15 Games Like Minecraft for Building, Surviving, and Exploring
The best games like Minecraft in 2026. From Terraria to Valheim to Subnautica, these are the sandbox survival games worth playing next.
Minecraft works because it gives you a world and says "figure it out." No cutscenes. No tutorials that last 45 minutes. Just blocks, tools, and a vague sense that nightfall is going to be a problem.
That loop of gathering, building, and exploring is simple to understand and almost infinitely deep. If you've played hundreds of hours and want something that scratches a similar itch, this list is for you. Every game here shares at least one of Minecraft's core pillars: creative building, survival under pressure, or open-ended exploration.
1. Terraria
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Mobile
Terraria looks like 2D Minecraft but plays more like a combat RPG with building mechanics. The boss progression is genuinely excellent. You mine, craft, and build, but the real pull is the gear treadmill: better weapons let you fight harder bosses which drop better loot. It has more content than most AAA games and it costs almost nothing.
2. Valheim
Platforms: PC, Xbox
Viking survival that nails the feeling of conquering a hostile world with friends. The building system is physics-based, so structures need proper support or they collapse. Sailing across the ocean to find a new biome, building a forward base, and taking down the next boss is one of the best co-op loops in gaming. The art style is intentionally low-res and it looks beautiful anyway.
3. Satisfactory
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5
Less survival, more factory-building obsession. You land on an alien planet and automate production chains until your base looks like a circuit board. The satisfaction (sorry) comes from optimizing. Conveyor belts, splitters, power grids, trains. If you ever spent hours in Minecraft building redstone contraptions, this is that feeling turned up to eleven.
4. Subnautica
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
The best survival game ever made, in my opinion. You crash-land on an ocean planet and have to go deeper to survive. The world design is masterful. Every biome is hand-crafted, every depth level more terrifying than the last. It's also one of the few survival games with a genuinely compelling story. Play it blind if you can.
5. No Man's Sky
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
The redemption arc of the decade. At launch it was barren. Now it's one of the most content-rich exploration games on any platform. Procedurally generated planets, base building, fleet management, multiplayer, expeditions. The scale is absurd, 18 quintillion planets. It still gets major free updates years later.
6. Deep Rock Galactic
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Co-op mining shooter where you play as space dwarves carving through procedurally generated caves. Not a traditional survival game, but the destructible terrain and resource gathering will feel familiar. What makes it special is the class synergy. Four distinct classes that each interact with the terrain differently. Rock and Stone.
7. Astroneer
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
The most relaxed game on this list. You explore planets, gather resources, and build bases with a terrain-deforming tool that feels like sculpting clay. No combat to speak of. The progression is exploring your solar system, building vehicles, and unlocking new planets. Perfect if you want the exploration side of Minecraft without the creepers.
8. Raft
Platforms: PC
You start on a 2x2 raft in an endless ocean. You hook floating debris, expand your raft, and survive. The core loop is addictive: every piece of junk you reel in becomes walls, floors, crop plots, engines. Story islands break up the ocean survival with genuine puzzle-solving. Best played with 2-3 friends.
9. The Forest
Platforms: PC, PlayStation
You survive a plane crash on a peninsula full of cannibals. The building is freeform, the AI is unsettling, and the cave systems are genuinely scary. It walks the line between survival crafting and horror surprisingly well. Its sequel Sons of the Forest expanded on everything, but the original is still worth playing first.
10. Grounded
Platforms: PC, Xbox
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids as a survival game. You're miniaturized in a suburban backyard and have to survive against insects. Ants are neutral until provoked. Spiders are not. The scale shift makes everything feel fresh. A blade of grass is a building material. A juice box is a landmark. Obsidian made this and it shows in the polish.
11. Vintage Story
Platforms: PC
The most "Minecraft but harder" game on this list. It started as a mod and became its own thing. Seasons affect crop growth. Metal progression requires actual smelting knowledge. Wolves will end you. If you want Minecraft's core loop but with real depth in the survival mechanics, this is it. Small team, passionate community, frequent updates.
12. Hytale
Platforms: PC (in development)
From the team behind Hypixel, the biggest Minecraft server ever. Hytale aims to be the next generation of block-based gaming with better combat, modding tools, and world generation. It's been in development for years and has shifted scope multiple times. Worth keeping on your radar. If it ships anywhere close to the original vision, it could be significant.
13. Lego Worlds
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
Open-world sandbox where everything is made of Lego bricks. You discover procedurally generated worlds, find new brick types, and build whatever you want. It's more freeform creation than survival. The discovery tool lets you scan any object in the world and replicate it. Best for younger players or anyone who wants pure creative building without stakes.
14. Dragon Quest Builders 2
Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Minecraft meets JRPG. You build towns, recruit villagers, and follow a structured story while still having full creative freedom. The building is satisfying because the NPCs actually use what you build. Make a kitchen and they cook. Build bedrooms and they sleep. It solves the "why am I building this" problem that open sandboxes sometimes have.
15. Eco
Platforms: PC
A survival game where the real threat is ecological collapse. Every tree you chop, every animal you hunt affects the ecosystem. Players run a shared economy with laws, taxes, and elections. It's Minecraft meets political simulation. Best played on a populated server where the social dynamics get interesting. Not for everyone, but nothing else plays like it.
Want to Make Your Own Survival Game?
If playing these games makes you want to build one, you can. Summer Engine has a voxel sandbox template that gives you a Minecraft-style foundation out of the box. Terrain generation, block placement, inventory systems. Browse all survival templates and start from something that already works, then make it yours.