13 Games Like Valheim for 2026 (Survival, Building, Co-op)

Valheim works because every system pulls you toward the next one. You chop wood to build a shelter, the shelter keeps you safe enough to craft better gear, the better gear lets you survive a tougher biome, and the tougher biome holds the boss whose defeat unlocks the next tier of everything. It is a loop that keeps tightening, and it is best experienced with friends building the same hall and dying to the same troll.

The atmosphere is the other half of the magic. Valheim's stylized Norse world, with its procedural forests, oceans you sail across, and a soundtrack that swells when you find something new, makes exploration feel like a genuine adventure. The build-explore-fight rhythm is the template, and the best alternatives each emphasize a different beat. Here are 13 games that capture different parts of that, organized by what you loved most about Valheim.

If You Love the Build, Explore, and Fight Loop

These games nail Valheim's core rhythm of gathering, building a base, and pushing into tougher territory.

Enshrouded

A survival-action RPG where you explore a corrupted fantasy world, build elaborate bases with flexible voxel tools, and fight your way through fog-shrouded zones to reclaim the land.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It is the most direct Valheim successor. Same loop of exploring biomes, building a home, and gearing up to survive harder areas, but with deeper building (you can carve terrain and sculpt structures freely) and more RPG progression. Up to 16 players can build and fight together. If you wanted Valheim with better construction, this is it.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC
• Vibe: Valheim's loop with voxel building and RPG depth
• Co-op: Yes, up to 16 players
• Price: ~$30

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Nightingale

A survival-crafting game set in a gaslamp-fantasy multiverse. You travel between procedurally assembled realms through magical portals, building bases and gathering across wildly different biomes.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It keeps the gather-build-explore loop but adds a portal system that sends you through a shifting set of realms, each with its own resources and dangers. The Victorian-fantasy aesthetic is distinctive, and the building is robust. A good pick if you loved Valheim's exploration and want more variety in where it takes you.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC
• Vibe: Survival crafting across portal-linked fantasy realms
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$30

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Conan Exiles

An open-world survival game set in the brutal world of Conan the Barbarian. You build settlements, craft gear, capture thralls, and survive a harsh desert full of other players and monsters.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It delivers the build-and-survive loop at a larger, harsher scale, with deep base-building and a progression that runs from a naked exile to a warlord with a fortress. The combat is more involved than Valheim's, and the world is dense with dungeons and bosses. Best on a server with friends.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
• Vibe: Brutal open-world survival with deep base-building
• Co-op: Yes, online servers
• Price: ~$30

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If You Want the Brutal Survival

These games push harder on the survival half: hunger, threats, and a world actively trying to kill you.

Sons of the Forest

A survival-horror game where you crash on an island full of mutant cannibals and must build, craft, and fight to stay alive while uncovering what happened there.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It keeps the gather-build-survive loop but raises the tension with a genuinely frightening world and an AI companion who helps you survive. The base-building is flexible, the enemies are relentless, and the day-night threat cycle creates Valheim's same "fortify before nightfall" pressure. A darker, scarier take on the formula.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS5
• Vibe: Valheim's loop with cannibals and creeping horror
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$30

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Grounded

A survival game where you are shrunk to the size of an ant in a suburban backyard. You build bases out of grass and pebbles, craft tools from insect parts, and survive spiders that become genuine boss fights.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It captures the friendly co-op crafting loop at a smaller, more whimsical scale. The backyard is a brilliantly designed world with biomes, dangers, and secrets, and the base-building is satisfying. If Valheim with friends was your favorite thing and you want something lighter, Grounded is a joy.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
• Vibe: Co-op survival shrunk down to a backyard
• Co-op: Yes, up to 4 players
• Price: ~$40

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The Forest

The predecessor to Sons of the Forest, this survival-horror classic strands you in a forest full of cannibals after a plane crash, tasking you with building shelter and surviving the things that come at night.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It pioneered the build-by-day, fight-by-night survival-horror loop that Valheim players will recognize. The base-building is creative, the cave systems are terrifying, and the sense of carving out safety in a hostile world is exactly the Valheim feeling, with more dread.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS4
• Vibe: Survival horror with strong base-building
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$20

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If You Love the Combat and Bosses

These games put progression-gating fights and deeper combat at the center.

V Rising

A survival game where you play a newly awakened vampire building a castle, hunting for blood, and growing in power while avoiding sunlight. The combat is action-RPG quality.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It shares the build-a-base, gear-up, defeat-a-boss-to-progress structure, but with much sharper combat and a vampire theme that reshapes the survival systems (sunlight is your hunger). The boss hunts are the highlight, each one unlocking new abilities and recipes. A great fit if Valheim's boss progression was your favorite part.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS5
• Vibe: Vampire survival with action-RPG combat and boss hunts
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$35

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ARK: Survival Ascended

The Unreal Engine 5 rebuild of the survival game that defined creature-taming open worlds. You tame, ride, and breed dinosaurs while building bases and surviving a dangerous island.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It offers a deeper, more punishing survival experience with an enormous creature roster you can tame and put to work. The base-building and progression are extensive, and the boss arenas gate the endgame. More complex than Valheim, but it scratches the same build-and-conquer itch. It appears on our games like Palworld list too.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
• Vibe: Dinosaur taming and survival at a larger scale
• Co-op: Yes, online servers
• Price: ~$45

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Medieval Dynasty

A survival game with a twist: you build not just a base but an entire medieval village, recruiting villagers, founding a family, and managing a growing settlement across the seasons.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It keeps the gather-build-survive foundation but adds village management and a sense of legacy. You hunt, farm, and craft, then expand from a single hut to a thriving town. The seasonal cycle and the slower, settlement-focused pace make it a calmer cousin to Valheim.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
• Vibe: Survival crafting plus medieval village-building
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$35

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If You Want the Creative Sandbox

These games trade some survival pressure for deeper building and exploration.

Minecraft

The definitive sandbox. Mine, craft, build anything, and survive the night, with a creative ceiling that has no real limit and a modding scene that can reshape the entire game.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It is the survival-crafting genre's foundation. The gather-craft-build-survive loop that Valheim refined started here, and Minecraft's creative freedom dwarfs everything else. If you loved building in Valheim above all, Minecraft hands you infinite blocks and no limits. It anchors our games like Minecraft guide.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, mobile
• Vibe: The infinite-creativity survival sandbox
• Co-op: Yes, servers and local
• Price: ~$30

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Terraria

A 2D sandbox that packs an astonishing amount of crafting, building, exploration, and boss-fighting into a side-scrolling world. Often described as Minecraft's 2D cousin with far more content.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It shares the explore-craft-build-fight-a-boss loop, with hundreds of bosses, items, and biomes gating progression. The 2D perspective changes the feel, but the satisfaction of digging into a new biome and gearing up for the next tier is pure Valheim energy. It headlines our games like Terraria guide.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, mobile
• Vibe: 2D survival sandbox with deep boss progression
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$10

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Raft

A survival game where you start on a tiny raft in the middle of the ocean, expanding it into a floating fortress while hooking debris, fending off sharks, and exploring islands.

Why Valheim fans will like it: It keeps the gather-build-survive loop in a unique setting: the open sea. The building is satisfying, the progression pulls you toward larger structures and new biomes, and the co-op is excellent. A charming, lower-stress alternative with a strong creative hook.

The short version:

• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
• Vibe: Ocean survival, building a raft into a floating base
• Co-op: Yes, online
• Price: ~$20

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Quick Reference: All 13 Games at a Glance

Game	Platforms	Co-op	Best For
Enshrouded	PC	Yes (16p)	Closest Valheim with voxel building
Nightingale	PC	Yes	Portal-linked fantasy realms
Conan Exiles	PC, PS, Xbox	Yes	Brutal large-scale survival
Sons of the Forest	PC, PS5	Yes	Survival horror tension
Grounded	PC, PS, Xbox, Switch	Yes (4p)	Friendly co-op at small scale
The Forest	PC, PS4	Yes	Survival horror with building
V Rising	PC, PS5	Yes	Best combat and boss hunts
ARK: Survival Ascended	PC, PS5, Xbox Series	Yes	Creature taming and depth
Medieval Dynasty	PC, PS5, Xbox Series	Yes	Village-building survival
Minecraft	PC, PS, Xbox, Switch, mobile	Yes	Infinite creative building
Terraria	PC, PS, Xbox, Switch, mobile	Yes	2D survival with boss progression
Raft	PC, PS, Xbox	Yes	Ocean survival sandbox

Build Your Own Survival Game

If these games make you want to build a survival world of your own, that is a great direction, because the genre is made of clear, reusable systems. There is a gathering loop, a crafting tree, a building grid, a hunger or stamina meter, and biomes that gate progression behind tougher enemies and better gear.

You do not need a full ten-biome world to start. A single area where the player chops a tree, builds a workbench, and crafts a better axe already contains the heart of the genre. Summer Engine is compatible with Godot 4 and lets you build through conversation, so you can describe a resource node that drops wood, a campfire that staves off night, or a boss that guards the path to the next zone, and iterate on it together. The crafting-survival template handles the foundational gathering and crafting systems so you can focus on the world and the progression that make your game pull players forward.

For a step-by-step look, read how to make games with AI. Browse the full template library or download Summer Engine to start building.