Specifically, Kerbal Space Program has an orbital physics engine and accurate aerodynamics. Most of the games in this roundup are “physics-based” in one form or another, but Kerbal Space Program takes physics to the next level. It was the breeding grounds for the widely popular Trouble in Terrorist Town and Prop Hunt game modes, which still show up in games like Fortnite. With a massive community and an endless stream of mods, Garry’s Mod has grown beyond a sandbox to experiment with the Source engine. That’s it, and that’s all it needs to be. In the game, you spawn whatever items you want and play with them. However, the developer ended up signing a publishing deal with Valve in 2006 for an exclusive release on Steam, and even after 15 years, it remains one of the most popular games on Steam.
HOW ACCURATE IS UNIVERSE SANDBOX 2 MOD
It was originally a mod for Half-Life 2, based off the Source game engine and available for free. Garry’s Mod is a sandbox - no goals, no story, and nothing to get in the way of playing. Hitman 3 has the best levels, though, so it earns this spot. The entire rebooted Hitman trilogy is excellent, so we recommend giving all of them a shot.
There’s also Dartmoor, where you have multiple options to dispatch a returning villain from Hitman 2, including dressing up like a detective in a traditional whodunit. It’s classic Hitman, giving you a giant sandbox filled with lethal toys to play with. The standout level is Berlin, where you’re tasked with taking down a group of ICA agents without any story missions or clear paths. Although there’s a certain level without too much to do - if you know, you know - the other five levels are packed with so much detail that they more than make up for any shortcomings Hitman 3 has. As a cap to the rebooted Hitman trilogy, Hitman 3 throws everything at five of its six locations. Hitman levels have always been a playground, and the latest entry features some of the best levels in the entire franchise. There are so many different ways to play Minecraft, and if that’s not what playing sandbox games is all about, we don’t know what is. Minecraft is a huge game, and that’s great for a sandbox experience. With one of the best Minecraft seeds, you can choose the world you want to build in or set up a unique survival experience, and with the best Minecraft mods, you can do everything from fly around in a jetpack to explore an industrial-era version of Minecraft. There are also several Minecraft shaders available if you want to beautify the game a bit. You can have a ton of fun just playing with a random world, especially if you set up your own Minecraft server. It’s the voxel-based builder where anything that can fit into a 1-meter cube is possible, and players are still discovering new ways to combine and build. As one of the bestselling games of all time, Minecraft needs little introduction. Minecraft is the quintessential sandbox game, and it’s largely responsible for the building game craze. That means you can freely ignore objectives or certain mechanics and just play around with the tools you want. For this guide, we’re talking about games that you can not only play, but play within. To avoid too much crosstalk with our lists of the best survival games and the best open-world games, we had to define what a “sandbox game” is. We rounded up 11 of our favorite titles that give players endless freedom to explore, create, and play. With so many options, though, it’s hard to find the top sandbox games.