24 Sandbox games like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon that you should try

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Ranking compiled by Lluis Enric Mayans, Founder & Head of ContentUpdated May 19, 2026How this is calculatedOrdered by an attribute-similarity model, not editorial opinion.

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We filtered the 50 games similar to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon down to the 24 that fit the “Sandbox” category. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Far Cry 2 and Amnesia: The Bunker top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

iRank84/ 100

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GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

The best sandbox games like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

24 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Each one has been evaluated across 15 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Metal Gear Solid V: Ground ZeroesClosest overall match

iRank81

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloStealthMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldSci-FiExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 85%· 18KIGDB79· 19OC75· 81

Year 2014Dev Kojima Productions · KonamiOn PlayStation 3 · PS4 · PC

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, shooter and first-person shooting

≠ Its own twist: third-person shooting, combat tactical and visual third person, while skipping setting cyberpunk

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: setting.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100World100Progression100Combat80

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Steam Xbox PS

#2Far Cry 2Closest on combat

iRank70

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeStealthNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 76%· 18KIGDB58· 6

Year 2008Dev Ubisoft Montreal · Ubisoft EntertainmentOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with roguelike runs, survival mechanics and procedural generation, while skipping setting scifi

On reception: its Steam reviews are mostly positive, against very positive for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Same studio: Ubisoft Montreal.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Progression100Visuals100World82

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Steam Epic

#3Amnesia: The Bunker

iRank87

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloStealthMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 93%· 12KIGDB85· 4OC77· 97

Year 2023Dev Frictional GamesOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and first-person shooting

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, horror tension and puzzle design, while skipping setting scifi

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: setting and tone.

Released 10 years after Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100World100Visuals100Progression54

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeStealthNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExploration

Steam👍 57%· 63KIGDB68· 23

Year 2016Dev Hangar 13 · 2K GamesOn PS4 · PC · Mac

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, shooter and first-person shooting

≠ Its own twist: third-person shooting, racing gameplay and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping setting scifi

New Bordeaux and its period soundtrack are exceptional, and the story handles race and its era with more seriousness than the genre usually manages. Driving feels heavy and right. The structure undercuts all of it — the same racket-clearing loop repeats across every district, and the mission variety runs out long before the map does.

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: visuals.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Released 3 years after Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Genre100Combat100World100Progression100Game mode79Tone59

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Steam GOG

#5Watch DogsClosest on setting

iRank80

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeStealthNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldSci-FiCyberpunkExploration

Steam👍 79%· 50KIGDB81· 20OC79· 105

Year 2014Dev Ubisoft Montreal · Ubisoft EntertainmentOn PlayStation 3 · PS4 · PC

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and sandbox freedom

≠ Where it differs: brings third-person shooting, multiplayer gameplay and co op, while skipping post-apocalyptic world

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: visuals and game mode.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mostly positive, against very positive for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Same studio: Ubisoft Montreal.

Genre100Combat100Tone100World100Setting80Progression77

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeStealthNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 88%· 129KIGDB90· 15

Year 2012Dev Ubisoft Montreal · Ubisoft EntertainmentOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, ranged combat and multiplayer gameplay, while skipping setting scifi

The template every later Far Cry followed: outposts to liberate, towers to climb, and a genuinely good stealth loop with a bow that makes clearing a camp silently the most satisfying thing in it. The second half loses the plot once the antagonist exits, and the island's activities repeat well before you finish clearing them.

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: game mode.

Same studio: Ubisoft Montreal.

Genre100Tone100World100Visuals100Combat87Progression55

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeStealthNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldSci-FiCyberpunkExploration

Steam👍 83%· 92KIGDB81· 21OC82· 136

Year 2016Dev Ubisoft Montreal · Ubisoft EntertainmentOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and sandbox freedom

≠ Where it differs: brings third-person shooting, dark, oppressive atmosphere and multiplayer gameplay, while skipping post-apocalyptic world

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: visuals and game mode.

Same studio: Ubisoft Montreal.

Genre100Combat100World100Setting80Progression77Tone54

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Steam Epic Xbox

#8Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

iRank93

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeStealthNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 92%· 83KRAWG👍 93%· 4.1KMC93IGDB93· 6

Year 2004Dev Rockstar North · CapcomPlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and first-person shooting

≠ Stands apart with racing gameplay, third-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping setting scifi

The largest of the PS2-era entries by a distance: three cities, countryside between them, and systems the series never repeated — stat training, gang territory, vehicle variety from bikes to planes. It is also the most uneven. Mission difficulty spikes without warning, and the RPG-ish stat grind sits oddly against the pace of everything else.

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: game mode.

It predates Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon by 9 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100World100Progression100Combat85Visuals70Tone60

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloStealthMeleeNarrativeSandbox WorldOpen WorldExploration

Steam👍 87%· 63KIGDB85· 16OC85· 196

Year 2021Dev IO InteractiveOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, shooter and sandbox freedom

≠ Where it differs: brings third-person shooting, puzzle design and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping setting scifi

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: visuals.

Released 8 years after Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Genre100World100Progression100Combat82Game mode66Tone51

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Steam Epic Xbox

#10Postal III

iRank34

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 46%· 6.1KIGDB10· 1

Year 2011Dev Running With Scissors · AkellaPlaytime ~2hOn PC

✓ Same family of open-world action games: first-person shooting, shooter and sandbox freedom

≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, horror tension and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping stealth mechanics

Good or Insane? The choice is yours. Following the Apocalyptic end to the Postal Dude’s week in Paradise, we follow him and his insane pitbull Champ as they emigrate to its appropriately named sister city, Catharsis.

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: setting and tone.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Genre100Game mode100World100Progression100Visuals79Combat43

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExploration

Steam👍 84%· 127KIGDB77· 19OC75· 109

Year 2015Dev Avalanche Studios · Square EnixOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and first-person shooting

≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, multiplayer gameplay and co op, while skipping stealth mechanics

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: visuals.

Genre100Tone100World100Progression100Game mode56Combat54

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExploration

Steam👍 62%· 32KIGDB69· 15OC68· 134

Year 2018Dev Avalanche Studios · Square EnixOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, shooter and sandbox freedom

≠ Its own twist: third-person shooting, dark, oppressive atmosphere and co op, while skipping stealth mechanics

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: visuals.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Released 5 years after Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

Genre100World100Progression100Game mode78Combat56Tone50

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Steam Xbox PS

#13Mafia II (Classic)

iRank85

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeStealthNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExploration

Steam👍 94%· 58KRAWG👍 88%· 2.2KMC77IGDB73· 6

Year 2010Dev 2K Czech · 2K GamesPlaytime ~13hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, shooter and sandbox freedom

≠ Where it differs: brings third-person shooting, racing gameplay and puzzle design, while skipping first-person shooting

A tightly linear crime story set in a 1940s and 50s American city, more interested in Vito's decade than in filling a map with icons — the world is a backdrop for the narrative, not a checklist. The writing and period detail are why people still recommend it. This original SKU is the problem: it is a 32-bit build that crashes and stutters badly on current Windows, and the Definitive Edition exists.

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: setting and visuals.

Genre100Tone100World100Progression100Game mode87Combat85

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Steam Xbox PS

#14Grand Theft Auto III

iRank89

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExploration

Steam👍 87%· 15KRAWG👍 86%· 1.6KMC93IGDB95· 2

Year 2001Dev DMA Design · CapcomPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and sandbox freedom

≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, deep simulation and racing gameplay, while skipping first-person shooting

The one that established the template: a 3D open city with radio stations, missions on call and free roaming between them. Historically it matters enormously. It has aged the hardest of the era — no mission checkpoints, no map markers for much of it, a silent protagonist, and shooting that amounts to auto-aim and hoping.

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: visuals and combat.

It predates Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon by 12 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100World100Progression100Tone58Combat47

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Steam PS

#15Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

iRank93

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSandbox WorldExploration

Steam👍 93%· 30KRAWG👍 93%· 3.1KMC94IGDB94· 4

Year 2002Dev Rockstar North · Rockstar GamesPlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, shooter and sandbox freedom

≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, racing gameplay and puzzle design, while skipping first-person shooting

Tighter and more focused than the open worlds that followed it, with a compact city you learn by heart rather than by map marker. Driving carries most of the game. The shooting has aged badly — no proper cover, stiff aiming — and missions restart from the beginning, which turns a late failure into a long redo.

Where it drifts furthest from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: visuals and combat.

It predates Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon by 11 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100World100Progression100Game mode85Tone58Combat48

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Steam PS

Complete list of sandbox games like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

The full catalog of games sharing gameplay DNA with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, ordered from highest to lowest similarity score. Use the filters above to narrow down by genre, setting or game mode and find the alternative that best fits your playstyle.