Neverwinter Nights vs Ylands
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights is one of the most popular adventure RPGs of all time. The game is unfortunately quite old and the aging game engine is very noticable in today's PC rigs. That said, the game is still as great as it was before. Granted that there are some parts that they could have improved... or should I say removed, such as the grindfest at the start of the base game's campaign, all of these little downsides are well compensated with the game's brilliant Hordes of the Underdark expansion campaign as well as the mind-blowing amount of player-made mods, especially those adventure modules, which drastically expanded the lifespan of the game.Neverwinter Nights is the sort of timeless games that you can enjoy even after the world has long moved on to other better games. With mods, the game will definitely stick around for years to come.
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!