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What are the best survival games like Minecraft? Fans know well that Mojang's sandbox title has been a cornerstone of the survival crafting genre for over a decade now, but there are many more great examples of the genre that might be worth playing if players need an alternative. Moreover, these games include a broad range of features, tonal settings, and inspirations of their own.
Each survival crafting game brings its own inspiration and uniqueness to it to separate it from a game like Minecraft, as playing one too similar to Mojang's sandbox title may not be much of an alternative. Whatever the case, it doesn't hurt to take a look at some of the best survival crafting games currently available in case you need a bit of a break from Mojang/Microsoft's title.
10 of the best survival crafting games for fans of Minecraft
1) Terraria
Long considered one of Minecraft's staunchest competitors, Terraria is a 2D indie sandbox game with a heavy infusion of RPG mechanics that encompass the realms of magic and technology. Choice is the name of the game in Terraria, allowing players to plumb the depths of their world for resources and treasures, hone their combat skills worth sword and spell, or create enduring settlements.
Moreover, Terraria sports an extensive collection of mods that can improve and introduce just about anything players can imagine. This allows for a custom-built survival and crafting experience that certainly equals the creativity of Minecraft's modding community. All in all, there are hundreds of hours of fun to be had in Terraria before even digging deep into its survival and RPG mechanics.
2) Grounded
Another game published by Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios and developed by the venerated Obsidian Entertainment, Grounded is a light-hearted survival crafting game that shrinks players down to the size of an insect. In so doing, players are pitted in a survival situation where they must face the many creepy crawlies found in their backyard, either on their own or with friends.
As they progress through a story determining how they shrunk, players must create shelter, harvest food, and craft gear to defend themselves and gather resources just like in Minecraft. However, instead of being threatened by creepers, zombies, and skeletons, players in Grounded face ants, spiders, centipedes, and more, which can regularly raid their bases.
3) Satisfactory
If Minecraft fans love automatic crafting or mods like the Create mod, then Satisfactory may be a game they can lose themselves in. Satisfactory sees players exploring an alien planet, building factories, and exploring the planet for resources on a quest for productivity and efficiency. This game is a perfect solution for any player who loves micromanaging production lines for maximum output.
By building massive factories and expanding them across the face of an alien planet, Satisfactory challenges players to constantly improve their machinations and branch out into more efficient factory models until they've constructed a sprawling techno-mechanical empire. It's the perfect game for Minecraft fans who love redstone contraptions and creating complex systems.
4) No Man's Sky
Although it had a notoriously troubled launch, Hello Games' No Man's Sky has returned with a triumph thanks to a litany of free updates. In this science fiction survival crafter, players take to the stars and explore a boundless multitude of planets, harvesting their resources and crafting bases while taking their starship to meet and interact with the various colorful members of the galactic community.
With an immense amount of customization, deep base-building, resource management, and a rich multiplayer experience, No Man's Sky has come back from the brink of obscurity to become one of the best survival crafters apart from Minecraft.
5) Palworld
One of the surprise hit games of 2024, Palworld should have a huge draw for fans of Minecraft mods like Pixelmon or Cobblemon. With a Pokemon-styled aesthetic and survival crafting gameplay, Palworld sees players capturing, collecting, and battling with various "Pals" (some of which come with lethal weapons) while building bases and putting their Pals to work to collect resources.
Palworld's potent blend of Minecraft-esque gameplay and creature collection has seen it skyrocket in popularity on both Xbox consoles and the Steam PC platform, and it has plenty to offer casual and hardcore survival fans alike. There are countless creatures to find and capture, and even more ways to customize and increase efficiency in a player's home base.
6) Project Zomboid
Project Zomboid is an enticing game for Minecraft fans interested in surviving a zombie apocalypse. With a set of intense and in-depth RPG mechanics catered to hardcore survivalists, Project Zomboid sees players entering one of many game maps alone or with friends to scavenge, craft, farm, and attempt to survive as long as they can against an increasing horde of the undead.
From the very beginning, Project Zomboid makes it clear that death in this sandbox game is a certainty. What remains is how players survive in the meantime and how long they can avoid their demise. With the right survival skills or friends to support them, Minecraft fans can thrive in the world of Project Zomboid despite its challenges.
7) Necesse
Bringing together RPG combat and dungeon delves with deep crafting and settlement building, Necesse is a 2D pixelated survival crafter with plenty of personality and challenge. In a nearly infinite world of endless islands, players can start settlements, recruit villagers and set them to work in settlements, and explore the seemingly endless chain of islands that populate the game world.
While Necesse has great gameplay centered on building, farming, resource collection, villager management, and decoration, there are plenty of dangers as well. This includes village raiders that make regular appearances as well as dungeons rife with enemies and bosses with unique attack patterns. Fortunately, Necesse is open-ended and lets players approach it at their own pace.
8) ARK: Survival Evolved
ARK: Survival Evolved should be particularly pleasing for fans of Minecraft's Hardcore Mode, as it pits them in an intense survival situation even within the genre. You'll enter one of several maps rife with dinosaurs, prehistoric beasts, mythological creatures, and even hostile players. Gathering basic resources, building shelter and tools/weapons, and procuring food will be a challenge.
Fortunately, once players are established, they have plenty working in their favor to ensure their survival. A wide arrangement of firearms can be utilized, and there is a collection of base defenses as well. Moreover, for those who prefer a less PvP-intensive experience, ARK: Survival Evolved offers single-player and co-op PVE game worlds to explore and thrive within.
9) Raft
Minecraft players who love exploring oceans and base building as well may want to give Raft a try. Either alone or with friends, Raft tasks players with exploring the open seas on an ever-expanding raft that can be customized to your specifications. All the while, players can visit islands to collect supplies, as well as scavenge reef formations and derelict vessels.
However, the sea carries its own dangers, and players will also have to fend off attacks by ravenous sharks that will regularly attack their floating aquatic home.
10) Sons of the Forest
For a more mature survival experience compared to what Minecraft provides, you can try out Sons of the Forest, the sequel to 2014's The Forest by Endnight Games Ltd. This survival crafter drops players onto a cannibal-populated game world where their hunt to find a missing mogul is complicated by the locals who have a particular interest in devouring human flesh.
Whether fans are alone or with friends, they'll fight to survive in this survival crafter laced with plenty of horrors beyond what most Minecraft horror mods can accomplish. Will players be able to find their target and escape these strange lands, or will they end up on tomorrow night's main course?
