The Best Crafting Games of All Time

There are numerous great games available that focus on players’ 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 must gather resources, refine or combine them to create 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.

Likewise, the games might vary quite a bit. Therefore, we will not rank these in any specific order. Instead, we just want to highlight some fun games with a bit of a crafting element attached to them.

#39 The Alters

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation

Crafting is something that you can find in all sorts of games nowadays, and how it’s used usually reflects how the game itself plays. For example, in The Alters, you play an astronaut who is the last survivor on a crashed upon planet, and has to get off before the nearby sun explodes.

To do so, he’ll need to fix up the base he’s on, and he’ll need help with that via the “Alters” that he summons. These are alternative versions of himself, and they all have different skills to use…and needs that must be managed.

Crafting will take many forms, including fixing up your base, making items to help you explore the planet, and making stuff to make your Alters feel better about things. Good luck.

#38 Dune: Awakening

Steam

When you have a massive world to build upon, the sky is literally the limit. Dune: Awakening embraces that concept by having you become a character set adrift upon the world of Arrakis, and then must build a life there. However, what that life looks like is entirely up to you.

Will you build alongside the Fremen and learn to master the desert in a natural way? Will you be like the Atredies and craft masterful homes and vehicles that leave everyone in awe? Or, will you build something special and new to be all your own? The choice is entirely yours.

#37 Path of Exile 2

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

When you’re dealing with a game that has plenty of options to partake in, and numerous enemies to face, you’ll definitely want to craft the right tools/armor/weapons for the job so that you don’t die immediately. After all, dying would be bad.

In Path of Exile 2, you’ll have the ability to craft many different kinds of weapons, armor, and even skills to help build your character up and make them even more powerful. Plus, with the community that lies within the game, anything you don’t craft yourself may be crafted by another, and then you can trade them for it!

The possibilities within are numerous.

#36 Palworld

Steam | Xbox

Palworld quickly caught the attention of players worldwide due to how close it looked to a Pokemon game. It’s even described by most as Pokemon but with guns. This game is where you’re tossed into a world and must survive. You’ll have to scavenge resources and use these various creatures found in the world to aid you.

As mentioned, scavenging resources is rather crucial here to aid in your survival. Players will use the resources gathered to craft a variety of items, from weapons to structures, as they chart out their place in this unusual world.

#35 V Rising

Steam | PlayStation

V Rising puts players into the role of a vampire. Awakening after a long slumber, you’ll need to scavenge the area for fresh blood. Regain your strength and then slowly build up your empire. You’re a vampire; use your abilities to seek out humans to turn into your legion of soldiers, craft up your castle, and fight off those who seek to bring your empire crumbling to the ground. Just make sure you steer clear of the deadly sunlight.

#34 Ocean World: Eden Crafters

Steam

Do you have what it takes to build up a habitable planet? In Ocean World: Eden Crafters, you’ll drop down onto a planet with plenty of water as a crucial resource for humanity. You’ll roam the area, gather resources, and craft up structures.

Figure out how to make your crafting more autonomous with factories and slowly build this world into a place for civilization. However, there is one small problem you’ll encounter. Giant waves can come crashing in the area. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?

#33 Fallout: London

GOG

Fallout is such a behemoth of a franchise, and when Fallout 4 was released, a group of fans took it upon themselves to build their own Fallout experience. Team Folon is a group of fans that crafted Fallout London, a fan game that could be a legitimate expansion. Players are dropped in London with a complete campaign.

You’ll have a new area to explore, factions, and a slew of unique items. Players can craft weapon mods to armor, giving you a fighting chance to survive the wasteland. It’s, unfortunately, a game mod that is only accessible on the PC platform, but we sure wish more players could get access to this one on consoles!

#32 Pacific Drive

Steam | PlayStation

Crafting in a survival game is basically second nature to gamers these days. But with Pacific Drive, that need for crafting will not be focused on your player character per se but on the station wagon that is trying to get them through a dangerous location and away from an all-consuming storm.

You’ll start out with just a basic ride, but as you go through the exclusion zone and get materials, you’ll be able to upgrade your ride and endure the “anomalies” that are all around.

The irony is that the deeper you go into the forest, the better materials you’ll find, but the dangers will be increased also. So, will you take that risk to better your ride?

#31 Enshrouded

Steam

The world has been lost. How many times have we heard that before? But in the case of Enshrouded, the game focuses on a realm that has been covered in a corruptive fog known as “The Shroud.” Everything it touches is poisoned, and life is hard as a result.

That’s where you come in. You must become a warrior of legend, search the land for the truth of what happened, and see if there are any chances of undoing what was done. You’ll start with nothing, but if you push hard enough, you’ll find a way to make it through and save the day!

#30 Disney Dreamlight Valley

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

Look, we live in a gaming age where a TON of people take things like video games way too seriously. That’s why “casual games” exist. They’re meant to let people relax and enjoy a fun time while not stressing too much about the plot or gameplay.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is one such title for those who want to enjoy a Disney title without having to do too much work.

You can explore the valley and free it from a curse that will allow Disney/Pixar characters to roam free within it. Then, you can build up a house for yourself, decorate it however you’d like, and see what awaits you in this magical place.

#29 My Time at Sandrock

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo

There are a few farming and crafting simulator games out there that might pique your interest. One of those could have been My Time at Portia. Now, you have a sequel installment: My Time at Sandrock. The game is very similar if you’re familiar with the first installment. Players here are a builder who finds a small oasis town called Sandrock.

The goal is to rebuild the area in this desert environment. That means gathering resources, farming out the land, crafting tools, and interacting with the folks around town. It’s a casual gameplay experience and one that might be well worth investing in if you already enjoyed the first game. 

#28 Raft

Steam

In Raft, you’ll be a young boy trapped on a raft in the middle of the ocean. To survive, you’ll need to use everything at your disposal to get food and expand your raft so you can do more on it.

Here, trash is your best friend, as trash can be used to craft things and extend your reach. So fish for food, and see if you can make it to the next day.

If it gets too hard, you can play the game with a friend in co-op!

#27 Wild Hearts

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

What does it take to bring down massive beasts? Well, typically it means having the strength to do damage to them. However, it also helps if you have the best gear possible. In Wild Hearts, that will be one of your biggest tasks.

You are a hunter who can wield ancient technology that can damage the monsters known as the Kemono. However, even with that technology, you’ll need to seek out items and recover fallen bits of the monsters you kill so you can upgrade your weapons and armor to fight the tougher versions of the Kemono that are out there.

#26 Sons Of The Forest

Steam

If you’re ready for your next big survival experience, prepare for Sons Of The Forest.

In the game, you’re tasked with going to an island to retrieve a billionaire who has gone missing. But the moment you arrive, you’ll see just how bad things will get.

There are mutants and monsters all over the island, and you’ll need to survive long enough to get off this tortured place! But how will you survive? That’s entirely up to you. You’ll have various resources you can use to build shelter, craft weapons, and more.

Use everything you have on you and whatever you find on the island. It may be the difference between life and death.

#25 Unturned

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

Unturned is a zombie survival game. In this title, players roam around the 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 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

Steam

Muck is a free-to-play survival rogue-like game available on Steam. It’s a bit bare-bones, but the reception has been relatively positive. In this game, players are forced to survive the hostilities found on a strange island. Within the game, a day and night cycle is in effect. 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, 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 

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

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 enhance further equipment you already have. It might not appeal to a mature audience, but kids can likely spend quite a few hours immersed in this one, especially if they play with friends.

#22 7 Days To Die

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation

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 work to gather resources and build 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.

#21 Rust

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation

Rust has become a popular game online. It throws players into an online MMO where they wash up on 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 time 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, such as stability and decay, which can impact your structure’s standing over time.

#20 Ark: Survival Evolved

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

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 build walls and structures to keep you protected or further store your gear.

#19 No Man’s Sky

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

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 they would 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 to build up a base so that they can farm, have access to storage, and shelter themselves from the harsh elements.

#18 Stranded Deep

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

Stranded Deep is a game that bears a resemblance to 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 clinging to 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 any available resources. Like a typical survival game, a significant portion of the game involves maintaining your vitals, such as 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

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator puts players in the role of a potion shopkeeper. Set in medieval times, players will sell their elixirs to those who attend the shop. Depending on the customer’s needs, when they visit your shop, you’ll determine what potion to sell them. Your decisions will not only impact those who seek help with their problems, but could also play a role in shaping the town over time.

To make these potions, you’ll have to gather the necessary resources, such as leaves, berries, and roots. Then you’re actively mixing, grinding up, and bottling these concoctions to sell. Acquiring these resources to craft a potion can be done by either growing them or attempting to haggle for ingredients from a traveling salesman.

#16 The Long Dark

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

The Long Dark is a survival game that follows a pilot and a doctor who crash into Canada’s frigid tundra. Players here now must return to safety by cautiously navigating the wilderness on foot. Of course, it’s a tough battle, with freezing temperatures and wildlife that roam 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 things like a snare, a makeshift knife, fishing tackle, and 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 drop too low, you’ll have to start over from the beginning.

#15 Green Hell

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

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 with your resources. You can build up a base along with weapons, armor, medical dressings, tools, and fishing gear.

#14 Don’t Starve

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

Don’t Starve is another game on this list that’s been around for quite a few years now. So, chances are you’re already familiar with 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, and figuring out what to do with them, all while hoping that nothing results in your untimely demise.

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 and lighting to structures, clothing, weapons, and other helpful survival gear is available to aid Wilson during his run.

#13 Scrap Mechanic

Steam

Scrap Mechanic is a lighthearted game where players take the role of a mechanic. Set in the future, our player plans to travel to an agricultural planet where they’ll help maintain the robots and machines that harvest 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 wits, 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 needing to gather all the required resources. That’s a significant part of the game, as the developers encourage players to get creative. You can build up all kinds of different machines alongside your friends. Best of all, there is a thriving modding scene here as well, allowing players to continue adding new content to the game.

#12 Medieval Dynasty

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation

Medieval Dynasty is an RPG that combines town management and survival gameplay. Set in a first-person perspective, players take the role of a man who charts out 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.

#11 The Forest

Steam | PlayStation

The Forest had gained a significant following as a survival game with horror elements 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. However, you soon 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 set up a campsite, which means gathering basic 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. Good luck!

#10 Fallout 4 Survival Mode

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation

Fallout 4 was released in 2015 and was a huge success. There’s a big following for this franchise. However, it was in 2016 that we were introduced to the Survival mode, a new difficulty option.

This made the game drastically harder. Enemies were more vigorous; there was no fast travel, players could become fatigued more easily, and you could contract illnesses, 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.

#9 Starbound

Steam | Xbox

Starbound bears a resemblance to Terraria. It’s another 2D adventure title but set in space. In this game, players explore the different planets 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, 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

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

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 they’ll fix it up, tend the farmlands, and care for the livestock. Meanwhile, there are plenty of items to craft for your farm—everything, from the decor to artisan equipment, and 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

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

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 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 watercraft 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

Steam | Xbox

Valheim puts players into the role of a recently deceased Viking. However, you won’t find yourself freely roaming the halls of Valhalla. 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 them to traverse 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 taken off as players attempt to navigate the procedurally generated world and battle against trolls, skeletons, and Draugr.

#5 Terraria

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

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 have already played through a bit of Terraria. Similar to Minecraft, 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 offers a solid gameplay experience and continues to attract newcomers regularly.

#4 Space Engineers

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation

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

Steam | Xbox | PlayStation

If you enjoy narrative-driven games, then Rimworld is definitely worth checking out. 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, and the storyteller you pick could bring 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 to enhance your crafting capabilities.

#2 Factorio

Steam | Nintendo

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 on 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 eventually be able to create a massive, fully automated industrial empire. Unfortunately, it’s not all about endlessly crafting 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 their creation.

#1 Minecraft

PC | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo

Minecraft, we probably don’t need to explain this game to you or spend much time on it. 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 which resources to gather to craft specific 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 must ensure that your character is fed; otherwise, they can lose health over time. Meanwhile, the creative mode allows players to focus on building without worrying 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.