Games that allow players to set their own goals

Strictly linear games are all well and good, but they can sometimes struggle with replayability. For example, you may know that the main story of the game has 30 levels. By the time you finish them, you may have seen everything the title has to offer. There may be challenges or other difficulty options, but is that enough to keep you in the game? That's up to the player to decide.

Alternatively, if you are able to define your own specific goals, you can effectively continue playing for as long as it takes to complete them. It helps to make sure they're actually practical, but these games lend themselves very well to that way of thinking.

5

Minecraft

Create, Survive, Repeat

It seems as if Minecraft will be here forever. The key to his success is something that is so hard to replicate: Being everything to every player. There are people who don't really care about creative mode, but who have spent hundreds of hours in Survival, and vice versa. Between these two offerings, Minecraft has successfully satisfied many millions of fans.

Whether you want to slay a formidable Ender Dragon or simply build an entire ancient Roman city complete with an elaborate fortress and arena, Minecraft has you covered. It's a fascinating lesson in how structured game design can be limiting, and players can create things that developers could never imagine if given the means and freedom to do so. Just watching other players online in creative mode can give you an idea for a project that could take up the next six months.

4

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Mission Complete (or not)

With a game like this Animal Crossing: New Horizonsit's probably best if you go into it with a defined goal and ending. If you don't, you could find yourself returning to the game daily forever and risk it becoming a chore. Maybe you want to complete your museum, for example, which, due to the seasonal nature of bugs and fish, will take you an entire year of travel without time. Alternatively, you can have a vision of the perfect island design (more customizable than ever thanks to terraforming mechanics) for others to visit and admire your genius through Dream Islands. Heck, why not collect as many of those gorgeous rare items as possible?

Your goals are entirely up to you. Some players practice merciless “trading” with villagers to build their dream roster, whoever that may be. The ultimate achievement for another is to populate your island with only one type of villager. After all, your goal could be to be flooded with exciting Octopus villagers in your house on your birthday, and who could deny such a dream? The game is still updated and still going strong.

3

RimWorld

Dealing with the utter unpredictability of the universe

Games often task players with managing a group of colonists and survivors and trying to sustain them, and it's hard to imagine a more hostile environment than the space in which to set such a title. RimWorld is one of those experiences where you rarely exactly triumph, and a lot of the game's time is spent trying to react to spontaneous disasters and fight the inevitable.

But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of freedom in choosing how your colony develops, the nature and primary focus of its inhabitants, and other important elements. Another essential is the ending. If you have industrious colonists, they may be able to make you the necessary pieces to build a spaceship, allowing them to escape. You can even lead them to attack the Mechhive, ending the Mechanoids. As long as their basic needs like food are provided and they are secure, you can be content to focus your domain on scientific research, growth, or whatever you wish.

2

Slime Rancher 2

What does success look like on a farm? You decide

Slime Rancher titles are not only known for adorable slimes, but also for the open nature of the experience. The goal is to eventually uncover what happened on Rainbow Island and defeat that tricky end boss, but in the meantime it's mostly about developing your ranch. You can do this however you want, from choosing a favorite type of slime to focus your efforts on, to spending hours in open world areas hunting a wide variety.

You can of course optimize your output by favoring only the highest value plots, but in some ways this seems a bit against the spirit of the game. It's about the magic of the experience, the different personalities of the slimes, and venturing out into the open world is the best way to embrace it.

1

Green hell

One of the most brutal survival experiences

As stated, RimWorld takes place in an incredibly dangerous environment, all the better to increase the challenge of survival. Green hellin contrast, it takes place here on Earth, but is almost as dangerous. Jake Higgins is a scientist who ventures into the Amazon rainforest in an attempt to find his wife, but outside of the story mode, developer Creepy Jar gives the player one task: make the most of this hostile environment.

You're free to explore as you please while managing illness and injury, your own sanity, and accomplishing essential tasks like learning to boil water, start a fire, and get enough nutrients in your diet. There are several huge, elaborate bases that players can build using sophisticated materials and mechanics. You can even take on the role of a hunter and take on hostile locals. However, the biggest variety is offered by the Spirits of Amazonia bonus mode, where players deepen their bond with the local tribes by completing a wide variety of challenges, from hunting animals to solving puzzles in the environment. You can choose which quests to engage in, or you can simply explore the world at your leisure. Whatever you choose as your goals, the Green Hell will test you in every possible way.