Scrap Mechanic

It meets No Man's Sky on a sandbox world, melee combat and multiplayer gameplay. Both also lean on exploration and discovery, and a first-person view. What it adds of its own: online features and base building.

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No Man's Sky is hard to replace: few games combine sandbox freedom, strong narrative focus and open world exploration in quite the same way. The NextGameLike team compared No Man's Sky against over 6,700 titles across 21 gameplay attributes and found 15 genuine alternatives — not generic genre suggestions. Scrap Mechanic, Terraria and Space Engineers lead the list, with Scrap Mechanic reaching a 77/100 similarity score. Every game here is ranked by how closely it replicates what makes No Man's Sky special.
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The closest game to No Man's Sky is Scrap Mechanic — scoring 77/100 on our similarity scale. Terraria and Space Engineers follow close behind.
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Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to No Man's Sky. Each one has been evaluated across 21 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

It meets No Man's Sky on a sandbox world, melee combat and multiplayer gameplay. Both also lean on exploration and discovery, and a first-person view. What it adds of its own: online features and base building.

Same family as No Man's Sky: strong narrative focus, a sandbox world and melee combat. The common ground extends to exploration and discovery, and a sci-fi setting. Where the two diverge is visuals and setting: dark, oppressive atmosphere and horror setting.

If No Man's Sky worked for you because of a sandbox world, melee combat and a space setting, the same is here. The common ground extends to exploration and discovery, and single-player focus. Where the two diverge is combat: tactical combat.

Genre puts it alongside No Man's Sky, and so does strong narrative focus, open world exploration and melee combat. Both also lean on exploration and discovery, and single-player focus. The distance is in setting and tone — its own ground is a casual, approachable feel and horror setting.

If No Man's Sky worked for you because of strong narrative focus, a sandbox world and melee combat, the same is here. To that it adds exploration and discovery, and a sci-fi setting. They part company on visuals and tone: this one brings a casual, approachable feel and 2D presentation.

On paper it is what No Man's Sky is — exploration and discovery, a sandbox world, and single-player focus — though the resemblance is mostly at that level. Both also lean on a first-person view. The distance is in tone and setting — its own ground is dark, oppressive atmosphere and fantasy world.

Same family as No Man's Sky: strong narrative focus, a sandbox world and multiplayer gameplay. The common ground extends to crafting mechanics. Where the two diverge is setting and visuals: cozy, relaxing feel and fantasy world.

It comes from the same genre as No Man's Sky and shares strong narrative focus, open world exploration and a sci-fi setting. The common ground extends to exploration and discovery, and single-player focus. Where the two diverge is tone and game mode: a relaxing pace and 3D presentation.
Released 7 years after No Man's Sky.

On paper it is what No Man's Sky is — a sandbox world, single-player focus and crafting mechanics — though the resemblance is mostly at that level. The common ground extends to a first-person view. Where the two diverge is tone and world: a casual, approachable feel and resource management.
Released 3 years after No Man's Sky.

Same family as No Man's Sky: strong narrative focus, a sandbox world and single-player focus. Both also lean on crafting mechanics. The distance is in setting and visuals — its own ground is a relaxing pace and a medieval setting.
Released 6 years after No Man's Sky.

Same family as No Man's Sky: strong narrative focus, a sandbox world and single-player focus. To that it adds crafting mechanics. They part company on setting and visuals: this one brings a relaxing pace and a medieval setting.
Released 6 years after No Man's Sky.

Same family as No Man's Sky: a sandbox world, single-player focus and crafting mechanics. Both also lean on a third-person camera. The distance is in game mode and visuals — its own ground is an isometric view.

Same family as No Man's Sky: strong narrative focus, a sandbox world and melee combat. To that it adds exploration and discovery, and single-player focus. They part company on setting and tone: this one brings a casual, approachable feel and horror setting.

Shelved next to No Man's Sky for good reason: exploration and discovery, a sandbox world, and single-player focus. They part company on tone and setting: this one brings punishing difficulty and horror setting.
Released 6 years after No Man's Sky.

Shelved next to No Man's Sky for good reason: strong narrative focus, a sandbox world and single-player focus. The common ground extends to crafting mechanics. Where the two diverge is setting and visuals: punishing difficulty and a cartoon aesthetic.
Found one on the list you already love? Open its own list: the games that play most like it, ranked, with the reason for each.
If No Man's Sky left you wanting more, this is where you narrow it down. Was it the adventure or the simulation that hooked you? There is a list of just that. And if you play on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and Mobile, filter by platform and skip the games you could not play anyway.
Sometimes what you want is not a No Man's Sky look-alike but simply the best Crafting Sandbox Games there are. That is what these rankings are for: no comparison to anything, just the highest-rated games. And if you feel like widening the net, the Sandbox Games ranking is a good way to run into something you were not expecting.