Summary
Video games are nothing if not interactive, and many players adore the freedom these titles can offer. Few genres exemplify this sense of player freedombetter than sandbox games. A good video game sandbox offers players nearly limitless resources to shape the world as they please. Some even let players design whole new video game experiences to share with their fellow fans.
Many fans are turning to creative pursuits and demonstrating some of the overwhelmingly impressive things that can be built with even the most rudimentary sandbox mechanics. In turn, many games are throwing in increasingly complex sandbox modes to let players test their creative limits. These are some of the best games with sandbox modes for fans who want to tell their own story and build their own game.
This list will also include sandbox games that incorporate additional creative modes that allow players to remove various restrictions, offering a truly freeform experience.
Fortnite Battle Royaletook the world by storm back in 2017 by introducing a unique building mechanic to help set it apart from the tried and true battle royale formula. In 2018, Epic Games decided to expand these distinctive building options with the release ofFortniteCreative Mode, a subgame where players are free to build and design whatever structures and experiences they’d like and share them with friends.
Unlike some other sandbox modes,Fortnite’s Creative Mode doesn’t limit itself to just elaborate builds and impressive structures. DedicatedFortniteCreative builders have createdbrand-new gameplay experiencesthat are worth checking out in their own right, from homages to popular multiplayer games likePhasmophobiato entirely original concepts.
WhilePalworldwas initially dismissed as just “Pokemonwith guns,“its release caused a lot of stiras players realized just how much depth the game had. This survival crafting game has a lot of mechanics to explore as players build out their menagerie of strange, fantastical beasts.
Palworldtechnically lacks a formal sandbox mode, but it does boast an incredible number of options for world settings. This essentially lets players customize their own sandbox experience, further heightening the creative opportunities available to them inPalworld. By turning off necessary resources and danger from enemies, aPalworldplayer can do whatever they’d like in this strange and expansive world.
Subnauticais a very distinct take on the survival crafting genre. It forces players to survive in the middle of a vast ocean on a hostile alien planet, rich with strange and unique sea life. The game is infamous for being a lot more stressful than most survival games. Circumstances in-game are dire, and the ocean is full of dangers.
The intense nature ofSubnauticamakes it seem a bit odd that it features a creative mode, but this version of the game has plenty of advantages. With unlimited resources and all tech unlocked, players can freely build whatever elaborate underwater base they’d like, and happily cruise the ocean in any vehicle they want without fear of getting eaten. Given thehigh difficulty curve inSubnautica, the creative mode can be a great way for new players to get their bearings before they’re thrown into the deep end.
Obsidian’s unique survival gameGroundedstrands a group of teens in a backyard populated with hostile bugs and mysterious robots. Beneath its odd premise and quirky art style lies a high-stakes survival adventure rich with terrifying insect encounters. Players will have to get uncomfortably close to some of the nastiest bugs in the yard if they want to succeed.
For more squeamish players who just want to build a tiny house in the yard, there’s Creative Mode. This version disables all story quests and in exchange lets players craft whatever they’d like and freely explore the yard without risk of danger. Players can make a creative world with or without bugs, but even if the creatures are present, they’ll ignore explorers completely. This sandbox mode lets fans build a charming house out ofGrounded’s tiny resources without having to worry about survival.
The infamousNo Man’s Skyhas developed into an excellent game through the tireless work of its developers and a constant stream of free updates. One of the many beneficiaries ofthis progress is the game’s building system, which has seen numerous enhancements over the years, including new building pieces and tools like a convenient portal to other planets. Players can even recruit NPCs to oversee vital parts of base management like farming and tech development.
For less patient players who want to test the limits of these mechanics,No Man’s Skyoffers Creative Mode. This version of the game gives fans unlimited resources and free access to almost any ship in the game, including titanic capital ships. It’s perfect not only for building an ideal base anddecorating a capital shipbut also for trying out new mechanics and ship designs to learn what works best in the main game.
TheDragon Quest Buildersseries combines the iconic fantasy RPG mechanics ofDragon Questwith the open-ended crafting gameplay ofMinecraftto fantastic effect.Dragon Quest Builders 2iterates on the first one in several ways, particularly in how it lets players manage towns full of NPCs. The core gameplay loop ofDragon Quest Builders 2already encourages players to explore and build at their own pace, but things truly open up after the main story.
Beating the story ofDragon Quest Builders 2unlocks Creative Mode. Players can unlock limitless building resources and explore without restriction, letting them freely shape the islands ofDragon Quest Builders 2in their own image. Given how much the game iterates on its predecessor, getting free reign over the world is a very fitting prize.
In modern gaming culture, the wordMinecraftis synonymous with sandbox gameplay. This iconic crafting game puts players in a virtually limitless world, generated entirely to their custom specifications, and lets them explore and build to their heart’s content. Creative mode gives players limitless access to every item and resource in the game, and even allows flight, so players can build gravity-defying structures on a level that would take forever in Survival mode.
The internet is flooded with examples of some of the jaw-dropping structures fans have built inMinecraft.The game’s servers, in turn, are flooded with custom game modes fans have put together using the expansive base game as a canvas. The creative freedom hiding behindMinecraft’s cute cube-based aesthetic is truly staggering, presenting a sandbox like no other.
