12 Games Like Palworld for 2026 (Creature Collecting, Survival, Crafting)

Palworld works because it fuses three genres that usually live apart. It is a creature collector where you catch and breed Pals, an open-world survival game where you gather, craft, and build a base, and an automation game where those captured creatures become your workforce. Each system feeds the others, so a rare Pal is both a battle partner and a better factory worker.

The hook is that nothing is wasted. The creature you catch can fight beside you, haul ore, run a furnace, or get assigned to your next base. Progression pulls you forward on multiple tracks at once: a new tech unlock, a stronger Pal, a bigger base, a deeper biome. Here are 12 games that capture different parts of that mix, organized by what you loved most about it.

If You Love the Survival and Base Building

These games nail the gather, craft, build, and tame loop that gives Palworld its open-world backbone.

Craftopia

Made by Pocketpair, the same studio behind Palworld, so the shared DNA is obvious. It is a multiplayer survival action game that blends hunting, farming, hack-and-slash combat, building, and factory automation in one open world.

Why Palworld fans will like it: Many of Palworld's ideas were prototyped here first, including the automation systems and the genre-blending sprawl. You can build factories, explore dungeons, fish, and farm with friends, and the sheer number of overlapping systems mirrors Palworld's everything-at-once design. It is rougher and less focused than Palworld, but it is the closest look at the studio's creative roots.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC
• Vibe: Pocketpair's genre-blending survival automation sandbox
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$25

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ARK: Survival Ascended

The Unreal Engine 5 rebuild of the survival game that arguably defined creature-taming open worlds. You wake up on a hostile island and must tame, train, breed, and ride dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures to survive.

Why Palworld fans will like it: Taming is the heart of both games. In ARK, captured creatures carry resources, fight in your tribe's wars, and let you reach areas you could not otherwise survive, much like assigning Pals to jobs. The survival systems are deeper and more punishing than Palworld's, the creature roster is enormous, and large servers turn it into a sprawling cooperative or competitive experience.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
• Vibe: Deep dinosaur taming and survival on a brutal island
• Co-op: Yes, online (private sessions up to 8, large public servers)
• Price: ~$45

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Smalland: Survive the Wilds

A survival crafting game that shrinks you to insect size in a vast, dangerous garden. You craft weapons and armor, build encampments in the treetops, and tame and ride creatures to cross the oversized world.

Why Palworld fans will like it: It hits the same taming-plus-building loop, with mounts that double as transport and combat partners. The change of scale makes familiar survival systems feel fresh, since an ordinary bug is now a serious threat or a potential ride. It supports a sizable co-op group, so building a treetop base together has the same collaborative appeal as setting up a Palworld settlement.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2
• Vibe: Insect-scale survival with creature taming and treetop bases
• Co-op: Yes, up to 10 players
• Price: ~$30

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Valheim

A brutal Viking survival game for up to 10 players set in a procedurally generated purgatory. You gather materials, craft gear and ships, build longhouses, and take down massive bosses that gate your progress.

Why Palworld fans will like it: It does not have creature collecting, but it nails the survival, crafting, and base-building half of Palworld with some of the best building tools in the genre. The boss-gated progression gives each session a clear goal, and the moody co-op exploration with a few friends is deeply satisfying. If the survival craft loop is what hooked you, Valheim is one of the strongest options available.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC
• Vibe: Atmospheric Viking survival with excellent building and bosses
• Co-op: Yes, 1 to 10 players
• Price: ~$20

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Enshrouded

A co-op survival action RPG for up to 16 players. You explore a vast world choked by a corrupting fog, defeat bosses, dig and reshape the terrain, and build elaborate halls as you reclaim a fallen kingdom.

Why Palworld fans will like it: It pairs survival crafting with a more combat-forward, RPG-flavored progression than most of its peers. The voxel-based building lets you carve and construct freely, scratching the same base-building itch as Palworld, and the large co-op cap means big group projects are on the table. It is a good pick if you wanted Palworld's building and exploration with sharper action RPG combat.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC
• Vibe: Survival action RPG with deep voxel building
• Co-op: Yes, up to 16 players
• Price: ~$30

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Nightingale

An open-world survival crafting game set across the mysterious Fae Realms of a gaslamp fantasy world. As a Realmwalker, you fight monstrous enemies, survive hostile biomes, and build elaborate estates while traveling between realms through magic portals.

Why Palworld fans will like it: It shares the survival, crafting, and ambitious base-building core, with a distinctive Victorian fantasy aesthetic that sets it apart visually. The realm-card system that lets you choose where you travel next gives exploration a unique flavor. It plays solo or with up to six players in co-op, so it scales well for a small group that wants survival craft with a stranger, more magical setting.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC
• Vibe: Gaslamp fantasy survival crafting across the Fae Realms
• Co-op: Yes, up to 6 players
• Price: ~$30

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If You Love the Creature Collecting

These games put catching, raising, and battling creatures at the center, like the Pal side of Palworld.

Cassette Beasts

An open-world RPG where you collect monsters by recording them onto cassette tapes, then fuse any two forms together to create powerful new ones. Battles are turn-based, and the fusion system is the standout mechanic.

Why Palworld fans will like it: If the creature-collecting and creative team-building of Palworld is what you loved, Cassette Beasts goes deep on it. The fusion system rewards experimentation the way breeding Pals does, and the open world is full of secrets to uncover. It supports local and online multiplayer, so you can explore, trade tapes, and battle alongside a friend.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox
• Vibe: Monster collecting with a deep fusion system
• Co-op: Yes, local and online
• Price: ~$20

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Temtem

An online creature-collection adventure with an MMO structure. You tame creatures called Temtem across a series of islands, battle other tamers, breed your favorites, and chase rare variants, with friends able to join you throughout.

Why Palworld fans will like it: It is the closest thing to a persistent, multiplayer-first creature collector. You can adventure cooperatively with a friend, fighting in dual battles and tackling content together, which fills the social niche Palworld occupies. The catching, breeding, and competitive battling systems are deep, making it a strong fit if the creature collecting is your main draw.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, Switch
• Vibe: MMO creature collector with co-op and competitive battling
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$45

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Coromon

A modern, polished take on the classic monster-taming RPG. You build a team from over 100 creatures defined by their elements, traits, and skills, and battle through a story-driven world with turn-based combat and puzzles.

Why Palworld fans will like it: It is a focused, single-player creature collector for when you want the catching-and-team-building loop without the survival overhead. The difficulty options and trait system add real depth for players who like to optimize their roster, similar to min-maxing a Pal team. The pixel art is sharp and the pacing is tight.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, Switch
• Vibe: Polished classic-style monster taming RPG
• Co-op: No
• Price: ~$20

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Monster Sanctuary

Monster taming meets metroidvania. You collect over 100 monsters in a side-scrolling pixel world, build a team for turn-based battles, and use your creatures' abilities to unlock new areas of an interconnected map.

Why Palworld fans will like it: It blends creature collecting with exploration in a way that rewards a varied roster, since different monsters grant different traversal abilities. The team-building has genuine strategic depth, with a skill tree for each creature, so optimizers will find a lot to chew on. It is a great choice if you want the collecting hook wrapped in a tight, exploration-driven structure.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
• Vibe: Creature collecting fused with metroidvania exploration
• Co-op: No
• Price: ~$20

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If You Love Hunting and Exploring a Living World

These games lean into the big-creature combat and open-world discovery that surround Palworld's core loop.

Monster Hunter Wilds

The latest entry in Capcom's flagship hunting series. You track and battle enormous monsters across a living ecosystem, then use the parts you gather to craft better weapons and armor for the next, tougher hunt.

Why Palworld fans will like it: If the combat against large creatures is what drew you to Palworld, Monster Hunter Wilds is the deepest expression of that idea. Up to four players can hunt together across platforms, and the craft-to-progress loop, where defeated monsters fuel your gear, echoes the way Palworld rewards engaging with its creatures. It is a big-budget, mechanically rich production.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
• Vibe: High-budget large-monster hunting with crossplay co-op
• Co-op: Yes, up to 4 players
• Price: ~$70

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No Man's Sky

An exploration and survival game set in an effectively infinite, procedurally generated universe. You scan and catalog creatures, mine resources, build bases, craft, and travel between planets, with years of free updates expanding the systems.

Why Palworld fans will like it: It captures the open-world discovery and base-building side of Palworld at a cosmic scale, and you can tame and ride certain creatures you find on alien worlds. Crafting, survival, and a steady drip of progression keep you moving forward, and small-group co-op lets you explore and build with friends. It is a strong pick if endless exploration is the part of Palworld you wanted more of.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
• Vibe: Infinite-universe exploration, survival, and base building
• Co-op: Yes, small-group online
• Price: ~$60

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Quick Reference: All 12 Games at a Glance

Game	Platforms	Co-op	Best For
Craftopia	PC	Yes	Pocketpair's automation sandbox
ARK: Survival Ascended	PC, PS5, Xbox	Yes	Deep dinosaur taming
Smalland	PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch 2	Yes (10p)	Insect-scale taming and building
Valheim	PC	Yes (10p)	Best building and boss fights
Enshrouded	PC	Yes (16p)	Voxel building, action RPG combat
Nightingale	PC	Yes (6p)	Gaslamp fantasy survival
Cassette Beasts	PC, Switch, Xbox	Yes	Monster fusion collecting
Temtem	PC, Switch	Yes	MMO creature collector
Coromon	PC, Switch	No	Polished classic monster taming
Monster Sanctuary	PC, Mac, Linux	No	Collecting plus metroidvania
Monster Hunter Wilds	PC, PS5, Xbox	Yes (4p)	Big-monster hunting
No Man's Sky	PC, PS, Xbox, Switch	Yes	Infinite-universe exploration

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the closest game to Palworld?

Craftopia is the most direct relative, since it comes from the same studio and prototypes many of Palworld's automation and genre-blending ideas. For the taming-and-survival side, ARK: Survival Ascended is the closest in spirit, with deep creature taming wrapped in a serious survival game.

Which of these games have creature collecting like Palworld?

Cassette Beasts, Temtem, Coromon, and Monster Sanctuary are all dedicated creature collectors. ARK, Smalland, and No Man's Sky let you tame and ride creatures within a survival framework rather than collecting a roster.

Which games have the best co-op?

Enshrouded (up to 16 players), Valheim and Smalland (up to 10), and ARK all support sizable groups for building and surviving together. Temtem and Cassette Beasts offer co-op on the creature-collector side.

Can I play these on console or Switch?

Several can. No Man's Sky has the broadest reach across PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. Cassette Beasts, Coromon, and Temtem are on Switch, and Monster Hunter Wilds is on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Craftopia, Valheim, Enshrouded, and Nightingale are PC-focused for now.

What should I play if I have never played Palworld?

Play Palworld first. It is inexpensive relative to its scope, and it is the cleanest way to understand how the creature, survival, and automation systems lock together. Once you know which pillar you love most, the taming, the building, or the exploration, use this list to find games that go deeper on that specific aspect.

Or Make Your Own

If playing these makes you want to build your own creature-and-survival game, that urge is worth chasing. The genre is made of well-understood pieces: a catching mechanic, a crafting tree, a base-building grid, and creatures that can be assigned to tasks or battles.

Summer Engine lets you build games through conversation and is compatible with Godot 4, so you can describe a creature you want to catch, a base you want to automate, or a biome you want to explore, then iterate on it together. Browse the templates to find a starting point for a survival or creature-collecting project. The most interesting games on this list all began with someone combining two genres that were not supposed to fit.