Humanity’s ability to envision distant places and then innovate ways to reach them ranks among our most significant achievements. Whether it involves soaring through the skies, navigating vast oceans, exploring the cosmos, or delving beneath the Earth’s surface, we have engineered machines designed for such adventures.
This spirit of exploration is equally present in the realm of video games, where creative engineering thrills players. Many games revolve around this concept, offering players the chance to construct and pilot vehicles. In this article, we will focus on ships that traverse both the sea and the stars, evaluating them based on criteria such as customizability, content depth, and overall enjoyment of building and piloting these vessels.
10 No Man’s Sky
A Major Comeback with New Features
Since its rocky launch, No Man’s Sky has undergone considerable improvements. Hello Games has committed to enhancing the game’s experience by introducing ship building as part of the 2024 Orbital update. While it may not offer a fully-featured ship editor like some of its peers, players can modify their ships by scrapping three existing ones to create a new vessel using components like cockpits, engines, or wings. These can be combined to craft a Fighter, Hauler, or Explorer Starship.
9 Minecraft
Constructing in a Blocky Universe
Minecraft grants players the freedom to build nearly anything, including elaborate ships and naval vessels, as long as they conform to a block-based design. However, embarking on complex builds typically requires advanced skills in Redstone mechanics, leaving simpler boats as a more accessible option. A basic boat can be crafted using five wooden planks, allowing two players (or even a goat, for those seeking achievements) to navigate the waters.
8 Starfield
Create Ships for Galactic Exploration
In Starfield, the latest title from Bethesda, players join an interstellar crew navigating the Milky Way in search of artifacts. The game features an extensive ship editor available at Technician locations, enabling players to customize and upgrade their ships with various components like cockpits, weapons, and grav drives. Players can manage multiple ships, allowing them to tailor their vessels for combat, exploration, or trade according to their needs.
7 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Innovative Ship Creation with Ultrahand
Link’s journey in Tears of the Kingdom brings exciting new mechanics to explore. With the Ultrahand ability, players can create unique vessels to navigate the game’s expansive world. Gone are the days reliant solely on Korok Leaf propulsion; players can now design ships that utilize creative constructions like jet boosters and logs, allowing for varied travel experiences across Hyrule.
6 Ark: Survival Ascended
Craft Rafts for Survival
In Ark: Survival Ascended, players find themselves amidst a prehistoric landscape teeming with dinosaurs. To thrive, you can construct bases, including rafts, expanding from a basic wooden platform to formidable vessels that can house tamed creatures and essential resources. Upgrading your raft to a motorboat can significantly improve mobility across the water while ensuring safety from aquatic threats.
5 Kingdom Hearts 1
Crafting Unique Gummi Ships
In Kingdom Hearts 1, players control Sora on a quest to rescue various Disney worlds from encroaching darkness. Travel between worlds is facilitated by Gummi Ships, which players can customize using parts gathered throughout their journeys. With options to focus on different attributes such as defense or offense, players can create a Gummi Ship that reflects their unique playstyle and preferences.
4 HighFleet
A Deeply Engaging Experience
| Platform | PC |
|---|---|
| Publisher | MicroProse |
| Genre | Action-Adventure, Strategy |
| Release Date | July 2021 |
Despite being less mainstream, HighFleet captivates players with its complex systems. As a commander in the Sayadi Task Force, you’re responsible for crafting ships to reclaim the Kingdom of Gerat. The 2D blueprint editor offers an intricate experience, allowing players to place components strategically. As this innovative shipbuilding experience unfolds, it becomes evident how creative designs can drastically influence gameplay.
3 Space Engineers
Design and Test Your Creations
Space Engineers places you in the role of an unnamed Space Engineer tasked with constructing various spacecraft, whether independently or collaboratively with up to 32 players. The game features both Survival and Creative modes, providing distinctly different experiences. The voxel-based system ensures that players experience realistic physics during collisions, which affects not only the design but also gameplay strategy as you explore and mine resources on different planets.
2 Besiege: The Splintered Sea
Shipbuilding for Maritime Warfare
| Platform | PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Spiderling Studios |
| Genre | Sandbox |
| Release Date | February 2020 |
In the expansion The Splintered Sea of Besiege, players are challenged to construct ships and war machines over a 15-level campaign. Players must consider physics in their designs, particularly hydrodynamics, to succeed in battles against Admiral Drasckar’s forces. This creative freedom offers opportunities for crafting diverse naval architectures, from traditional pirate ships to submarines, making it an unmissable experience for fans of physics-based gameplay.
1 Raft
Building a Home at Sea
In Raft, players must construct a raft while surviving a flooded apocalypse. Starting with a humble 2×2 platform, players can gather resources from the environment to expand their floating home. Considerations such as incorporating propulsion engines and shelters for animals become vital for survival as players fend off shark attacks and seek out signs of civilization.
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