Cube World vs Ylands
Cube World
Cube World is a voxel-based sandbox MMORPG that follows the same realm of thinking as Trove did. The game features an open world filled with plenty of new locations and hidden areas for you to discover wiht strategically-placed portals to hlep you get to different lands at a much more rapid pace. There are even dungeons you can conquer and dungeon bosses that you can defeat to get that sweet, sweet loot. For gear upgrades, you'll need platinum coins which can be earned by doing daily missions. As you venture across the world, you'll also get to use and hone your adventure skills, including but not limited to climbing, sailing, hand-gliding and more.Cube World has so much potential to be Trove's main rival but unfortunately, the game has apparently faded out once again to obscurity due to lack of updates. However, if you are interested to give the game a try, you can still play the game with the small group of loyal fans who are still sticking around in the game.
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!