Virtual Villagers: Origins vs Ylands
Virtual Villagers: Origins
Virtual Villagers: Origins is the village simulation game that is developed to answer the question of "what if The Sims is set in tribal times" and it did so perfectly. In this game, you'll need to help the fellow members of your tribe to survive in a mysterious new island by getting them to take up important roles, like farmers, builders and scientists. Grow your tribe and send them to explore the island they have now made their home on. There are also plenty of fun and challenging, random events that will spice up the day-to-day routine, allowing you to make use of your excellent problem-solving skills.In many ways, Virtual Villagers: Origins is very similar to other life simulation games like Virtual Families or, as mentioned, The Sims. For fans of such games, you'll find Virtual Villagers: Origins a suitable alternative.
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!