4 Sandbox games like The Long Dark that you should try

Games like The Long Dark · Find similar →

We filtered the 41 games similar to The Long Dark down to the 4 that fit the “Sandbox” category. Raft, Astroneer and Stranded Deep top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to The Long Dark.

NextGameLike82/ 100

Did you find what you were looking for?

GenreSurvivalSubgenreCo-op PvE Survival

The best sandbox games like The Long Dark

4 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to The Long Dark. Each one has been evaluated across 14 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.

Raft

66 similarity to The Long Dark

NGL85

Closest overall match

GenreSurvivalSubgenreCo-op PvE Survival

SoloOpen WorldSandbox WorldCraftingExplorationFirst Person

Year 2022Dev Redbeet Interactive · Axolot GamesPlaytime ~8hOn PC

It meets The Long Dark on open world exploration, single-player focus and crafting mechanics. Both also lean on a first-person view. The distance is in game mode — its own ground is multiplayer gameplay.

Released 8 years after The Long Dark.

Genre100World100Progression81Visuals73Game mode27

Details →

Astroneer

64 similarity to The Long Dark

NGL85

Closest on tone

GenreSurvivalSubgenreCo-op PvE Survival

SoloNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationCrafting

Year 2019Dev System Era SoftworksOn PS4 · PC · PS5

Shelved next to The Long Dark for good reason: strong narrative focus, open world exploration and single-player focus. To that it adds exploration and discovery. They part company on setting and visuals: this one brings a space setting and multiplayer gameplay.

Released 5 years after The Long Dark.

Genre100Tone100World100Progression72Game mode32Setting0

Stranded Deep

64 similarity to The Long Dark

NGL71

Closest on visuals

GenreSurvivalSubgenreCo-op PvE Survival

SoloNarrativeSandbox WorldOpen WorldExplorationCraftingFirst Person

Year 2015Dev Beam Team GamesOn PS4 · Linux · PC

The genre is the same as The Long Dark’s, and with it strong narrative focus, a sandbox world and single-player focus. Both also lean on exploration and discovery, and a first-person view. The distance is in setting and game mode — its own ground is dark, oppressive atmosphere and horror setting.

Genre100World100Visuals100Progression84Tone57Game mode27

The Planet Crafter

58 similarity to The Long Dark

NGL84

GenreSurvivalSubgenreCo-op PvE Survival

SoloNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldCraftingExplorationFirst Person

Year 2022Dev Miju GamesPlaytime ~9hOn PC

What brings it close to The Long Dark is strong narrative focus, open world exploration and single-player focus, and the two track each other on genre, tone and world. Both also lean on crafting mechanics and a first-person view. The distance is in setting and game mode — its own ground is a space setting and co-op play.

Released 8 years after The Long Dark.

Genre100Tone100World100Visuals100Progression56Game mode24

Explore games similar to The Long Dark by category

If The Long Dark 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 PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PlayStation and Xbox, filter by platform and skip the games you could not play anyway.

Rankings in the same genre

Sometimes what you want is not a The Long Dark look-alike but simply the best Co-op Survival 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 Survival Games ranking is a good way to run into something you were not expecting.

The 20 Best Co-op Survival Games (2026)The 20 Best Survival Games (2026)