Open world games have changed a lot over the years. However, one consistent thing that appears in most large open world adventures is the ability to engage in some sort of crafting weapons, armor, potions or other useful items.
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From survival games to RPGs, there are a huge number of open-world games that give players the chance to engage in interesting crafting and building using a variety of materials. From simple and small to huge and incredibly useful, crafting in modern games has become a world of open possibilities. These are the best open world games with great rendering.
Updated November 12, 2025 by Mark Sammut: Who doesn't love a good open world crafting game? We've updated this article with new galleries along with adding Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 as a recommendation.
Raft
Be creative and create everything
The name is almost Craft, and while that may just be a coincidence, the sheer variety of things players can and must do to last long in this naval game is entirely on purpose. Raft is an amazing game that allows players to get together with their friends and feel the real frustration of how hard it is to survive while adrift at sea.
They try to gather materials and survive while facing the threats of sharks and very dangerous survival meters, Raft it keeps players on their toes and forces them to quickly learn how to craft and survive out in the open water.
Subnautica
Production of ocean vehicles
One of the best that allows players to create in unique ways, Subnautics it drops players into an alien ocean, forcing them to survive with only materials they can scavenge and items they can craft from local resources. From building laser cutters to power rifles and even vehicles and bases, Subnautics has a huge range of crafting.
Players can choose to play Subnautica with several different ways and with the extent of the open ocean from which to collect resources, there is almost no limit to how much they can create in a single run of the game.
Skyrim
Abuse the crafting systems to level and beat
The best way to describe all systems in Skyrim they're cute, easy to abuse, and endless fun. Skyrim it doesn't allow players to craft items the same way they would in a survival game. Instead, it allows them to engage in several different creative activities. Enchanting, cooking, potion making, and blacksmithing are the main ways to craft in the game.
All of these classic RPG elements offer a wide range of possibilities, especially in the anniversary edition Skyrim which added a lot of extra stuff to the game. Players can craft all sorts of armor and weapons and enchant them from scratch, and players have found ways to use potions and spells to brutally break the game by crafting super powerful weapons. Regardless of the easy breaks, Skyrim is a popular game and the crafting systems are amazing.
Sons of the Forest
Improved crafting focus to conquer the forest
Although Forest was already an incredible example of an open-world game with great craftsmanship, the sequel surpasses it in these areas. Sons of the forest brings all the wonder and horror of the original game to a much larger sequel with an open world map four times the size of the first game.
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In addition, the crafting system has been massively improved, giving players a whole new sense of freedom. Forest was already a hugely fun survival sandbox that could be used for many creative crafting builds, but now Sons of the forest provided players with an even more relaxed and expansive update to a similar style of crafting.
Terrariums
Huge freedom in creativity and creation
Terrariums is without a doubt one of the most impressive games of all time in terms of the open-ended way it allows players to create an entire world full of items. The variety is almost unmatched by any other game and Terrariums has maintained a lot of love from the gaming community over the years due to the highly impressive way crafting is so replayable.
Terrariums it doesn't have the most detailed crafting mechanics, and the game is more focused on exploration and combat than crafting; therefore, while the processing is extremely impressive, few open-world releases shine brighter in this area.
No Man's Sky
Traverse the endless universe for supplies
Of all the open worlds in gaming, few can lay claim to allowing the player to travel across an entire universe, and even fewer are of such breadth and length No Man's Sky. Originally coming under fire upon release for bugs and issues, the game has evolved into a fantastic game that allows players to search billions of planets for materials.
Crafting is one of the four “pillars”. No Man's Skyas players will need to craft all the upgrades to their suit, ship, and technology while crafting more valuable products that they can sell and use for more complex items. Intensive grinding of materials takes a lot of time, but creates a classic survival game format.
Ark: Survival Evolved
A world full of creatures and science fiction mixed with old school survival art
Although it now has a successor, UE5, which is probably the best way to experience the game, Ark: Survival Evolved remains a fantastic example of an open world survival game that combines genres and has a great crafting system. Players earn more Engram points as they continue to level up Arkallowing them to create more and better tools, structures and clothing to name a few.
Crafting systems can be difficult to deal with in many games, but at the same time Ark doesn't hold a lot of hand in the early game, players shouldn't feel lost in general either. These are some of the hallmarks of a great crafting system, as it is easy to understand, yet expansive and sophisticated.
Starbound
Homes, food, weapons and mass plans: Create everything on an alien world
Although almost ten years have passed since then Starbound was released, it remains one of the most popular games in the survival genre. It allows players to travel to an unknown planet in a procedurally generated 2D landscape, Starbound offers a huge level of crafting from simple blocks and food to huge blueprints for much more imaginative ideas.
Starbound is a traditional crafting survival game in many ways. Crafting tables are required for most things, complex blueprints must be found before use, and as players progress, they will be able to build better weapons and armor to defend them on a dangerous and unknown planet as the player tries to return to their spaceship with parts needed for repair.
Valheim
High-quality grinding of materials to create the future
Valheim has been accused by some players of being too complex and harsh, as players who want to craft some of the bigger and better items in the game are forced to scavenge for materials, sometimes for long periods of time, before achieving their goals. Other players insist that it makes for a realistic experience Valheim one of the best open world games available for creation.
It's hard to judge whether there's too much to the material gathering process in any survival game, and it will depend on how much each individual player is willing to put up with, but Valheim it definitely has a great crafting system and a wide open world.
Rust
A competitive base where the Crafter is king
Rust
- Released
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February 8, 2018
Rust is another game that is tailor-made for pain and frustration. On large multiplayer servers, players could build large bases and craft great materials and items using a unique crafting style, only to lose it all and have their world collapse around them within minutes.
Rust is one of the most intense open-world survival options out there, and while the game will forever leave players reeling from their losses, there's always so much to create and rebuild that most will eventually return to it or find similar games that can be just as brutal.
