There are no shortage of games like Minecraft out there in the world, and for good reason! Mojangs creative hub is one of the most popular games in the world, designed to leverage imagination and ingenuity to let you build new worlds and explore them with your friends. There are plenty of imitators, but only a few of the games like Minecraft really deserve your time and attention.
In this ranking of the 25 best games like Minecraft, there really is something for everyone. From the survival leaning nature of games like The Forest to the infinite possibilities of No Mans Sky to the peaceful farming of Stardew Valley, if youre looking for something new to play after years of playing Mojangs adventure game, youll want to play one of these 25 games like Minecraft.
The Forest drops you in the middle of the wilderness (quite literally: you crash a plane) and forces you to craft weapons and shelter to survive against an apparently nocturnal tribe of cannibals. Its totally like playing Minecraft – if Minecrafts creepy hissing spiders were bloodthirsty savages trying to eat you. However, if the screenshot above wasnt clear, The Forest is far scarier than Minecraft would ever want to be. There’s a real Green Inferno (opens in new tab) vibe underscoring the whole thing, what with you being lost in the wilderness scavenging for food, building shelter from the weather, and fighting off aggressive club-toting mutants. Not for the kids.
In its ridiculously popular online sandbox, Roblox lets you create just about anything that you can think of. Want to build a massive skyscraper only to watch it blow up in spectacular fashion, or host a disco party complete with flashing lights and an on-stage DJ? Go for it. The world is yours to do what you will with it, and the possibilities are endless thanks to the games intricate editing tools. Roblox puts a huge focus on the social aspects of building and dismantling with friends, with virtually everything in the world created by the players (and there are a lot of them, with over 100 million active users as of 2019). Try it if Minecraft is a bit too solitary for your liking.
As in Minecraft, many a tree will be slaughtered on your way to building shelter when first starting out in the 2D world of Terraria. But it’s a necessary sacrifice, as there are things that go bump in the night in this world – things that would very much like to slay you, actually, even as you try to figure out what to do with your steadily increasing pile of natural (and supernatural) resources. Thankfully, Terraria gives you more options when it comes to disposing of the encroaching evil with a greater emphasis on combat and unique items; and crafting is more than just a means of security against the persistent dangers of the world, conquering the world’s bosses and dungeons along the way. With the game’s last major update, Journey’s End, scheduled for release in 2020, there’s probably no better time to play.
Although its a strategy game, Castle Story’s strong focus on tactically overpowering your enemies doesnt mean you wont also be building all manner of structures in the process. The need to partake in mass deforestation is also a shared trait with Minecraft, but it’s all for a good cause; that good cause being an impenetrable castle entirely made out of wooden blocks. The extra spice in Castle Storys gameplay comes from getting to design your own defences, in what quickly turns into a wonderfully addictive marriage of creativity and tactics.
With all the large-scale construction going on, it’s easy to forget that Minecraft features the chance to indulge in the underrated joys and small victories of owning and caring for a garden, or even a full blown farm. Stardew Valley is an entire game which revolves around that very same idea. That said, theres quite a bit that sets it apart. In Stardew Valley, players can get to know their local community of fictional characters, and even spark up a romance with some of their neighbors if they want to. The game also takes inspiration from the likes of Animal Crossing and JRPGs as much as it does Minecraft, and that hybrid nature keeps it from leaning too heavily into one single genre.
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The best games like Minecraft are:
Trove contains all the cubey characters and building mechanics you’ve grown used to but throws in some of the structure from free MMOs to vary and guide your playing experience. Players have heaps of classes to pick from – like a Neon Ninja or a Dino Tamer – and can select from three different crafting specialities. All these variations have their quirks, strengths, and weaknesses, which makes for more effective team building.
Here’s one we made earlier: The best crafting games on PC
There are also different levels for you to craft through, and they each vary in difficulty and reward. Don’t worry, though, at the centre of this game and its variations is the same spirit of craftsmanship and creativity.
The pitch behind Roblox will immediately sound familiar if you’ve spent any time with games like Minecraft. David Baszucki’s build ‘em up game-creation platform contains all the map manipulation you’ve grown used to. However, there are also more options in place so you can shape the games people play on your map, which means you can craft anything from a simulation to a racing game. That’s what makes it one of the best building games you can play.
Related: The best free Minecraft games on PC
You’ll quickly notice though that the aesthetic is slightly different. While everything in Minecraft is block themed, Roblox looks more like Lego brought to life. There’s also a bit of economy to Roblox, as players can buy, sell, and create virtual items. You can even buy clothes, too, though you’ll need a Builders Club membership to sell them.
After a controversial launch on PC and PS4 in 2015, the small team behind No Man’s Sky has put a great deal of effort into delivering the dream game many hoped it would be originally. It’s closer than ever now due to a series of expansions that have added base building, survival mode, and 30 hours of story. The most significant addition, however, is online multiplayer – which for many people finally makes No Man’s Sky the game they always wanted it to be.
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So what is No Man’s Sky? Looking at the larger picture it’s about exploration. You go on a personal journey through multitudes of galaxies and planets as you make your way to the centre of the universe. But that end goal of eventually reaching the centre is merely the driving force for you to experience just how much of the game there is. You can meet other intelligent species, bump into hostile robots, document docile creatures, and get into space wars.
If you were put off by the reception No Man’s Sky initially received, but still harbour some fondness for that original vision, then you should give it a second chance. The game’s 2.0 update, Beyond, added far more content to the multiplayer experience and massively improved elements such as base building and missions, to great success. It’s changed significantly and could even be considered a successor to Minecraft: you can build a home, farm and harvest crops, and turn your excavation of natural resources into factories.
Currently on Steam Early Access, Deep Rock Galactic takes the core concept of mining for ores and valuables and has created an entire game around it, while upping the sense of peril. Of course, mining is a huge part of Minecraft, but if you’re playing vanilla, there’s little more to it than digging a series of tunnels in hopes of striking gold… well, diamond.
Deep Rock Galactic expands on that greatly. It lets you choose your preferred class, team up with three friends, and then delve into the “most hostile cave systems in the galaxy.” More than a mining simulator, it’s a first-person shooter in which each cave you venture into is procedurally generated. So, just like in Minecraft, you’ll experience something new every time you play.
You can drill straight down to your objective or choose to create branching paths, exploring as much of the underground as possible. What may sway your decisions are the hostile creatures that will stand in your way. You’ve got a vast arsenal of weapons to deal with these threats, but you’ll only be able to hold them off for so long before you’ll be forced to rush to the surface with as many of your treasures as you can carry.
Farming in Minecraft is one of the most relaxing activities… until a creeper comes along and blows up a large chunk of your land, that is. If you often find yourself tending to your crops instead of building and mining then Stardew Valley will be right up your stree… err, planting row.
It starts out as you inherit your grandfather’s old farm, which gives your character a reason to leave the city behind, and try to make it on their own in the countryside. Outside of your customisable house you’re given a vast plot of land to work with, which you can clear and develop as you wish, making space for a multitude of crops and animals. Venturing outside of your farm introduces you to the village where you can meet villagers, go shopping, fishing, and even mining. Getting to know the locals builds up relationships and, eventually, you’ll be able to marry the love of your life.
The other way to stave off any loneliness as you earn money by selling crops and livestock is to make the most of Stardew Valley’s multiplayer. It’s certainly handy to have a few more, erm, hands as you venture into the mines and face hostile monsters. Besides that, Stardew Valley is one of the most relaxing games on PC, and an experience that’ll help make the days fly by.
A list like this couldn’t exist without including Terraria, could it? It’s been famously referred to as ‘2D Minecraft’ for as long as the sun has been burning. The fact of the matter, however, is that it’s got a lot more going for it than that.
The concept is ultimately the same, as you create your own objectives: build an impressive mansion or base of operations, explore the far reaches of the land, or delve deep into the underground hunting for riches. As you explore further and learn more about Terraria you’ll quickly discover there’s a lot more at play.
Related: Here are the best survival games on PC
By completing specific goals, you can unlock NPCs that’ll stay and work in your base, such as a nurse or a wizard. They each have varying benefits and are necessary if you’re to defeat bosses, progress further into the Underworld, and eventually unlock expert mode – more bosses, enemies, biomes, and items. While Terraria’s creative freedom isn’t as open as it is in Minecraft, it offers much more when it comes to combat, and you’ll sink a lot of time into it if you want to complete everything.
Terasology is currently in open-development, so anyone can hop over to github and tinker with its progress – or if you’re a bit lazy you can just download and install the many quests and systems developed by others. If you want to be actively involved in the creation of another Minecraft-like game, Terasology might be the next big thing.
Probably the game that looks the most like Minecraft on our list, in fact it was inspired by a Minecraft demo so you’ll definitely recognise a lot of Minecraft in Terasology’s world-building. There are different terrains, cities and villages, and even lots of weird and wonderful AI critters, such as Gooey, which are little slime blocks you can breed.
Trove is one of the best building games with a very similar aesthetic to Minecraft, but with an emphasis on the RPG aspect like leveling up and grinding for loot. You start off in Trove by picking a class of your choice, ranging from RPG archetypes like Knight and Barbarian, to more extravagant builds like Dino Tamer and Tomb Raiser. Each class gives you a distinct set of attacking abilities and crafting specialities for when you’re out roaming the many biomes of this open-ended adventure game.
Robocraft is a sci-fi engineer’s dream, as you build robots that can fly, shoot, defend, and ultimately demolish. It doesn’t boast the open-world adventuring of Minecraft as it’s more of an arena shooter with a PVP focus, as you pilot your creations in battle, taking on other player creations in multiplayer matches set on different planets. It’s like Robot Wars team matches set in space… what’s not to love?
Like Minecraft, Trove has plenty of building and crafting mechanics to make the world your own, as you start out in Trove with a small base, known as your cornerstone. One of Trove’s best features are the countless player-created worlds called Clubs that you and online friends can explore as you take down creatures and craft new weapons – continually building up your cornerstone full of loot and goodies.
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Minetest is a complete open source voxel game engine, with a massive variety of gameplay and world options for players to dive into. Upon first glance, many gamers who are familiar with Minecraft will find stark similarities.
The gameplay is similar in that players can build and explore to their hearts content, be it alone or with friends.
Minetest also fully supports community contribution and input, through their own user-friendly Lua API. Players can build their own gamemodes, mods, characters, and more. These can then be shared with Minetest in their own community content database.
Trove is the happy result of bringing the elements of blocky sandbox games like Minecraft into its very own MMO. The graphics and some of the gameplay are reminiscent of the colorful and playful world of Minecraft.
However, players in Trove are able to also enjoy many of the traditional successful aspects of an MMORPG.
In Trove, there are multitude of class and gameplay options for players to chose from. During their adventure, they are able to explore, defeat enemies, traverse dungeons, and collect loot. However, players also are able to establish and build their very own portion of the Trove world in sandbox builder fashion.
Like many of the other games on this list, Creativerse shares many similar gameplay elements to those found in Minecraft. Its an open-world sandbox game where players can build and explore to their hearts content. The graphics and controls feel similar, but there are some clear improvements in the graphics department.
Players who choose to try out Creativerse, will also be able to experience a sense of progression with their technology system. New players will not be able to craft and get their hands on the best equipment possible until they advance their technology. This gives players milestones to work and strive towards, thereby granting a sense of accomplishment when reached.
With high-tech machines to create, vast amounts of creatures to claim, and massive worlds to traverse, Creativerse is worth checking out at the low cost of zero dollars to play.
Minecraft has what feels like an almost limitless number of different worlds to explore, thanks to the millions of different seeds. In StarMade, on the other hand, players have a completely open universe at their fingertips.
Every game generates its own unique and random universe, that will never truly end. This is because the game will continually keep expanding, no matter how far players explore.
Players in StarMade will be able design and customize their own unique space vessels, that they can then use to thwart off space pirates and battle other players. This game has taken Minecraft elements into an entirely new galactic frontier.
Terasology has been a completely open source voxel-world that is available for players to jump in, for completely free. Frankly, the game just has better natural graphics than Minecraft and has been an immense labor of love to produce for all to enjoy.
The game world is beautiful and features the blocky and colorful style that Minecraft players have grown to love. Gameplay elements include building and exploring, which are only limited by imagination.
Gamers who chose to take this game for a spin will not just be enjoying a free-to-play Minecraft like game, but they will also be joining a quality community.
This project can become whatever the dedicated and vibrant community of Terasology wants it to be. However, the drawback of it being an open-source project is that the game can be slow to update new features.
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What games are exactly like Minecraft?