If you want to be really technical, basically every game is a survival game. After all, the point is to avoid dying, right?
Games in the survival genre take that experience to the next level by forcing you to worry about things like eating, drinking, sleeping, and the weather. Oftentimes, the enemies are less of a concern than the environment itself. Still, there’s something very satisfying about managing to overcome your situation and thrive in hostile lands. Survival games, like Metroidvanias and roguelikes, are some of the most popular among big and small developers so there are a ton of options out there. If you want to know the best ones you can play right now, we’ve got you covered.
As survival games become more popular, our list of upcoming video games is filling up with more all the time to keep an eye on.
Rust
70%
Platforms
PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One
Genre
Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie
Developer
Facepunch Studios
Publisher
Facepunch Studios, Double Eleven
Release
February 08, 2018
One of the most popular survival games for players and content creators alike is Rust. No doubt you’ve heard how hardcore this survival game is, and its reputation isn’t an exaggeration. This post-apocalyptic multiplayer game would be a challenging, if not basic, survival game on its own, but it is the online community that formed around it that makes it so special. The ways you can interact with other players will make you love or hate this game depending on which side of a shakedown you end up on and your appetite for punishment.
Ark: Survival Ascended
79%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Genre
Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Studio Wildcard
Publisher
Studio Wildcard
Release
October 25, 2023
After the novelty of the basic survival mechanics wore off, games entering the genre needed something special to differentiate themselves. Ark: Survival Ascended chose dinosaurs and sci-fi weaponry. That might sound like it would clash, but the progression from what is basically a caveman to a dinosaur-riding space marine with a laser pistol is hard to find anywhere else. Being able to tame and ride dinosaurs besides just fighting them adds a new level of fantasy on top of the normal base building and crafting you come to expect. After dozens of updates and expansions, this game even got an engine upgrade renaming it to Ascended while we await the release of the sequel.
Grounded
68%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher
Xbox Game Studios
Release
July 28, 2020
How it took so long for a developer to take the scene from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids where the kids navigate their backyard like a jungle and make a survival game out of it feels criminal. Thankfully we finally got it with Grounded and it is just as quirky and fun as you would hope. You will need to build a base, weapons, and equipment out of unusual materials like acorns and bug parts to try to survive against all the big bad bugs in the yard while you find a way to return to normal size. Just like in the movie, you have never seen bugs in such a terrifying way as this. If you’re especially put off by spiders, there’s a handy arachnophobia slider to make those at least less horrifying.
Stranded Deep
58%
Platforms
PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Simulator, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Beam Team Games
Publisher
Beam Team Games
Release
January 23, 2015
Surviving on an island is about as uninspired as you can get for a survival game setting, and yet Stranded Deep manages to do enough with the mechanics and progression to stand out. Building in this game is based on physics, lending to a more thoughtful crafting system than just slapping the proper materials together in a menu. There is also almost no UI elements in normal gameplay to fully immerse you in the world. This is a tough game even by survival game standards, but it lets you survive and progress in your own way which most games don’t.
Pathologic
85%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Genre
Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie
Developer
Ice-Pick Lodge
Publisher
Meridian4, Buka Entertainment
Release
June 09, 2005
Right off the bat, we have to warn you that Pathologic is not for everyone. Even survival game fans might find this game a bit too grueling. This game is more structured than other survival games, making you choose one of three characters with the goal of finding the source of a plague within a strict 12-day time period. The town operates like an immersive sim, with everyone and everything working on a timeline and too much to do for you to see it all in one run. If you love dynamic RPGs that give you tough choices at every turn, this is one of the few survival games that embraces that structure.
Project Zomboid
82%
Platforms
Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Indie
Developer
The Indie Stone
Publisher
The Indie Stone
Release
November 08, 2013
Despite being in early access, Project Zomboid is one of the most fully featured zombie survival games ever developed. Unlike most zombie games, nothing can be taken for granted here. Even a single encounter with a zombie can be your end. Besides your usual hunger, thirst, and other meters to worry about, this game takes into account everything so making too much noise or forgetting to turn the oven off can cause a chain reaction leading to unforeseen consequences in the most dynamic and entertaining ways.
Minecraft
84%
Platforms
Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac
Genre
Simulator, Adventure
Developer
Mojang Studios
Publisher
Mojang Studios
Release
November 18, 2011
You can’t make a list of survival games and not include Minecraft. While Minecraft had a humble beginning, the game quickly grew to be one of the most recognized titles in the gaming industry and spawned a new genre of building and crafting games. Years later, the survival mechanics within Minecraft still ring true. Players must eat, build shelter, and explore the rest of a massive world full of secrets and surprises, all while battling dangerous creatures, or even other players. It isn’t a very hard survival game since you can easily overpower yourself and remove all the challenges in just a few in-game days, but there are an infinite number of mods to keep it interesting.
Terraria
82%
Platforms
Google Stadia, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Linux, Nintendo 3DS, Windows Phone, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Platform, Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Strategy, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Re-Logic
Publisher
Headup Games, Re-Logic, 505 Games
Release
May 16, 2011
Terraria is way more than just a 2D Minecraft. Sure, base building, weapon crafting, and mining are core components of the game, but it gives you much clearer goals to progress towards. How you go about them is still up to you, but the various bosses and monsters you will find as you venture out further and further make it far more deadly than its blocky brother. After so many years of updates, this game is absolutely packed with content and is a fantastic co-op game.
Sons of the Forest
73%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Genre
Simulator, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Endnight Games Ltd
Publisher
Newnight
Release
February 23, 2023
We don’t get a ton of sequels to survival games, but Sons of the Forest is a perfect example of how they can be done right. Both of these titles are more linear games compared to others in the genre, with a clear story and progression path, but you’re still free to spend as much time as you want surviving on the island. The scenario is a bit like Lost, except that instead of a group of mysterious people on the island, the island you crash land on is filled with cannibals and horrific mutants. The AI on the cannibals is especially fun since they aren’t just mindlessly attacking you. Instead, you might see one or two just watching you from the edges of the forest, or run away when they see you brutalize one of them. There are a lot of mysteries to uncover here, making it great if you want a quick or long adventure.
Subnautica
85%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, SteamVR, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Meta Rift
Genre
Adventure, Indie
Developer
Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Publisher
Gearbox Publishing, Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Release
December 16, 2014
We are always surviving on some island or other isolated space, but so rarely do we get to play a game set almost completely underwater. Subnautica tasks you with surviving in an alien ocean. That concept opens up a ton of new and interesting mechanics, such as managing your air as you explore, but also the pressure as you go deeper under the waves. And if you didn’t have a fear of the deep before you played, once you start encountering some of the bigger sea creatures in the deep, dark depths, you certainly will afterward. You can also snag a meaty expansion as well if you liked the base experience to get even more.
Valheim
86%
Platforms
Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie
Developer
Iron Gate Studios
Publisher
Coffee Stain Publishing
Release
February 02, 2021
Valheim was the biggest game for a hot minute when it was released, and while it has somewhat died down in the public conversation, it is still one of the most satisfying survival games of recent years. You are placed in a Viking-inspired world with a simple but striking art style. All the monsters, weapons, and structures are ripped right out of Norse mythology, but it also makes you consider a lot of things you wouldn’t normally need to in a survival game. For example, if you light a campfire to stay warm inside a house but don’t have a chimney or window for smoke to escape, you could suffocate.
Palworld
69%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Genre
Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Adventure, Indie
Developer
PocketPair
Publisher
PocketPair
Release
January 19, 2024
People might have claimed Palworld was Pokémon with guns before launch, but it actually is more of Pokémon with survival elements than anything else. Mixing in monster catching and taming with base building and resource managing takes the best elements of survival games and automation games and slams them together. The survival mechanics aren’t super punishing, but do enough to make you want to build a base where your Pals can do all the grunt work of mining and processing resources for you so you can get better weapons and fight tougher Pals.
