Garry's Mod vs Stonehearth
Garry's Mod
Garry's Mod is a sandbox game that brings back the hilarity and joy of being able to simply experiment and have fun. There aren't any objectives in this game; you are simply given the tools you need to play with... just like that time when you get your first Lego set. Being a purely community-driven game, Garry's Mod is quite the multiplayer game. You can hop into any of the created content or game modes and have fun with your friends, except for buy-to-play games in which you'll need to own the base game first. You can also opt to spend time to create new content that you can then share with the community. If you'd rather play in peace, you can play Garry's Mod offline too.Garry's Mod is definitely the sort of game that creative players would enjoy. The amount of stuff you can play there is astounding and of course, you are given absolute freedom to express yourself through your creations if you choose to do so.
Stonehearth
Stonehearth is the game you'll want to play if you enjoy playing Minecraft because you can build your very own city. Although the game is basically a sandbox game like Minecraft, it has a building aspect that's much more similar to Craft the World... except that in Stonehearth, everything's in glorious 3D. In this game, you play as the leader of a small handful of adorable-looking pioneers who are looking for a new place to settle down. There isn't a lot of digging involved in Stonehearth though you still need to get your pioneers to collect resources from the environment or to plant and harvest their own.Like in Craft the World, you'll need to provide shelter for your people and equip them with the necessary equipment so they can fend off attacks during the night. However, when it comes to crafting, Stonehearth has a much more diverse and in-depth crafting system. The building system in this game is also pretty unique though it can be rather restrictive when compared to Minecraft since the most "building" you'll be doing is mainly houses for your villagers. Of course, let's not forget about the game's much better-looking graphics!
In some way, Stonehearth is more of a survival/town-building game than a pure sandbox game like Minecraft. However, it is perfect for players who enjoy having an entire town of minions to order around, and the satisfaction of leading and developing a tribe. For a price tag of $24.99 (on Steam), Stonehearth can be a bit on the costly side, but if this is the sort of game you're into, the game will always be worth the price. You can show your support to the indie developers behind this game as well... so there's that!