construct grand castles or simple huts, tunnels or bridges - just as you are in Minecraft. The game empowers you with the freedom to modify your surroundings and create your own unique living spaces, fostering the same creative spirit found in Minecraft.
At the same time, you'll feel an irresistible urge to explore in Dragon Quest Builders, much like Minecraft. As you journey through this world, you'll encounter unique creatures to fight or make allies - a sense of danger and wonder pervades the exploration, adding an element of RPG-style combat that Minecraft lovers will appreciate. And just like in Minecraft, terrain in Dragon Quest Builders generates in a blocky, 3D style that you’re allowed to dismantle and recreate to your heart’s content.
Dragon Quest Builders is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $49.99 USD.
5. Eco
Eco shares many core mechanics with Minecraft that you're familiar with - mining, crafting, and building in an open sandbox world. However, Eco adds an ecological dimension, where every action affects the environment around you. Dig into a mountainside too aggressively, and you might cause a landslide. Cut down too many trees, and local species could face extinction, affecting the game’s ecosystem. It encourages cooperative gameplay, as players work together to build and govern their own civilization while maintaining the environment's health. A new level of tension is also introduced with a looming meteor threat which players must work together to prevent.
In terms of graphics, Eco takes a step above Minecraft with its gorgeous, fluid landscapes that are procedurally generated, and a presents a beautiful balance of voxel and smooth graphics depending on the player’s preference. The crafting system is more in-depth, using real-world sciences and artisan practices. The game innovatively uses a skill-based progression system, meaning you get better at tasks by doing them more. Instead of finding magic spell books or leveling up through monster battles like in Minecraft, your character's progression is more grounded and realistic. You can serve specific roles in your community such as being a baker, miner, or hunter and continue to get better in these professions with time.
Eco is available on PC through Steam, typically priced around $30 USD.
4. Scrap Mechanic
Scrap Mechanic shares many similarities with the popular block-building game, Minecraft, that you've enjoyed so much. Both of these games offer an open-world sandbox environment, where you have the freedom to let your creativity run wild. Just as in Minecraft, Scrap Mechanic features gathering resources and crafting items, though here your primary focus is on building complex, physics-driven machines. The interaction between the various machine parts and the game world provides an extra layer of complexity and fun that's not present in Minecraft.
The survival aspect of Scrap Mechanic also paints a lot of similarities to Minecraft. However, in addition to providing yourself with shelter and sustenance, you will also need to protect your creations from the robotic inhabitants in Scrap Mechanic. The combination of creativity, exploration and survival makes for an exciting gaming experience that iterates on the foundations laid by Minecraft. Moreover, if you like working on projects with friends, you'll be glad to know that Scrap Mechanic includes multiplayer support, allowing you to build grander and more complex machines alongside your pals.
Scrap Mechanic is available on Windows, typically priced around $19.99 USD.
3. Portal Knights
Portal Knights, much like Minecraft, offers a rich and expansive sandbox world to explore, construct, and interact with. Complete with block building mechanics, players are given the opportunity to create unique and imaginative structures from various resources and materials found within the different worlds. Whether you're crafting a cozy home or constructing an impressive castle, the power to shape your surroundings is at your fingertips. In addition, Portal Knights also offers mining and collecting materials, similar to Minecraft, promoting exploration and resourcefulness.
Another shared element of these games is the integrated RPG elements. As well as building and mining, you'll find a robust combat system where you can do battle with numerous NPCs, again elevating the gameplay from a simple sandbox to an adventurous survival game. Its class system allows you to pick professions such as Warrior, Mage or Ranger and customise your experience. Where it tends to branch out from Minecraft, however, is with its RPG styled progression system and questlines, providing structure and goals for players to accomplish, something that could be appreciated by those who enjoyed Minecraft but wished there was more guidance and structured objectives.
Portal Knights is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $20 USD.
2. Conan Exiles
While at first glance, Conan Exiles might seem like a stark departure from the pixelated world of Minecraft, there are notable similarities which bring the two games closer than you may think. First off, a significant chunk of gameplay in both titles revolves around gathering resources, crafting items, and building structures. Instead of simply placing cubes in a grid-like pattern as in Minecraft, in Conan Exiles, you craft multi-part structures in a more realistic, grounded setting, though the basic principle remains the same. Like Minecraft, you can utilize these structures for storage, shelter, or establishing a home base. This kind of gameplay loop, revolving around gathering, crafting, and building, offers a familiar yet slightly more challenging experience for Minecraft fans.
An additional comparison can be drawn in terms of the open-world exploration that both games offer. In Conan Exiles, just like Minecraft, there is a huge, expansive world awaiting your discovery, full of diverse biomes, dangerous creatures, and hidden treasures. The sense of adventure and thrill of exploration from Minecraft persists as you traverse the harsh deserts, lush green oases and various other landscapes, each providing unique resources. The game also includes a greater emphasis on survival, with mechanics such as hunger, thirst, and weather effects pushing you to adapt, strategize and strengthen your character, which makes for a deep and immersive take on the survival genre that Minecraft players are familiar with.
Conan Exiles is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $40 USD.
1. Astroneer
Astroneer, like Minecraft, is a sandbox-style exploration and creation game that revolves around resource collection, crafting, and survival. The key selling point lies in its visually stunning, procedurally generated planetary environments that you can wholly deform or shape to your hearts' content. Much like Minecraft, you can take a chunk out of the world and use these materials to build tools, vehicles, and even grand structures to assist you in your extraterrestrial survival. Imagine the creative freedom and limitless possibilities that Minecraft has injected into the gaming world but taken to a whole new visually immersive level and blended with an intriguing science fiction twist.
One feature that both games effectively exploit is the cooperative multiplayer mode. Astroneer allows up to four players to work together on the same planet, making giant structures or mining huge catacombs deep into the planet's core. The gravity affects all players, encouraging cooperation and strategy to build and explore. If multiplayer isn’t your style, you could still embark on solo campaigns and unmask the game's mysteries at your own pace. If you've enjoyed the collaboration and social aspects of Minecraft, you're sure to appreciate how Astroneer takes these elements and sets them on a galactic stage.
Astroneer is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, typically priced around $30 USD.
You've reached the end! Check out the home page for more informative articles on your favorite games.