We all love ourselves some piece of freedom, right? Going out and dismantling every structure you see so you can build yours and being as creative as you can with the world... will most likely get you jailed in real-life. However𝓡, if you do it in a safe and inconsequential sandbox, like in a video game, you can have the same amount of fun without the sweaty hard work.
Now, the term "sandbox" in gaming these days is more like a loose classification of other game genres, but they're usually massively multiplayer roleplayi♋ng games (MMORPG) or survival open-world games. After all, the bigger the sandbox, the better. Of course, since you love freedom, it's nicer if you can have these sandbox games for free, right? Say no more, because here are 10 of the best free sandbox games you can find on Steam or their own respective websites; so get busy building and exploring.
Updated by Madison Lennon on March 18, 2020: If you're a fan of customizing your environment, then you'll want to try playing various sandbox games to give you complete control. Many of them are similar to simulator games where you get to run your own farm or a specific setting.
If you like life simulators, you've probably already played some sandbox games. We thought now would be a good time to update this list with more sandbox games that are completely free for you to play! They come in a variety of genres so everyone should be able to find something that suits their play style.
15 Ylands
Similar to other games like Minecraft and Creativerse, Ylands allows players to create pretty much anything they want with its comprehensive editor and then🔴 watch it come to life and share it with the world. You'll be gifted with powerful tools that let you create houses, decorations, and even your own game.
Then you can play games created by other people in all kinds o🎀f different genres. The game also has a DLC you can get where you'll need to survive on a deserted island using your wits and the resources available around you.
14 Viridi
Viridi is a little different from most of the other games on this list as its primary goꦉal is simply to be a relaxing and safe game for players to maintain and grow their own succulents in real-time. Many people enj🐭oy the game as it can offer them some peace and quiet, or even a meditative moment while they're doing something else.
It's also not overly realistic to the point where you can easily kill your plants. They require maintenance and you can choose from an assortment of plants and designs, but if you miss a day or two it's not going to mess anything up. If you want a certain type of plant that isn't av⛦ailable, you can purchase it for just a few cents.
13 Crossout
Crossout is a post-apocalyptic MMO action game where you get to craft and cust♕omize your own battle machines to destroy enemies in online battles. It allows you an awesome level of customization that means your mechanics will be totally different from your friends.
You have a lot of freedom to design your vehi🌳cles with a multitude of parts and weapons. You can also use a variety of armor and work in the privacy of your own worksho🐠p.
12 𒆙ꦜ Cheeky Chooks
Cheeky Chooks is an adorable game that will be perfect for anyone who likes farming simulation games like Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon. All you h♓ave to do is raise your precious Chooks and become the ultimate Chook🉐 rancher.
Build a giant ranch, make your chooks happy and꧙ get better products from them like eggs -- meaning you get more money. There are no in-game purchases and﷽ you get to customize your ranch from nothing but a plot of dirt into an amazing ranch! The weather changes daily, too, so you'll need to take precautions to keep your animals safe.
11 😼 Fallout Shelter
Fans of the Fallout franchise should definitely give Fallout Shelter a chance. In the game, you get to build a Vault to try and keep your Dwellers safe and content from the many dangers outdoors in the Wasteland. However, you can also ex🍌plore the Wasteland to find resources and go on adventures.
If you love to customize, you'll get the chance to do just that inside your vault as you try and make it the perfect setting to keep its inhabitants happy and thriving. Find them jobs, find them outfits, ꦿhelp them train and improve their skills and weaponry.
10 ♉ 🎉 PIXEL WORLDS: MMO SANDBOX
Pixel Worlds: MMO Sandbox isn't exactly an open-world game. It's a 2D 16-bit sidescroller adventure game but that doesn't diminish itಞs sandbox quality one bit. For one, this game's indie developer lets players design their own levels, meaning you won't run out of playgrounds in this game as long as your creativity is working with you. Designing them is also easy since they're mostly sidescroller levels.
The best part is that you can invite some people over since it's massively multiplayer. You can also see each others' worlds or levels you've created and had your own adventures. It's like D&D but a little bit more modern and visual. Moreover, you get to enjoy some awesome RPG elements such as loot collecting for whenever you ꦇwant to show off to your friends.
9 THE SANDBOX E💫VOLUTION
Think of The Sandbox Evolution as Minecraft but two-dimensional instead. Oh, and it also comes with more practical building options than that game since you get to see the whole game world instead of being confined to a first-person view of everything. In that regard, The Sandbox Evolution lets you build everything and even recreate the most famous 2D sidescroller games of the 1980s and 1990s such as Pac-Man.
You also get the liberty to craft your own intricate 2D adventure world separated into several connected instances. Like in Pixel Worlds you need not be intimidated as The Sandbox Evolution🐓 will hold your hand through the creative process and teach you the important parts of world-building.
8 𒊎 🍒 EVE ONLINE
Now we're moving on to a different setting and frontier, space. Eve Online is an MMORPG which is sadly not for people of all ages or dispositions. It requires your time, dedication, and focus... unless you just want to explore the vastness of the game world's digital space while getting chased by pirates and bigger players. Regardless of your choices, Eve Online has something for players with different goals.
Want to establish an oppressive corporate space empire? Sure. Wage war on neighboring player-driven factions over a bunch of floating rocks? You bet. Corner the player-driven economy through guile and cleverness? By all means. You won't find a shortage of things to do in Eve Online. However, its free version is regarded by some as a generous demo, meaning if you want to g𒊎et serious, then you might have to spend for premium.
7 UNTURNED
Minecraft would have been on this list, but it's simply not free and the demo version is rather limited. Thankfully, there are other free games which let you have a similar amount of fun with practically the same graphics. One of them is Unturned, a multiplayer zombie survival game.
Granted, it doesn't really let you dismantle the colossal game world like in Minecraft, but Unturned still gives you the independence of cho♋osing how you survive against the zombie hordes. That means you can team up with other play𓂃ers or hoard the resources for yourself. You can also build fortresses... on your vehicles to make them mobile.
6 ♋ 𓆉 ALBION ONLINE
If fantasy adventure is what you seek in a player-driven game world, then Albion Online could be perfect for you. It's an MMORPG but unlike others of its genre, Albion Online doesn't give you any constraints on choosing your own class for the game. Building and developing your character is your responsibility and there are no other paths they can follow o𝐆ther than what you planned for them.
Of course, combat and character improvement is not the only thing you can do in-game. There are tons of other activities as well; such as getting a house of your own, farming (literal farming with crops), fishing, trading, and more. The fun starts when you join a guild where all of these activities converge into massi𝓰ve guild-vs-guild battles.