Games that allow players to set their own goals

Strictly linear games are all good, but they can sometimes struggle with replayability. For example, you might know that a game's main story has 30 levels. By the time you've completed them, you might have seen everything the title has to offer. There may be challenges or other difficulty options, but is that enough to keep you in the game? It is up to the player to decide.

Alternatively, if you can define your own specific goals, you can effectively keep playing for as long as it takes to complete them. It helps to make sure they're actually practical to achieve, but these games accommodate that way of thinking very well.

5

Minecraft

Create, Survive, Repeat

It seems that Minecraft will remain forever. The key to its success is something so hard to emulate: Being all things to all players. There are those with little interest in the creative mode but who have spent hundreds of hours in Survival and vice versa. Between these two offerings, Minecraft has successfully catered to thousands of millions of fans.

Whether you want to slay the formidable Ender Dragon or simply build an entire ancient Roman city complete with elaborate forts and arenas, Minecraft has you covered. It's a fascinating lesson in how structured game design can be restrictive, and players can construct things the developers could never have imagined if only given the means and freedom to do so. Simply watching other players online in creative mode can give you an idea for a project that can occupy the next six months of your time.

4

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Mission completed (or not)

With a game that Animal Crossing: New Horizonsit's probably best if you go into it with a defined goal and endgame in mind. If you don't, you may find yourself returning to the game daily forever, and it risks becoming a chore. Maybe you want to complete your museum, for example, which will take a full year of non-time traveling play thanks to the seasonal nature of the bugs and fish. Alternatively, you might have a vision of a perfect island (more customizable than ever thanks to the terraforming mechanics) design, for others to visit and admire your genius via Dream Islands. Heck, why not collect as many of these wonderful rare items as possible?

Your goals are entirely up to you. Some players engage in mercilessly “trading” villagers to create their dream roster, whoever they are. The ultimate achievement, for still others, is to populate your island with only one species of villager. After all, your goal might be to flood your house with excited Octopi villagers on your birthday, and who could deny such a dream? The game is still being updated and it's still running fine.

3

RimWorld

Struggle with the unpredictability of space

The games often task the player with managing a group of colonists and survivors and trying to entertain them, and it's hard to imagine a more hostile environment than space to create such a title. RimWorld is one of those experiences where you rarely win outright, and much of your time in the game will be spent trying to react to spontaneous disasters and combat the inevitable.

However, this is not to say that there isn't a lot of freedom in choosing how your colony develops, the character and primary focus of its inhabitants, and other important elements. Another important one is the ending. If you have industrious colonists, they may be able to create the necessary parts to build a spaceship, allowing them to escape. You can even get them to attack the Mechhive and thus finish off the Mechanoids. As long as their basic needs like food are met and they are kept safe, they are happy for you to focus your domain around scientific research, growth or whatever you want.

2

Slime Rancher 2

What does ranching success look like? You decide

The Slime Rancher titles are not only known for the adorable slimes, but also for the open nature of the experience. The goal is ultimately to discover what happened on Rainbow Island and defeat that tricky final boss, but in the meantime it's mostly about developing your ranch. You can achieve this however you want, from choosing a favorite type of slime to focus your efforts on to spending hours in the open areas hunting for a variety.

You can of course optimize your production by exclusively prioritizing the most valuable plots, but that seems a bit against the spirit of the game in some ways. It's about the charm of the experience, the different personalities of the slimes, and venturing out into the open world is the best way to embrace that.

1

Green hell

One of the most brutal survival experiences

As noted, RimWorld takes place in an incredibly dangerous environment, all the better for increasing the survival challenge. Green hellin contrast, takes place here on earth, but is almost as dangerous. Jake Higgins is a scientist who has ventured into the Amazon rainforest in an attempt to find his wife, but outside of the story mode, developer Creepy Jar gives the player a job: Make the best of this hostile environment.

While you deal with illness and injury, your own sanity, and perform important jobs like learning how to boil water, start fires, and get enough nutrients in your diet, you're free to explore as you please. There are some huge, elaborate bases that players can create using sophisticated materials and mechanics. You can even take on the role of hunter and turn the tables on the hostile locals. However, it's the Spirits of Amazonia bonus mode that offers the most variety, where players increase their bond with local tribes by completing a wide variety of challenges, from hunting animals to solving puzzles in the environments. You can choose which tasks you devote yourself to, or you can simply explore the world at your leisure. Whatever you choose as your goals, Green Hell will test you in every possible way.