Best Sandbox Video Games of All Time
A sandbox game is a game where you are free to do anything you want, when you want, and how you want in a big open area. San Andreas meets these requirements fantastically. There is so much to do and such great other qualities in the game, like awesome graphics (at the time), a fantastic soundtrack, an interesting story, and memorable characters.
Not only is this the best sandbox game, but San Andreas is the best game of all time.
Quite possibly the best game ever! There is so much content in this game that you never run out of interesting things to do, even after you have completed the main storyline. Also, the vehicle assortment is phenomenal.
You can pilot an Apache helicopter and wreak complete havoc with it. Awesome game. AWESOME.
I had San Andreas as #1, but this game is better in every way. Endless stuff to do, plus the car handling is fixed from IV. The new sandbox champ right here, and one of the greatest games ever made.
It will be hard for Rockstar to top this one. A huge, truly amazing game. Blows IV out of the water.
Why is this game after RDR? Grand Theft Auto 5 is better all the way! Multiple vehicles, planes, boats... It has so much stuff to do. Thanks for the 3 character switch.
This is the best sandbox Wild West experience and the finest game today, in my opinion. The multiplayer still rocks!
Takes the Wild West and shakes the cobwebs out of it.
The second best game on my sandbox list. First is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Was tempted to vote for Red Dead Redemption, but the amount of hours I've put into that, versus the amount of hours I've put into THIS... Well, let's just say that a competition like THAT would be horribly unfair to RDR.
Minecraft is only fun if you're creative enough to make the best of the world. It's less of a game, and more of a giant virtual box of Legos. Sure, you can wave your sword at monsters until they disappear, but mining, crafting, building... That's what it's all about. And when you get your friends involved so you're not forever alone, it gets that much better.
You can't get much more sandbox-y than Minecraft, ladies and gents.
Rockstar rocks! Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series is loved by everyone. Grand Theft Auto IV received many awards, including Game of the Year, Best Story, Best Voice Acting, etc.
If you look up sandbox in the dictionary, there is a picture of Niko on it. GTA is the best sandbox game.
Really solid game and fighting system. A lot better than the previous True Crime games.
Literally hardly any of the above are sandboxes. They are fanboys thinking sandbox means their favorite game. Garry's Mod is an honest and true sandbox where mods are everything.
Want to crush a car with Groudon? GMod.
Want to blow your friend out of the map? GMod.
Want to play a game of who-dun-it? GMod.
Want to hide as furniture and have bloodthirsty combine hunt you down? GMod.
GMod.
GMod.
GMod.
Minecraft and Gmod are my favorite sandbox games. I mean both, and don't even try to change my mind!
Half of these aren't even sandbox games. Garry's Mod is truly 100% sandbox.
Not only do I believe this to be the greatest sandbox game, but one of, if not the greatest game of all time. This game had it all: great quests, excellent level progression, and hours upon hours of quality gameplay.
Of course, it wasn't without flaws, but then again there's no such thing as a perfect game. It's just a shame that many early Fallout fans denounce it so much.
Amazing environment, gameplay, and story. Only lacks a little bit graphically.
It is purely great. Only bested by GTA.
Lower on the list than Grand Theft Auto games? I don't recommend the main story. It sucks. It has like 350 different settlements, and the first playthrough is amazing. It takes a while to get bored of it, despite it being an older game. Just Cause 3 isn't nearly as good and only has 100-some settlements.
Best sandbox game ever. Nothing else comes close, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Just Cause 3 could be the best game ever if done right.
You can have a lot of fun by not completing missions. Fully accessible transport too!
The Newcomers
This game made my childhood fun. It also teaches valuable lessons about business management.
Although people say Saints Row 2 was better, they are just fanboys who can't get over the fact that fun beats serious. I enjoy SR2 and SR3, but you can do almost anything you want in SR3. Yet, Grand Theft Auto fanboys won't even bother to play the game, but would go crazy for ANY of Rockstar's upcoming titles. For all they care, Rockstar could make a game about Barbies, and it would get 100 million preorders within the first few days.
This game sets itself aside from reality and throws logic out the window to make one of the most fun games of all time. Just give this game a chance, and you'll understand what I mean.
The most fun you can get in Mafia II, in my mind, is seeing how much cash you can make from the moment you escape the burning house. From that moment on, any cash you earn from car exports and selling cars to the scrapyard, you can keep.
Mafia II is a much better game than people give it credit for. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an overhyped game that isn't all it's cracked up to be.
This is much better than Grand Theft Auto IV.
How can this game be left behind at #20?
This is the most perfect game we have ever witnessed. You can play up to 40 hours without feeling like you did.
This game is one of Ubisoft's all-time masterpieces!
What? Grand Theft Auto has nothing on this! Terraria is the greatest sandbox game ever and one of the greatest games, period!
This is one of the best sandbox games!
Terraria is too good for me to even talk about. Terraria has guns, NPCs, swords, bows, and even the underworld, dungeons, and a good and evil biome!
Has a rich and insanely fleshed-out world that you're dropped into. You can explore, quest, or just screw around. You can easily put over 300 hours into one character. Then, you can reroll as a new kind of character and create a new story.
Then choose any combination of over 30,000 (and growing) modifications to further customize your experience and add infinite replayability. You don't play The Elder Scrolls. You live them.
Why isn't this in the Top 15?! It should be number one!
Made me want to stroll around and whistle tunes from Bugsy Malone while shooting random people.
Just pure fun. Like the first Saints Row, it doesn't take itself too seriously, but unlike the first one, there is a lot more polish, way more things to do, hidden activities, character upgrades, and more that make you want to keep playing.
More fun than GTA, with more vehicles, more weapons, and way more customization. You can create your own character. Much better.
Despite being an obvious Grand Theft Auto rip-off, it does its unintentional job very well.
What an amazing and pretty extreme sandbox this is. A really nice improvement from what FC3 was. I really praise the wide map, the brutality and sadism they added in comparison with the previous titles, the tons of main missions as well as lots of side quests to do, and the story, which is pretty decent with a charismatic and very memorable villain too.
A 10/10 in my opinion, this one should be placed in at least the top 3.
Most fun to explore from this list.
The first BIG open-world game. If this didn't get big, you wouldn't even have the other Grand Theft Auto games.
Great game, no glitches, and travel beyond anything you would imagine!
