Sometimes, you just want to play Half-Life: you know, that kind of linear shooter that lets you kill aliens without worrying about which way to go, which storyline to choose, and what item to craft next. And sometimes, you want the opposite: a game with infinite possibilities that give you the freedom to play around. Today, we’re going to take a look at exactly that kind of game. Let’s call them ‘sandbox’ games.
Now, there is a problem when it comes to deciding on the best sandbox games in 2020. It’s actually pretty hard to decide what a sandbox game is. Some of the games on this list are also the best RPG games around; others are among the best simulation games we have selected.
But at their core, the best sandbox games share a couple of key features. One is that they are based on a simple mechanic, but one which allows you to build hugely complex machines, structures, and even whole economies. Another is that they allow players an enormous amount of freedom.
Another characteristic of sandbox games is the community that they build around themselves. All of the games on this list have huge and active followings. They also have loads of mods, which is often what turns good games into great ones.
So if you’re looking for a game that will allow you to build whatever you want, you’ve come to the right place.
#1 Best Overall: Minecraft
In my opinion, there can only be one winner of the title of the best sandbox game in 2020, and it’s the same game that has held that title for the last decade. Minecraft. Moreover, it’s one of the most popular open-world games worldwide.
Minecraft is top of this list because it is the purest example of a sandbox game there is. From an incredibly simple mechanic, based on mining blocks of ore and crafting them into items, players have managed to make contraptions and machines of astonishing complexity.
Minecraft Gameplay
I can’t believe that there is anybody out there who doesn’t know how Minecraft works, but just in case, here’s a quick explanation. The standard Minecraft game is a first-person experience, where you walk around and collect various materials. You can then craft these materials into an amazing array of objects and tools.
That makes the game sound pretty boring, actually. The excitement comes from the sheer freedom you have within the game, and the scale of the structures you can build. If you want your very own castle, you can do that. If you want automatic sliding doors on your chic modern house, you can do that.
This freedom is expanded exponentially when Minecraft is played with other people. Anyone can set up a Minecraft server, and invite whoever they like to contribute to the world they are hosting.
The game has an objective or at least sort of. There is an underworld called the Nether, which you can reach after you have built up the required items, and even a dragon to kill. Doing this sort of means you’ve completed the game, but in honesty, not many players see it this way. You can do what you want, basically, and make your own story.
Minecraft Graphics
We’re all familiar, by now, with what Minecraft looks like. It’s square. But it’s worth thinking back to the time when the game first appeared, and what our reaction was at that time. A lot of older gamers were bemused if also pleased, by the retro aesthetic of the game, where pixelation was more of an aesthetic choice than a sign of hardware limitations.
Today, the blocky Minecraft graphics are everywhere. To some degree, that makes the game itself less surprising but is also a sign of the sheer amount of influence it has had on other games, movies, and even art.
On a more practical level, the genius of Minecraft is that it manages to turn simple graphics into a selling point, rather than a negative. The game looks basic, and it is supposed to, because the focus is on what you can do, and not what it looks like.
The simple graphics have also contributed to the game’s popularity because Minecraft can be run on almost any platform. On the other hand, you might experience some lag and other issues if (actually, when) you get really into the game, because you will be working with huge constructions.
For that reason, even though basic Minecraft will run well on almost any modern console, it’s probably worth getting one of the best gaming PCs if you are playing it that way.
Minecraft Community and Mods
What makes Minecraft a truly great game, rather than just a good one, is the community that has built up around it.
It’s hard to describe the scale of this community. It’s been estimated that as of October 2018 there were almost 100 million people playing Minecraft. And because every single one of these players is actively involved with creating their own buildings, contraptions, and whatever else you can think of, you are never going to run out Minecraft universe.
This huge community is also really useful if you are coming to the game for the first time, where the sheer scale of what you can do can be a little overwhelming. There are hundreds of guides and playthroughs available for the game, which cover everything from what to do in the first 15 minutes of the game to how to make a farm.
And then there are the mods for Minecraft. These come in all shapes and sizes: some just add skins to the base game to make it look a bit more stylish, and others completely change the way the game operates.
Best of all, it’s really easy to make your own mods for the game, either for your own amusement or to (maybe) become famous in the community.
Minecraft Overall
Well, what to say about Minecraft? When people think of sandbox games, they think of this game. That’s for a couple of reasons. The apparently simple mechanics that underpin the game have managed to bridge the generation gaps that often exist in the gaming community, with both tweens and hoary old veteran gamers alike having been captivated by the game.
The other reason is simple enough: sandbox games should provide players with as much freedom as possible, and it’s hard to think of a game that does that better than Minecraft. Even the basic, single-player game contains endless possibilities for building, crafting, and generally playing around.
Add in the multiplayer aspect of the game, and those possibilities expand exponentially. You are free to collaborate with people from around the world to build the world of your dreams, or can simply be a tourist for a while on other people’s servers. And then there are the mods, which turn an already huge game into one whose scale is unimaginable.
For this reason, it might be better to say that Minecraft is not, in fact, a game at all. Rather, it is a program that gives you the tools you need to make your own games. You can use it to make friends, find love, or kill stuff. It’s up to you. And that is the essence of a sandbox game, which is why Minecraft is at the top of my list.
#2 Best Open World Sandbox: Grand Theft Auto V
Next up, GTA, another game with a long and glorious history, and one that is a great sandbox game. Before I explain why, though, let’s get one thing out of the way first. I just know that 5 minutes after I post this review, there will be people in the comments thread saying that GTA V is not a sandbox game. It’s just a big RPG/FPS game, they will say. And what kind of sandbox game has a storyline?
To these people, I say: expand your mind, man. It’s true that a lot of people play GTA V for the story, or to shoot stuff, or to mess around with a tank. But the almost limitless possibilities the game offers, whether it be interacting with people in a huge city to just dressing up your character in natty threads, makes it a true sandbox.
Grand Theft Auto V Gameplay
The gameplay in GTA V is similar to that of earlier installments in the franchise. In the initial release of the game, way back in 2013, developers Rock Star went for a classic GTA experience. You could take control of one of three protagonists, and play through an immersive storyline that took place in the (loosely) fictional city of Los Santos.
The GTA V story mode was packed with vice, violence, and satire, and was more than enough for most people at that time. The sheer scale of the game, even in 2020, has to be played to be believed. You will be finding new jumps for your car, new people to talk to, and new things to do even after years of playing this game.
The game was already a huge success based purely on this single-player mode: 11 million people bought it on the first day it was released. But then Rock Star launched GTA Online, a massively multiplayer space that expanded the game’s popularity beyond anything ever seen before.
Today, the scale of GTA V, whether you are playing online or on your own, makes it one of the best sandbox games available. Sure, you can follow one of the storylines. Or you can have your own adventure. It’s unlikely that you are ever going to get bored of the single-player and multiplayer modes that GTA V offers. But just in case you do, there is another feature that will keep you hooked: the cheats.
Cheat codes have been part of the GTA series since the earliest days, and the cheat codes in Vice City were legendary. They add a whole new level to the single-player experience of GTA V and one that will also let you relive the golden days of the earlier games.
Grand Theft Auto V Graphics
The graphics of GTA V still look amazing, even in 2020. What really makes the game stand out is the realism it offers. It takes a totally different approach to Minecraft, for instance, in that GTA V aims to immerse players in a completely convincing modern American city.
The lengths that the developers went to are truly amazing. Even after years playing the game, you will notice a bit of graffiti on a wall that you have never seen before, and marvel at the number of hours that went into creating Los Santos.
Because GTA V is actually pretty old now, you also shouldn’t have any problems running it. The minimum system requirements for GTA V look super low by today’s standards. That’s not to say, however, that the game looks bad: far from it.
In fact, if you haven’t played GTA V until now, you’ve actually done yourself a favor. That’s because any of the best gaming PCs under $500 will now run this game at the highest graphics settings. That’s an experience that not many people had back in 2013, so well done you.
Good things, it seems, come to those who wait.
Grand Theft Auto V Mods and Community
Like all of the sandbox games on this list, the community and modding scene is what makes GTA V really come alive. I’ve already mentioned GTA Online, which offers players truly infinite possibilities to co-operate, fight, make friends, and dispatch enemies. If you haven’t played GTA V online, then you are missing out.
But let’s look at two other features of GTA V that add to its credentials as a genuinely excellent sandbox game. The first is that the GTA V mods scene is booming at the moment, and people are getting really creative with twisting the game to their own requirements. The number of new storylines, hacks, and cheats out there is simply staggering and will keep you entertained long after you’ve finished the story mode.
The other feature of GTA V is the fully-featured machinima editor that comes bundled with the base game. Rockstar Studios were well ahead of their time in including this editor, and today there are thousands of movies available that were ‘filmed’ inside GTA V. Plenty of people, in fact, get GTA V just to make movies.
Grand Theft Auto V Overall
And that’s what makes GTA V such a fantastic sandbox game. If it were just a machinima toolkit, it would be one of the best out there. If it were just a single-player adventure game, it would be one of the best around. If it were just an online multiplayer shooter, it would be in the top league.
But, luckily for you and me and all of us, it is all of these things. For that reason, GTA V is one of my favorite sandbox games and one that I keep returning to when I’ve grown bored of more recent offerings.
#3 Best MMOG Sandbox Game: EVE ONLINE
What could be better than a vast space sandbox where you can build ships, trade across the galaxy, and have exciting dog fights with enemy spacecraft? Well, how about all that, but in a world populated by thousands of other players, each vying to be the most successful fleet commander in the galaxy?
There are plenty of Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG, in case you are wondering) around at the moment. In my opinion, though, EVE is the best.
That’s because there is a balance to be struck in this kind of game between absolute freedom on the one hand, and exciting gameplay on the other. I know, for instance, that plenty of people love The Sims, and I thought long and hard before excluding it from this list. For me, games like The Sims (and, earlier, Second Life) are simply too close to reality to be interesting. I know you probably disagree, so leave me a comment 🙂
EVE, on the other hand, manages to balance an incredibly exciting variety of gameplay mechanics with a truly sandbox level of freedom. Anyway, /rant over/. Let’s get on with the game.
EVE Online Gameplay
The model of EVE will be familiar if you’ve played MMOGs before. There is a vast, persistent open world hosted on servers as CCP Games, and players are free to do what they want inside this virtual galaxy. The significant number of different activities you can take part in is what makes EVE a sandbox game. Among the most popular are mining, piracy, manufacturing, trading, exploration, and (of course) combat. So far, so meh.
What makes Eve stand out is the size and complexity of its game world. Over the years, fantastically complicated economic, political, and diplomatic relations have sprung up (all unscripted) between the various ‘corporations’ in the game.
An example of this scale might help to understand it. The Bloodbath of B-R5RB, for instance, was a record-breaking battle fought in 2014. The battle took 21 hours to play out and involved 7,548 player characters. The losses totaled 11 trillion in-game credits, with an estimated real-world value of $300,000 USD.
If that sounds like your kind of thing, give Eve a chance. You can now play it for free, as well, although you will have to upgrade to a paid plan to get access to all of the game.
Eve Online Graphics
Oh, and I should also mention that Eve Online looks absolutely amazing. The nature of the game means that the graphics are continually evolving as the developer’s release updates, upgrades, and patches. Even in the last few years, the graphics have improved a lot, to the degree that Eve is now one of the best-looking space sims out there.
That also means, though, that the system requirements for Eve are also continually evolving. Though the developers try and keep the basic system requirements in line with what most gamers can afford, the game also offers a vast variety of different graphical levels, so you might want to invest in some hardware to get the best experience.
Eve Mods and Community
The MMOG nature of Eve means that, by default, it has a tremendous, enthusiastic, and engaged community. There are hundreds of fan-made news sites that will help to keep you in the loop, and every year hundreds of fans meet up in the developer’s native Reykjavik for a real-life gathering of friends, colleagues, and (apparently) mortal enemies.
It will come as no surprise, by now, that some aspects of this community are amazing in their scope and vision. Just take a look at this initiative put forward by the in-game ‘pope’ of Eve Online, which is aiming to help players with mental strife caused by the game itself.
Unfortunately, when it comes to mods for Eve Online, there is a big problem: they are banned. That’s for a good reason, though, in that mods would give some players an unfair advantage over others. There are, of course, mods available for the game, but I don’t recommend you use them: is CCP find out, it could lead to a ban from the game.
Eve Online Overall
Eve Online is a sandbox that takes a different approach to the others on this list. Eve Online also offers the kind of endless possibilities that you would expect from a sandbox game, but in Eve, this is because of the sheer number of people involved in the game world. If you are looking for a sandbox game that comes with a vast community, and a whole galaxy of people to interact with, then Eve is for you.
#4 Best For Nerds: Kerbal Space Program
Ah, Kerbal Space Program. If this list was just for me, Kerbal Space Program would be top, but I also know that some of you out there aren’t as fond of math as I am. Still, I think that Kerbal Space Program is one of the best sandbox games you can play, even if you don’t want to do sums in your spare time. That’s because the game manages to combine two styles of gameplay, whereas other sandbox games focus on just one side of things.
To explain: in Kerbal Space Program, your job is basically to build rockets to go to space. This can be (really) complicated if you want it to be, and you can spend hours agonizing over the placement of a control fin or a solar panel. This, in itself, would make for a great sandbox game, because the sheer range of ships and other vehicles you can make it basically unlimited.
But then you also get to fly the things, and this part of the game is genuinely exciting. Imagine Kerbal Space Program, if you will, as Minecraft crossed with Eve. Either of the aspects of this game would be enough on their own. Combined, they are just sublime.
Kerbal Space Program Gameplay
The basic principle of Kerbal Space Program is simple enough. You run a space program for the fictitious world of Kerbin, which is populated by brave (some would say too brave) kerbals. Your job is to launch rockets, collect science, and eventually land on all the planets in the solar system.
There are three modes to the basic gameplay. In ‘Career’ mode, you have to manage every aspect of your space program, from the money you collect for completing contracts to the hiring of new Kerbonauts. In ‘Science’ mode, money is no object, and you perform science experiments to eventually gain access to more powerful rockets, which help you go further and collect more science, which ultimately gives you more equipment, etc., etc., etc.
Then there is a ‘Sandbox’ mode, in which you have all the parts available from the off, and which is geared toward experienced players that know what they are doing.
And make no mistake, Kerbal Space Program is a game that rewards experience. One of the only criticisms that have been made of it, in fact, is that it has a somewhat brutal difficulty curve. This should come as no surprise – it is, literally, rocket science – but can put some players off.
To which I would say: persevere. It might take you, for instance, 100 hours of gameplay to land your first rocket on the ‘Mun,’ but the sense of achievement you get from doing so is immense. At that point, you will have seen many unfortunate kerbals lose their lives, slammed your ship into a planet a few times, and also learned what ‘delta-v’ means.
One disadvantage, I guess, is that Kerbal Space Program doesn’t have a multiplayer mode, unlike a lot of the games on this list, and despite players having called for one for years. But trust me, the single-player experience is good enough that you won’t miss multiplayer.
Kerbal Space Program Graphics
The graphics in Kerbal Space Program are … meh. The approach here is on functionality, and so you are not going to be wowed by realistic water effects or gorgeous photo-realistic landscapes. But I do not mean this as a criticism. The graphics are good enough to give you a shiver when you see the sunrise on a distant, airless moon, and that’s more than good enough.
Another criticism of the game has been that your characters – the kerbals themselves – are modeled in a cartoony way and that this detracts from the seriousness of the game.
To be honest, I felt the same way when I first started playing the game. However, you quickly realize that, since these characters are going to end up in (a) horrific space accidents or (b) left floating in orbit around the sun, if they looked like real people the game would be a little less fun to play. That said, there are ways to improve the base graphics of the game using mods, which I will come to in a minute.
It’s also worth mentioning that if (when) you get into Kerbal Space Program, and despite the relatively functional graphics, you might need some hardware. That’s because the physics engine that sits behind the game is phenomenally realistic, to the extent that it models the orbital movement of every part of your spaceship independently. Yep, you read that right.
What this means is that if you want to build substantial orbital space stations (and trust me, you will), you are going to need the computing power to model them. Specifically, toward the ‘end’ of the standard Kerbal Space Program game, when you have large ships, you’re going to need an awesome CPUs for gaming to avoid issues.
Kerbal Space Program Mods and Community
Like many of the sandbox games on this list, the Kerbal Space Program has a huge modding community. Kerbal Space Program seems to be have been made, in fact, to be modded – all of the game files are laid out in a way that even a new player can understand, and give experienced modders a considerable amount of freedom when it comes to adapting the base game.
Many of the mods available for Kerbal Space Program aim to give players parts that extend the base game with more powerful engines, bigger fuel tanks, of advanced robotics. Others extend the solar system that the game takes place in, adding new planets, moons, or entire stellar systems. Still, others help players get the most out of the game by automating certain aspects of it.
Some of these mods are slowly being incorporated into the base game, though at a pace that lags far behind the modding community. But, unlike many developers, Squad seems happy for others to adapt their game, and the mods will keep you interested in the Kerbal Space Program long after you’ve landed on the moon.
Kerbal Space Program Overall
Overall, Kerbal Space Program is an amazing sandbox game. It combines the technical fiddling of a game like Factorio or (sometimes) Minecraft with an immersive, exciting spaceflight simulator.
And, like all the games I’ve chosen for this list, Kerbal Space Program is full of possibilities. The number (and size) of ships you can make is truly endless, and in some cases has allowed people to build truly ludicrous rockets. Plus, it’s the only game on this list where knowing trigonometry will give you an advantage.
#5 Best Military Sandbox: Arma 3
Including Arma 3 on a list of the best sandbox games is a strange choice, I’ll admit. At first glance, the game is a fairly standard military simulator, albeit one with an unusually high level of detail. But hear me out. Though the game comes with a three-part campaign and a multiplayer mode, it also comes packaged with a fully-featured editor that gives creators an incredible level of control over level design.
Once you’ve played through the campaigns, you’ll find that Arma 3 is as much as a tool for game creation as it is a great military sim, and this qualifies it to stand here among the best sandbox games.
Arma 3 Gameplay
Arma 3, as the name suggests, is the latest installment in the Arma series of games. The goal of developers Bohemia Interactive, right from the first Arma games, has been simple: make the most realistic military simulator in the world.
In this, they have succeeded. Though I haven’t, personally, been in a war, everything about the game is incredibly (scarily, in fact) realistic. The guns are based on their real-life counterparts, as are the uniforms and vehicles and insignia.
And then we have the setting, a pair of fictional Greek islands called Altis and Stratos, and another island in the South Pacific called Tanoa. All of these locations are incredibly detailed, and are the biggest ever deployed in the Arma series, with a playing area in excess of 270 square kilometers.
All of these locations also afford you a huge amount of freedom when it comes to choosing your playing style. You can deploy UAVs, air support, or artillery, or just man it out and use infantry to achieve your objectives. What sets Arma 3 apart from other military simulators, though, is the community it has built up around itself, and who have produced thousands of extra levels, game modes, and even almost-complete re-imaginings of the game.
Both DayZ and PUBG, for instance, started as mods for Arma 3, and this game continues to inspire forks that might themselves become hit titles.
Arma 3 Graphics
As you’d expect, Arma 3 allows you to precisely control the level of graphical detail you see in-game, in order that it can run on as many platforms as possible. That said, even at the lowest level the graphics here look amazing, thanks to the extreme level of detail of the locations, weapons, and vehicles the game contains.
Pushing the graphics to their maximum, though, is definitely worth it. The eerie level of realism that Arma 3 gives you is actually quite spooky when presented on a good gaming rig.
Of all the titles on this list, I’d say that Arma 3 is the game that benefits most from running on good hardware. This is particularly true when it comes to the monitor and sound system you are using, so you might want to look at the best 4K monitors for gaming.
Arma 3 Mods and Community
Arma 3 really comes alive when it comes to mods. As I said, some of the biggest games of recent years, including PUBG, originally came out as mods for Arma 3.
The range of mods available is astonishing, and are what make Arma 3 a truly great sandbox game. At the most basic level, there are player-created levels that aim to extend the storyline of the single-player campaign. Then there are whole extra campaigns, sniper missions, aquatic assaults, and even the zombie apocalypse.
Some of the most impressive mods are almost fully-fledged games in themselves. The Dynamic Univeral War System, for example, will procedurally generate a unique combat situation every time you play. This mod then allows you to purchase extra weaponry and squads using ‘command points.’
As you can see, it’s on the modding side of things that Arma 3 becomes a truly sandbox game. Making your own levels through the inbuilt editor is pretty intuitive, even for complete beginners, but there is also plenty of help available from the community.
Arma 3 Overall
On the surface, Arma 3 doesn’t appear to be a sandbox game at all. The military simulators it resembles most closely – notably Operation Flashpoint, a now-ancient but still great game – were pretty linear shooters, albeit with a few tactical choices to make.
Outside the (excellent) single-player campaign and the (excellent) multiplayer mode, though, Arma 3 is more of a tool for you to make your own games. A lot of the games on this list offer that, but none to the same degree that Arma 3 does. So, If you are looking for a military sandbox that will use up all your time for years to come, give Arma 3 a look.
#6 Best Sandbox Game That Isn’t Even A Game: Garry’s Mod
Last but definitely not least, I want to give a shout out to Garry’s Mod. Garry’s Mod takes the idea of sandbox games to its logical extreme, to the extent that it’s difficult to see this ‘game’ as a game at all. Instead, what you get with Garry’s Mod is a huge toy box full of vehicles, characters, and other items. All of this can be played within an advanced physics engine (that can itself be tweaked).
Rather than a game, then, the best way to look at Garry’s Mod is as a game creation tool: the ultimate sandbox to play around in, where there are truly no rules, and no objectives, save those that you create yourself.
Garry’s Mod Gameplay
Well, what to say? There is no ‘gameplay,’ as such, in Garry’s Mod. Or, looked at a different way, you get to decide on what the gameplay is.
A lot of people use Garry’s Mod to build their own games, with FPS games and (often wacky) RPGs being a firm favorite of the community. Others use the ‘game’ mainly as a sandbox to make movies. Still, others simply play around and see just how crazy they can get.
All of these creations can be shared via a large and active online community, where you can find players for the games you’ve made, or viewers for your videos. If you go down that route, though, expect plenty of ‘constructive’ criticism on your creations 🙂
Garry’s Mod Graphics
Again, the graphics in Garry’s Mod are up to you. You can use it to make games or movies in a simple, cartoonish style, for instance.
Pushing the game’s graphics is also possible, though. There are plenty of mods that will allow you to upgrade the relatively simple textures and effects that the base game comes with, such as the Ultra Graphics Mod that is available on Steam.
Working with more advanced graphics is a little more difficult, though, in two key ways. One is that you are going to have to spend longer crafting the look and feel of your creations. The other is that you are probably going to need to upgrade your hardware.
This is particularly true when it comes to rendering, for which a decent CPU and GPU are a necessity.
Garry’s Mod Mods and Community
The mods for Garry’s Mod? Well, there are hundreds. In fact, the game is best thought of as more of a system than a game. You can add mods almost indefinitely, depending on the type of game/movie/whatever you are building.
All of these mods are available via the dedicated and enthusiastic community, and the rate at which they are produced is truly astonishing. Have a browse through the list if you don’t believe me, and marvel at the variety on offer!
Garry’s Mod Overall
Overall, it’s difficult to decide whether Garry’s Mod is one of the best sandbox games to play in 2020 because it’s difficult to decide whether it is a game at all.
I guess it depends on what you like doing. If you’ve never played Minecraft, start there. And if you find yourself, in Minecraft or Arma or any of the other games on this list, going beyond the base game and making levels for other players, it’s time to take a look at Garry’s Mod.
Though Garry’s Mod is arguably the ‘most free’ sandbox, there is, it is definitely not for everyone. If you’re new to sandbox games, start with those above. If you’ve got bored of the usual offerings, take a look at Garry’s Mod.
Final Verdict
So there we have it: the best sandbox games to play in 2020. As you can see, these games offer a huge variety of different situations, from military tactics to space opera to mining and crafting. What they all share, though, is freedom. All of these games allow you the freedom to create your own worlds, and that’s the most important feature of sandbox games.
Finally, and before somebody points this out in the comments, you might have noticed something strange about this list. Though it is a list of the best sandbox games to play in 2020, quite a few of these games have been around for a while. There’s a reason for that.
It’s really difficult to tell what is a great sandbox game until a few years have passed since it was released. Players need time to explore the possibilities offered by each new game, and to build a community for sharing their creations with others.
Because of this, if you want to get into sandbox games, it’s best to start with the classics. Sure, you can take a look at some of the newer sandbox games out there, but there is no guarantee that they are going to become the next Minecraft, the next GTA, or the next Eve. You might be playing on your own for a while, in other words.
On the other hand, all of these games offer essentially infinite possibilities, so it’s difficult to imagine that anyone will get bored with them. Make sure you also check our guide on some of the most amazing flight simulator games!