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Minecraft is one of the most popular survival crafting games of all time, but it's by no means the only great example of the genre. There are tons of titles that take a different approach to survival and building/crafting gameplay while still being incredibly entertaining. Thanks to Mojang's landmark title, the survival crafting genre has exploded in popularity.
If Minecraft fans are looking for an alternative to the game, there are plenty of options to choose from. Each title has its own unique features, but they all share a similar gameplay loop in common.
Note: This list is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer
Best Games Like Minecraft
1) Terraria
Long considered one of Minecraft's biggest competitors, Terraria doesn't have to be shunned in a battle between two games. Fans can certainly enjoy both titles, and Terraria justifies its appreciation. It blends open and massive in-game worlds with plenty of crafting, building, and RPG elements to keep players engaged.
Much like Minecraft, Terraria is also heavily mod-friendly, so fans can fine-tune their experience to their liking in many different ways.
2) Starbound
Jokingly referred to as "Space Terraria" by many fans, Starbound does have plenty of similarities with both Terraria and Minecraft. Players can jet from one star system to another, exploring new planets and collecting resources while building any structure they can imagine. Many extraterrestrial species also exist across the cosmos to befriend or battle.
In addition to the in-depth gameplay mechanics reminiscent of Minecraft, Starbound has a fairly entertaining story that sees players facing a struggle to protect the galaxy from impending ruin.
3) 7 Days to Die
Although 7 Days to Die has long been a work in progress and remains in its Alpha phase, the game provides enough fun, garnering massive popularity and a solidified player base. The survival title leans heavily into survival, building, and crafting to overcome the ravenous undead who grow stronger and more dangerous over time.
In addition to evading various zombie types, players in 7 Days to Die will have to keep an eye on their needs, including food, hydration, and temperature, to ensure they don't die off prematurely. It's a little tougher than standard Minecraft survival, but there's a lot to love about this game.
4) V Rising
Part survival crafter, part action RPG, V Rising takes place in a gothic setting where fans awaken as a vampire in a weakened state. To survive and thrive, players will have to collect resources to craft weapons and armor, build a castle, and defeat bosses in the game world to gain new vampiric powers.
The building and crafting should be more than enough to placate most Minecraft fans. The battles and character builds should be a huge plus for fans of action RPGs like Diablo, Torchlight, or Path of Exile.
5) Green Hell
Minecraft players who love challenging gameplay may just have their hands full with Green Hell, a survival title that drops players in the Amazon Rainforest without many tools to aid them. Fans will face the dangers of deadly wildlife and diseases. They may just stoke the ire of the local indigenous tribes as well.
Green Hell, in many ways, takes difficulty to a new level. Players will learn to progress through the game by making mistakes and dying, and there are plenty of opportunities to do so. Something seemingly as insignificant as a bug or snake bite can result in a player toppling over the course of a few hours.
Additionally, the dangers of the jungle require players not only to stay fed and hydrated but also to keep an eye on their macronutrients.
As a plus, Green Hell provides a full single-player campaign and sandbox mode, as well as multiplayer gameplay, while also updating frequently with new content and features.
6) Project Zomboid
Available in Early Access, Project Zomboid is a survival crafting game with a ton of polish and depth that should please plenty of Minecraft fans. In this title, players are dropped into a fictional county in Kentucky in the 1990s, and their death has already been determined. All that's left is for fans to survive as long as they can before they join the droves of undead.
To keep their story of survival going, players can loot their surroundings, craft new gear and even repair vehicles. It's also possible to build a zombie-proof base complete with farms to keep players fed and hydrated for the long haul, putting off that inevitable death date by days, months, or even years.
7) Medieval Dynasty
Life for average people wasn't easy during the Middle Ages, and Medieval Dynasty reinforces this fact for Minecraft players. This survival crafting game sees players beginning a new life hundreds of years in the past, where every day brings new challenges, from wildlife to resource and food shortages to the harsh realities of the approaching winter.
The good news for prospective Medieval Dynasty players coming from Minecraft is that they're not alone. In this title, it's possible to hire workers, start a settlement, and even start a family. The latter is particularly beneficial, as producing an heir can help players continue the game after their main character dies.
8) Grounded
Created by the reputed studio Obsidian Entertainment, Grounded blends the survival crafting elements of Minecraft with the beauty (and danger) of your own backyard.
Players in Grounded have been shrunk down to an incredibly small size and are forced to survive in their backyard, creating shelter and battling off the wild insects and other animals.
Players are never truly safe, raising the stakes and the pressure. If they interact a little too much with the ant-sized wildlife of the backyard, it won't be long before the creatures pay them a visit in kind.
9) No Man's Sky
After one of the rockiest game launches in recent memory back in 2016, No Man's Sky has transformed into one of the most entertaining open-world titles a Minecraft fan can find in 2023.
Players take on the role of a space explorer who can engage in a well-developed story or simply explore the infinite cosmos and the many planets that inhabit it. Each planet provides its own resources to collect, leading players to build countless devices and even entire bases and colonies to call home.
No Man's Sky also features the ability to farm, domesticate wildlife, battle space pirates, and even start a fleet to aid players in their adventures through the galaxy, all the while ensuring they have the resources to survive the many dangers of space.
10) Satisfactory
Satisfactory may be the perfect game for Minecraft fans who love nothing more than building bases and redstone machines. Players are dropped on an alien planet and are tasked with bending nature to their will by harvesting natural resources and creating entire multi-story factories to process them.
Automation is the name of the game in Satisfactory, as players will work to continue making their machines and factories infinitely more productive and efficient. For Minecraft fans who love mods like Create, Satisfactory should surpass any and all expectations.
11) Dragon Quest Builders 2
If Minecraft fans love RPG elements, then Dragon Quest Builders 2 should be a title on their radar. The game takes place in the beloved world of the first three Dragon Quest games originally released by Enix before it was merged with Squaresoft. In the game, players take on the role of a builder who sets out to rebuild the world after the events of Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line.
To rebuild the world, players will battle monsters, collect resources, and even make some friends and create thriving settlements. It’s all in a day’s work for the customizable builder and their compatriots.
12) ARK: Survival Evolved
Combining survival crafting gameplay with creatures of prehistory, ARK: Survival Evolved sees players washing up on the shores of a mysterious island. With little at their disposal, players will have to work quickly to craft a shelter and procure food, and doing so isn’t a safe task in the slightest due to the likes of dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, and even gigantic bats roaming the landscape.
Regardless, while ARK is certainly an intense game, it possesses much of the same gameplay that Minecraft fans will be very familiar with.
13) My Time At Sandrock
The sequel to the hit crafting game My Time At Portia, My Time At Sandrock can be seen as a blend between Minecraft’s survival crafting and the RPG and social elements of Story of Seasons (formerly Harvest Moon). Over 300 years after a world calamity, players must assist the remaining survivors to create a thriving home that will stand the test of time.
Players will see themselves collecting resources, building onto their workshop, and forging relationships with their fellow survivors. There are also robust RPG mechanics and combat, and plenty of minigames to keep players amused.
14) Craft The World
A quick glance at Craft The World will immediately evoke thoughts of games like Minecraft and Terraria. However, this game has enough personality and additional features for it to build upon its own identity. Players take on the role of a divine being attempting to keep a clan of dwarves alive in a hostile environment, not unlike the game Dwarf Fortress.
As a god, players will direct their dwarves to collect resources and create a home for themselves. However, the game also draws on strategy and tower defense gameplay when it comes to defending the dwarves’ home against enemies. Players can also use god-like magic to help turn the tide in the dwarves’ fight for survival.
15) Sons of the Forest
Endnight Games’ The Forest was a massive hit, and one good thing begets another. Sons of the Forest is the game’s sequel and sees players landing on the shores of a cannibal-infested island to rescue a missing mogul, and they’ll have to learn the ways of survival as they are beset by wildlife and the flesh-hungry inhabitants.
Minecraft fans can expect a gritty and intense survival crafting experience from this title, as well as a heavy dose of horror. It may not be for every fan, but Sons of the Forest has a ton to offer in both singleplayer and co-op.
16) Roblox
Often considered one of Minecraft’s most steadfast competitors, Roblox is a free-to-play game where creative freedom takes the spotlight. Players can customize their own avatar and dive into a world of official content as well as countless games created by the community, ensuring that there is always something to do.
Nearly everything in the world of Roblox is created by the player base, and the game takes a focus on the social aspects of building worlds and games together. Thanks to the community’s creative chops, there’s a near-infinite amount of content to enjoy with more arriving on a daily basis.
17) Lego Worlds
It’s hard not to play Minecraft and think of Lego at times due to the brand’s brick-building philosophy. There are even texture packs to make Mojang’s sandbox title look like a Lego world. However, Lego has its own open-world sandbox game known as Lego Worlds which has emerged as a fantastic alternative to Mojang’s landmark game.
Players will enter an entire galaxy composed of worlds consisting entirely of Lego bricks. There, they can create and destroy as they see fit, both solo or with friends. Even better, the worlds of Lego Worlds are procedurally-generated, so fans can always find a new place to build in when they’re ready to move on.
Just about anything is possible in Lego Worlds, and there are plenty of pre-fab structures and worlds full of quirky creatures and NPCs to allow Minecraft converts to dive into the game right away.
18) Minecraft Legends
If Minecraft fans want a new game to try but love the universe of Mojang’s sandbox game, then the new Legends spin-off may be the game for them. Players take on the role of a hero who hopes to defeat the piglin invasion of the Overworld. To do so, fans will collect resources, summon loyal mobs to their side, and save settlements from piglin attacks while commanding their mobs in the field.
Moreover, Minecraft Legends possesses a full campaign mode, a multiplayer versus mode, and Lost Myths & Legends, which adds fun gameplay twists and challenges to complete for rewards.
19) Eco
Eco is a compelling title not only for its resemblance to Minecraft, but also its message on the environment and how the world is comprised of complex ecosystems and organisms. Players take on the role of an individual that must stop an incoming meteor from destroying their planet, but they can’t ravage the world’s ecosystems in the process.
This game operates with the Tragedy of the Commons in mind, and as players create towns and technology, they’ll have to be aware of how it affects the world around them. Players can create laws and entire governments around their homes as they band together to stop calamity, but the needs of the natural world must always come into consideration.
20) Dwarf Fortress
Originally created back in the DOS days of computers, Dwarf Fortress is one of the games cited by Notch to be an inspiration for Minecraft due to its survival crafting gameplay and procedurally-generated world. The game has now been remade for modern PCs with improved visuals but the same addictive gameplay.
In Dwarf Fortress, players control a caravan of dwarves in a new world where they need to create a home and survive. There are plenty of hostile creatures to stop this from happening, but savvy Dwarf Fortress players will create a sprawling network of underground settlements to create an entire thriving dwarven civilization.
This game is admittedly a difficult one and its visuals may not appeal to all Minecraft fans. Be that as it may, Dwarf Fortress has a ton to offer for fans of sandbox games or simulators.
