COMPARISON
Compare free games like Valheim
Select the games you want to compare. Check play modes, building, platforms and the conditions of each free version.
Showing 12 of 12 games. Scroll the table horizontally on a smaller screen.
| Feature |  Muck |  Wurm Online |  Ylands |  Haven & Hearth |  VoxeLibre |  Unturned |  Once Human |  Palia |  Veloren |  Ryzom |  UnReal World |  Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free access | Free on Steam | Free with progression limits | Free to play · optional purchases | Free with optional paid benefits | Free & open source | Free to play · optional purchases | Free to play · in-app purchases | Free to play · optional purchases | Free & open source | Free with level and equipment limits | Free legacy version | Free & open source |
| Closest fit | Co-op survival | Terraforming and settlements | Exploration, sailing and building | Settlement life | Survival building | Co-op survival sandbox | Modern survival | Cozy housing and crafting | Fantasy exploration | Fantasy RPG and crafting | Solo survival | Solo survival decisions |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux (Steam listing) | Desktop; see official client downloads | Windows PC (Steam free version) | Desktop Java client; see official play page | Luanti desktop clients; check engine downloads | Windows, macOS and Linux (Steam) | Windows (PC listing reviewed) | Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS and Linux | Windows, macOS & Linux legacy downloads | Windows, Linux, macOS and Android builds |
| Play mode | Single-player, online co-op & PvP | Persistent online MMORPG; PvE or PvP servers | Solo or online co-op in Adventure mode | Persistent online MMORPG | Single-player or multiplayer | Single-player; online and LAN co-op/PvP | Online MMO; co-op & PvP features | Online world; solo activities or play with friends | Single-player, multiplayer & self-hosting | Persistent online MMORPG | Single-player, turn-based survival | Single-player, turn-based |
| Building | Gather resources & build a base | Terraforming, houses, roads & ships | Homes, workstations and custom ships; separate Creative mode | Land claims, buildings, crops & villages | Dig, place blocks, farm and craft structures | Shelters, bases and fortifications | Territory-based house construction | Home plots, building blocks, furniture and gardens | Admin build mode; not a normal survival building loop | Equipment crafting; not freeform survival base construction | Shelter and wilderness living | Crafting, construction and survival preparation |
| Progression | Run-based survival, crafted gear & powerups | Crafting and other skills; free skill cap of 20 | Gathering, crafting and a technology tree | Skills and settlement development; paid acceleration available | Resources, tools, farming and enchanting | Scavenging, equipment and survival resources | Equipment, weapons & survival progression | Gathering and crafting skills, quests and relationships | Equipment, weapon skills & dungeon exploration | Classless combat, magic, harvesting and crafting skills | Survival skills in a low-fantasy roguelike | Survival knowledge, skills and scavenged equipment |
| World | Procedurally generated island | Persistent, player-shaped medieval world | Island regions connected by sailing | Shared wilderness inspired by Slavic and Germanic folklore | Generated voxel sandbox | Open-world zombie survival maps | Post-apocalyptic open world | Shared fantasy life-sim world | Procedural fantasy world | Science-fantasy world of Atys | Iron Age northern wilderness | Procedurally generated post-apocalyptic world |
| Main caveat | Built around survival runs. Choose a different game if your main goal is an ongoing settlement. | Free skills are capped at 20. Premium raises the ceiling to 100 and unlocks further crafting and building options. | The developer has announced that no further content updates are planned. The PC base game is free with purchases; Switch has separate pricing. | Paid account upgrades add inventory space and faster character development. The developers warn that worlds may be reset during development. | Install both Luanti and VoxeLibre. The game is Minecraft-inspired and labelled beta by its project. | Optional purchases and a paid Gold upgrade are listed separately. Community servers have their own rules, including whether PvP is enabled. | The PC listing includes in-app and chance-based purchases. It also asks for 100 GB of storage and recommends an SSD. | Requires an account and internet access, even for solo activities. Free to enter, with optional paid cosmetics and packs. | Ordinary play focuses on exploration and combat. The documented building mode is for server administration, rather than survival base building. | Free characters are capped at level 125 and equipment quality 150. Premium raises limits and adds other benefits. | The free release is version 3.71, dated 17 November 2021. Check its compatibility with your current operating system. | Single-player and turn-based. The project’s free downloads and commercial community distributions are separate installation routes. |
| Download | Get on Steam | Official download | Get on Steam | Official download | Install VoxeLibre | Get on Steam | Get on Steam | Choose your platform | Official download | Official download | Get free version 3.71 | Get stable builds |
Start with what you want to play
- Survival with friends: Muck, Unturned or the modern online world of Once Human.
- A building project: VoxeLibre, Wurm Online or Haven & Hearth.
- Islands and custom ships: Ylands, with its developer’s content-update notice understood.
- Fantasy RPG exploration: Veloren or Ryzom.
- Housing and gardening: Palia.
- Solo, turn-based survival: UnReal World or Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead.
For account caps, paid extras and older releases, compare what the free versions include.