StarBound (PC - 2013)

First, there was Minecraft which revolutionized the sandbox / openworld / survivor gaming style, added elements like crafting, block based graphics and a complete „geo-mode” so you can build or destroy anything you want. This gave the game a great advantage and gamers a whole new perspective to look at a game and to play.

Countless clones arrived, the designers started to add rpg or strategy elements and some really nice games got developed, but the next big step in my opinion was Terraria, a really beautiful and deep experience. Visually it was a step back some might think, but for the type of genre it think 2D is more than enough and since I'm sucker for retro games it made it even more interesting for me.

I'm sure some of the designers of Terraria must have gotten involved with the development of StarBound because structually and visually it's a very similar game, still it manages to be very different and a million times bigger than Terraria was.

You can handle the universe of StarBound like your own, you can explore planets, mine for precious metals or minerals, craft, create mini civilizations, hunt animals, grow vegetables, reach asteroids or moons, different galaxies, kill bosses and most important of all, survive.  

You have to be careful with food and the temperature. Cold is a real enemy, during the night you have to find a fire to keep you warm and certain planets or moons are not even explorable until you don't get some really warm clothes because you freeze almost instantly.

It's really an amazing game, worth trying it out, but you have to be careful, it can make you sit in front of your monitor for days!

Stranded II (PC - 2008)

If you ever been fantasising about being Robinson Crusoe than this is the game for you. Developed by Unreal Software - but basically a one man project - Stranded II is not a very fancy game, but it doesn't have to be. You are shipwrecked on an island somewhere in the middle of the ocean, your goal is to survive, in order to do that you can hunt, craft, build. You will have to build a hut for yourself, so you can sleep in a dry place, you will need fire, tools, food, medicine and loads of luck to be able to survive in this harsh world.

The game itself is similar to Minecraft, it's not voxel based but you can still mine, dig, chop down trees to collect wood, build different structures. You have a great variety of things to craft and it's really crucial that you take care of your health, because fixing a broken leg, an open wood or poisoning isn't that easy at all if you don't have the right materials. 

The game has a story and a sandbox mode. In the story mode you can visit several islands, complete missions, meet strange characters and of course survive. In the sandbox mode you can choose the size and the type of the island, and start being a cast away without any particular goal apart from being alive. The game is really fun and can entertain you for many hours, it's really atmospheric, the simulation is working and it also has some laugh out loud moments like setting a turtle on fire and watch it being cooked while it's still walking around.

The game is free and very small, it will run on almost any computer, you don't need a high capacity machine in order to run it. As of 2012 the developer started to work on Stranded III so the saga continues. Check out the developers website, download the game:

http://www.strandedonline.de/