MMO Games Like Minecraft

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Minecraft’s explosive influence on gaming might as well be carved in a stone tablet by this point. From the innumerable voxel-builder clone titles it spawned to the rise of Early Access games, Notch’s child has matured the industry. But Minecraft isn’t the only world where players can craft the perfect home, complete with a roller-coaster over lava lanes. Many games boast being the next Minecraft in their Steam page descriptions but how many of them capture the same excitement of building structures brick-by-brick in a sandbox world? I’ve attempted to narrow down a list of some Minecraft alternatives from the expansive library of spiritual successors below.

Creativerse

Creativerse is perhaps the game most similar to Minecraft on this list. It launched into early access on Steam in early 2014 and is free to play. The game's art style and gameplay are both very similar to Minecraft's, but the graphics are much better. Build in your own world alone or with friends and explore others! Creativerse is one of the highest rated sandbox games on Steam and is well worth checking out.

Terraria

Who knew that colorfully decorated 2 dimensions would be enough to offer a viable alternative to Minecraft. Terraria is one of the few Early Access titles that has remained strong since its initial release in 2011. And it’s largely thanks to its overwhelming amount of content and consistent updates from the developers. Procedurally generated landscapes sit atop endless caves and ore to be mined and transformed into usable materials. Easy-to-use controls and charming aesthetics have lead to player-created fortresses that inspire the same awe as any Minecraft-crafted castle.

Trove

Boasting the same cubic graphics as Minecraft, Trion’s Trove offers numerous stylized worlds to explore with MMORPG mechanics. At the tab of a button players can switch between adventuring and building, as if laying down the scabbard is all it takes to become an architect. While the entire world cannot be molded to suit player’s multitudinous desires that hasn’t stopped some creative denizens from crafting fascinating house designs. Trove is a fine blend of RPG and crafting elements.

Cubic Castles

Annoyed at having to share a world with other players who may or may not respect your property lines? Cubic Castles grants every player their own miniature world to mold however they choose using voxel blocks. Top-down gameplay lends to some player-worlds designed with platformer mechanics and puzzles, whereas other players show off their opulence through gargantuan mansions. Or, they become merchants who sell valuable items crafted from resources gathered on their adventures. Cubic Castles is an interesting spin on traditional formulas, that leads to fascinating designs (such as a room made of playable piano keys). It’s also one of the few free to play titles available on nearly every platform.

Wurm Online

Before Minecraft was a thought there was Wurm, the Charlemagne of crafting MMOs. As the first game designed by Markus “Notch” Persson it’s an MMO that epitomizes sandbox, delivering a brutal experience that expects 19th Century factory labor to create something worthwhile. But the entire world is player-crafted, every road, building, outpost, and ship was designed by the community. While the graphics may seem dated Wurm Online invoke a rewarding experience to the player who perseveres and a sense of unrivaled accomplishment.

Lego Worlds

While not necessarily inspired by Minecraft it’s a surprise that Lego World wasn’t the first incarnation of sandbox crafting game. Single-player for now—with multiplayer announced as a near future feature—players are given complete control over lego-founded environments to craft whatever they can imagine. It takes the blocks that found a home under my six-year-old self’s bed and catalogs all of them in an organized digital database. While the creation system is still being refined since my last play, patience rewards unlimited possibilities. My MMOs.com banner turned out all right if I do say so.

There are countless games purporting to achieve the same experience Minecraft gained worldwide popularity for. And a list encompassing them all would make Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time seem like See Spot Run. If I missed a title you believe captures Minecraft in its own way let me know in the comments below.

From Mega Man II to Ape Escape, I've been playing games for as long as I can remember. I've spent months killing porings in Ragnarok Online and more recently lived a second life in Eve Online. I usually play as gUMBY, gUMBLEoni, or gUMBLes in-game.