Growtopia vs Neopets
Growtopia
Growtopia is a unique type of 2D sandbox game due to its incredibly social nature, as well as its special seed-splicing system that allows its players to discover new types of blocks and items. In this game, players can harvest the blocks they need by punching their surroundings, be it the ground below their avatar's feet or the tree that someone planted in a public world, and then use these blocks to create almost anything they like! There are tons of worlds in this game that you can visit and you can create new ones whenever want.That said, one of the two more interesting parts about this game though is the players' ability to obtain seeds of various types of blocks like stone, dirt and others - it sounds ridiculous, but bear with me for a minute here - and splice these seeds to get other, rarer types of blocks and items. The other part being the ability to set up player stalls. Players can actually sell off the stuff they have spliced in stalls they have set up and use the game's chat system to broadcast their wares.
Growtopia may feel like just another "Minecraft-like" sandbox game albeit in a 2D form, but once you play it, you'll quickly realize how social the game is. Of course, let's not forget about its one-of-a-kind splicing system as well. This is definitely a very unique sandbox game that you'd be missing out if you have not at least tried it.
Neopets
Neopets is rather old yet entertaining simulation/virtual world game that lets you adopt and take care of magical and unique pets. This means that you'll be expected to build them a home, buy them food, clothes and other cool stuff. Set in a cartoonish and immense world, you can even set off on exciting adventures with your pet. Best part is that thepets in this game can grow alongside you and they have different looks for different stages of growth, much like the Pokemon in a Pokemon game. There are plenty of fun mini-games to keep you engaged for hours on end as well.
Although the game is a bit on the old side (being released in 1997 and all), the game still holds its charm for players who want a game that's a combination of a usual pet simulation/collection game with a virtual world game. It's free to play and you can play it directly from your browser!