Crafting Systems are an essential part of some video games. It has been a system mechanic in a lot of titles throughout history, and has evolved into its own sub-genre that features the experience of survival in massive sandbox worlds.
The crafting systems in certain games can make or break the experience, as progression can be tied to them. So let’s take a look at some of the titles that can pull it off really well.
Best Crafting Systems in Video Games
Minecraft
There was no way we could have started this list off with any other game. Minecraft is the best video game that comes to mind when we think of crafting. It’s designed in a way to be inclusive for both kids and gamers of all ages alike.
Minecraft is the basis for the evolution of survival crafting in a lot of video games from the modern era. Most of the titles that we will find later in this list owe their success to this game.
The idea behind Minecraft’s crafting system is to simplify the process with clear visual indicators in a grid system. Thus, allowing unparalleled experimentation and freedom to create anything in the game’s world.
No Man’s Sky
When No Man’s Sky was first revealed, it set out to change the gaming landscape with all its possibilities. The idea of endlessly generating planets that are completely explorable was mind-blowing. But we all know the end result during release was a big dupe.
But regardless, No Man’s Sky did not falter; the developers made sure to pull up their socks and live up to all their promises. It was a slow process, but gamers eventually integrated into what has become one of the best modern multiplayer games with an incredible crafting system.
ARK: Survival Evolved
The developers at Sudio Wildcard were really on to something when someone pitched to them about a survival crafting game, but with dinosaurs. Thus, ARK: Survival Evolved was created, which has now become one of the premier multiplayer survival games.
ARK is set in a fictional world where dinosaurs and other fantastical creatures roam the land. Amidst all of these, players will have to navigate through the dangerous lands, crafting their way out of this situation to survive.
Players get to make decisions on how they want to progress in the crafting tree, eventually building their own tribe with tamed creatures.
Terraria
Developed by Re-Logic and published by 505 Games, Terraria has time and time again been deemed by fans as a ‘2D Minecraft‘ title. Which is both a huge compliment and detrimental to the game’s own identity because it keeps getting overshadowed.
Terraria is a survival crafting game that should be judged by its own merits, for it is one of the best games in this genre that can stand on its own, even with a 2D sidescrolling art style, while in a sea of realistic-looking 3D crafting games.
Being a combat-focused game, players get access to more tools and items for beating a boss, which unlocks crafting and further progress. Terraria can be played both as a single-player game or with friends.
Valheim
When we think of the word crafting, in a broader context, the medieval lifestyle is what comes to everyone’s mind. This is what Valheim sets out to solve: a survival crafting game set in the Viking era.
This multiplayer title launched way back in 2021 as an early access game for Xbox and Windows platforms. The charming part about Valheim can be attributed to it’s artstyle, which seeks to emulate an early 2000s era PC MMO.
The whole game spans across several procedurally generated biomes include land and the seas, with heavy focus on action and combat. Valheim takes players back to the basics with its crafting system, reflecting on how primitive man used to live by scavenging natural resources and hunting.
Factorio
Some of the best crafting systems in video games are not just limited to games that are centered around one person. Throughout history, there have been popular game series that blend the genre of city management sims with crafting.
Factorio is the best example of that from the past few decades. It’s a game is a sci-fi game that revolves around a player who crash lands into a planet where he has to farm for resources and craft an industry in order to survive.
If you are looking for a video game with a great crafting system that is about micro-managing whole structures, then Factorio is what you are looking for.
Satisfactory
We are not done talking about games where players get to manage factories, because for some reason this sub-genre is a big hit with titles that emply really good crafting system. Satisfactory is another title that has a very similar premise.
Players find themselves on a remote planet where they are left to their own tools to gather resources and build full-on factory complexes. This is for you if you liked the premise of Factorio but are looking for the visual flair. Satisfactory is a full-on 3D game with beautiful environments.
Subnautica
In Subnautica, players crash land on a planet that is mostly covered in ocean water, and now they have to fend for themselves in these alien lands against hostile beings of gigantic proportions. Yes, we have shoehorned another game with the same premise, but hold your horses, there are enough differences to make it a unique experience.
The main point of interest in Subnautica is the deep and vast ocean that is completely uncharted and is home to thousands of hostile creatures, some of them are immeasurable in size. Players get to craft out of resources from the ocean, including the sea creatures, which makes for an addictive gameplay.
Don’t Starve
Don’t Starve is not a game that sets out to demonstrate anything unique compared to other games on this list. This is not to say that the game has an uninteresting crafting system. Rather, it’s about the game’s artstyle, which as a whole accentuates the gameplay around crafting and survival.
Developed by Klei Entertainment, the game reels in players with its Tim Burton-esque designs and throws them into a world where light is the only way to survive. Item crafting is interesting as it is tied to the game’s lore and progress, which provides incentives to push ahead.
Project Zomboid
It’s a surprise that we have been discussing crafting in all these games with so many varied environments, but there has not been a single title so far that is set in a zombie apocalypse, which is the sub-genre for a gameplay system like this.
So let’s change that with one of the more charming survival games around, with some amazing gameplay systems, Project Zomboid. Anything we say about the crafting system in the game would be underplaying it because of the expansive amount of crafting recipes this game provides.
Do not be fooled by the early 2000s internet virtual chat game look, that this game has going on because underneath all of that, it is one great isometric experience.
