Trove vs Ylands
Trove
Trove is a voxel-based sandbox MMORPG that is quite similar to the insanely-popular game, Minecraft. Uniquely though, Trove has a lot more of the MMO element rather than Minecraft. You can play as any 1 of the whopping 14 character classes available and venture out into the many different biomes and worlds to search for resources (both common and rare) to gather, dungeons to conquer and randomly-spawned world bosses to defeat. There are even plenty of cool-looking mounts and pets that you can search for and collect.Not to mention, you can have fun turning the stuff you've collected into various tools and weapons via the game's in-depth crafting system too. Or you could simply use these blocks as building materials to construct your own home in allocated spots scattered throughout the game world. Interestingly, the game also allows players to use its sandbox feature to design and build amazing dungeons. All submitted player-made dungeons will then be judged by the developers and a select few will then make it into the actual game world. How amazing it would be to see players trying their darnest to raid a dungeon you've built!
It's a no brainer that if you enjoy Minecraft but find its multiplayer a bit lacking, then you'll love Trove. However, we would definitely recommend this game to anyone who loves voxel-based sandbox games like Roblox and Kogama as well.
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!