If you're looking for some of the very best crafting games to get stuck into, then you've come to the right place. Over the years, we've seen crafting games come in many different shapes and sizes since they can both be their own genre and work as a large component of many different kinds of games - whether it's farming or survival. From big open-world adventures with scarce resources that will put your management skills to the test, to delightful agricultural sims that see you build up your very own farm, and much more besides, there really is a crafting game for everyone. And when it comes down to it, crafting games are all about the journey of discovery they take you on as you delight in finding new resources and items to make. So, grab your tools and get ready as we take you through the best crafting games you can play right now.
25. Dig or Die
Instantly recognisable as a crafting game inspired by Terraria, Dig or Die is a mixture of defence and crafting complete with side-scrolling and platforming elements. Your task is in the title – after crash landing on a strange alien planet, you need to get digging in order to find as many resources as possible before the inhabitants out for your hide come to knock on your door.
What makes Dig or Die special is that besides crafting items that will help you survive in a hostile environment and work on a new spaceship, you also build your own home and its defence systems. If you’re new to this type of building and crafting gameplay, Dig or Die is simple enough to quickly get you going.
Available on PC
24. Creativerse
This is probably the best Minecraft competitor, a free-to-play alternative to Mojang’s mega-hit with a more polished look and user-friendly menus. However, Creativerse does more than offer quality of life improvements over Minecraft. There’s a stronger focus on combat and subsequent enemy loot, and the variety in biomes makes it great for multiplayer role-playing.
The game is still being updated with features like camera modes and rotatable blocks, and there’s also a Creativerse Pro DLC, which includes a glider, stamina and inventory upgrades as well as the option to create your own worlds.
Available on PC
23. Junk Jack
If you like sidescrolling crafting games but you’re looking for less of a challenge in the survival department, then Junk Jack is the game for you. A relaxing crafting experience with plenty of depth, Junk Jack lets you pick whether you’d rather have a slightly more difficult crafting experience via a grid, or if you simply want to click to put items together to create something new. Build a cosy home with a large variety of items, breed farm animals or waste hours upon hours growing plants and fishing. While there’s still more than enough combat, the procedurally generated worlds are smaller than in comparable games in order to encourage you to spend more time working on your virtual home.
Available on PC
22. Craft the World
In crafting games you tend to spend a lot of time underground, so it makes sense to play as the number one cave-dweller, a dwarf. As you craft and build in Craft the World, your dwarven populace also grows, ready to help you with large-scale battles. This aspect makes Craft the World feel less like a Terraria-style dungeon crawler and occasionally more like a real-time strategy game, with a lot of bearded friends around you keeping busy. Craft the World is a game for all those looking for a beautiful fantasy crafting game with large-scale battles against well-known fantasy monsters such as Beholders.
Available on PC
21. Graveyard Keeper
Here, crafting meets “farming” – you may be able to grow crops, but this is no Stardew Valley. Instead you need to get digging to create final resting places for the corpses that land at your door. You can’t simply dump corpses in a hole and call it done, since embalming and creating graves are sciences in and of themselves. It’s a unique idea, implemented with a great love for detail. Crafting is essential to build a modern, partly-automated graveyard, as well as finding, er, alternate sources of income. Just don’t tell anyone where the meat for those tasty burgers came from.
Available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS, Android
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