Top 25 Crafting Games of All Time – Gameranx

There are all kinds of great games out there that focus on player’s creativity and wit. In this list, we’re going to highlight some of the best crafting games you can play right now. These are games where players have to gather resources, refine or combine them to make something new. So whether crafting structures, weapons, armor, medical supplies, or traps, you’ll need to think of what resources to gather and how to use them for the current situation.

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#25 Unturned

Unturned is a zombie survival game. In this title, players are roaming around this game, attempting to survive. You’ll meet with NPCs to get quests, scavenge for resources, and connect with other players online. As such, you can expect an online community, and you can go through some PVP gameplay or get involved in different roleplaying servers. Being a zombie game, there is quite a bit of crafting based around structures to keep your protagonist or group of friends alive. You’re able to craft up walls, traps, different machinery, and even place a fortress structure of yours on a vehicle, so you’re always on the move. With that said, there is a modding community here. Therefore, you can expect different user-created content to pop up online.

#24 Muck

Muck is a survival rouge-like game that’s free to play on Steam. It’s a bit bare-bones, but the reception has been relatively positive. In this game, players are forced into surviving the hostilities found on a strange island. Within the game, there is a day and night cycle. During the day, players will be gathering resources found within the open lands. Through these resources, you’ll craft useful items like tools, armor, and weapons. However, you’ll also want to build up a fortress of sorts. This is because, at night, more enemies will pop up. It’s a battle to see how long you can last before the game gets the best of you and forcing players to start all over again. Likewise, you’ll be able to play this game alone or group together with some friends.

#23 Trove 

Trove is an MMO game made for kids. Players will go through some quests, blast away enemies, and uncover all kinds of loot along the way. As they progress, they’ll be able to reach different areas for more loot, different enemies to battle against, and unique regions to explore. Players can also head to a variety of different crafting stations available, which can take resources on hand and craft anything from decor, mechanical objects, or even stations to further enhance equipment you already have. It might not appeal to a mature audience, but for kids, they can likely sink quite a few hours into this one, especially if they play with some friends.

#22 7 Days To Die

7 Days To Die is a zombie FPS survival game. Released in 2013, the game is still readily available through early access. Within this game, players are working to gather resources and build up a base. It’s a bit of a race against the clock. Essentially players have until the seventh day to establish a strong base as this will bring in a large horde of undead into the area. If you manage to survive, you can continue rebuilding your structures and further fortifying them for the next attack. Players will also use this time to find more resources, craft better weapons, armor, and useful tools. Despite being in early access for nearly a decade now, it still has a strong following, with new players continuing to find this game.

#21 Rust

Rust has become a popular game online. It throws players into an online MMO where you wash onto shore with nothing. Completely naked and on a strange land where everything wants to kill you, it’s a tough uphill battle from the start. The game is all about survival. You’ll slowly gather up resources, hunt down critters, craft up bases, join a clan, and begin some epic raids. Outside of trying to survive and keeping up the vitals, you’ll spend plenty of type building. There’s quite a bit of crafting in this game. From the start of your gameplay journey, you’ll need to craft up simple tools to a basic campfire just to keep your character from dying off. However, as you progress, you can start to really build up some fortresses to keep your character safe or gear protected. Although, you’ll want to maintain your builds because there are areas like stability and decay which can play a role in your structure standing over time.

#20 Ark: Survival Evolved

Ark: Survival Evolved is another big hit survival title that can often be compared to Rust. It’s another game that throws you into the wilderness with nothing but your fists to keep you protected. From there, it’s a battle to gather resources, maintain your vitals, fight off hostile enemies like dinosaurs, and further advance your character technologically. You might start with some simple handcrafted spears or tools, but eventually, you’ll have advanced weaponry such as guns. Finally, of course, just like Rust, there is some focus on building. Enough resources could grant you the ability to place up walls and structures to keep you protected or further store your gear. This game became so popular that we know a sequel is in the works, which we got a sneak peek of during The Game Awards 2020. So far, the expectation is that Ark 2 will release in 2022. If that happens, chances are you’ll find this game will start to dwindle in active players as players move on to the sequel installment.

#19 No Man’s Sky

Chances are you know all about No Man’s Sky by now. Unfortunately, this was a hugely anticipated video game that launched, missing some notable features. Fans were quick to criticize the title, but fortunately, the developers were able to turn things around after several years of updates. Overall, No Man’s Sky has players going around in a seemingly endless galaxy. Using a ship, players would travel to different planets where you’ll study the fauna, wildlife, and resources available. These planets are randomly generated, so you’ll have a wide range of different creatures, fauna, and even conditions to deal with. You’ll find some planets could be relatively tame while others are overwhelmingly hot or toxic. As a result, players are constantly mining for resources to make repairs, for-profit, or simply used to build up a base so that you’re able to farm, have access to storage, and keep away from the harsh elements.

#18 Stranded Deep

Stranded Deep is a game that’s quite a bit like The Forest. However, unlike The Forest, there’s no real horror aspect to Stranded Deep. In this title, players end up in a plane crash where they survive by a floating life raft. With little rations to go by, players make their way to the randomly generated island. It’s here that you’ll need to gather up whatever resources are available. Like a typical survival game, a good portion of the game is maintaining your vitals like hunger and thirst. Meanwhile, you’ll need to scavenge the island for whatever you’re able to uncover. You’ll slowly craft up goods to further help your character make it through the day. The crafting from the start might be limited to something like an arrow, a makeshift hammer, and a fishing rod. But as you progress, you’ll be able to build up some rather useful structures to make survival a bit easier such as a water still to produce drinkable water or a full-on shelter.

#17 Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator is a newly released early access game where players take the role of a potion shopkeeper. Set in medieval times, players will sell their elixirs to those that attend the shop. Depending on the customer’s needs visiting your shop, you’ll determine what potion to sell them. Your decisions will not only play a role to those that seek help with their problems but could even play a role in how the town will shape up over time. To make these potions, you’ll have to gather the necessary resources, from leaves, berries, and roots. Then you’re actively mixing, grinding up, and bottling these concoctions to sell. Acquiring these resources to craft up a potion can be done by either growing them or attempting to haggle for ingredients from traveling salesman.

#16 The Long Dark

The Long Dark is a survival game that follows a pilot and a doctor who crashes into Canada’s frigid tundra. Players here now have to return to safety by cautiously roaming the wilderness on foot. Of course, it’s a tough battle with the freezing temperatures and wildlife that roams around freely. Now, the focus here is survival, so the crafting element is a bit limited. You’re going to need to gather resources to make up things like a snare, makeshift knife, fishing tackle, to a torch. While there is a campaign to progress through, there is also a survival mode. This will give you the freedom to try and survive as long as possible. You’ll also find that this mode features permadeath, so if your vitals get too low, you’ll end up having to start all over again.

#15 Green Hell

Green Hell is a survival game set in an Amazonian rainforest. Trapped and forced into trying to survive, the game also throws players into a psychological thriller. The rainforest will take a toll on the player’s mind, bringing out some strange hallucinations. Meanwhile, while you’re exploring the rainforest, gathering supplies to keep your vitals up, and battling your hallucinations, you’ll need to figure out what to craft up with your resources. You can build up a base along with weapons, armor, medical dressings, tools, and fishing gear. Without spoiling too much of the narrative, the game focuses on the protagonist hunting down his missing wife, Mia.

#14 Don’t Starve

Don’t Starve is another game on this list that’s been around for quite a few years now. So chances are you already know about this survival game. Players step into the role of a scientist named Wilson, who gets plopped down into a random world where you’re simply forced into surviving. This means exploring the map for valuable resources, gathering items, finding out what to do with said items, and hoping that nothing results in your untimely death. Because of the hostile enemies that can pop up and the darkness itself proving to hurt Wilson without a light source, you’ll need to craft quite a bit just to get through the day. Everything from tools, lighting, structures, clothing, weapons, among other helpful survival gear, is available to aid Wilson during his run.

#13 Scrap Mechanic

Scrap Mechanic is a lighthearted game where players take the role of a mechanic. Set in the future, our player goes off to an agricultural planet where you’ll help maintain the robots and machines harvesting the goods. However, you end up crash landing on the planet and learn that the robots that maintain the production have all gone haywire. Now you need to survive by gathering resources, using your whits, fighting off the evil robots, and fixing the broken machines. This is, of course, the survival mode for Scrap Mechanic. Additionally, a creative mode allows players to craft freely without gathering all the required resources. That’s quite a big part of the game as the developers encourage players to get creative. You can build up all kinds of different machines alongside with your friends. Best of all, there is a modding scene here as well, so players can continue to add new content in this game. With all that said, this is still an early access game, so you can expect new content added into the mix as the studio continue to progress through development.

#12 Medieval Dynasty

Medieval Dynasty is an RPG mixed with town managing and survival gameplay. Set in a first-person perspective, players take the role of a man who charts out to start his own dynasty. You’ll have to gather precious resources, craft weapons, and build up a town. As you progress through the game, there are options to build up some economic trading, take on quests, and interact with NPCs. Of course, there’s also the need to ensure your vitals are up, so you’ll have to hunt and cultivate farmlands. This game was also just released at the time of writing this description. Previously, the title was in early access, but it’s fully available now. With that said, there are likely updates planned to give players a bit more content to go through.

#11 The Forest

The Forest had grown quite the following as a survival game with horror attributes throughout. In this game, players take the role of a man traveling with their child. However, things take a turn for the worse when your plane crashes down on a mysterious island. Being the only survivor and your child missing, it’s a battle to explore the area and find your kid. Soon you’ll discover that mutated tribes inhabit the island. These individuals have an interesting AI attached to them. They might not outright attack you, but they’ll test your weapons and charge to see if you’ll back down. Being alone, you’ll need to make a campsite, which means gathering simple resources such as logs. But, you will find use from a wide assortment of items scattered around the island, such as rope, rocks, and even bones. While you build up structures to maintain a base, you’ll need to ensure that you have enough resources to fortify the area or repair structures that get destroyed by the hostile tribes nearby. Eventually, they’ll get brave enough to attack not just your builds but you as well, which can make the game a bit tense.

#10 Fallout 4 Survival Mode

Fallout 4 came out in 2015, and it was a hit. There’s a big following to this franchise. So that shouldn’t be much of a surprise with the popularity that came with the latest mainline installment. However, it was in 2016 that we received a Survival mode which was a new difficulty option. This made the game drastically harder. Enemies were more vigorous, there was no fast travel, players could become fatigued easier, and you could become ill, which would require a doctor or antibiotics. Even the items changed up a bit, with ammunition now adding weight to the player. If a player became over-encumbered, then there’s a chance the protagonist’s legs could eventually become crippled. That also means knowing what resources to keep for crafting items. For instance, you may want to keep resources to craft a bed because sleeping is the only way to save your game in this mode. We probably don’t even have to bring up settlement building which gives players the ability to craft up their own makeshift home or town. Players can craft up some rather unique makeshift hubs with buildings, turrets, fencing, and storage to keep all your precious supplies.

#9 Starbound

Starbound is a game that resembles Terraria. It’s another 2D adventure title but set in space. In this game, players are exploring the different planets that they visit from their ship. Each of which has an assortment of different biomes with resources to harvest. From there, it’s up to the players on what they’d like to do. Players can seek out quests to take on, simply explore the endless procedurally generated worlds, harvest resources to craft up items and begin building creatively, or hunt down the hostile creatures that lurk around the planet. Like other titles on this list, the developers encourage modding and give players the tools to create their own unique content.

#8 Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley was a massive indie game hit. When this game first launched, everyone was joining in the fun. It was developed from inspirations of the classic Harvest Moon franchise. Here, players inherit a farm where you’ll fix it up, tend the farmlands, and care for the livestock. Meanwhile, there are plenty of items to craft up for your farm. Everything from the decor, sprinkler systems, artisan equipment to fishing goods. Outside of farming, players can attend the different special events in the local town, interact with NPCs, and even build a relationship to marry one of the characters. This game has also been updated quite a bit over the years, so if you haven’t played Stardew Valley since it first came out, you might find it worth replaying today. Fortunately, it’s on just about everything, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding Stardew Valley on your platform of choice.

#7 Subnautica

Subnautica is quite a popular video game, and you’ve likely already heard of it. This is a first-person survival game set in the future. Players crash down onto an aquatic planet, and you’ll have to explore the ocean depths to find precious resources to fix up a rocket in hopes of making a return back home. You’ll need to gather food, drinkable water and make sure you’re not low on oxygen at any given moment. However, like other games on this list, a good portion of Subnautica is crafting. You’ll need to gather resources to craft up hubs, diving equipment, and watercrafts to explore the underwater depths further. With that said, there are hostile aquatic creatures out there that will do quick work in devouring you if you’re not careful.

#6 Valheim

Valheim puts players into the role of a recently deceased Viking. However, you won’t find yourself freely roaming the halls of Vahalla. Instead, you’re tossed into a new land called Valheim, where you’ll need to defeat Odin’s enemies to prove you worthy of moving on to Valhalla. It won’t be an easy job, but fortunately, you can join in with some friends to aid you along the way. Players can work together to build up their kingdoms and ships to allow traversing the seas. Now, this is still an early access game, so you can expect plenty of updates as the studio continues progressing through development. Since its release, this game has blown up as players attempt to go through the procedurally generated world and battle against trolls, skeletons, and Draugrs.

#5 Terraria

Terraria is often compared to Minecraft. Visually they are somewhat different, but there are specific similar characteristics between the two. For instance, it features exploration, crafting, building, and combat. However, this is a 2D-based procedurally generated action-paced game. If you enjoy sandbox games, then chances are you already played through a bit of Terraria. Similar to Minecraft as well, there is plenty of freedom to craft items. You’ll craft everything from armor, weapons, furniture to decor. Despite being released back in 2011, this game still holds up well. It features some solid gameplay experience and continues to find newcomers regularly.

#4 Space Engineers

Space Engineers is precisely what it sounds like. Your whole experience is just surviving different space explorations. However, the game is mainly centered around building. You’ll gather resources, build new structures, ships, and outposts, all just to venture further out to new areas. If you need some resources, you can dismantle past structures that are no longer being used. The developers have also added programmable blocks to execute certain tasks if you find the standard building blocks to be limiting. Best of all, while you can play this game alone, there is multiplayer, and up to sixteen players can connect to help explore different unknown wonders, hunt down resources, or craft up a new utopia.

#3 Rimworld

If you like a narrative, then Rimworld is a game worth checking into. This is a game where players are overseeing colonists on a planet. What makes this title a bit unique is that the game throws in random events, and you’ll essentially watch how your colonists react. However, you do have some insight into the narrative to an extent. Players will pick a storyteller from the start, determining what storyteller you pick could throw more chaotic moments or offer longer breaks between the different events. While there is more of a focus on watching how your colonists react and build relationships, there are some crafting elements. From structures, clothing to weapons, you’ll be able to set your colonists up with whatever the game throws at them. Although, you’ll also need to make sure you have colonists’ to spend some time researching in order to enhance your crafting capabilities.

#2 Factorio

Factorio has been around for a few years now, but it was in 2020 that this game left early access. This is a construction and management video game. Set in the future, players are building up an automated factory within an alien planet. You’ll have to start by hand-building production lines to harvest resources from the planet and transport goods. However, you’ll find that eventually, you’ll be able to create a massive industrial empire that’s fully automated. Unfortunately, it’s not all about endlessly crafting up an industrial empire. Instead, the local hostile creatures on the planet will attempt to destroy your production line after your industry begins to wreak havoc on the planet. As a result, players will need to ensure defensive measures are in place for any potential attacks against your creation.

#1 Minecraft

Minecraft, we probably don’t have to explain this game to you or spend much time here. This survival game throws players into a randomly generated world. From there, you’re left to explore, venture through the different biomes, hunt down resources, build up shelters, and fight off the mobs of enemies that come your way. There are two modes available for players in this game. Survival mode has players figuring out what resources to gather to craft certain items. From there, it’s all about expanding, creating farmlands, building up additional structures, and mining for more precious resources underground. You’ll also find that enemies like skeletons, spiders, and zombies will attack you. Furthermore, you have to ensure that your character is fed otherwise, you can lose health over time. Meanwhile, the creative mode allows players to not worry about mobs or their hunger status. Here you also have all the items readily available to spawn. It might eliminate the challenge, but it does give players the ability to build creatively right from the start.