My Time at Sandrock Thumbnail

My Time at Sandrock similar games & best alternatives

My Time at Sandrock

PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 • 2023

Related articles

Quick resume

Travel to the desert community of Sandrock and take on the role of a fledgling Builder. Use your trusty toolset to gather resources, construct machines, and turn your run-down workshop into a well-oiled production facility to save the town from the jaws of economic ruin!

Global score

88/100

Genres

Adventure, Casual, Indie, Role-playing (RPG), Simulator

Similar games

    Pros

    • Engaging story and characters
    • Deep crafting and building systems
    • Strong replayability and long playtime
    • Improved graphics and voice acting
    • Active developer support and updates

    Cons

    • Some bugs and glitches in early access
    • Limited home decoration options
    • Slow pacing and time pressure complaints
    • Minor ui and menu navigation issues
    • Some character art style inconsistencies

    Analysis

    Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Cooperation, Fellowship, Intimacy, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Intimacy, Story. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence.

    How to use the graph
    Similar games map

    Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Motivations” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

    • Larger dot with a light outline: the game you are viewing.
    • Colour: groups of games with comparable motivation patterns (statistical clusters).
    • Hover a dot to see the game name; click to open its page.
    • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

    Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers.

    Motivations

    • Autonomy
      4

      "Players have freedom to direct their own actions, choose pace, explore, and make decisions in story and relationships."

    • Competence
      3

      "Engages players in skillful crafting, combat, resource management, and problem solving with feedback and progression."

    • Competition
      -2

      "Focus is mostly on personal progress and story; some leaderboard elements exist but competition is not central."

    • Continuation
      5

      "Players report hundreds of hours, replayability, and habitual engagement with the game world and characters."

    • Cooperation
      1

      "Mostly single player with some multiplayer planned; social interactions and relationships are key but limited cooperation."

    • Creativity
      3

      "Players can customize characters, build and decorate homes, and craft items with some limitations noted."

    • Domination
      -4

      "Interactions emphasize mutual respect and friendship; no evidence of exerting control or superiority over others."

    • Escapism
      5

      "Strongly used for escaping real-life stress, building relationships, and immersive fantasy experience."

    • Expectation
      -4

      "Players engage voluntarily out of intrinsic interest and enjoyment; no pressure or obligation reported."

    • Experimenting
      3

      "Players explore mechanics, test crafting and combat, and try different relationship paths and strategies."

    • Exploration
      4

      "Game encourages discovering new areas, secrets, and storylines in a vibrant open world."

    • Expression
      3

      "Character customization and home decoration allow self-expression, though some limitations exist."

    • Fantasy
      4

      "Imaginative post-apocalyptic western setting with fictional story, characters, and events."

    • Fellowship
      4

      "Strong sense of community and belonging through character relationships and social interactions."

    • Growth
      4

      "Players develop skills in crafting, combat, socializing, and progress through story and character arcs."

    • Health
      -4

      "Primarily sedentary gameplay with no physical activity or rehab elements."

    • Idle
      -3

      "Requires focused attention and engagement; players report immersive long sessions."

    • Intimacy
      4

      "Romantic relationships and deep social bonds are important gameplay elements."

    • Leadership
      1

      "Some leadership elements in managing workshop and town rebuilding, but mostly personal progression."

    • Progression
      5

      "Strong emphasis on accumulating items, upgrades, and completing tasks to advance."

    • Relaxation
      4

      "Generally relaxing and cozy experience with moments of emotional engagement and flow."

    • Sensation
      3

      "Enjoyable visuals, sound, and emotional fun with a charming art style and voice acting."

    • Status
      1

      "Some recognition through leaderboards and social standing, but mostly personal achievement."

    • Story
      5

      "Rich narrative immersion with engaging characters, plot twists, and lore."

    • Strategy
      3

      "Requires planning and problem solving in crafting, resource management, and combat."

    • Thrill
      2

      "Some suspense and excitement from story twists and combat challenges, but generally controlled."

    • Value
      4

      "Players perceive strong value for time and money with extensive content and replayability."

    • Violence
      -2

      "Combat exists but is not the main focus; constructive activities like building and crafting dominate."

    • Survival
      2

      "Some resource management and threat avoidance in combat and exploration, but not extreme."

    Where to buy

    Come talk about it on Discord!

    Last update: 29/04/2026