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25 Breathtaking Games Like Valheim in 2024
March 27th, 2024 - By Gavin Machetes

Countless similar games are ready to captivate you further if Valheim has caught your interest.

If you're looking for an immersive multiplayer sandbox experience, Valheim is the game for you. Published by Coffee Stain Publishing and developed by Iron Gate Studio, Valheim has quickly ascended the ranks to become one of the most popular survival games since its release in 2021. The game transports players to a procedurally generated realm rooted in Viking lore, where they must hunt, gather resources, build, and defend their settlements from mythical beasts and creatures. Its multiplayer feature allows you to either cooperate or compete with friends, which makes for a dynamic gaming experience. What sets Valheim apart from the onslaught of survival games is its unique progression system where defeating bosses unlocks new crafting recipes and better equipment, thereby giving players a consistent sense of purpose and progression.

Valheim seamlessly marries the survival genre with elements of RPG and base-building games, resulting in a refreshingly unique gaming experience. If you are fascinated by Valheim's blend of survival mechanics and Viking-inspired mythology, there are numerous similar games across various platforms you might enjoy. Some of these games offer an equal degree of adventure and danger, while others place a greater emphasis on creativity and exploration. Whether you prefer base-building in hostile environments, fighting mythical creatures, or teaming up with your friends to make joint survival more manageable...


25. Minecraft

Both Minecraft and Valheim offer an open-world environment shrouded in endless discoveries and opportunities. Just like Valheim, Minecraft allows you to explore a procedurally generated world, where each map created is unique to your gaming experience. The two games also share the similarity of crafting, as you're required to gather resources to build or upgrade your equipment and fortify your base, ensuring your survival against antagonistic creatures.

Minecraft also places importance on survival just as Valheim does. In both games, you are dropped into an unfamiliar world with minimal resources and you must hustle to ensure your survival. Fend off against enemies, keep yourself fed, and maintain your shelter. The creativity doesn't end there, Minecraft has a continually expanding universe where you can create your own mini-games, dungeons, and contraptions using an assortment of in-game resources. If you admire Valheim's co-op gameplay, you'll love Minecraft's multiplayer mode which allows you to build and explore alongside your friends!

Minecraft is available on a variety of platforms including PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and even mobile devices, typically priced around $20 USD.

24. Rust

Just like Valheim, Rust is an open-world survival game that strongly emphasizes craftwork and resource management to ensure survival. Both games throw you in a harsh and unforgiving environment with nothing but your bare hands and it's up to you to gather resources, build shelter, craft tools, and survive against the hazards of the wild. Just like in Valheim, Rust's world is filled with dangerous wildlife and can host multiple players online. This means that players can potentially fight each other for resources, or team up and build structures together, giving Rust a strong sense of community much like Valheim's.

In terms of visual design, Rust embraces more of a post-apocalyptic feel compared with Valheim's Norse mythology theme. However, both being sandbox games, they share the same core mechanics allowing you to modify the terrain and build complex structures. Whether you want to build your dream house or a fortress to survive against dangerous enemies, you can do it. Epic battles with AI enemies in Rust are just as thrilling as those classic Viking raids in Valheim. Also, both games have a deep level of immersion that makes every action feel vital for survival, whether it's hunting, fishing or constructing.

Rust is available on Windows, MacOS, Linux, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, typically priced around $40 USD.

23. Terraria

Like Valheim, Terraria is a sandbox-style survival game incorporating both exploration and crafting elements. The striking aspects of Terraria gameplay are its open-world environment and the freedom granted to players to build, mine, and combat in a 2D action-packed universe. Just as in Valheim, this game will take you on an enticing adventure, engaging you with an array of weapons, creatures, and materials. The terrains are user-generated, offering a distinct variety and customization feature that is very similar to the imaginative and creative vibe present in Valheim.

Another stand-out feature that draws a parallel between Terraria and Valheim is the multiplayer aspect. The distinct co-op mode in Terraria lets you join your friends, where you can build fantastic settlements or fight off enemies together, which is very akin to the sense of community and teamwork you experience in Valheim. The progression in Terraria, much like Valheim, depends greatly on the crafting system, which requires players to gather resources, enhance their equipment, and upgrade their survivability. There's a similar thrill in combat, requiring strategic efficiency to defeat a whole host of bizarre enemies and mighty bosses.

Terraria is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $10 USD.

22. Subnautica

Subnautica, like Valheim, is a fascinating game focusing on crafting, exploration, and survival, but takes a unique twist by going underwater instead of on land. Similar to Valheim, Subnautica throws you into an alien, dangerous, yet unexplored world where the only way to survive is by gathering resources, crafting tools, and creating shelters. The building system in Subnautica is very similar to that of Valheim, with the player having to construct bases, both for shelter and for resource processing, which by default elevates the survival experience in both games. Just like Valheim, Subnautica also encourages players to venture deeper into the game world by immersing them in a thrilling storyline.

Valheim is renowned for its difficulty, exploration and combat systems, and Subnautica doesn't shy away from these elements either. Both games have amazing atmospheric environments that stir a sense of mystery and wonder while exploring, with an inherent element of risk and reward attached. Subnautica's combat system is more about outwitting your underwater foes through speed and stealth, instead of direct confrontation resulting in a unique, challenging combat experience. Just like Valheim, unveiling the mysteries of Subnautica's alien world also demands good survival and combat skills, making it a similarly intriguing survival game.

Subnautica is available on platforms such as PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $29.99 USD.

21. The Forest

If you're a fan of Valheim, then you'll definitely want to check out The Forest. Much like Valheim, The Forest is a survival game set in a massive, open-world wilderness environment. This is not just about pure survival; crafting, building, and exploration are key components here. Reminiscent of Valheim's Viking-infused fantasy world, The Forest occurs in a dense jungle filled with cannibalistic mutants after your plane crashes. The game is famed for its intricate crafting system and intense combat mechanics, which should instantly resonate with Valheim fans, except that instead of Norse mythology, The Forest fills its world with heart-thumping suspense.

On top of this, The Forest also introduces an engaging storyline, something that Valheim players might find appealing. While you'll still be focusing on gathering resources, constructing shelters, and fighting off threats, you'll additionally be on the hunt to find and rescue your kidnapped son from the mutants. This parent-child narrative adds a layer of depth rarely seen in survival games. Plus, the game also supports cooperative multiplayer, so you can have your friends join you in battling foes and building expansive structures, just like in Valheim.

The Forest is available on PlayStation 4 and Windows (via Steam), typically priced around $20 USD.

20. Don't Starve

Don't Starve shares quite a lot with Valheim in terms of gameplay and themes. Both games revolve around the concept of survival in a harsh, unforgiving world. You need to gather resources, craft items, and build structures to survive, much like in Valheim. The aesthetics are different, with Don't Starve employing a quirky Tim Burton-esque art style, but the overall feel of living on the edge of survival is very similar. There's also the element of exploration, where you navigate through different biomes, each with its own unique environment and set of challenges, which is something you'll recognize from your time in Valheim.

The enemy system in Don't Starve also has a Valheim vibe. Enemies are diverse, with various behavioural traits and attack patterns. You'll face all sorts of horrific creatures, navigating your way around their territories or learning strategies to take them down. In both games, bosses are key aspects of game progression and offer valuable loot. The world of Don't Starve is also procedurally generated, giving you a fresh experience with every new game, much like the varied worlds of Valheim. The multiplayer aspect of Don't Starve Together mimics the cooperative play of Valheim, inviting you to cooperate with friends to survive in an uncanny, treacherous world.

Don't Starve is available on multiple platforms including Windows, MacOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $10 USD.

19. Ark: Survival Evolved

In drawing parallels between Ark: Survival Evolved and Valheim, both games share a strong focus on survival and base-building mechanics. You're both tossed into a vast, lush, unforgiving world, where you're expected to forge a life for yourself starting with nothing but your bare hands. Much like in Valheim, Ark requires you to gather resources, craft rudimentary tools, build structures, and fend off aggressive AI-controlled creatures. However, Ark adds a unique twist, as you're pitted against prehistoric animals, such as dinosaurs and mammoths showcasing an engaging interaction between the world's inhabitants, adding a dynamic layer to gameplay.

Ark and Valheim also feature multiplayer functionality offering a shared experience with friends and fellow gamers. Their procedurally generated worlds lend to the replayability factor, ensuring a fresh experience with each playthrough. And just like in Valheim where you progress by defeating bosses, Ark features its boss creatures challenging you to engage in major battles. In terms of broadening your game-play, Ark's creative approach provides a more expansive technology tree, which not only includes basic survival equipment but escalates to high tech gear, thereby simulating a progression from primitive survival to advanced, futurist civilization. So, if you enjoyed the deep levels of survival mechanics and world exploration in Valheim, chances are Ark: Survival Evolved would be another experience you'd appreciate.

Ark: Survival Evolved is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux, typically priced around $30 USD.

18. Conan Exiles

Conan Exiles, much like Valheim, offers a dynamic survival experience that will keep players on their toes. Both games are set within vast open-world environments filled with a plethora of resources ripe for picking and dangerous creatures lurking around. The crafting systems are quite intricate requiring players to think and plan for their survival needs, from creating weapons to erecting vast settlements, adding to the in-depth immersive gameplay. The world in both games responds to the actions of the players, lending a sense of accomplishment and progress as you transform hostile territories into safe havens.

The online multiplayer of Conan Exiles mirrors Valheim, where you can choose to go on these grand adventures with other players or face the winds of the wilderness alone. The stakes are always high and decision-making carries weight. The combat system, though action-oriented in both games, takes a more brutal, visceral turn in Conan Exiles, incorporating elements of close combat, archery and gritty finishers to fend off unique creatures and human enemies alike. The gods in Valheim might have tested your mettle, now await the harsh trials of the God of War in Conan the Barbarian's world.

Conan Exiles is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows, typically priced around $39.99 USD.

17. Stranded Deep

If you loved the survival and crafting aspects of Valheim, Stranded Deep is another game you might enjoy. Like Valheim, Stranded Deep marries survival elements such as crafting, building, and fighting with a captivating environment. You start off in a plane crash alone in the Pacific Ocean and must brave the harsh elements to survive, which emulates the escape dynamic of Valheim. Navigating the open world on your raft, exploring islands, and surviving oceanic threats, create a dynamic gaming experience that truly compliments Valheim.

The crafting system in Stranded Deep is like that of Valheim. You have to rummage through the islands and the ocean floor to find resources which you can use to craft tools, create shelter, and invent contraptions to help you survive on the islands. You also have to deal with various threats such as sharks, snakes, and wild boars, similar to the enemies you faced in Valheim. The game’s graphics are stunning, transporting you to a realistically beautiful but challenging isolated environment reminiscent of Valheim's beautiful and immersive landscapes.

Stranded Deep is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $20 USD.

16. 7 Days to Die

7 Days to Die is a game that shares a number of interesting similarities with Valheim, integrating the same open-world survival and crafting principles that you so thoroughly enjoyed in the Viking-themed adventure. Like Valheim, 7 Days to Die provides a large, fully destructible environment where you are required to build, defend and renovate your shelter using the crafting system, often influenced by environmental factors and threats. What's more, the randomly generated world enhances the game's replayability and the wildlife and zombie forces add a compelling threat to your survival journey, akin to the enemies you come across in Valheim.

Aside from the survival and building elements, 7 Days to Die also brings an RPG style character development which was also present in Valheim. You'll be developing skills, honing them based on your playstyle, which will contribute to your survival and the rebuilding of ruined cities. Also, with a night and day cycle and the added element of stealth, a feature reminiscent of the caution you would have needed to exercise while exploring hostile territories in Valheim, this game will surely rekindle that thrilling adrenaline rush you seek.

7 Days to Die is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $24.99 USD.

15. Unturned

Unturned is a lot like Valheim in the sense that it offers an expansive crafting and building system that thrives on creative input. Just like in Valheim, you will need to gather resources to craft and construct your tools, weapons, and structures to protect yourself and your loot. The difference lies in the setting, as Unturned is set in a post-apocalyptic world infested with zombies. It adds the thrill of survival horde mode to the sandbox building genre that you love in Valheim, creating a unique blend.

Combat in Unturned is also similar to Valheim. You can use all kinds of weapons to defend yourself against the dangers of the world, including melee weapons, ranged weapons, and other improvised tools. If you loved the tense combat situations in Valheim, the suspense of engaging zombies in Unturned will definitely keep you on your toes. Plus, you can tackle the game solo or work together with friends in a multiplayer cooperative mode, just like in Valheim.

Unturned is available on the platforms PC, PS4, and Xbox One, typically priced around $0 USD since it's free to play. However, if you want additional features and perks, there's an affordable upgrade to the Gold version that's priced around $5 USD.

14. Raft

Similar to Valheim, Raft is a survival-based game that provides an immersive and challenging gameplay experience. At its core, it revolves around collecting resources, building structures, and defending against threats, giving you a very Valheim-esque vibe but with its own unique twist - the open ocean. As the player, you start on a single raft with a hook to catch debris drifting in the ocean, this being akin to scavenging in Valheim. Over time, this small raft can grow into a large floating stronghold, with farming areas, living quarters, cooking areas, and more. This seemingly never-ending progression will constantly keep you engaged, just like in Valheim.

Moreover, Raft also shares the exploration and adventure aspects that made Valheim so captivating. You are stuck in the middle of the vast ocean with nothing but your raft, giving rise to a sense of isolation yet freedom which is akin to the feeling of venturing into unknown territories in Valheim. The game also introduces dangerous sea predators, which adds an extra layer of tension to your survival tactics. Similar to Valheim's creatures, these predators become a threat you need to manage, adding to the thrill of the gameplay. In terms of crafting mechanics, the incremental approach of upgrading tools and expanding your raft carries a similar satisfaction to that of enhancing your Viking stronghold in Valheim.

Raft is available on Windows, typically priced around $20 USD.

13. Astroneer

Astroneer and Valheim share a common feature that seems to be a selling point for most players looking for a unique gaming experience: an open-world sandbox environment. Both games let you explore vast landscapes, collect resources and build structures. Valheim takes you through the foresty wilderness of Norse mythology while Astroneer takes it up a notch by letting you explore and terraform whole planets. In this aspect, they're similar because they both employ enormous and immersive environments that challenge your survival and building skills in the most thrilling way.

Another shared feature between Astroneer and Valheim is the thrill of danger and adventure they offer. Just as Valheim pits you against mythical creatures and allows you to summon Gods, Astroneer is full of alien life forms and treacherous terrains that add a layer of suspense to your interplanetary explorations. Both games also feature a cooperative multiplayer system, meaning you can team up with your friends to build, craft, explore, and fight together. They both feel survival-focused but also offer a sense of creative freedom and cooperation that adds depth to the gameplay.

Astroneer is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam, typically priced around $30 USD.

12. Empyrion - Galactic Survival

If you loved Valheim, Empyrion - Galactic Survival is another excellent survival craft game you might enjoy. Both games offer a rich, immersive world with resource gathering, crafting, and base building elements. Empyrion takes the experience one-upper by venturing into the galaxies. You move from surviving and shaping your environment on a single planet to exploring different planets in outer space, each with its own unique flora, fauna and challenging environmental conditions. Just like in Valheim, Empyrion allows you to interact with the virtual environment - you can shape the terrain, build structures, farm produces, and face threats from space creatures and hostile factions.

Like Valheim, Empyrion - Galactic Survival does an excellent job of mixing survival elements with engaging combat. Empyrion’s combat, however, also expands to space-based encounters with frenzied dogfights against alien space fleets. You can craft powerful spacecrafts, ground vehicles and even hover vessels for your defense and ventures. The game also features a multiplayer mode which allows players to team up to conquer the challenges or engage in player vs player battles. Both Valheim and Empyrion will keep you engaged for hours, with their extensive crafting systems, diverse biomes to explore and complex, entertaining gameplay.

Empyrion - Galactic Survival is available on PC (Steam), typically priced around $20 USD.

11. No Man's Sky

No Man's Sky and Valheim, though vastly different in their setting and visuals, share quite similar gameplay mechanics, making the former a great option if you enjoyed playing the latter. For one, both games revolve heavily around exploration, which is driven by procedurally generated worlds, making each gameplay unique with limitless places to discover. Like Valheim, No Man's Sky has a crafting system at its core and survival elements, where you collect various resources to craft and upgrade your equipment, build structures, and survive in the face of adversities, including inhospitable environmental conditions and alien creatures.

Another commonality is the overall sandbox element - both games offer incredible freedom and non-linearity, giving you the complete autonomy to decide what you want to do, be it voyaging across the galaxies in No Man's Sky or fighting mythical beasts in Valheim. If you found satisfaction in Valheim's challenging boss fights, you would not be disappointed by the space and ground combat encounters in No Man's Sky. Lastly, both games offer multiplayer functionality which means you can undertake these adventurous expeditions with your friends, adding an extra layer of fun and camaraderie to your gaming experience.

No Man's Sky is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC, typically priced around $60 USD.

10. DayZ

In a similar vein to the reputable Viking survival experience that Valheim offers, DayZ provides an intricate yet immersive predicament of survival and exploration, offering a broad spectrum of deeply engaging gameplay elements. The core survival aspect of DayZ exhibits striking similarities to Valheim, tasking players with managing thirst, hunger, disease, injury, and exposure, while naivigating through a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world. Moreover, as in Valheim, the challenge in DayZ extends beyond survival, pushing players to explore a vast map, discover game-changing resources, scavenge for critical items, build bases and engage in gripping PvP or PvE combat.

The building mechanics in DayZ also resonate well with Valheim enthusiasts. The game encourages players to construct fortresses or sort of settlements in order to secure resources and create a safe haven from the dangerous world outside. DayZ also echoes the importance of teamwork seen in Valheim. Players are encouraged to band together to defend their bases, share resources and tackle adversaries more effectively, while also dealing with potential player-induced threats, thereby closely mirroring the community gaming aspect prevalent in Valheim. The open-world environment in DayZ is filled with lush landscapes, derelict structures, and hauntingly deserted towns, very much a post-apocalyptic parallel to the mythical environment that Valheim boasts.

DayZ is available on multiple platforms including PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, typically priced around $45 USD.

9. Green Hell

Just like Valheim, Green Hell is an open world survival game that challenges players to survive in a harsh and unforgiving environment. In Green Hell you're dropped into the dense, uncaring Amazon Rainforest with nothing but a radio, and must learn to survive and navigate the dense undergrowth and wildlife. The mechanics of gathering resources, crafting and building are very similar to those in Valheim, with a realistic approach to survival. You have to manage physical health, sanity, nutrition and even worm infections. Although it is presented from a first-person perspective, it shares the same fundamental focus on crafting, base building, and resource management as Valheim. Plus, the environment of Green Hell is responsive to your actions, reacting vividly and dynamically as you interact with it.

Green Hell also offers a similar exploration and adventure experience as Valheim, fused with survival elements. It boasts a dense, richly detailed and interactive open world that demands exploration and offers danger and surprises like Valheim, but in a real-world setting of the Amazon jungle. Green hell offers a Story Mode, which packs an emotional punch and leaves you with thoughtful, thematic resonances much like Valheim's runestone lore and mythical Norse world. Additionally, Green Hell comes with an engaging multiplayer mode, where you can work with others to survive the jungle's many hazards. Just as it is in Valheim, teamwork here can be crucial to survive.

Green Hell is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, typically priced around $24.99 USD.

8. Scum

Scum, like Valheim, is a sandbox survival game with an open-world experience. Both games revolve around the same theme - survival in a hostile environment. Just as you have to hunt and gather resources for sustenance in Valheim, Scum also requires you to find food, hunt for materials, and construct shelters. The open-world experience in both games is highly interactive and immersive with AI-driven enemies to keep you on your toes. The crafting system in Scum is similar to the one you enjoyed in Valheim, allowing you to craft necessary tools and weapons from the resources you gather.

Another striking similarity between Scum and Valheim is the emphasis on character development and skills. In Valheim, your abilities improve as you keep using them, and Scum follows a similar tiered-progress system. Scum's unique 'Metabolism System' that tracks your character's physical well-being would be an exciting new feature if you enjoyed Valheim's stamina and health mechanic. Both games have their flavor of combat dynamics with Valheim focusing on a more medieval fantasy style while Scum offers a more realistic, almost military-style experience. Online multiplayer adds to the fun in both games, making your survival experience even more collaborative and enjoyable.

Scum is available on PC, typically priced around $29.99 USD.

7. Forest Village: Life is Feudal

Forest Village: Life is Feudal shares many key elements with Valheim that you'd definitely appreciate. Both games tap into the survival genre and offer impressive sandbox mechanics, allowing you to explore, craft, build, and engage in various activities within a wide-open world. You'll love the realistic dynamics of Forest Village, mirrored to some extent in Valheim, with a strong sense of freedom and choice given in resource management, farming, hunting, and construction. The game's terraforming feature lets you modify the landscape to your liking quite similar to what's offered in Valheim. Both games maintain a richly detailed world teeming with depth and strategy, offering you an immersive experience.

The layers of realism and depth in Forest Village also parallel the complexities of Valheim's environment and mechanics. The game involves seasons and weather effects, which impact the villagers’ health and productivity, comparable to Valheim's biome-specific challenges. Every villager in Forest Village has their own set of skills and can learn and improve, just like in Valheim. The hunting, fishing, and farming mechanics also resonate between the two games. Furthermore, similar to Valheim's combat and enemy mechanics, Forest Village offers you challenges via natural disasters, animal attacks, and diseases, keeping the gameplay engaging and unpredictable.

Forest Village: Life is Feudal is available on Steam, typically priced around $25 USD.

6. Surviving the Aftermath

One of the key aspects that makes Surviving the Aftermath comparable to Valheim is the focus on survival strategies. Just like Valheim, Surviving the Aftermath places you in a dynamic, challenging environment where resource management and crafting are essential for staying alive. You'll have to gather resources like food, build sustainable shelters, respond to unexpected events, and interact with other survivors. Plus, this game emphasizes the aspect of rebuilding society after a cataclysmic event, and your choices are critical to the way your game evolves, providing a depth of strategy comparable to what you would've experienced in the Viking-themed world of Valheim.

Another parallel between the two games is their thrilling exploration elements. Surviving the Aftermath invites you to explore the vast, procedurally generated world outside your colony, much like Valheim's dense forests and vast oceans. The experiences you'll encounter and the secrets you'll unearth in this post-apocalyptic world will bring back the excitement you felt when discovering hidden crypts or stumbling upon a troll cave in Valheim. Moreover, with its flexible tech tree, the game also allows for a high degree of player autonomy, much as Valheim does with its skill leveling and building system.

Surviving the Aftermath is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $29.99 USD.

5. Miscreated

If you enjoyed the survival mechanics, crafting, and base-building elements in Valheim, you will definitely enjoy Miscreated. Miscreated is a multiplayer online hardcore survival game set in a post-apocalyptic future where you need to survive against nature, the creatures it has created, and other survivors. Just like in Valheim, you will need to explore a stunningly beautiful world (in this case a realistically rendered post-apocalyptic landscape) and collect resources to craft weapons, gear, and structures. Team up with other players, or go it alone. The world is unpredictable and full of danger, with dynamic weather and radiation zones adding more threats to your survival, making the experience quite engaging.

Besides the survival aspect, Miscreated also shares Valheim's feature of offering great freedom to the players to mold the game's environment. Players can construct and design their own unique bases, and fortify them to protect against the onslaught of threats. The game also offers intense player-versus-player combat which could definitely amp up the adrenaline. For those fond of Valheim's creature encounters, Miscreated hosts a variety of hostile mutants and wildlife keeping the gameplay experience excitingly unpredictable.

Miscreated is available on platforms such as Steam, typically priced around $20 USD.

4. Space Engineers

When it comes down to the core mechanics of gameplay, Space Engineers is quite similar to Valheim. Both are sandbox survival games where the world is your canvas. In both games, you gather resources, build your structures, and survive against the challenges the environment throws at you. In Space Engineers, instead of venturing through a mythical norse world, you are an astronaut in space. Just like in Valheim, the environment can be both an ally and an enemy, and how creatively you use it to your advantage defines your gameplay experience. The thrill of exploration, the joy of construction, and the sense of accomplishment after overcoming survival challenges, it's all there in Space Engineers, same as in Valheim.

Valheim might have got you hooked with its deep crafting system, and you can expect the same from Space Engineers. The array of things you can construct, from simple tools to complex machines and space station elements, is vast. Moreover, the physics in the game is much more realistic. Build a space vessel with imbalanced thrusters and it will start to spin uncontrollably just like you'd expect. But once you master it, you can build functional, efficient and even beautiful marvels of space engineering. There are no enemy hordes to fight off like in Valheim, but the challenges Space Engineers present are no less thrilling.

Space Engineers is available on Xbox and PC, typically priced around $20 USD.

3. The Long Dark

Both The Long Dark and Valheim revolve around survival mechanics, so if you found Valheim captivating, you would certainly be intrigued by The Long Dark. In terms of harsh elements and unforgiving terrains, The Long Dark stands toe-to-toe with Valheim, with players needing to combat not only the cold, but also crippling hunger and thirst. What's more, the game's storyline and survival mode force players into relying exclusively on scavenged resources rather than crafting their own, a challenge akin to Valheim's crafting and raiding mechanics.

The gaming environments of both Valheim and The Long Dark also share striking similarities. While Valheim's breathtaking world dominated by Norse mythology offers a blend of magical and natural elements, The Long Dark's post-apocalyptic Canadian wilderness delivers a chilling, highly atmospheric experience. What truly sets The Long Dark apart, however, is its exploration-based gameplay. You're set loose in a largely uncharted world with plenty of hidden nooks and crannies to uncover. If you loved the exploration aspect of Valheim, you'll find plenty of that in The Long Dark, along with a brilliant sandbox style experience.

The Long Dark is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, typically priced around $29.99 USD.

2. Medieval Dynasty

If you enjoyed the survival and building aspects of Valheim, then Medieval Dynasty is sure to pique your interest. Just like Valheim, you're placed in a beautiful, immersive open world where survival is all about gathering resources, crafting, and building structures. The core gameplay mechanic is strikingly similar, involving activities like hunting for food, farming, weapon crafting, and house building. Both games successfully require you to balance the basic needs of survival with the ultimate goal of thriving in a wild, unforgiving landscape.

Another familiar element in Medieval Dynasty is the RPG features reminiscent of Valheim - there are skill progression systems allowing you to become more efficient in various activities as you progress. Additionally, you also build a community in Medieval Dynasty, which adds another layer of depth to the game's survival and progression mechanics. You start as a lone survivor, but as you establish your foundation, you can attract NPCs to your settlement and expand it into a thriving village. This gives a similar sense of progression as gliding through the tech tree in Valheim, evoking that satisfying feeling of watching your hard work come to life.

Medieval Dynasty is available on PC via Steam, typically priced around $25 USD.

1. Project Zomboid

Just like Valheim, Project Zomboid immerses you in an open-world survival game where character resilience stands as the core of gameplay. Both games incorporate a challenging real-time mechanics system rooted in human endurance, where your survival depends on your ability to feed, heal, and protect yourself from a hostile environment. Whether it's building formidable bases, acquiring resources, or combating threats, these games will test and entertain you in equal measure. From challenging your architectural prowess to testing your strategy-building skills, both games promote the idea of building communities that shelter and protect you from the outside world.

Project Zomboid and Valheim share deep, rich crafting and building systems that put you in control. These unique systems allow you to use the materials you gather from the environment to create everything from basic tools to intricate fortresses. The day-and-night cycle of both games ramps up the tension and increases the stakes of survival too, making for an exciting, nerve-racking gameplay experience. Just like Valheim, Project Zomboid is packed with action and suspense, underpinned by its impressive visual storytelling. The games are equally rich in gameplay diversity; in one moment you might be fishing for food or farming, while in the next you are bracing for an epic creature's attack.

Project Zomboid is available on Windows, MacOS, and Linux platforms and is typically priced around $14.99 USD.

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