The Best Survival sandbox Games

Update : My Summer Car added at rank #10.
1

Noch (2023)

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99
Review score
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Android PC Windows

Go alone (or with a friend) to find the girl who destroyed the world. An ominous surreal first-person adventure full of dangerous monsters and secrets of the deceased world


  • gothic
  • hunting
  • off-road
  • investigation
  • post-apocalyptic
  • survival-horror
  • thriller
  • demons
  • dark
  • sandbox
  • atmospheric
  • 3d
  • survival
  • story
  • exploration

2

RimWorld (2018)

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98
Review score
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PC Windows Xbox One Mac OS Linux

RimWorld is a life simulator and management game set in a remote planet in the distant future. It features a unique character generation system to create complex personalities with flaws, drives and needs, as well as a story generator that creates unexpected scenarios for players to face.


What we like:
  • Unique character generation system
  • Story generator creates unpredictable scenarios
  • Tons of mods for everything
  • Includes interaction bubbles to show interactions as they happen
What could be improved:
  • Unintuitive UI
  • Busy work tasks can be tedious

  • colony
  • simulation
  • survival
  • base-building
  • management
  • farming
  • pirates
  • sci-fi
  • sandbox
  • building
  • card

3

Terraria (2011)

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97
Review score
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Android Xbox One Xbox 360 Windows Phone / Windows 10 Mobile wii u vita Playstation 4 Playstation 3 PC Windows Nintendo Switch Nintendo 3DS Mac OS Linux IOS iPhone stadia

Terraria is an addictive, systems-heavy, 2D sandbox-survival game that offers exploration, crafting, and combat, where you must defeat enemies and gather resources to build increasingly powerful weapons, armor and housing for NPCs. With pixelated visuals, great controls, and sound, Terraria provides hours of entertainment and is a must-have for Minecraft fans looking for something different in this genre.


What we like:
  • Addictive gameplay
  • Pixelated 2D sprites that are beautifully designed
  • Complex systems-heavy gameplay
  • The game has a purpose to serve with the housing of NPCs
  • Great and responsive controls
What could be improved:
  • The game has too many shortcuts and menus, which may overwhelm new players
  • Not a lot of screen space on small touch-screen devices

  • crafting
  • sandbox
  • survival
  • boss
  • inventory
  • pixel
  • 2d
  • adventure
  • multiplayer
  • open-world
  • exploration
  • platform
  • cooperative
  • zombies
  • online

4

Oxygen Not Included (2019)

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96
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS Linux

Oxygen Not Included is an innovative and unique colony-building game in which you control a crew of duplicants who start beneath the surface of a procedurally generated asteroid with nothing more than a ration box and cloning device. With its childlike art style and humour, Oxygen Not Included looks like less of a space simulator and more like The Sims in space, but don't let that fool you - it's brimming with complexity and depth.

Buy

What we like:
  • Child-friendly art style
  • Complexity and depth
  • Humor
  • Procedurally generated asteroid
  • Experimenting with contraptions
  • Retconning decisions
What could be improved:
  • Frame rate drops at the start of each cycle
  • AI occasionally getting confused

  • survival
  • simulation
  • colony
  • resource-management
  • base-building
  • management
  • sandbox
  • space

5

Terminus: Zombie Survivors (2021)

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95
Review score
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Mac OS PC Windows

Terminus: Zombie Survivors is a 2D turn-based survival roguelike set during a zombie apocalypse. Each journey is unique, and every decision can mean the difference between life and death. Can you brave hunger, cold, and the undead in order to reach the Terminus and find salvation?

Buy

  • turn-based
  • survival
  • crafting
  • zombies
  • open-world
  • rogue-like
  • sandbox
  • strategy
  • post-apocalyptic
  • gore
  • pixel
  • horror

6

Astroneer (2016)

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94
Review score
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Xbox One Playstation 4 PC Windows Nintendo Switch IOS iPhone

Embark on a cosmic journey in Astroneer, where you can shape worlds to your heart's content. Dig, build, and survive in a sandbox universe, creating bases and vehicles with friends. Uncover mysteries and enjoy a crafting odyssey across vibrant planets—your space adventure awaits!


What we like:
  • Engaging crafting and building mechanics
  • Vibrant, immersive worlds
  • Relaxing, open-ended gameplay
  • Satisfying cooperative multiplayer
  • Regular updates with new content
What could be improved:
  • Occasional control and camera issues

  • survival
  • crafting
  • sandbox
  • cooperative
  • open-world
  • exploration
  • space
  • drop-in
  • base-building
  • drop-out
  • resource
  • adventure

7

Necesse (2019)

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94
Review score
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early access Linux Mac OS PC Windows

Necesse is an open-world, top-down sandbox game with a huge amount of potential. Explore procedurally generated islands, build towns, recruit settlers and complete quests - either on your own or with friends. There are forest, snow, swamp and desert biomes to discover as well as mobs and boss battles to fight. The crafting recipes are intuitive and the base building is fun and easy to learn.

Buy

What we like:
  • Procedurally generated world of islands
  • Mobs to fight
  • Boss battles
  • Intuitive crafting recipes
  • Base building system
  • Online multiplayer
What could be improved:
  • Not much verticality in the build system yet
  • Minimal cosmetic changes for builds
  • Some bullet hell elements during boss fights

  • crafting
  • survival
  • open-world
  • cooperative
  • colony
  • building
  • sandbox
  • pixel
  • exploration
  • survival-craft
  • replay-value
  • 2d
  • multiplayer
  • farming
  • online

8

Scrap Mechanic (2016)

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94
Review score
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early access Android PC Windows

Enter the creative paradise of Scrap Mechanic! Build fantastic machines, go on adventures with your friends and defend against waves of evil Farmbots in this imaginative multiplayer survival sandbox. With Scrap Mechanic’s powerful creation tools you can engineer your own adventures!


  • building
  • sandbox
  • survival
  • crafting
  • open-world
  • base-building
  • physics
  • simulation
  • cooperative
  • moddable
  • third-person
  • multiplayer

9

Aground (2018)

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93
Review score
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Linux Mac OS PC Windows Xbox One

Aground is a Mining/Crafting RPG with a goal, story, and reason to craft and build. The gameplay is simple, but engaging with tons of features. In Aground, you can raise dragons and launch into space, fight enemies, discover magic, and explore secrets. If you're into crafting games with a lot of exploration, Aground is a thoroughly addictive game with plenty to discover.


What we like:
  • Story is interesting and allows for a lot of exploration
  • Crafting is solid and varied
  • Mod support and community are helpful
  • Gameplay is engaging and controls are good
  • Freedom to choose which islands to visit and play at your own pace.
What could be improved:
  • Item storage can be tedious and requiring a lot of trips
  • Low-resolution graphics may take some getting used to
  • Lack of personal relationships with NPCs
  • Basic tutorial and sometimes requires use of outside resources for guidance.

  • survival
  • crafting
  • dragon
  • mining
  • open-world
  • base-building
  • city-building
  • building
  • post-apocalyptic
  • exploration
  • sandbox
  • 2d
  • choices
  • management
  • story

10

My Summer Car (2025)

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93
Review score
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PC Windows IOS iPhone

My Summer Car is the ultimate car owning, building, fixing, tuning, maintenance AND permadeath life survival simulator. You start the game with hundreds of loose parts and assemble both car and engine.

Buy

  • auto
  • simulation
  • survival
  • driving
  • open-world
  • vehicle
  • drunk-driving
  • building
  • simulater
  • sandbox
  • truck
  • realistic

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