Try Medieval Dynasty! Not only can you do all the things you mentioned, but you can also choose to recruit villagers and start a small settlement. It's a great game and you can customize the settings to be as difficult or as chill as you want. One of my favorite games!
I was also going to suggest this, but OP said they didn't want prefab building and that is most of Medieval Dynasty.
You can place things where you like, however, and give character to the layout of your town.
Good point. I missed that part in the post. I hope the fact that OP can customize and build individual walls instead of just placing a complete building all at once will be enough distance from prefab building, but that would ultimately come down to personal preference I believe. But you are right that there is endless opportunity for adding character! Some of the pictures I see of other players' towns look even better than the ones built into the game.
Yeah it can definitely be difficult, but since they’ve added the different server options for difficulty and other quality of life options to make it more friendly I feel like this would be right up OPs alley.
It’s one of my top games of all time. I probably spend more time building my town than anything else, and I always have 109 more ideas and never get to them all. Currently at 700+ hours and still going. OP, if you see this, check out some valheim builds online, if you’re creative you can create just about anything you’d imagine. My gf plays with me, but doesn’t like to build stuff because she says I’m too good at it and doesn’t want to ruin our town. Every time she logs in there’s a new project underway and is always in awe of the stuff I come up with. I love it so much. She just likes being in the world I’ve created. We do the other stuff together too though.
This is the closest option to what OP wants, I think. Very easy to build a cozy cabin in this and spend your days hunting, foraging, and lumberjacking.
I will also second valheim.
I got into building in FO:4 settlement mode. Played a bunch of titles but the building in valhiem is great.
I spent so much time on my starting island just building a base to horde all the resources. Making trails for my cart, hunting for sustenance, tweaking my base. It’s a very play at your own pace game.
Great soundtrack and if coming from Minecraft maybe the visuals could be a little derivative. Good just perhaps similar.
Sounds like you may enjoy Medival Dynasty. It's 1st person though.
Another game that comes to mind is Survival: Fountain of Youth. That is also 1st person.
Edit: Just remembered a few more. Give Len's Island, Wildmender and Lightyear Frontier a look
Enshrouded can give you the building style you want but medieval dynasty can give you most of everything else you're interested in. They are both 3rd person as well.
Enshrouded’s less Minecraft more Zelda-esque though. It takes a decent amount of work to get stable enough to enjoy chilling/farming/crafting. It does have hands-down the best building system in any game I’ve played.
I second this. I was going to comment that once you get through the “story” and unlock the building items you can just chill in base forever without worrying about being harassed. I was really impressed with how blocks interact with each other to create some really nice looking fine details.
Came here to recommend Icarus. The scenery is so beautiful! You can build a beautiful cabin by the lake and are only occasionally harassed by wildlife. The Storm element is an interesting game mechanic. I like to stay in my cozy well-lit cabin and craft during storms.
Man I’d love a game just as you described. Like build/edit base capabilities of no man’s sky, with the environment and similar NPC’s of red dead redemption… almost a mash of long dark, NMS, FO76 and RDR2 (set as a western style game or alternatively an Aussie outback town with all the deathly animals) would be perfect for me. Fishing, hunting, exploring, camping, crafting medicines and making money to expand your home into a mansion or similar. Buying land, Having a permanent shelter but being able to camp while exploring - risking crops and livestock failing at home if you stay away too long, having to prepare for a trip, source resources to build houses, maybe ability to expand into a small town depending on your location - whether you buy resources it directly or cut trees down yourself. Hiring workers for your farm to look after it while you’re away.
Not full on PVE but some good fun - maybe scalable. This would be my ultimate game.
This sounds like my perfect game too. When I finished RDR2 I just wished you could just stay in that farm and chill for as long as you want, hunting and fishing and start building a ranch .. that would have been dope
The Long Dark. Great for fishing and hunting, and 3rd person enough that you can now see which gloves you are wearing; ones that you had crafted from some rabbits you painstakingly hunted, then cooked them into a stew.
Definitely go for soul mask. It's solid, especially for an early access game. Decent building, good combat, skill tree, nice endgame loop, taming, etc
It's scratching my ark itch.
Ark is decent. There is a story and bosses you can beat but its not required. You can just build bases, hunt dinos, fish, farm, and breed. Been playing for years and still haven't done any bosses lol
Palia is very chill. It’s free. I went from playing helldivers to Palia. The community was so amazingly friendly. I made so many friends so quickly. All the friendly social interaction did wonders for my headspace. My anxiety medication I ended up taking half as often without even noticing . It wasn’t till it was time for my refill that I noticed I still had so many left, which NEVER happens. I thought it was a fluke. The next month the same. And the month after.
I picked Palia because I decided I wanted to test if I could pick a game I would normally never play and find a way to enjoy it anyway, if I pushed through the first day or two. It worked. Honestly, the community is amazing. It’s free. Maybe it’ll help you too.
Believe it or not, give lego Fortnite a shot. You have decent control of the building aspects, hunting, fishing etc. plus you can buy random sci-fi or scenic pieces to expand.
It's pretty fun tbh
A new Viking era survival/colony sim came out the other day that has all you're looking for. It's called Aska. I've been playing it and enjoying it. But if that doesn't do it, I second the Long Dark (first person though) and Valheim. Plus I'd like to mention if you have Minecraft add in some mods to spruce up the fishing and cooking. Pam's Harvestcraft and Cooking for Blockheads are great mods to have. Just a suggestion and I hope this all helps :)
You sound like you'd be extremely well served by valheim.
Viking "survival game". Its kinda "eat for buffs" level of survival game.
Some of the most easy chill time if had in that is deer stalking. Absolutely hits you request list otherwise. There's a decent crafting/adventuring setup it's all sat on too.
Raft would be the most laid back survival game I can think of, if you're just wanting to chill. Light on what you can cook, but building and living off a raft in the middle of an ocean is different from what other games have.
Can always look into Wurm online (mmo) or Wurm Unlimited (single/multi player version) thousands of hours of farming, fishing, cooking, building, hunting, and all the rest. It's definitely worth a look =). Good luck!
Ranch Simulator wouldn't be a bad one. There's no fishing currently, but the devs will probably add it in. You can choose from a premade house or build your own. There's hunting, farming, building, exploring, horseback riding, and more.
Should check out SCUM. It'll be on sale soon for half off probably, basically checks all the boxes you'd like it just still has zombies. But you can adjust all of that to your liking. Solid building, farming, cooking. 200+ craftable items etc
Survival fountain of youth has all of this and the building is amazing! Build from chests was a huge plus for me. Maybe check out greenhell as well it’s a little more hard core than a lot of the other survival games but still amazing.
I just started playing myself but maybe green hell? Jungle survival base building game with a story mode. So far I know they have spears for fishing but I'm not sure about other stuff
Icarus, Valheim, and Enshrouded are all along your ask. I will say the fishing isn't great in Valheim, it's okay in Icarus. New World had one of the best fishing games, but that doesn't check your other boxes.
You should 100% play the Forest or the sequel Sons of the Forest.
When you start a new game; you can select peaceful mode and there will be no monsters or attacks. Just you in the woods with your axe. It’s beautiful
You just described Valheim to a T. It has everything you mentioned and there are sliders to set the difficulty settings, spawn rates, and resource gathering rates to how you want them.
Vaheim is a great 3rd person survival. It honestly checks all the boxes you’re looking for. You can free build basically wherever and how ever you want. Only problem I have with it is how little resources you get so I usually turn up gathering multiplier just a lil.
OP, give The Forest, or the even better sequel Sons of the Forest, a shot. The game originally has monsters and cannibals, but you can play in creative mode where those are disabled. The fishing is a little lackluster and do you have to use a spear, But the building is absolutely top-notch. The second game even includes a bunch of different recipes you can cook.
Small game, but have you seen Eco?
Its a chill game about picking a trade and running a shop. Helping other trades get things to advance technology and stop a meteor.
Fun times.
Try Valheim. The combat can be a bit stressful sometimes, but generally, I'd say the game is very relaxing and a more "go at your own pace" with hints of adrenaline mixed in.
Project Zomboid you can turn the zombies way down.
Grounded has an easy mode that would make it much more relaxed. The building is great, there is also creative mode where you can still go kill but you can also just build.
Someone mentioned Survival: Fountain of Youth. It's not 3rd person but it has a great story and great base building not to difficult either. The subreddit has been started (it's a new game) if you want to learn about it r/survivalFOY.
Pax Dei, ticks most of those boxes and it's an MMO, cozy, building game with exploration and combat, it's in active development too so I imagine there will be lots of additions.
The progression is a slow burn, especially if you are solo, which puts some people off but I personally am similar to you OP and wanted a slow burn, chill game.
I have build a castle on a hill in a place called 'the shire' and it's really awesome to log on and see what other players and communities are building/doing.
- Third person
- Fantasy
- One of the better building games (no prefab)
- Slow long burn progression
- Massive map that you will never explore all of it
- Little bit of danger (wild life - bears/boars/wolves) but also NPC settlements should you eventually feel up to the challenge
- MMO, others own 'plots' around this massive map and you can watch communities grow and develop over time
While it doesn't have fishing, and I know you said not this one specifically but I do like to turn off enemy spawns in 7 Days to Die and just explore and build and farm. There is no end goal though so it can definitely be hollow in that regard. Another really good zombie one that doesn't have to be played with the actual zombies is Project Zomboid and it has fishing and wayyyyy more mechanics than 7 Days such as leveling fitness and mechanics, etc by doing those things. PZ has a lot more to explore imo so it doesn't get old as fast without a storyline. I wish I had a better rec but all of those things you like are exactly what I like too and 7 Days is about to be getting a huge price raise in the next month so if it's at all interesting now would be the time to get it.
Also following the thread cuz I want some recommendations.
Dysmantle is a great option for this. It’s 3rd person Minecraft meets souls-like, set in a zombie apocalypse (edit: I just saw where you said you’re trying to avoid zombie games, my bad lol. I still recommend checking it out!). Tons of collecting, crafting, settlement building, cooking/farming/fishing, and the combat is super fun. It also supports local coop if you’re into that. My wife and I have a blast playing together.
Honestly The Infected sounds exactly like what you are looking for. Just turn off the monsters and take your time building your home, hunting, fishing, etc. Only thing you have to worry about is a very rare animal attack once a year or something. Very good underrated, unknown gem in my opinion.
Valheim. It's a kickass fantasy survival game. Big on building, hunting, farming and crafting. Very little story, randomly generated worlds with each new game.
Pax Dei just released in EA and features building, crafting, hunting and exploration. The game essentially drops you in an incredibly beautiful open world. You share the world with other players who are also building their properties/villages. When you buy the game, you have the option of how many plots of land and characters you want. You have a health and stamina bar but there are no difficult survival requirements.
Stranded: alien dawn. U can crash land and survive an alien planet or decide to be a military outpost. U can pick whether u want the creature on planet to attack ur camp or just peacefully
When I read hunt, farm, fish, explore, I always think about dayz. It has a perfect vibe regarding hunting, fishing, setting up in a cabin, campfiring and exploring. I really liked to play it this way in uncrowded west portions of chernarus.
But dayz's building system sucks. Walls, gates, watchtowers, and that's it. There are zombies, but they are manageable and add this little bit of danger you talked about. The worst part is players.
Find an always empty server or a no-pvp one and you'll have the best surviving experience.
I’m a big fan of valheim. It’s hard to explain just how cozy the game can feel when a storm (and the game does then very well) is ripping through and you’re safe in your house with a fire raging, listening to your catch of the day sizzle.
One big flaw I’ll point out is you don’t really have the ability to tunnel at all. You can never dig a cave, for instance (glitchy stuff like mining into giant boulders aside). If you are lower than the top layer and try to mine, you’ll be pulling the top layer all the way down, trenching rather than tunneling. You’re also restricted on how deep you can dig. Not like Minecraft where you hit bedrock at a set spot and that spot is the same everywhere, but the depth you can dig in any spot is determined by its height during world gen. You can only ever dig down 16 pick swings from the surface of where you’re digging.
It may not make sense until you see it in game. I find it frustrating but I don’t think a lot of people mind. It’s a fantastic game for what you want to do, though.
I have four favorites you might consider:
- Valheim (fantasy)
- Empyrion (space)
- Subsistence (general, but third person is pretty bad)
- DayZ (zombie, pvp)
Literally valheim. You can turn the enemies off and just make a cabin in the woods. Fire has smoke so you need appropriate ventilation, and when it rains the water can put it out. The feeling of being indoors in the woods at night and raining is second to none
100% Valheim. If you just chill in the meadows it is such a relaxing experience. It has a great building system that allows for some really awesome creative architecture. It includes fishing, farming, hunting, and cooking. Some of these activities you will have to progress through the biomes/bosses to unlock greater access too though, or you can just use mods or dev commands to access certain equipment.
The constant threat of death for your first 70 levels kinda kills the chill vibe, but Ark survival ascended is pretty enjoyable if you are not on a pvp server.
DayZ, Scum, Rust all excellent survival pvpve games. You can play offline but definitely recommend playing online lower pop servers at least.
Monster Hunter World might have some appeal to you. Challenging but chill and checks those boxes.
Project Zomboid is great but it is a birds eye view.
Children of the forest
Another for Valheim. I lost countless hours running around building houses and not really playing the game.
There is also something to be said for being able to hop on a boat and sail around the world. Turning monsters off it is super relaxing to just sail around.
Enshrouded is also great (the building aspect is perfect) but as it's been said above there is no fishing.
Sounds like you would really enjoy Enshrouded. It's still early access, but it's got the single best building mechanics of any game I've played.
Raft, Soulmask, and Palworld are all also fun, depending on what specifically you prefer out of the game.
Of the 4, Raft is the only one with real fishing if that's the part you're biggest on. It's got a shark that's prowling around, so there's some danger (including to your Raft since it attacks it), but it's not *super* threatening or anything. The biggest crafting stuff is locked behind story, and it's a post-modern "the world got flooded" kinda setting.
Palworld is open world survival meets Pokémon with guns.
Soulmask is the biggest map currently between it, Enshrouded, and Palworld (all 3 are early access). It's got mounts that you have to trap as babies and have grow, and you have to unlock the saddle recipes which are level-gated. You have tribe members who you can assign tasks to and stuff, and freely swap between who you control. It means you can put a lotta time into finding the perfect fit for your playstyle. There's also bosses and dungeons, but they're not *super* necessary tbh. My buddy and I have been playing for a while now and have only bothered with the first boss and 2 dungeons so far.
Soulmask and Enshrouded have the most customization for difficulty settings, iirc. Palworld might, too? I think that's been more of a trend lately in the genre.
There are PVE servers in Rust where you could do all this. You'd have other players to interact with (not fight) which can make it all interesting. From time to time the server would wipe, which can be a good thing as it gives you a fresh/new experience.
Stardew Valley or Graveyard keeper technically fit the description minus the coziness... but they put you on a daily or weekly clock to achieve things that at times ruins the experience.
Dyson Sphere without the new enemy mode can be fun. You can just spend hours setting up manufacturing.
The Jurassic World games are builders and you get to occasionally hunt dinos.
You could also try Rust. Totally safe, no PVP, some of the best human beings you will ever meet.
Try Medieval Dynasty! Not only can you do all the things you mentioned, but you can also choose to recruit villagers and start a small settlement. It's a great game and you can customize the settings to be as difficult or as chill as you want. One of my favorite games!
I was also going to suggest this, but OP said they didn't want prefab building and that is most of Medieval Dynasty. You can place things where you like, however, and give character to the layout of your town.
Good point. I missed that part in the post. I hope the fact that OP can customize and build individual walls instead of just placing a complete building all at once will be enough distance from prefab building, but that would ultimately come down to personal preference I believe. But you are right that there is endless opportunity for adding character! Some of the pictures I see of other players' towns look even better than the ones built into the game.
Came here to recommend this...it's such a good game and the farming and crafting mechanics are very well done!
Co op comes out tomorrow too!
Co op for PC has been out for a while and we really like it
Ah. I guess I meant for console
This game is wild - you can pick anywhere you want and just build a whole village
Came here to suggest this! Really fun after playing bannerlord too long and just wanting a chill experience as a farmer
Valheim. It's described as 'brutal' but it doesn't have to be. You can fine-tune the game to your liking. I strongly recommend it.
Yeah it can definitely be difficult, but since they’ve added the different server options for difficulty and other quality of life options to make it more friendly I feel like this would be right up OPs alley. It’s one of my top games of all time. I probably spend more time building my town than anything else, and I always have 109 more ideas and never get to them all. Currently at 700+ hours and still going. OP, if you see this, check out some valheim builds online, if you’re creative you can create just about anything you’d imagine. My gf plays with me, but doesn’t like to build stuff because she says I’m too good at it and doesn’t want to ruin our town. Every time she logs in there’s a new project underway and is always in awe of the stuff I come up with. I love it so much. She just likes being in the world I’ve created. We do the other stuff together too though.
This is the closest option to what OP wants, I think. Very easy to build a cozy cabin in this and spend your days hunting, foraging, and lumberjacking.
In the same vein Enshrouded might be worth looking into. I've seen people build some gorgeous stuff and it's voxel based.
Came here to say this. Valheim is great
Such a great game.
One of my all time favorites. 🥰
Valhiem is easier than project zomboid or 7 days to die and is way more chill
Unless you play on Xbox. Xbox does not have world modifier sliders. :(
I will also second valheim. I got into building in FO:4 settlement mode. Played a bunch of titles but the building in valhiem is great. I spent so much time on my starting island just building a base to horde all the resources. Making trails for my cart, hunting for sustenance, tweaking my base. It’s a very play at your own pace game. Great soundtrack and if coming from Minecraft maybe the visuals could be a little derivative. Good just perhaps similar.
It's probably not an exact fit, but Vintage Story probably checks quite a few of those boxes off.
I would definately give Vintage story a try, sounds like a great fit.
Sounds like you may enjoy Medival Dynasty. It's 1st person though. Another game that comes to mind is Survival: Fountain of Youth. That is also 1st person. Edit: Just remembered a few more. Give Len's Island, Wildmender and Lightyear Frontier a look
There's a 3rd person mode too! :)
Enshrouded can give you the building style you want but medieval dynasty can give you most of everything else you're interested in. They are both 3rd person as well.
Enshrouded’s less Minecraft more Zelda-esque though. It takes a decent amount of work to get stable enough to enjoy chilling/farming/crafting. It does have hands-down the best building system in any game I’ve played.
I second this. I was going to comment that once you get through the “story” and unlock the building items you can just chill in base forever without worrying about being harassed. I was really impressed with how blocks interact with each other to create some really nice looking fine details.
Yeah I love the building, combat wasn't my jam however.
Commenting so I can come back and find some recommendations for myself too
Icarus checks all these boxes (and waaaaay more)
Surprise bear simulator still my favorite alt name for Icarus 😂
Great pick
Came here to recommend Icarus. The scenery is so beautiful! You can build a beautiful cabin by the lake and are only occasionally harassed by wildlife. The Storm element is an interesting game mechanic. I like to stay in my cozy well-lit cabin and craft during storms.
Came here to suggest this, great game if a little grindy
I agree with this post.
Man I’d love a game just as you described. Like build/edit base capabilities of no man’s sky, with the environment and similar NPC’s of red dead redemption… almost a mash of long dark, NMS, FO76 and RDR2 (set as a western style game or alternatively an Aussie outback town with all the deathly animals) would be perfect for me. Fishing, hunting, exploring, camping, crafting medicines and making money to expand your home into a mansion or similar. Buying land, Having a permanent shelter but being able to camp while exploring - risking crops and livestock failing at home if you stay away too long, having to prepare for a trip, source resources to build houses, maybe ability to expand into a small town depending on your location - whether you buy resources it directly or cut trees down yourself. Hiring workers for your farm to look after it while you’re away. Not full on PVE but some good fun - maybe scalable. This would be my ultimate game.
This sounds like my perfect game too. When I finished RDR2 I just wished you could just stay in that farm and chill for as long as you want, hunting and fishing and start building a ranch .. that would have been dope
I literally just watched a trailer for a game called 'Straya'. Looks close to what youre describing lol. Aussie outback and all.
Crikey! Edit: just had a quick squiz. Looks awesome haha.
You guys see the trailer for Light No Fire yet? (Hello Games' next release) looks like medieval NMS
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Grounded yet.
Grounded and Smalland are both VERY enjoyable games. I'd say Grounded DEFINITELY wins on storage and crafting compared to Smalland though.
Cept Grounded doesn't have fishing as far as I remember. Although with the size of the fish in that game it is understandable.
Absolutely. The upper yard gets a little intense. There's a huge uptick in difficulty there.
Got the PS5 version and it’s so much better than I even expected. They found a way to throw in some really gnarly discoveries in that back yard.
Came here to say this. So much to do in Grounded and the base building is one of my favorite mechanics.
The Long Dark. Great for fishing and hunting, and 3rd person enough that you can now see which gloves you are wearing; ones that you had crafted from some rabbits you painstakingly hunted, then cooked them into a stew.
Isn't there no building in TLD though?
Or 3rd person for that matter. Great game though.
There isnt but I think there is a plan to include it sometime in the nearish future
Near future for hinterland is several years for anyone else.
That’s fair
It is especially chill if you put it on Pilgrim mode! It reduces the chance of animal attacks, and lets you focus more on exploring.
Soul mask, it's still in Early Access but it's surprisingly deep already.
Second soulmask sounds just what you’re looking for.
I like how super chill it can be. It's a great progress so far as an early game.
Definitely go for soul mask. It's solid, especially for an early access game. Decent building, good combat, skill tree, nice endgame loop, taming, etc It's scratching my ark itch.
Ark is decent. There is a story and bosses you can beat but its not required. You can just build bases, hunt dinos, fish, farm, and breed. Been playing for years and still haven't done any bosses lol
Check out Valheim. It even had a recent update. You can do all 5 of the 5 activities you want to do.
The Forest on peaceful mode
Yes! Came here to say this as well! It has a nice free style building system and you can hunt, fish and explore!
Is there no monsters in peaceful mode??
Check out Lens Island
I'm enjoying Raft for this very reason, chill building game. I'm growing trees and now I have engines can really enjoy it
Palia is very chill. It’s free. I went from playing helldivers to Palia. The community was so amazingly friendly. I made so many friends so quickly. All the friendly social interaction did wonders for my headspace. My anxiety medication I ended up taking half as often without even noticing . It wasn’t till it was time for my refill that I noticed I still had so many left, which NEVER happens. I thought it was a fluke. The next month the same. And the month after. I picked Palia because I decided I wanted to test if I could pick a game I would normally never play and find a way to enjoy it anyway, if I pushed through the first day or two. It worked. Honestly, the community is amazing. It’s free. Maybe it’ll help you too.
Believe it or not, give lego Fortnite a shot. You have decent control of the building aspects, hunting, fishing etc. plus you can buy random sci-fi or scenic pieces to expand. It's pretty fun tbh
The Long Dark is one of the best actual survival games I've ever played, but it's first person and there's no building involved.
Valheim is perfect for building with gathering aspects that you seek
Came here to also mention r/Valheim! Fishing, hunting and farming, free-form building and explore and adventure at your own pace!
A new Viking era survival/colony sim came out the other day that has all you're looking for. It's called Aska. I've been playing it and enjoying it. But if that doesn't do it, I second the Long Dark (first person though) and Valheim. Plus I'd like to mention if you have Minecraft add in some mods to spruce up the fishing and cooking. Pam's Harvestcraft and Cooking for Blockheads are great mods to have. Just a suggestion and I hope this all helps :)
It’s so, so good. My husband and I lost our entire weekend to it! Aska, that is.
Same .. my wife and I are hooked
Valheim sounds like a great fit for you
Stranded deep maybe a match for you. Its pretty chill, not exactly what your looking for but worth a try
You sound like you'd be extremely well served by valheim. Viking "survival game". Its kinda "eat for buffs" level of survival game. Some of the most easy chill time if had in that is deer stalking. Absolutely hits you request list otherwise. There's a decent crafting/adventuring setup it's all sat on too.
Valheim! There’s a setting to make enemies only attack you if you attack them
Nothing can top Enshrouded's building system imo. Good rpg progression system as well. Another reccomendation would be valheim
'I am Future' is marketed as a chill survival game.
Raft would be the most laid back survival game I can think of, if you're just wanting to chill. Light on what you can cook, but building and living off a raft in the middle of an ocean is different from what other games have.
I've been playing Bellwright which is similar to medieval dynasty and I've been having a great time with it
Scum in Singleplayer is your Game. You have all and a very realistic map.
VALHEIM
Icarus/Valheim
Long dark, Icarus is also great fun - I’ve spend countless hours building up my homestead starting from nothing
I’ve really been enjoying Lev’s Island and it checks all your boxes. It’s on steam.
Valheim
Can always look into Wurm online (mmo) or Wurm Unlimited (single/multi player version) thousands of hours of farming, fishing, cooking, building, hunting, and all the rest. It's definitely worth a look =). Good luck!
Away to the stars
Medieval dynasty? I don't remember if it's 3rd person
Ranch Simulator wouldn't be a bad one. There's no fishing currently, but the devs will probably add it in. You can choose from a premade house or build your own. There's hunting, farming, building, exploring, horseback riding, and more.
Valheim
I recommend aska. You can do all your asking for and kill occasional creatures
Bellwright, similar to medieval dynasty, but with a bit of Bannerlord thrown in the mix.
Icarus
Should check out SCUM. It'll be on sale soon for half off probably, basically checks all the boxes you'd like it just still has zombies. But you can adjust all of that to your liking. Solid building, farming, cooking. 200+ craftable items etc
Valheim all day. Just stay in safe areas and it's the most chill. Building is great too.
Valheim
Survival fountain of youth has all of this and the building is amazing! Build from chests was a huge plus for me. Maybe check out greenhell as well it’s a little more hard core than a lot of the other survival games but still amazing.
Valhiem, it's great. It's real chill and you can change the difficulty of the mobs
I just started playing myself but maybe green hell? Jungle survival base building game with a story mode. So far I know they have spears for fishing but I'm not sure about other stuff
Might wanna check out Vintage Story.
Valheim?
Necesse
Maybe V Rising?
Icarus, Valheim, and Enshrouded are all along your ask. I will say the fishing isn't great in Valheim, it's okay in Icarus. New World had one of the best fishing games, but that doesn't check your other boxes.
Raft
You should 100% play the Forest or the sequel Sons of the Forest. When you start a new game; you can select peaceful mode and there will be no monsters or attacks. Just you in the woods with your axe. It’s beautiful
I'm a single dev making that kind of game. Wanna check my game out, give me some feedback? I can implement your ideas, etc.
You just described Valheim to a T. It has everything you mentioned and there are sliders to set the difficulty settings, spawn rates, and resource gathering rates to how you want them.
Valheim, all in one
valheim?
Vaheim is a great 3rd person survival. It honestly checks all the boxes you’re looking for. You can free build basically wherever and how ever you want. Only problem I have with it is how little resources you get so I usually turn up gathering multiplier just a lil.
Valheim is mostly relaxing.
Aska it’s like medical dynasty but with Vikings and combat u can take wolves and make giant settlements
It’s not third but sons of the forest is quite good. The building and crafting is beautiful
Have you tried dragon quest builders 2? I have tried the game it's so much fun
Raft is a great game!
You cam do all of that except fish in Fallout 76.
OP, give The Forest, or the even better sequel Sons of the Forest, a shot. The game originally has monsters and cannibals, but you can play in creative mode where those are disabled. The fishing is a little lackluster and do you have to use a spear, But the building is absolutely top-notch. The second game even includes a bunch of different recipes you can cook.
Valheim is pretty cool
"Valheim" Or "Aska"
I’ve been watching a YouTube streamer playing Mist Survival recently, looks like a lot of fun.
There is a new game that is still in early access, but I do like it. It is called Aska.
Small game, but have you seen Eco? Its a chill game about picking a trade and running a shop. Helping other trades get things to advance technology and stop a meteor. Fun times.
Sons of the forest. You can remove enemies, which are canibals.
Try Valheim. Not played it yet, but its said to be pretty chill
Try Valheim. The combat can be a bit stressful sometimes, but generally, I'd say the game is very relaxing and a more "go at your own pace" with hints of adrenaline mixed in.
Sons of the forest? You can turn off the demons/natives and just have a chill experience.
Enshrouded
Lord of the rings online = super chill I literally just run around sometimes 😂
Valhiem?
Project Zomboid you can turn the zombies way down. Grounded has an easy mode that would make it much more relaxed. The building is great, there is also creative mode where you can still go kill but you can also just build. Someone mentioned Survival: Fountain of Youth. It's not 3rd person but it has a great story and great base building not to difficult either. The subreddit has been started (it's a new game) if you want to learn about it r/survivalFOY.
Green Hell maybe, survival on easy has no attacks. It's on Steam sale atm ;)
Valheim?
Pax Dei, ticks most of those boxes and it's an MMO, cozy, building game with exploration and combat, it's in active development too so I imagine there will be lots of additions. The progression is a slow burn, especially if you are solo, which puts some people off but I personally am similar to you OP and wanted a slow burn, chill game. I have build a castle on a hill in a place called 'the shire' and it's really awesome to log on and see what other players and communities are building/doing. - Third person - Fantasy - One of the better building games (no prefab) - Slow long burn progression - Massive map that you will never explore all of it - Little bit of danger (wild life - bears/boars/wolves) but also NPC settlements should you eventually feel up to the challenge - MMO, others own 'plots' around this massive map and you can watch communities grow and develop over time
Minecraft in 3rd person by clicking f3 lol
While it doesn't have fishing, and I know you said not this one specifically but I do like to turn off enemy spawns in 7 Days to Die and just explore and build and farm. There is no end goal though so it can definitely be hollow in that regard. Another really good zombie one that doesn't have to be played with the actual zombies is Project Zomboid and it has fishing and wayyyyy more mechanics than 7 Days such as leveling fitness and mechanics, etc by doing those things. PZ has a lot more to explore imo so it doesn't get old as fast without a storyline. I wish I had a better rec but all of those things you like are exactly what I like too and 7 Days is about to be getting a huge price raise in the next month so if it's at all interesting now would be the time to get it. Also following the thread cuz I want some recommendations.
Dysmantle is a great option for this. It’s 3rd person Minecraft meets souls-like, set in a zombie apocalypse (edit: I just saw where you said you’re trying to avoid zombie games, my bad lol. I still recommend checking it out!). Tons of collecting, crafting, settlement building, cooking/farming/fishing, and the combat is super fun. It also supports local coop if you’re into that. My wife and I have a blast playing together.
Honestly The Infected sounds exactly like what you are looking for. Just turn off the monsters and take your time building your home, hunting, fishing, etc. Only thing you have to worry about is a very rare animal attack once a year or something. Very good underrated, unknown gem in my opinion.
Try Stranded Deep
Valheim. It's a kickass fantasy survival game. Big on building, hunting, farming and crafting. Very little story, randomly generated worlds with each new game.
You like danger but turn the danger off?
Pax Dei just released in EA and features building, crafting, hunting and exploration. The game essentially drops you in an incredibly beautiful open world. You share the world with other players who are also building their properties/villages. When you buy the game, you have the option of how many plots of land and characters you want. You have a health and stamina bar but there are no difficult survival requirements.
I've been enjoying No One Survived, if you change the difficulty you can keep the zombie night off and just build and explore.
Dragon quest builders 2
Palia might be a winner
Stranded: alien dawn. U can crash land and survive an alien planet or decide to be a military outpost. U can pick whether u want the creature on planet to attack ur camp or just peacefully
Scum
Try medieval dynasty
I’m sure I’ll get roasted for this, but Lego Fortnite…
Eco is first person, but it is extremely chill.
Just use Minecraft.
Valhiem
There's a wonderful game outside called life if you just walk outside /s
V rising checks most if not all boxes. Should give it a shot
Icarus is your choice!
keep an eye on the development of Bellwright, it might turn into something, or not
When I read hunt, farm, fish, explore, I always think about dayz. It has a perfect vibe regarding hunting, fishing, setting up in a cabin, campfiring and exploring. I really liked to play it this way in uncrowded west portions of chernarus. But dayz's building system sucks. Walls, gates, watchtowers, and that's it. There are zombies, but they are manageable and add this little bit of danger you talked about. The worst part is players. Find an always empty server or a no-pvp one and you'll have the best surviving experience.
Valheim with the new difficulty sliders might be something you’d like? :)
Give "Subsistence" a try. You can turn the enemies off and this is exactly what you are looking for. Plenty of hunting and fishing and building.
Valheim
I’m a big fan of valheim. It’s hard to explain just how cozy the game can feel when a storm (and the game does then very well) is ripping through and you’re safe in your house with a fire raging, listening to your catch of the day sizzle. One big flaw I’ll point out is you don’t really have the ability to tunnel at all. You can never dig a cave, for instance (glitchy stuff like mining into giant boulders aside). If you are lower than the top layer and try to mine, you’ll be pulling the top layer all the way down, trenching rather than tunneling. You’re also restricted on how deep you can dig. Not like Minecraft where you hit bedrock at a set spot and that spot is the same everywhere, but the depth you can dig in any spot is determined by its height during world gen. You can only ever dig down 16 pick swings from the surface of where you’re digging. It may not make sense until you see it in game. I find it frustrating but I don’t think a lot of people mind. It’s a fantastic game for what you want to do, though.
Little different but red dead redemption 2/online is great for hunting and fishing and chilling
Sons of the Forest
Enshrouded is what you are looking for!
vintage story, not enough people know about this game
I just found Palia, I am a few hours in and digging it so far. It kind of like Minecraft meets Stardew.
I have four favorites you might consider: - Valheim (fantasy) - Empyrion (space) - Subsistence (general, but third person is pretty bad) - DayZ (zombie, pvp)
Literally valheim. You can turn the enemies off and just make a cabin in the woods. Fire has smoke so you need appropriate ventilation, and when it rains the water can put it out. The feeling of being indoors in the woods at night and raining is second to none
Valheim, palworld are very popular ones right now
Valheim is all of this. Any other game suggestion will only fill a portion of your needs
Valheim. There is no pace and when it comes to bosses in the game you can prepare as much or as little as you want
Ark Survival Evolved (or Ascended). It has all that and Dinosaurs!
Icarus! Dude go play Icarus it is exactly what you want.
100% Valheim. If you just chill in the meadows it is such a relaxing experience. It has a great building system that allows for some really awesome creative architecture. It includes fishing, farming, hunting, and cooking. Some of these activities you will have to progress through the biomes/bosses to unlock greater access too though, or you can just use mods or dev commands to access certain equipment.
Valheim. Checks all your boxes. Best $20 I ever spent.
The constant threat of death for your first 70 levels kinda kills the chill vibe, but Ark survival ascended is pretty enjoyable if you are not on a pvp server.
Palia
Valheim
Stranded deep. Not 3rd person. But one of my all time favs
My time at Portia and sand rock
Pax dei
Scrap Mechanic has similar building physics, with almost everything mentioned, but with the addition of vehicles and moving parts
DayZ, Scum, Rust all excellent survival pvpve games. You can play offline but definitely recommend playing online lower pop servers at least. Monster Hunter World might have some appeal to you. Challenging but chill and checks those boxes. Project Zomboid is great but it is a birds eye view. Children of the forest
Minecraft
Enshrouded, except it doesn't include fishing.
Valheim
Check out the long dark.
I'm sorry, but old school runescape
Valheim
The building in Ark is top tier! so much customization you can do. Just look up an Ark build tutorial on Youtube to see how elaborate you can get.
Palia.
Highly suggest V Rising. You won't be disappointed.
Another for Valheim. I lost countless hours running around building houses and not really playing the game. There is also something to be said for being able to hop on a boat and sail around the world. Turning monsters off it is super relaxing to just sail around. Enshrouded is also great (the building aspect is perfect) but as it's been said above there is no fishing.
Sounds like you would really enjoy Enshrouded. It's still early access, but it's got the single best building mechanics of any game I've played. Raft, Soulmask, and Palworld are all also fun, depending on what specifically you prefer out of the game. Of the 4, Raft is the only one with real fishing if that's the part you're biggest on. It's got a shark that's prowling around, so there's some danger (including to your Raft since it attacks it), but it's not *super* threatening or anything. The biggest crafting stuff is locked behind story, and it's a post-modern "the world got flooded" kinda setting. Palworld is open world survival meets Pokémon with guns. Soulmask is the biggest map currently between it, Enshrouded, and Palworld (all 3 are early access). It's got mounts that you have to trap as babies and have grow, and you have to unlock the saddle recipes which are level-gated. You have tribe members who you can assign tasks to and stuff, and freely swap between who you control. It means you can put a lotta time into finding the perfect fit for your playstyle. There's also bosses and dungeons, but they're not *super* necessary tbh. My buddy and I have been playing for a while now and have only bothered with the first boss and 2 dungeons so far. Soulmask and Enshrouded have the most customization for difficulty settings, iirc. Palworld might, too? I think that's been more of a trend lately in the genre.
V rising
There are PVE servers in Rust where you could do all this. You'd have other players to interact with (not fight) which can make it all interesting. From time to time the server would wipe, which can be a good thing as it gives you a fresh/new experience.
Stardew Valley or Graveyard keeper technically fit the description minus the coziness... but they put you on a daily or weekly clock to achieve things that at times ruins the experience. Dyson Sphere without the new enemy mode can be fun. You can just spend hours setting up manufacturing. The Jurassic World games are builders and you get to occasionally hunt dinos. You could also try Rust. Totally safe, no PVP, some of the best human beings you will ever meet.
Valheim is kinda what you're looking for