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 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: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 han𒊎ds.

Related
The Best Open-World Games Of All Time, Ra♎nked

Ready for a huge world to explore?

2

It's a genre that has continually improved, as the technical advan🐭cements in gaming have enabled developers to give players more control over their experience than ever before. Here are the best sandbဣox 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

A medieval style structure with a tiled roof and armored NPCs inside.
mixcollage-12-dec-2024-12-26-am-5378.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Starbound
RPG
Sandbox
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 85/100 Critics Rec: 88%
Released
July 22, 2016
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ D𝓀ue To Alcohol Reference, Crude Hum💟or, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
Engine
Proprietary Engine
Multiplayer
Online Multiplay🐬er

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL

Platform(s)
PC, Xbox One

The basic premise of Starbound is that you're floating through space in a simple sh♋ip. 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

A woman smiling at her birthday cake.
inzoi-tag-page-cover-art.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: InZOI
Life Simulation
Systems
4.0/5
Top Critic Avg: 82/100 Critics Rec: 86%
Released
March 28, 2025
Developer(s)
Krafton
Publisher(s)
Krafton
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Multiplayer
ꦰ Online M✃ultiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Platform(s)
PC

Inzoi is a life simulation game similar to the likes of The Sims. However, instead of managing a family, you manage an entire neighborhood. You cꦕan customize the people, houses, scenery, and pretty much anything else. So, you can potentially make the neighborhood look exact꧂ly how you desire.

The ability to directly control the♏ people in your neighborhood can make i🅘t feel even more like your sandbox. You can make them do exactly what you want, which creates many possibilities.

The Forest

An image showing the player standing next to a built Rabbit Cage in The Forest. The player is holding an axe and a lighter. There is a nearby shelter which has also been built by the player.
mixcollage-25-dec-2024-02-27-pm-111.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: The Forest
Survival Horror
Systems
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
O🅷nline Co-Op

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Platform(s)
PC, PS4

Sandbox titles are often considered calm and tranquil games. That is not the case with The Forest, though. This is becauseꦯ 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

A screenshot showing a dinosaur escaping from its enclosure in Jurassic World Evolution 2.
mixcollage-12-dec-2024-08-47-am-2123.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Jurassic World Evolution 2
Simulation
Systems
5.0/5
Top Critic Avg: 79/100 Critics Rec: 66%
Released
November 9, 2021
ESRB
൲ T For Teen Due To Mild Blood, Violence
Engine
COBRA

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

In Jurassic World Evolut𓆏ion 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 t🅷he place look exactly like your vision. Just watch out for escaping dinos, as they can cause plenty of issues.

Besiege

A building mode view in Besiege, showing a rudimentary wooden chassis with four wheels.

Besiege is a medieval building game꧋ with wacky physics. In e🔯ach 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 cꦓan really flex your creative muscles.

Conan Exiles

Conan Exiles screenshot of large building with red flags all over it.
mixcollage-08-dec-2024-01-16-am-5273.jpg

Your Rating

Conan Exiles
Survival
Action-Adventure
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 68/100 Critics Rec: 34%
Released
May 8, 2018
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due t🐟o Blood an൩d Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Nudity, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s)
Funcom
Publisher(s)
Funcom
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Multiplayer
♕🌼 Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Conan Exiles is a sandbox survival game where you play as someone from the Hyborian Age. The main gܫoal 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 stru🐽ctures to make them really feel like homes. Outside of having the ri🌠ght resources, there aren’t many restrictions when it comes to building things.

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator

Two giant mammoths wreaking havoc to soldiers in Totally Accurate Battle Simulator.
mixcollage-21-nov-2024-10-38-pm-6029.jpg

Your Rating

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
Released
April 1, 2019
ESRB
T 🌌For Teen Due To Violence
Engine
Unity
Multiplayer
💯🔥 Online Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL

Platform(s)
PC, Xbox One, PS4
Developer
Landfall
Publisher
Landfall

Sandbox games can come in many different forms. A perfect example of this is the Totally Accurate Battle Simulatℱor, 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, catapult𝓰s, 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

Four Coal-Powered Generators generating power from coal near a waterfall.
mixcollage-10-dec-2024-12-24-am-2863.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Satisfactory
Simulation
Sandbox
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 90/100 Critics Rec: 100%
Released
September 10, 2024
ESRB
M For Mature 17+
Developer(s)
▨ ♉ Coffee Stain Studios
Publisher(s)
൩ Coffಞee Stain Publishing
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Multiplayer
ও ♒Online Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Platform(s)
PC

Satisf🥀actory is a more than satisfactory first-ဣperson 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 pa🎉rticularly restrictive one. You have the freedom to explore and build on your own terms.

Manor Lords

Manor Lords screenshot of sawpit covered in snow.
mixcollage-04-dec-2024-09-09-am-6961.jpg

Your Rating

Manor Lords
Strategy
City Builder
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 72/100 Critics Rec: 43%
Released
April 26, 2024
ESRB
t
Developer(s)
🧸 Slavic Magic 𝕴
Publisher(s)
ꦓ Hooded Horse 🌺
Engine
Unreal Engine 4

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

In Manor Lords, you’re put in charge of a small medieval settlement and ta🌠sked with building the place up. This means constructing th𝔍ings 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 oꦺffers 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

Supermarket Simulator screenshot of two male customers in line.
mixcollage-12-dec-2024-05-37-pm-5728.jpg

Your Rating

Supermarket Simulator
Simulation
Systems
10.0/10
Released
February 20, 2024
ESRB
e
Developer(s)
💜 💃 Nokta Games
Publisher(s)
🌸 Nokta Games
Engine
Unity
Multiplayer
꧂ 🀅 Online Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Platform(s)
PC, Android

As you can probably guess from the name of the game, the sandbox in Supermar𒉰ket Simulator is aꦺ 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, y🀅ou can do things at your own pace. That said, customers will get upset if you take too long to serve them.