Summary
- Sandbox games give players control: Build societies, manage supermarkets, or explore zombie-infested worlds at your own pace.
- Technical advancements provide more agency: Tailor experiences in open-world survival games like 'Project Zomboid' and 'Don't Starve.'
- Creative freedom in established franchises: Games like 'The Legend of Zelda' and 'Red Dead Redemption' offer endless exploration and gameplay possibilities.
Determining the greatest sandbox games is no easy feat as it's an enormous genre that covers dozens, if not more, of the most popular games available right now. From the blocky creative goodness of Minecraft to the ever-expanding ways to play Grand Theft Auto Online, a sandbox game is any game that puts most of the control in the player's hands.
RelatedThe Best Open-World Games Of All Time, Ranked
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Posts 2It's a genre that has continually improved, as the technical advancements in gaming have enabled developers to give players more control over their experience than ever before. Here are the best sandbox titles that are available to play right now on both PC and console.
Updated April 9, 2025 by Ben Jessey: When we created this list, we included many great sandbox titles. Now, we've updated the collection to add even more of the genre's best games.
Starbound
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RPG Sandbox Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 85/100 Critics Rec: 88% Released July 22, 2016 ESRB E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood Developer(s) Chucklefish Publisher(s) Chucklefish Engine Proprietary Engine Multiplayer Online MultiplayerWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONThe basic premise of Starbound is that you're floating through space in a simple ship. There is a story you can follow and missions you can do. However, the game is fairly open. Therefore, you get plenty of freedom to do what you want.
This includes exploring planets and building things. You can build up your ship, or you can construct things on the planets you visit. You can also do some farming, mining, and more. So, there are plenty of possibilities.
Inzoi
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Life Simulation Systems 4.0/5 6.8/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 82/100 Critics Rec: 86% Released March 28, 2025 Developer(s) Krafton Publisher(s) Krafton Engine Unreal Engine 5 Multiplayer Online MultiplayerWHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALInzoi is a life simulation game similar to the likes of The Sims. However, instead of managing a family, you manage an entire neighborhood. You can customize the people, houses, scenery, and pretty much anything else. So, you can potentially make the neighborhood look exactly how you desire.
The ability to directly control the people in your neighborhood can make it feel even more like your sandbox. You can make them do exactly what you want, which creates many possibilities.
The Forest
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Survival Horror Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 81/100 Critics Rec: 69% Released April 30, 2018 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity Developer(s) Endnight Games Publisher(s) Endnight Games Engine Unity Multiplayer Online Co-OpWHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALSandbox titles are often considered calm and tranquil games. That is not the case with The Forest, though. This is because the game places you on a forested island with cannibals. Your only goal is to survive. How you go about doing that is up to you.
One thing that will certainly help is building structures and crafting items. When it comes to the former, you can make a base for yourself or even a small village. So, you can really build a life for yourself on the cannibal island.
Jurassic World Evolution 2
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Simulation Systems 5.0/5 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 79/100 Critics Rec: 66% Released November 9, 2021 ESRB T For Teen Due To Mild Blood, Violence Developer(s) Frontier Developments Publisher(s) Frontier Developments Engine COBRAWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONIn Jurassic World Evolution 2, you ignore all the lessons taught by the Jurassic movies and build a theme park filled with dinosaurs. You have to manage the place and keep things running.
So, it's a management simulation game. However, there is also a sandbox element, as you get free reign to build the park any way you want. You can alter the terrain, create habitats, place trees, decorate, and make the place look exactly like your vision. Just watch out for escaping dinos, as they can cause plenty of issues.
Besiege
Besiege is a medieval building game with wacky physics. In each level, you must build a vehicle from scratch with the goal of completing a specific objective.
The sandbox aspect comes into play during the vehicle-building portion of the game. You have a lot of freedom when it comes to building your contraption. Therefore, you can make all sorts of wild things, from tanks to helicopters. Perhaps your creation is so strange that it can’t even be categorized. You can really flex your creative muscles.
Conan Exiles
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Survival Action-Adventure Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 68/100 Critics Rec: 34% Released May 8, 2018 ESRB M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Nudity, Use of Alcohol Developer(s) Funcom Publisher(s) Funcom Engine Unreal Engine 4 Multiplayer Online Co-Op, Online MultiplayerWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONConan Exiles is a sandbox survival game where you play as someone from the Hyborian Age. The main goal is to stay alive and hunt for resources. However, you can also do things with those resources.
Naturally, you can make standard tools. You can also build large structures to either hide in or simply admire. There is even furniture that you can place within those structures to make them really feel like homes. Outside of having the right resources, there aren’t many restrictions when it comes to building things.
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
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Strategy Systems OpenCritic Reviews Released April 1, 2019 ESRB T For Teen Due To Violence Engine Unity Multiplayer Online MultiplayerWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONSandbox games can come in many different forms. A perfect example of this is the Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, which is very different from most other entries in the genre. It’s all about large-scale conflicts between various soldiers who have wacky physics.
The campaign mode serves as more of a strategy game, but there is a sandbox mode where you get free rein to select any type of units you want for either army. You can include archers, spear-throwers, shield bearers, catapults, and many more types of combatants. After you’ve made your selection, you press play and see how the two armies get on and who gets the victory. Due to the wild physics in play, the battles can be ridiculous and comical.
Satisfactory
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Simulation Sandbox Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 90/100 Critics Rec: 100% Released September 10, 2024 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Developer(s) Coffee Stain Studios Publisher(s) Coffee Stain Publishing Engine Unreal Engine 5 Multiplayer Online MultiplayerWHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALSatisfactory is a more than satisfactory first-person sandbox game. At the start, you’re placed on an alien planet with some tools. From there, you’re pretty much on your own to explore, gather resources, and build things.
The idea is that you acquire interesting things to send back to your company using the special space elevator you make at the start of the game. Therefore, there is a goal to this sandbox title. However, it isn’t a particularly restrictive one. You have the freedom to explore and build on your own terms.
Manor Lords
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Strategy City Builder Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 72/100 Critics Rec: 43% Released April 26, 2024 ESRB t Developer(s) Slavic Magic Publisher(s) Hooded Horse Engine Unreal Engine 4WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALIn Manor Lords, you’re put in charge of a small medieval settlement and tasked with building the place up. This means constructing things like housing, logging camps, mining pits, storehouses, and much more.
The goal of the game is to create a wholesome and functional society. There is also a real-time tactical warfare aspect, as your people can go to battle. However, the title offers a Rise to Prosperity mode that removes the combat elements, which is perfect for people who just want to build a nice settlement.
Supermarket Simulator
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Simulation Systems 10.0/10 Released February 20, 2024 ESRB e Developer(s) Nokta Games Publisher(s) Nokta Games Engine Unity Multiplayer Online MultiplayerWHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALAs you can probably guess from the name of the game, the sandbox in Supermarket Simulator is a supermarket. You have complete control over the establishment.
You can place shelving, put items on those shelves, and decide prices. So, you can build the exact supermarket you want when you have the funds. You aren't just responsible for building it, either. You actually manage the place, too. This means working the register and ordering stock. Since this is a sandbox game, though, you can do things at your own pace. That said, customers will get upset if you take too long to serve them.
