Novus Inceptio vs Ylands
Novus Inceptio
Novus Inceptio has all the hallmarks of a great sandbox game in the making, despite still being in early access. Aside from its mysterious sci-fi theme, the game features a variety of fun anomalies (mini-worlds) where you can discover, explore and possibly piece together story snippets about the stuff that had happened in the past. The game also has a more complex and in-depth crafting system, auto-harvesting feature, and a potentially fun underwater exploration/harvesting aspect that will definitely elevate the overall gameplay quality. However, the developers definitely need to make sure the game’s fundamental features, such as its action-based combat system.In addition to being an indie game, Novus Inceptio is also a work-in-progress. However, from what can be seen and experienced, it already has most of the winning features it needs to “make it” in the sandbox genre. It has a very interesting anomaly game concept that allows players to discover and explore multiple mini-worlds. It also offers an in-depth crafting system and farming, though its building and combat aspects are still pretty rudimentary. If you enjoy playing survival/sandbox games, Novus Inceptio is a breathtaking game that you wouldn’t want to miss!
Ylands
Ylands is a sandbox adventure game that has a gameplay that's a lot like a massively expanded version of Minecraft with a lot more resources for you to gather, items to craft, and amazing things to build. Instead of being "just a game", Ylands is more like a platform, much like Roblox is, where players are given the tools to create whatever worlds or games they like, be it a fun go-kart racing game that's inspired from Lega Racers or even a watery world where epic pirate-themed naval battles can take place. The worlds are completely interactive as well and every action you do will modify, no matter how slightly, the game environment of that segment of the world you happen to be in. In fact, if you change a terrain and populate it with an entirely different diversity of flora and fauna, you can basically change the climate system there.Unlike Minecraft though, Ylands has opted for a more polygonal appearance which gave it the extra leverage it needed to overcome the painful dismissal and degratory label of being simply a "Minecraft clone" - which admittedly, Ylands is most definitely not. The game has so much going for it and players truly have all the freedom within the game's pretty wide parameters to literally create anything they like. Of course, the game also supports sharing, so you can let other players in Yland enjoy that (for example) crazy maze-running game you've just made!
Ylands is most certainly impressive to say the least. However, due to its indie origins, not many players know about the game, let alone buy it on Steam. So, if you really like Minecraft-like sandbox games, you simply must give this game a try, and if you've had a great time there, be sure to recommend it to your friends or even buy it for them as their Christmas/ birthday gift!