If you play a lot of games, you know what a polygon is. Most video games since the medium made the jump into the third dimension have been rendered in polygons, which are flat, tiny triangles that can be built into different structures and models.
However, another rendering technology has gained ground in recent years - voxels. These are essentially 3D cubes that are each rendered individually, meaning that a voxel environment is made up of millions of tiny particles built in real-time. They're harder to use, but a game that uses voxels for its engine can also be beautiful and create the kind of realistic detail that would blow your mind.
Updated April 8, 2022, by Leah Isobel: Voxel-based games are more popular than ever, with developers both big and small getting in on the blocky design trend. There are more voxel games than you can shake a keyboard at these days, running the gamut from simulations to RPGs to shooters. If you're not sure where to get started, we've got you covered.
12/12 Voxel Tycoon: A Voxel Game That Would Make Maxis Proud
Though it's currently in Early Access, the independently-developed Voxel Tycoon is instantly appealing to anyone who's spent hours in games like RollerCoaster Tycoon or Maxis' SimCity. Voxel Tycoon is a business simulator, having you build up a cutesy voxel enterprise.
You'll mine for materials, create transport infrastructure, produce new products, and ship your goods where they need to go. This genre can be complicated, but Voxel Tycoon is pleasantly accessible, and its graphical style is charming and calm.
11/12 Dragon Quest Builders 2: A Surprisingly Deep Voxel RPG
Normally, you'd expect an RPG to take place in a lovingly-crafted world; you might be able to experience smaller stories within that world, but you won't be able to customize it to your specifications. But Dragon Quest Builders 2 uses a voxel-based terraforming system to push against that.
The game features some surprisingly deep exploration and storytelling, while it takes the creativity pioneered by a certain other voxel game to add in a novel town-building element. The whole package is fun and compelling, and it even includes co-op!
10/12 Echo Generation: A Voxel Game For '80s Kids
Fitting for this classic-leaning RPG, Echo Generation makes stunning use of voxel graphics to create a look that's kind of like if a pixelated RPG burst into the third dimension.
It helps that the game is pretty fun, too - it modernizes turn-based combat with a few twists, and its atmosphere is kind of like if Earthbound were inspired by '80s Spielberg instead of '90s David Lynch. It's a pretty tough game, though, so if you're interested you'll need a few tips and tricks.
9/12 Blade Runner: A Voxel Game For '80s Adults
Though there are many spiritual successors to Blade Runner - including Cyberpunk 2077, which is full of references to it - there are surprisingly few video game adaptations of Ridley Scott's seminal sci-fi film. Maybe that's because the 1997 point-and-click adventure game got it so right.
Its rendering engine was unbelievably advanced for its time, using a voxel- instead of polygon-based system that allowed for incredible animation and detailed environments. A port is currently in development for modern consoles; let's hope we don't have to wait too long to return to this masterpiece.
8/12 Cloudpunk: A Digital Dystopia For The Modern Age
Voxel-based games lend themselves to tech-y, foreboding settings; the limits of the technology turn people and places into blocky abstractions, fitting with dystopian sci-fi's concern about what, exactly, makes us human.
Cloudpunk, one of 2020's hidden gems, is a great example, as it tasks you with being a worker in the delivery infrastructure that makes its city in the sky move. Its neon voxel cityscape is as beautiful as it is unwelcoming.
7/12 Fugl: A Relaxing Demonstration Of Voxel Potential
Another common use of voxel-based engines is in procedurally-generated games, as voxels don't need to be fixed in space the way that polygons are. This means that a game can create complex terrain in real-time voxel by voxel, instead of mixing and matching polygonal surfaces.
Fugl is a great example of this. It's a relaxing game in which you play a bird flying through colorful, procedurally-generated voxel environments. It looks beautiful and feels calming to play - like a guided meditation in game form.
6/12 The Touryst: A Magical Voxel Vacation
A hybrid platform-adventure-life sim game, The Touryst puts you on a relaxing tropical island and tasks you with uncovering all of its secrets and its hidden history.
It's reminiscent of Stardew Valley in its slow pace, minimal guidance, and its abundance of mysteries, but its gorgeous voxel aesthetic sets it apart - where Stardew used pixel art to evoke a simpler way of life, The Touryst's visual style makes it feel more dreamlike. Like a really good vacation, it's just a little outside of reality.
5/12 Astroneer: A Surprisingly Realistic Space Odyssey
Astroneer is one of the best survival games for new players, and its approachable gameplay extends to its appealing visuals. Like No Man's Sky, the game tasks you with exploring various procedurally generated planets, and features crafting, base-building, and terraforming systems.
But its style is all its own: Astroneer is bright and colorful, using a mix of polygonal models for characters and objects with voxels for the terrain. This allows its terraforming to render in real-time, adding a realistic edge.
4/12 Moonglow Bay: A Fishy Seaside Sim
Kind of like if Steven Universe was rendered in voxels - and had its magical elements stripped out - Moonglow Bay is a life sim set in the titular seaside town. It's a pretty chill place, but the town is in decline due to the threat of giant sea creatures. It's your job to catch and sell fish, including the aforementioned giant sea creatures, in order to bring life back to your town.
Moonglow Bay's visual style has plenty of charm, and its easygoing gameplay makes it a great addition to the Game Pass library.
3/12 Bonfire Peaks: A Challenging Yet Chill Puzzler
Unlike many voxel-based games, which tend towards open exploration and sandbox challenges, Bonfire Peaks is a tight, contained puzzle game where you climb blocky environments to burn crates full of your belongings.
The cubic puzzles are perfect for voxel-based environments and can be quite challenging, but the relaxing music, the subdued visuals, and the drop-in drop-out style of its puzzles allow you to take it at your own pace.
2/12 Severed Steel: A Voxel Game For The Vicious
Showing the versatility of voxel-based environments, Severed Steel is the polar opposite of the slow, thoughtful games seen on this list already. This is a fast-paced FPS focused on flow and twitchy reactions, with voxels used to build destructible environments that you can blow up in real-time to get closer to your foes.
It also includes a level editor, so you can create beautiful spaces for your friends to absolutely destroy.
1/12 Minecraft: The Voxel Game
You didn't think we'd leave off the most iconic voxel game, did you? You already know what Minecraft is - it's literally the best-selling video game ever made - and its success is probably the reason why so many voxel games focus on user creativity, procedural generation, and destructible environments.
If voxel-based games take over the industry, it's going to be because of Minecraft. This game will continue to thrive, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
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