Best Open-World RPGs With Base-Building

Building a base in open-world RPGs is usually an enjoyable side activity, or a necessary step for survival. It’s rewarding to create something lasting in the game world, whether you’re defending against enemies or weathering storms. Bases let you personalize your space, store your belongings, and provide a haven for friends or teammates. And of course, it’s fun to decorate and make it your own!

If you enjoy building bases in open-world RPGs as a fun side activity, here are some games you might like, tailored to different preferences. I’ve included sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, and medieval fantasy options, all with detailed open worlds offering diverse environments for your settlements. I’ll be ranking these games based on how robust and varied their base-building tools are.

Honorable Mention: Valheim

Let’s be clear: Valheim is fantastic when it comes to building bases. It’s an open-world game, but its role-playing aspects aren’t as developed as in some other games. The game focuses more on improving your skills as you play. While Project Zomboid could be similar in this regard, it offers starting classes, making it feel more like a traditional RPG than Valheim. Regardless, Valheim‘s open world and diverse environments are great to explore, especially if you like the Viking theme. It takes the survival sandbox gameplay of Minecraft to the next level, so if you enjoy building medieval homes, you should definitely check it out.

Starfield

The Space Base Of Your Dreams

The popular base-building feature from Bethesda’s Fallout 4 has returned in their new game, Starfield. Even though Starfield has received mixed reviews, its vast universe of procedurally generated planets makes it a fantastic RPG for players who enjoy creating and managing settlements. You can establish outposts on almost any planet, using them as personal retreats or resource-gathering hubs.

If this seems reminiscent of No Man’s Sky, that’s likely because it shares many similarities, but adds more role-playing elements like quests, factions, and companions. You can even settle your companions in outposts if you need space on your ship. However, the building system isn’t as freeform as in some games – everything has to align to a grid.

Kenshi

Home Sweet Home In A Brutal Land

In Kenshi, building a base is different from most other games. It doesn’t become a useful option until you’re fairly far into the game. Also, instead of placing walls and structures individually, you build complete buildings at once. This means the focus is on creating an entire settlement, not just a single large structure.

In the harsh world of Kenshi, you’ll constantly face enemies, so choosing the right location for your base is crucial. Look for spots rich in resources like stone and water – this will save you from having to travel long distances. You’ll start with a small, basic shelter, but by researching new technologies, you can grow it into a large, fortified outpost capable of housing many people. This base-building system focuses on practicality and strategy, prioritizing a functional and efficient setup over visual appeal – it’s perfect for players who value substance over style.

Project Zomboid

Build A Survival Mansion In The Wilderness

In Project Zomboid, you’ll find a huge world filled with pre-built structures – houses, buildings, and more – that make great bases. Because of this, and the effort needed to master the Carpentry skill, most players prefer to use existing buildings rather than construct their own from scratch. However, the game offers incredible freedom when it comes to building and decorating, which is especially impressive considering it’s primarily a zombie survival game, and that’s why I wanted to highlight it.

If you have the necessary building skills—or if you started as a Carpenter—you can construct a house almost anywhere. It’s best to build near resources, but not too far from towns for when you need to visit them. You can design the walls and floors exactly how you want, but remember you’ll need lots of materials: tools, thousands of nails, and plenty of wood. Gathering these items around Knox County is worth the effort, because you can build a completely custom survival home from the ground up. Why choose a pre-built structure when you can express your creativity? If you’re in a safe location and can afford the time and resources, I highly recommend trying it.

Fallout 4

Make Preston Proud With Your Settlements

Fallout 4 introduced building to the Fallout series, and includes a fun, optional system where you can create and manage settlements throughout the game world. You’ll discover various locations across the Commonwealth that you can unlock and build up, assigning tasks to the people who live there. While not required to complete the main story, it’s a great way to take a break from quests and offers a range of environments, some with more useful materials for building than others.

You’ll be constantly collecting resources to build and improve your settlements – things like turrets and power generators – to keep them safe and functioning, even while you’re exploring. It takes a little getting used to, but the building system is straightforward, and the Minuteman quests are a good place to start. You can customize your settlements with anything from storage for your power armor to displays for your favorite collectibles, or even workshops for crafting. And just like in Starfield, you can assign companions to your settlements if you want to take a break from having them follow you around, and it’s a good way to keep track of them.

Enshrouded

Magical Freedom With Great Detail

Enshrouded’s base building is fantastic. It’s easy to pick up for anyone who’s built structures in games like Minecraft, but offers a lot more complexity and options. You can design impressive, medieval-style buildings, and surprisingly, you don’t have to worry much about realistic physics – you can even build floating platforms if you want!

You have the option to build freely or use a grid system, giving you more control over your landscape and the structures you create, whether it’s a simple cottage or an elaborate castle. If you want to construct larger buildings, you’ll need to upgrade your Flame Altar using Shrouded Cores – or place multiple altars together temporarily. This adds an RPG element to building: the more you explore and adventure, the more you’ll be able to build.

7 Days To Die

Keep The Horde Away For Just Another Day

7 Days to Die is an open-world survival RPG that truly delivers on its promise of a zombie-filled world, especially when it comes to building defenses. Similar to Project Zomboid, the core gameplay revolves around creating a safe haven – either by building one yourself or finding an existing location – to protect against relentless waves of zombies.

Okay, so I’m really focusing on making my base safe first, even if it doesn’t look amazing. That means designing it to funnel zombies into kill zones and building upwards – height is my friend! I’m even digging a trench around the whole thing and filling it with traps, just to be extra prepared for when the Blood Moon Horde arrives. It’s all about making sure I survive, and honestly, I’m okay with a functional base over a pretty one any day!

Conan Exiles

Incredible Depth In A Brutal Survival Game

If you enjoy beautiful games but also want a challenging survival experience, Conan Exiles is a great choice. The game world is huge and offers diverse environments and interesting places to explore, inspiring creativity. You’ll begin with a simple shelter, but you can eventually build massive, secure fortresses, elaborate castles, grand mansions, or even structures that look like ships – all on the water!

The game offers fantastic decoration choices, especially if you enjoy the medieval look. Building is also really easy to pick up – you start with foundations, design your layout, and then expand from there. Like most games of this type, you’ll spend time collecting materials and getting lost in creating different designs. If the game includes player-versus-player combat, it’s extra important to think about where you build and how safe it is.

2026-02-01 08:07