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Picture this: an Earth-sized fantasy planet, a dragon under you and a ship full of friends heading for an island nobody has mapped yet. That's what Hello Games (the folks behind No Man's Sky) is promising with Light No Fire. The bad news? Nearly three years after the reveal, there's still no release date. So I went digging for games that deliver at least part of that dream today. I came back with ten.
Updated October 6, 2026
Quick status check on Light No Fire. Hello Games' boss Sean Murray told Kotaku in August that a bigger showcase was planned back in 2024. They scrapped it after the game climbed to #2 on Steam's wishlist chart anyway. Murray says he plays it most days and calls it "ambitious and crazy". That's nice. It's also not a date. Only the PC version is confirmed so far.
The good news? This autumn is a great time to be into survival games. Valheim, Palworld and RuneScape: Dragonwilds all just left Early Access. You'll find my picks below.
Table of Contents
Enshrouded
Let's start with the building, because that's where Enshrouded shines. Rock Paper Shotgun called it the best building system in the survival genre, and I'm not going to argue. Thanks to voxels you can carve tunnels into a mountain or flatten a hill for your castle. All of it happens in a fantasy world smothered by toxic fog, which is about as close to Light No Fire's vibe as anything out there. German studio Keen Games (Portal Knights) takes it out of Early Access on October 15 on PC and PS5. Xbox owners are stuck waiting until spring 2027. Bring friends, too. Up to 16 can share a world.
Release: 24 Jan 2024
Valheim
Valheim finally hit 1.0 on September 9, more than five years after it entered Early Access. Small Swedish studio Iron Gate capped it off with the Deep North biome and brought the game to PS5 and Switch 2 for the first time. Why is it here, though? Boats. Hello Games keeps talking about real oceans in Light No Fire that need big ships and whole crews, and Valheim has nailed that feeling for years. Sailing into a storm with friends yelling about the sail is still one of my favorite moments in the genre. Up to 10 players fit in one procedurally generated Norse world. The devs suggest starting fresh for 1.0, so now's the time.
No Man's Sky
No surprise here. No Man's Sky is the studio's previous game and, in a way, the testing ground for Light No Fire. The walkable crewed ships from the Voyagers update use tech that was built for the new game. Since 2016 it has received over 40 free updates. The latest one, Cosmos, lets you build bases in orbit and buy your own space station. You swap dragons for starships here, but the "how big is this thing?" feeling is exactly the same.
Palworld
Want to fly over an open world on the back of a creature? Palworld is the fastest route there. The critters you catch double as mounts and as (very exploited) workers at your base. Japanese studio Pocketpair released 1.0 in July and it's on Game Pass. It sits at 95% positive on Steam. Co-op supports four players, dedicated servers go up to 32. My only gripe? Building is clunky and the map can feel empty between points of interest.
Release: 18 Jan 2024
RuneScape: Dragonwilds
In RuneScape: Dragonwilds, you don't ride the dragons. They hunt you, and the whole adventure revolves around them. It comes from Jagex, the studio behind the classic MMO RuneScape. You get the series' magic and skill-based progression. Up to four of you build a base in a fantasy world. Version 1.0 landed on September 15 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series. It had already sold over a million copies in Early Access.
Release: 15 Apr 2025
Conan Exiles Enhanced
Conan Exiles Enhanced is for those who like their fantasy brutal and very grown-up. Norwegian studio Funcom put out this free Unreal Engine 5 remaster in May. The two old maps are now merged into one. The install is 80 GB smaller and it runs well on Steam Deck. On servers you build fortresses and then defend them from sieges. Part two of the free Legacy of the Giant-Kings story drops today, too. The remaster is PC-only for now.
Release: 8 May 2018
Metacritic:
68
6.4
ARK: Survival Ascended
No other game here gives you this many flying beasts to tame. In ARK: Survival Ascended, you ride pterosaurs, griffins and dragons. Official servers hold up to 70 players. It's Studio Wildcard's Unreal Engine 5 remake of the original ARK. This year added ships and a new region called Pyranthos. The catch? It's still in Early Access and reviews keep pointing at performance. Bring a beefy PC.
Nightingale
In Nightingale, you step through portals into randomly generated realms with a Victorian gaslamp-fantasy look. Special cards let you tweak how the next realm is generated. Honestly, it's the most interesting idea on this list. Inflexion Games was founded by Aaryn Flynn, the former head of BioWare. It supports six players and has had an offline mode since 2024. Fair warning, though. It's still in Early Access, and development was put on hold while the team worked on the Conan remaster.
Release: 20 Feb 2024
Pax Dei
Let me be upfront: Pax Dei is a tough sell. Reviews are mixed and the player base is small. But if the one-big-shared-world part is what excites you about Light No Fire, nothing else here comes closer. Mainframe Industries (a studio founded by CCP and Remedy veterans) built a medieval MMO across five provinces, roughly 300 square kilometers in total. Players claim plots, raise whole villages together and run the economy themselves. It hit 1.0 a year ago. Patient players only.
Release: 16 Oct 2025
V Rising
Here's the wild card. V Rising isn't about exploring a planet. It's about being a vampire who just woke up after centuries of sleep and really needs a castle. You hunt bosses, raise your fortress and treat sunlight like lava, because it burns. Swedish studio Stunlock says there won't be any more big content updates, since the team is busy with a new game set in the same world. Honestly? That's a plus here. You get a finished, polished game (90% positive on Steam) that won't change under your feet.
Which one should you play while you wait?
Big group that loves building? Enshrouded. Want to sail with a crew? Valheim. Can't wait to see what Hello Games' tech can do? No Man's Sky. Me, I'm starting a new Valheim world, because the Deep North is the perfect excuse.
For more ideas, check out the full list of games like Light No Fire. And what are you playing while waiting for the next Hello Games release? Let me know in the comments!
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