Games Where You Make Your Own Fun

Games are often scripted. Following a sequence of events taking the player from point A to point B. Sometimes in a line, and sometimes the player can choose what point B they want to reach. This could be a certain ending or goal set out by the game’s developers, or even just winning a multiplayer match.

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8 Sandbox Games That Defined The Genre

There have been many games that helped to define the sambox genre in some way, making them milestone titles.

But some games do this differently. Instead of pushing players toward a specific target, they allow players to use their creativity or imagination to forge their path. This doesn’t mean that players are completely lacking in any provided progression or goals, just that they’re under no obligation to pursue them. They make their own fun.

1

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord

Conquer Calradia, Or Don’t

Systems

Released

October 25, 2022

The Mount & Blade series is often extremely open-ended. Players can choose any of a multitude of factions to side with in their ongoing, NPC-driven wars. Or players can strike out on their own forming their own faction.

What’s more, players needn’t conquer anything. It’s a perfectly valid way to play to just be a bandit. In Bannerlord, players can set up workshops in different settlements and become merchants, only maintaining military strength as a way of protecting investments. Players can live out any medieval fantasy they wish.

2

Garry’s Mod

Make A Whole New Game

A true PC classic, Garry’s Mod is still an extremely successful game almost twenty years since its release. Arguably the original sandbox game, players can mess around with physics, enemies, and a plethora of mods in real-time. The game is intended for modding, allowing players to come up with their own game modes, weapons, and maps.

Before Among Us, Garry’s Mod gave fans Trouble In Terrorist Town. Before Call Of Duty officially implemented prop hunt, Garry’s Mod players had been playing it for over a decade. Some of gaming’s most famous names had a little-known predecessor created by some players in Garry’s Mod.

3

No Man’s Sky

Infinite Worlds, Infinite Possibilities

No Man’s Sky is all about player exploration and leaving a mark on the universe. Players are encouraged to head toward the center of the universe but that’s not entirely necessary.

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The world of No Man’s Sky is extremely vast, with uncounted procedurally generated planets with their own procedurally generated wildlife. Players can set up their settlements, become space pirates, or simply just travel from system to system, exploring the world and looking at other players’ creations. Every new planet is a new opportunity for adventure.

4

DayZ

Who’s The Real Enemy?

Systems

Released

December 13, 2018

One of the original zombie survival games, DayZ pits players against the odds to survive in a zombie-infested Eastern European nation. But when players have solved the survival bit, what do they do next?

DayZ is a game that never really gets old, exploring the map, battling zombies, wild animals, and more often than not, other players. But fans can do more than that; some choose to befriend other random players, forming teams fraught with the constant risk of betrayal for some sweet loot. Some simply hunt animals or even zombies. Some craft gear to trade with other players, especially if the server they’re on has some sort of safe zone. The game really is open-ended.

5

Total War: Warhammer 3 – Immortal Empires

Live Out A Warhammer Fantasy

While the main story of Total War: Warhammer 3 definitely has a single goal and story, the Immortal Empires free DLC opens things up for any player who wants a more open-ended take on Warhammer Fantasy.

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Packing a combination of sandbox creativity and freedom with strategic challenges, these games are the ideal mix of both worlds.

Players are given a few settlements to capture for a short campaign goal and a list of potential settlements for a long campaign victory, and that’s it. Players can make and break alliances with almost any faction on the map. It can be extremely fun to do challenge runs, target specific factions, see how rich a faction can become, or mess with their mechanics.

6

Space Engineers

Space Battles Are Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

Systems

Released

February 28, 2019

Developer(s)

Keen Software House

For those looking to build a spaceship, lunar colony, Mars rover, or just something inappropriate that can fly, look no further than Space Engineers. A sandbox space simulator that lets players dream up everything from the smallest drone to the largest capital spaceship.

Players can treat themselves to a survival mode fraught with dangers, from Space Pirate drones to alien spiders. But with no end goal in sight, players are simply challenged to explore and design their vehicles and bases. Dogfighting each other in multiplayer, or building a massive ship together. With a sequel on the way, it’s an open-ended game worth checking out.

7

Stellaris

Customizable Science Fiction

Systems

Stellaris is a game where fans can do anything. Players manage a spacefaring empire from their first steps into the void to crafting dyson spheres. They can create their own alien species with a government, culture, and origins specific to them.

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Looking for open-ended adventure in an open science-fiction world? Look no further.

Players can build militaristic empires with an army of clones, form a democratic, pacifist utopia, and form a galactic union with other civilizations, recreating the Borg from Star Trek. Their only end goal is to reach a year they set themselves. Meanwhile, they can choose to conquer the galaxy, unify it under a galactic senate, or simply sit back and watch as other empires rise and fall.

8

Project Zomboid

Survival At It’s Most Brutal

A brutal and unforgiving survival simulator, Project Zomboid imagines what it would take to survive a zombie apocalypse. Players can go it alone or team up with friends, with characters that complement each other’s skill sets.

The unique part about Project Zomboid is how the world affects the player, with very harsh mechanics around learning skills to survive. But that’s where players can make their own fun, deciding where they’d defend, what they’d do for food, how they’d survive. In co-op, a bitten player might hide their bite, similar to any zombie movie or TV show. It’s the ultimate playground for zombie fans.

9

Minecraft

Build, Explore, Or Do Whatever You Like

Of course, Minecraft is one of the most popular games of all time. And for good reason. The game is an expansive sandbox that truly allows players to make whatever they can imagine.

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Minecraft might have bosses and progression in its survival mode, but even if players choose not to switch to creative, they can have a lot of fun just doing whatever they want. Exploring can be just as fun as building a colossal base, and defending a village from a Pillager raid is a difficult and rewarding experience. Some players just choose to challenge themselves with different limitations or use mods to change up the gameplay. Players can make it their own.

10

Tabletop Simulator

Imagination Required, Bank Loans, Less So

Tabletop Simulator is an open-ended simulator game that allows fans to play almost anything that could be on a real tabletop. The game comes with some basics, such as checkers and chess. But the real fun begins with the integrated Steam Workshop.

Players can use the massive array of models to do basically anything. Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer, Magic: The Gathering. All have nearly limitless files that can be used in their games. The game is designed around online multiplayer, which lets people from different countries play together, something they otherwise would never be able to do.

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