7 Best 2D Sandbox Games

Sandbox games generally offer players a great deal of freedom in how they approach gameplay. This is usually facilitated by loosely defined goals (or, more commonly, no primary goals of any kind), as well as diverse tools, simulated elements, and immersive mechanics that allow players to express their creativity.

While it’s true that games such as Factorio or RimWorld do give players a certain degree of direction, their simulated mechanics allow players to approach their objectives with a diversity of methods. These games always encourage creativity, rewarding players who think outside the box.

7 Factorio

Building And Automating A Factory With A Diverse Set Of Tools

Factorio

Simulation

Real-Time Strategy

Systems

Released

August 14, 2020

Developer(s)

Wube Software

Factorio puts players on a planet populated by aggressive creatures and tasks them with building and automating a factory while defending it from the dangerous wildlife. The end goal may be to launch a rocket, but the freedom that Factorio offers players in creating and optimizing their factory allows for a great deal of creative thinking.

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The more the player drains the resources of the planet, however, the more aggressive its native inhabitants become. Thankfully, Factorio gives players a variety of ways to defend themselves against the alien threat — and even take the fight to them directly.

6 Battle Brothers

An Open-World Sandbox RPG With Tactical Combat

Battle Brothers is an open-world sandbox RPG that puts players in control of a mercenary company, fighting brutal turn-based battles in exchange for cash. The primary goal in Battle Brothers is as simple as keeping the company running — and preferably keeping everyone alive. Combat isn’t the only form of mission in Battle Brothers, but its various tactical encounters are frequent.

Although there aren’t many opportunities to express creativity in Battle Brothers, the game features deep character customization that allows players to be creative in devising unique strategies and builds. Furthermore, the game’s sandbox nature allows players to roam the map as they see fit, taking sides with the factions of their choosing and pursuing higher-tier contracts along the way.

5 WorldBox – God Simulator

A Top-Down 2D God-Game

Worldbox – God Simulator

Systems

Released

September 24, 2021

Developer(s)

Maxim Karpenko

WorldBox is a pixel-art god-game that leans heavily on sandbox gameplay and focuses on simulated elements. This results in an experience that encourages experimentation and allows players to create (and control) their own civilizations.

WorldBox doesn’t feature much in the way of gameplay mechanics that the player interacts with directly. However, the variety of tools for manipulating the terrain and the people who live in and around it are diverse. This allows players to have deep control over the creation of their world, but leaves enough room for emergent situations to occur.

4 Terraria

A Side-Scrolling Open-World Survival Game

This side-scrolling open-world survival game tasks players with collecting resources and crafting items while building and expanding a base. Terraria is incredibly focused on creativity and sandbox play, giving players the tools to construct all manner of structures.

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Terraria also features a heavy emphasis on exploration, tasking players with delving into deep and dangerous caves to retrieve valuable resources. The game’s variety of bosses, meaningful exploration, and intuitive base-building mechanics allow for a truly diverse and frequently engaging sandbox experience. Furthermore, the game can be enjoyed in online co-op.

3 Prison Architect

Building And Managing Ever-Expanding Prisons

Tasking players with plotting out, building, and effectively managing their own prison, Prison Architect offers a deep and complex management puzzle that can be played in a variety of ways. At its heart, Prison Architect is a creative sandbox that allows players to build and manage their prison in whatever way they see fit.

Prison Architect allows for sandbox gameplay by giving players full control over how they run their prison, and the intuitive build controls allow for easy development. The game’s 2D, top-down visuals may be simplistic, but they offer extreme visual clarity that makes it easy to blueprint new ideas and manage the ever-expanding prison.

2 RimWorld

Sandbox Survival And Colony Management

Giving players very little in the way of direction (other than to survive), RimWorld is a colony-sim and management game that’s frequently tough as nails. The game’s variety of simulated systems and frequent enemy raids constantly test the player’s management and planning skills, leading to an often unforgiving but wholly rewarding experience.

RimWorld allows players to approach their colony’s survival from all manner of directions, giving them the freedom and opportunity to devise their own plans and build colonies in their own way. Furthermore, despite being an unforgiving experience, RimWorld features customizable difficulty settings that make it relatively accessible to all players.

1 Dwarf Fortress

A Complex And Unforgiving Colony Builder

Dwarf Fortress

Roguelike

Strategy

Simulation

Systems

Platform(s)

Linux , macOS , Microsoft Windows

Released

August 8, 2006

Developer

Bay 12 Games, Tarn Adams, Zach Adams

Historically inaccessible, Dwarf Fortress may not look like much on the surface, but its mechanical depth and the diversity of gameplay that it offers players is near unparalleled. The game’s deep systems and simulated elements make it a notoriously hard game to learn, but with its release on Steam in 2022, Dwarf Fortress has become somewhat more accessible to modern audiences.

Dwarf Fortress tasks players with building and managing a colony of the titular dwarves in a simulated, procedurally generated world. Dwarf Fortress is a difficult and complex game, but its complexities and construction mechanics allow players to have a great deal of freedom over how their colony develops.

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