Games Like Minecraft: 9 Building and Survival Games Worth Trying

Building, surviving or exploring: pick your Minecraft

Ask three people why they love Minecraft and you might get three answers. Some love Creative building. Some love the tension of Survival. Others just want to see what is over the next hill. The best follow-up depends on which of those you are.

• Builders: LEGO Worlds and Dragon Quest Builders 2 keep the block-placing joy front and centre. Enshrouded's voxel system is excellent for detailed houses.
• Survivors: Grounded, Subnautica and Terraria all make gathering and staying alive feel tense.
• Explorers: No Man's Sky and Astroneer turn the urge to wander into whole planets.

If you are still unsure, the Pathfinder quiz on our home page narrows things down by platform, time and players.

Why Terraria is the usual first answer

Terraria shares more of Minecraft's DNA than almost anything else: you dig, place blocks, craft better tools from what you find, and build homes for non-player characters who move in. It even shares the early-night panic when monsters arrive.

The difference is direction. Terraria is a 2D game with a long sequence of bosses, and gear progression is the backbone. That makes it feel more like an adventure with building attached, while Minecraft is a building game with adventure attached. PEGI lists Terraria at 12 for violence, compared with Minecraft's PEGI 7.

Story-led sandboxes for players who want a goal

Minecraft's freedom is also its biggest hurdle: some players load a new world and do not know what to do. Games with a story can fix that.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 gives you quests, characters and clear tasks while keeping block building at the centre. Grounded has a mystery to solve about why you were shrunk, and Subnautica drip-feeds a story through signals and wrecks. Each still lets you build freely, but you are rarely left wondering what to do next.

PEGI ratings next to Minecraft's PEGI 7

Minecraft is rated PEGI 7, which is one reason it is so popular with families. Several picks here match it: Dragon Quest Builders 2, Astroneer, Core Keeper, Subnautica and LEGO Worlds are all listed at PEGI 7 in the PEGI database.

Terraria, No Man's Sky, Grounded and Enshrouded are PEGI 12. Grounded's rating includes bad language as well as violence. Astroneer and Enshrouded also carry an In-game purchases descriptor. As always, check the exact edition on pegi.info. Parents may find our playing with kids page useful too.

Playing with friends: shared worlds and servers

Much of Minecraft's long life comes from shared worlds. Most of the games on this list support online co-op too, but the way it works varies.

Terraria, Core Keeper, Grounded, Enshrouded and Astroneer let a host invite friends into a shared world. No Man's Sky lets you meet other players and build together. Subnautica is the exception: it is single-player only. Before buying for a group, check whether every friend needs their own copy and whether cross-play between platforms is supported, as this differs from game to game. For more ideas, see our games like Roblox page, which covers creation platforms.

Minecraft alternatives by platform, and what to try first

A sensible order for most players is to start with the game that matches the part of Minecraft you play most. A family that mostly builds together might begin with LEGO Worlds or Dragon Quest Builders 2, then move to Terraria once everyone wants more challenge. A group of older friends who love Survival will probably get most from Grounded or Enshrouded, where co-op is central. Solo explorers tend to fall for Subnautica or No Man's Sky.

It is also worth remembering what Minecraft does that almost nothing else matches: it runs on nearly every device, and cross-play between versions is part of its appeal. Several games here are on fewer platforms, so check that everyone in your group can actually play together before buying. The list below shows the platforms we verified.

• PC: Terraria, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Astroneer, No Man's Sky, Grounded, Enshrouded, Core Keeper, Subnautica, LEGO Worlds.
• PlayStation: Terraria, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Astroneer, No Man's Sky, Enshrouded, Core Keeper, Subnautica, LEGO Worlds.
• Xbox: Terraria, Astroneer, No Man's Sky, Grounded, Core Keeper, Subnautica, LEGO Worlds.
• Nintendo Switch / Switch 2: Terraria, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Astroneer, No Man's Sky, Core Keeper, Subnautica, LEGO Worlds.