There’s just something about crafting games that appeals to everyone playing them. Maybe it’s the satisfaction of making something from nothing, or maybe it’s the resource management side of things? Either way, crafting games are amazing and they often offer an excellent experience that’s mixed with some sort of survival situation.
If you’re looking for the best crafting games, you’ve come to the right place! This list contains a nice mixture of both simple and incredibly complex games so there’s something for everyone.
We always try to make sure that you get the most accurate and diverse information available, so if you’re a fan of other genres of games, you might want to consider taking a look at our other articles, such as the best free PC games and the best mobile multiplayer games!
The best crafting games
Minecraft
Minecraft is a no-brainer in a list like this. Crafting is literally in the game, and it’s extremely accurate. In Minecraft, you’re placed in a giant, procedurally generated world made of blocks that is full to the brim with things to explore and discover. Your job is to essentially do whatever you want, but the general goal is to collect resources, progress through gear quality, and create a sustainable environment where you can live as you make your way through the various stages of the game, all the way to the end where you have to face the Ender Dragon. Minecraft is one of the best crafting games that provides you with everything that makes a crafting game good, and everyone should play it now and then.
Terraria
Moving on, we have Terraria, a game that is very similar to Minecraft, except it’s presented in a 2D perspective and with a drastically different game dynamic. In this game, you are free to explore a massive world, upgrade your gear, explore caverns, and fight bosses as much as you want. When it comes to the gear you can use, there is a nice variety to it that adds some fantastical elements like fleshy weapons, made of the corruption that plagues a part of the world. You also have other interesting features such as magic and guns, adding to the variety. The appeal of Terraria lies in its sandbox design and the freedom to do whatever you want. Aspects like these are what we look for in the best crafting games. If you want a more complete experience, you can always include a friend in the fun and explore the vast world together.
7 Days to Die
An excellent crafting/survival game, 7 Days to Die is set in a post-apocalyptic world where no semblance of society remains, and everything is in tatters. You are a survivor of the world that takes place in the game, to make your way through the world and survive for as long as possible. Constantly, you have to manage your food/water intake so you don’t die, but the main thing you have to worry about is the zombies. The title of the game gives you the premise, in a way, since the more days pass in the game, the more dangerous zombies get. They follow a similar behavior pattern to zombies in Dying Light, where they are sluggish during the day, and incredibly aggressive during the night. This is why 7 Days to Die is one of the best crafting games that is well worth the money.
Don’t Starve
Yet another survival crafting game, Don’t Starve offers a very unique approach to survival where it doesn’t put you in a bright survival world, but a world with a fairly bleak and monotonous tone to it. It is presented in a top-down perspective where you have to scour the map to find resources to create things such as traps, weapons, food, equipment, and much more. The appeal of the game is that is quite simple, but offers many hidden things to find in the large forest. The things you can find include NPCs, portals, bosses, and much more. There is another version of the game called Don’t Starve Together, which allows you to enter the adventure with a friend and work together to survive. Don’t Starve is one of the best crafting games because it commits to the basics quite well.
Factorio
Remember when we said that there are some really complex games on this list? Well, this is one of them. Factorio is a game where you are stranded on an alien planet with almost nothing to keep you alive, so you have to use the environment to your advantage, creating equipment and developing technology from nothing. You can go from mining crude stones to nuclear fusion, simply using the progression system. Since the game has a tremendous amount of content, there is always something to do and new research paths to unlock. If you’re the type who also likes combat in crafting games, there is also a sizeable alien population on the map. The aliens won’t seek you out initially, but you can create weapons or even vehicles to attack them and keep their population under control. This is the type of game that someone can lose themselves in, wondering where the time went. Exactly what you’re looking for in the best crafting games.
Valheim
Another example of the best crafting games that do not include high-end graphics but focus on the quality of gameplay and the art direction. In this game, you are in Valheim, a realm where Vikings go after they die to prove themselves worthy of Valhalla. You can create a group of up to 10 players and work together to brave the wilds, collect resources for crafting, do battle, and much, much more. Creating buildings is a fun and intuitive process with a lot of customization options since the style of buildings follows traditional Viking norms. Overall, Valheim is a fantastic game that is best enjoyed with friends, so get some of those and begin the adventure!
The Long Dark
The Long Dark is a perfect example of a game that capitalizes on ambiance and a gripping narrative to deliver a near-perfect story that is both enjoyable and fun. The game is set in a barren, freezing location where the player has to navigate the wilds to find resources to survive. The main story mode of the game, Wintermute, is presented in episode format, where each episode takes you to a different part of the world as you make your way towards salvation. If you want a more challenging adventure, then you might want to try out the Survival mode, which features much more brutal, punishing gameplay with permadeath, so when you die, that’s the end of the game. An approach such as this eliminates all hand-holding and forces the player to think for themselves and find the best method of surviving the wilds. This is easily one of the best crafting games for anyone looking for a fantastic, yet difficult adventure!
The Forest
A very ambitious game, The Forest has you take on the role of a parent who has just survived a plane crash where everyone dies except for you and your child. You can use any supplies that are scattered around the plane by breaking open travel cases and looting them. After that, you’re free to explore the surroundings and forage for any extra supplies you might find. The crafting system is intuitive and unique, since opening your inventory doesn’t take you to a separate screen in the traditional sense, but instead, opens your backpack on the ground in one fluid motion. From here you can clearly see all of the supplies you have on hand and plan accordingly. To survive in The Forest, you need to be diligent when it comes to collecting supplies and managing your food/water intake. If you fail in this regard, death will be upon you before you know it. The constant presence of death and despair is what makes The Forest one of the best crafting games.
Raft
Raft is all about crafting and progression, it’s a constant in the best crafting games. You (or you and your friends, if you choose to play multiplayer) are stranded on a 4×4 raft in the middle of the ocean with a shark lurking about the water. Conveniently, you have a hook on a rope that you can use to pull in the trash that floats in the ocean and use it to expand the raft and create life-saving supplies. You start small, of course, with some basic inventions like water purification, grills, nets, etc. As you progress you’ll be able to construct more complex things like sails, rudders, and even engines to push you along the way. There is a story and an end goal, which you can discover by visiting the various islands strewn about the ocean. They contain clues left over by some researches that tie into a much grander scheme, so if you want an interesting experience, by all means, follow the story!
Subnautica
Another game with an aquatic theme to it, Subnautica gives you more freedom to explore than Raft, and its theme is fantastic! Your only goal is to embark on an adventure into the unknown ocean on this alien planet and to learn as much as you can. When you explore, you will run into many species of marine wildlife, some of which can be aggressive and kill you if you’re not careful. Likewise, you will also find resources on the ocean floor that can be used to craft supplies and construct machineries like submarines, underwater bases, weapons, and much more. What makes Subnautica so appealing is the grand scale of the world and the lack of any observable land to inhabit, so you’re always on the move and improvising as you go. It’s one of the most well-received games of all time and one of the best crafting games around.
That would be all we have to say about the best crafting games. We sincerely hope that you have found what you were looking for and that whichever game you choose will give you endless amounts of entertainment! If you want to learn more and discover some new titles, then head on over to the best RPG games and the best gacha games!