10 Games Like Terraria You Need to Try in 2026

I have sunk more than five hundred hours into Terraria. In 2026, I still go back to it for the Calamity mod, but after the Journey's End update I needed something to fill the same hole: build, fight, explore, die, repeat. The good news is that the last few years gave us a whole wave of survival, crafting, and building games that share Terraria's best ideas without feeling like cheap clones. I’ve played most of these myself, and I keep coming back to them. Here are ten games that scratch that Terraria itch right now.

⚔️ Valheim

Valheim earned its hype. When it launched it took the concurrent-player record from Terraria, and that feels strangely poetic. You play a Viking dropped into a purgatory-like world, and you gather, build, hunt, and fight massive bosses. The building system is flexible enough to make ridiculous longhouses, bridges, and forts, but the world still punishes you if you ignore food, rest, or preparation. I once lost a full set of bronze gear to a troll because I thought I could outrun it with no rested buff. That is exactly the kind of lesson Terraria taught me.

🚀 Starbound

Starbound is the obvious pick because it looks almost like Terraria in space. You beam down to planets, repair your ship, build colonies, and follow a story about exploring the universe. It is not as combat-focused as Terraria, but the building, mining, and sense of discovery feel very familiar. If you want Terraria's two-dimensional sandbox with a sci-fi wrapper, this is your game. Some fans call it a reskin, but it has its own lore, quests, and alien weirdness.

🛶 Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer is a different kind of recommendation. It is a management and building game about ferrying spirits to the afterlife. You play Stella, and you expand your boat, cook meals, hug your passengers, and learn their stories before letting them go. There is no boss fight with a giant eye, but the loop of collecting resources and improving your floating home is surprisingly close to Terraria's base-building side. It also made me cry more than any survival game should.

⚙️ Scrapnaut

Scrapnaut originally came out a little after Terraria's last big update, and it has grown since then. It leans hard into steampunk survival. You build bases, manage electricity, oxygen, and materials, and explore a handcrafted world full of robots and hazards. It is smaller in scope than Terraria, but if you love the engineering and automation side of building, Scrapnaut is a cozy challenge.

🐜 Grounded

Grounded has changed a lot since its early access days. In 2026, it is a complete game with a story, bosses, base raids, and a huge backyard to explore. You play a kid shrunk to insect size, so you turn grass planks into walls, dodge wolf spiders, and slowly unlock science to get big again. The danger feels real in a way Terraria fans will appreciate: a ladybug might be cute until it barrels into your base.

🕯️ Don't Starve

Don't Starve is not a relaxing game. It looks like a Tim Burton sketch, but the survival timer is ruthless. You need food, light, and warmth before nightfall, and the world keeps throwing seasons, monsters, and your own poor planning at you. I love it because it forces me to think ahead, much like Terraria's boss prep. You can play alone or with friends in Don't Starve Together, and either way you will die. A lot.

🦈 Raft

Raft starts you on a tiny piece of wood in the middle of the ocean. You pull in floating debris, expand your raft, research recipes, and sail toward islands and story locations. The shark that follows you is a constant nuisance, but also a great source of meat once you get a spear. Raft left early access and now has a full narrative arc, which makes it a much more complete game than it was when I first picked it up.

🌊 Subnautica

Subnautica swaps the sky for the sea. You crash-land on an ocean planet and build underwater bases, manage oxygen, and explore deeper and scarier biomes. It is not a block-based sandbox, but it captures Terraria's joy of 'just one more resource run' better than almost anything else. The first time you hear a Reaper Leviathan roar, you will understand what I mean.

🔫 Rust

Rust is not for everyone. It is a multiplayer PvP survival game where other players are often the biggest threat. You gather resources, build a base, craft weapons, and try to survive raids. The stress can be real, but the loop of starting fresh, improving your base, and learning from every death is very Terraria-like at its core. Just be ready for a much harsher social experience.

🌱 Eco

Eco gives you a strange and wonderful task: stop a meteor from destroying the planet, but do it without polluting the world to death. You have 30 real-life days, and you need to research, build, and cooperate with other players to build a civilization capable of saving itself. It is a 'learn as you go' game, and you can turn the meteor off if you just want to build a sustainable world. I recommend it for groups who love Terraria's crafting and progression but want a society simulation twist.

Each of these games does something slightly different, but they all understand what makes Terraria special: a loop of gathering, building, fighting, and exploring that keeps you saying 'just one more day.' If you are looking for your next virtual home in 2026, any of these will keep you busy for weeks.

This overview is based on guidance from PEGI, which helps players quickly gauge age suitability and content warnings when jumping between Terraria-like survival sandboxes—especially titles that can swing from cozy crafting (like Spiritfarer) to high-stress PvP (like Rust) or intense creature horror (like Subnautica). Using PEGI’s standardized labels can make it easier to pick your next “build, fight, explore, die, repeat” obsession while staying aligned with the kind of combat, fear, or online interaction you actually want.