If there’s one thing I love more than getting a good deal on a game, it’s getting a good deal on a game where I don’t have to pay anything whatsoever. But do I really need to sell those reading this article that there’s anything better than getting something for free? I honestly don’t think I do, since typically anyone will come if you show them the word “free”. So if you’ve come here because of the word “free”, then please stay for the interesting slew of survival games that you’ll be able to play for absolutely free in today’s Top 10 article, which we’ll now immediately be starting with…
#10: Outpost (PC/Mac/Linux)
Outpost Trailer: Tower defense with resource collection
Starting us off is a game called Outpost, a smaller indie title from developers Open Mid Interactive that gives us a mix of both that classic survival gameplay style and rogue-lite elements. The goal in Outpost is simple, once a new game starts you will be placed in a randomly generated environment that you must learn to adapt to. But staying alive is always easier said than done, so the question is, how long can you really manage to survive?
Each new game in Outpost starts a different season that immediately forces you to adapt to any situation, be it using your daylight wisely in the winter or using all the time you can in the summer. Exploring the uncharted lands you find yourself in will allow you to gather resources that can be used to build turrets, canons, magic crystals, and other constructions that you will need to build if you want to survive against the streams of enemies that will appear come nightfall. Every time you finish a playthrough you gain experience that can unlock new survival talent upgrades and even new gear, which you can then use in the next playthrough to ensure that you will survive for even longer.
Admittedly it’s not the most complex game in the world, but that’s not to say that what Outpost delivers is anything short of a charming, and deceptively challenging little survival game that will test your base-building and survival strategy skills. The longer you can survive in Outpost, the better your score will be not only for yourself but for the game’s online leaderboard. So if you want to test yourself you can take a look at the names and scores on that leaderboard and set out to go above and beyond and prove that you belong with the best of the best. Or maybe you’ll die trying. There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?
Adapt to the randomly generated world you now find yourself in and construct numerous defensive buildings to fend off the swarms of monsters that appear once the sun goes down.
#9: Unfortunate Spacemen (PC)
Unfortunate Spacemen - v1.0 (Free to Play) Release Trailer
Ensuring your survival is an entirely different kind of goal to achieve in Unfortunate Spacemen because instead of fighting off mysterious monsters around your campfire, you will need to figure out which of your fellow astronauts is secretly a deep-space monster that’s murdering the rest of you. Your space station is failing and your only hope of survival is for you and your team to repair the station just enough so that you can contact The Company to come and rescue you. But at the same time, you never know who you’ll be able to trust, as any other member of your crew could be a monster from the blackest reaches of the galaxy who’s looking to devour you whole, or worse, a traitor amongst your crew who is willing to risk their own life just to see the monster end yours!
Players will be forced to fight for their survival across 15 distinct alien locales, from desolate settlements, arctic outposts, derelict space stations, warp-speed hypertrains, ancient dig sites, and plenty of other strange locations. When playing in multiplayer you will be randomly assigned as a standard Spaceman, a Traitor, or a Monster. As either the innocent Spaceman or Traitor, you will be able to wield two weapons and one gear item in your inventory, and generally, you will always want to have at least one gun on you whether you’re innocent or a Traitor, whereas the Monster can perfectly mimic the regular Spaceman form until it comes time to transform into its true form to kill the humans using various monstrous abilities, such as burrowing underground and hiding in air vents. Both humans and the monster come with optional perks to alter your gameplay, such as the Doctor perk that allows humans to heal one another, and the Void Beast mutation that replaces the Monster’s Parasite Egg ability with a short-range teleport, along with many others.
In this space-based game about murder and deception, you will need to keep your wits about you at all times and make sure to never trust anybody unless they can prove their innocence. For being a free-to-play title, Unfortunate Spacemen gives you plenty of content to play around with in a gameplay loop that will reel you in and keep you hooked for a good chunk of time. And since I’m sure most of you reading this are mentally comparing this game to a certain other game about astronauts trying to figure out who the monster hiding among them is, I’ll quickly point out that Unfortunately Spacemen was first released in Early Access back in 2016. Good thing we’re focusing on how fun these games are to play and not being so petty as to argue about who came first, huh?
You and your fellow Spacemen must work together to repair your failing space station so you can contact The Company to rescue you, while at the same time trying to discover which among you is secretly the monster that’s murdering you one by one.
#8: SAS: Zombie Assault 4 (PC/Mac/iOS/Android)
SAS: Zombie Assault 4 Official Trailer
If you grew up browsing all of those sweet Flash browser game websites as I did, you’ll probably feel some nostalgia swelling up when taking your first look at SAS: Zombie Assault 4, a top-down shooter where you’ll fight off swarms of undead enemies in a strange far future. The year is 3104, and onboard the Kurios Space Control Station in Thera System an unknown virus has infected most, if not all humans on board, with its continued spread to the nearby planet threatening the entirety of mankind as we know it. The only ones capable of holding back this overwhelming threat are the highly skilled, highly weaponized S.A.S. special forces, which makes you the best and last hope for humanity’s survival in this ravaged civilization.
SAS: Zombie Assault 4 throws you head-first into the zombie-slaying action by putting you up against a vast horde of undead monstrosities either alone or alongside friends in up to 4-player online co-op. You can play as one of the Assault, Medic, or Heavy Gunner classes when starting a new mission, with each class having 19 class-specific skills to customize along with over 70 individual pieces of armor and over 90 different guns that can both be augmented and upgraded throughout gameplay, as well as a handful of grenades and other gadgets like auto-turrets. You will be forced to quickly become familiar with your gear, because in no time at all you will find yourself being rushed down by the 17 unique zombie enemy variants that you’ll encounter sooner than later, with each enemy type not only possessing unique special attacks and behavior patterns but also the ability to evolve into even stronger forms that manifest terrifying new powers along the way. And just when you think you’re finally safe, you will also need to take down savage boss zombies that can puke out acid worms to attack you with, storm after you in a furious rage mode, and use many more viciously disgusting attacks that will keep you on your toes.
Top-down zombie shooters like this will always have a soft spot in my heart since they almost always perfectly nail that addicting formula that will keep you wanting to come back for more, and Zombie Assault 4 is no exception to that rule. With the great combo of tense overhead shooter gameplay and some great-looking graphics to boot, SAS: Zombie Assault 4 is an experience that will leave any gamer out there satisfied. And that’s even before you remember that it’s free!
Located on a planet far from Earth, it’s up to you to utterly eviscerate the seemingly endless horde of undead monstrosities that threaten the very existence of humankind.
#7: SCP: Containment Breach Multiplayer (PC)
SCP Containment Breach Multiplayer Trailer 1.3.11
If you thought being trapped with a swarm of zombies in space was terrifying then you haven’t seen anything yet. SCP: Containment Breach Multiplayer will put you at the forefront of an entirely different kind of survival horror. In the SCP universe, there are a vast number of anomalous entities that pose a general danger to the public, so it’s up to the “Secure. Contain. Protect.” Foundation to house those anomalies which can range from abnormal everyday objects to monstrous creatures that have no problem killing humans. One day at the facility known as Site-19, just after receiving your first assignment as a prisoner turned test subject, a massive containment breach occurs and a number of these deadly entities escape and plunge the entire facility into chaos, leaving you trapped in the darkness with the escaped entities freely roaming the facility… luckily for you, in this multiplayer version of the game you at least won’t be alone in the dark.
Originally, SCP: Containment Breach was released in 2012 as a standalone horror game about the SCP Foundation project, but in late 2021 this Multiplayer version was released to Steam, featuring everything that made the original game such a terrifyingly memorable experience but with the bonus ability of dying alongside your friends. Not only can you play through the original campaign of Containment Breach where you desperately try and escape from Site-19, but you can also play in the new multiplayer-specific game mode called Breach, where players can also play as security guards, the SCP entities themselves, and a couple of other options beyond just the D-Class prisoners. Containment Breach Multiplayer also keeps the original game’s random site generation feature, meaning that every time you play you’ll experience an all-new version of Site-19 that will always ensure that visceral panic feeling of being lost in the dark without knowing where you’re going.
Any horror fan who uses the modern-day internet has likely delved into the world of the SCP Foundation at least once or twice, and if you fall into that category then chances are you’ve also played, or at least heard of the original SCP: Containment Breach. But if you happen to be someone who doesn’t know just how deep the SCP rabbit hole goes, don’t worry, because you’ll be able to experience that same level of terror as even a knowledgeable SCP fan would when you’re running down the hallways of Site-19, desperately trying not to let your neck be snapped by the concrete monster that can only move when you blink or any of the other monstrous anomalies that await you in SCP: Containment Breach Multiplayer. Only thanks to this version of the game, you can have up to 64 players trying to escape from those monsters all at once! If you can even wrap your head around that image.
When a massive containment breach occurs and Site-19 is plunged into darkness, you will need to keep as calm as you can if you want to make it out of this nightmare alive. But at least in this version of the game, you won’t be all alone when encountering the monsters hiding in the dark.
#6: Kingdom: Classic (PC)
Kingdom: Classic Gameplay Reveal Trailer [In 4K]
Previously known simply as Kingdom, Kingdom: Classic is the original game in the Kingdom series, which now spans four different games. In Kingdom: Classic you play as a King or Queen riding atop your valiant steed, and you must gather gold coins to build your new domain from the ground up, attending from border to border to ensure that your kingdom and its people grow strong enough to defend against the monsters that come racing out of the forest once the sun goes down. You will need to spend every coin you gather with care, because in Kingdom: Classic, each coin can tip the balance between prosperity and decay.
Kingdom: Classic uses a minimalistic gameplay approach that hinges on proper resource management and strategy since you aren’t able to directly fight against the nightly monster swarms, meaning that you will need to rely on giving your kingdom’s subjects the means to defend you as well as themselves, and to give them the means to construct archer towers and defensive walls for your kingdom as well. The procedurally generated realm you find yourself in is built with a beautiful, modern pixel art aesthetic that adds to the minimalist gameplay feel, allowing you to get lost in the stunning scenery of your procedurally generated world whether you’re riding through the forest or defending your kingdom’s walls alike. When you’re not constructing new additions to your kingdom like new archer towers or fields of farmlands that help generate additional coins, you can also ride off to explore the nearby mysterious forests to discover curious and cryptic artifacts that might just aid you and your kingdom.
I’m a big fan of the Kingdom series and its deceptively simple goal of defending your growing castle and your noble subjects, only to then get roped into a grander strategic narrative that will require intricate planning as the days keep turning to nights, and the monsters keep arriving in greater and greater numbers. The fact that they’re giving away the original Kingdom for free is honestly a steal in my opinion, so if you haven’t played any of these games before, I recommend that you give this game a go. Who knows, you might just find yourself loving Kingdom: Classic to the point where you’ll want to go and try out the other three games and all of the new content that they’ve added on top of the original’s groundwork. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if you did.
“Wise Rulers know their kingdom will fall, Brave Rulers do not despair. Great Rulers know their riches can rule, And spend every coin with great care.”
#5: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt (PC/PS5)
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt - Launch Trailer
Set in the World of Darkness universe that’s based on the Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop role-playing game, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt is a unique standout among the Masquerade games as the first free-to-play Battle Royale entry in the series. The game takes place in the city of Prague, where a ruthless civil war between different vampire factions has consumed its streets and rooftops alike. As a vampire, you will need to use not only traditional firearms and other weapons but also your supernatural powers and your wits to dominate the battlefield of this all-out supernatural war.
You’re able to pick from five unique vampire factions to play with in Bloodhunt, with nearly every faction coming with two different classes that offer different supernatural abilities to use, such as the Nosferatu faction taking advantage of modern technology and stealth tactics, the Brujah utilizing superior strength and speed, the Tremere using their mastery of Blood Sorcery, the Venture being able to harden their skin for increased defense, and the Toreador being able to create beautiful projections of themselves that they can teleport to. By using these supernatural abilities and many more alongside your vampiric agility and your conventional firearms, you can prove your faction’s superiority by either sneaking along the city’s rooftops as a solitary predator or by rushing down your opponents in a pack alongside your allies. And like any good game about vampires, you’ll be able to stalk non-player human targets to feast on them so you can grow in strength, or maybe even use them directly against your enemies.
Bloodhunt stands as a unique contender among both its own franchise and the ever-popular Battle Royale genre, as few games like these utilize fast-paced movement and game-changing special abilities as effectively as Bloodhunt does. So if you’re looking for a change of pace from the more popular Battle Royales, or if you’re a longtime Masquerade fan who’s willing to try something new, then Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt has plenty to offer you. Or maybe you’re neither of those and you’re just looking for a neat game to play, in which case that works too.
A supernatural civil war between numerous vampire factions has broken out across the streets and rooftops of Prague, and if you want to survive you will need to fight against vampire hunters, other vampires, and your own worst instincts, all while struggling to maintain the Masquerade.
#4: Fallout Shelter (PC/PS4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch/iOS/Android)
Fallout Shelter - Announcement Trailer
When the bombs fall most shelters will provide minimal protection, but luckily for you, you have been put in control of a state-of-the-art underground Vault courtesy of Vault-Tec. As the Overseer of your very own Vault, you will be responsible for building new rooms in your Vault to provide not only living space but also entertainment and protection for your Vault Dwellers. The Wasteland outside your Vault’s front door is a hostile place, and you never know what might end up trying to break into your Vault to take a piece of your Vault’s resources, so it’s up to you to make sure that your Dwellers can defend their perfect slice of pre-war paradise as you continue to create a brighter future… underground!
Similar to Bloodhunt at #5, Fallout Shelter is unique among the Fallout games for being the only construction and management simulation game in the series, on top of being the only one that’s free-to-play. In Fallout Shelter you will predominantly be building new rooms like power generators, water treatment, and diners to produce necessary materials for your Vault, then you’ll need to build living rooms to increase your Dweller capacity, rooms like the weight and athletics rooms to train your Dweller’s stats, and finally rooms like the weapons workshop to create weapons for your Dwellers, along with many other unique room types that rounds out to 22 in total. Once you either train or randomly acquire a new Dweller with decent enough stats, you can equip them with stat-boosting armor and a variety of weapons to then send them out into the Wasteland above and guide them through certain discoverable locations as they search for food, water, armor, weapons, caps, and various other resources to be found above. You never know who might end up fighting you for those supplies, however, so always make sure your explorers are well-prepared!
In the end, Fallout Shelter is like being in control of your very own ant farm, only instead of ants you’re playing with the lives of human beings as they try to live in what comfort they can inside an underground bunker in a post-nuclear war America… but considering the state of the world at large, there’s far worse places to be than a Vault like yours. So that’s why you need to remain vigilant and build the best Vault that you can, so you can ensure humanity’s future even in a world filled with all-new dangers and monstrosities. Plus, if your Vault survives for long enough, you might even meet a few familiar faces from the Fallout series while you’re busy toiling away under the surface of the Earth! And plenty of giant mutated monsters and bloodthirsty raiders as well, don’t forget those guys.
Ensure the safety and comfort of your Vault Dwellers as you take the reins and become an Overseer of your very own state-of-the-art underground Vault, where you and your Dwellers work together to create a brighter future… underground!
#3: Albion Online (PC/Mac/Linux/iOS/Android)
Albion Online | Tell Your Story
Albion Online is a massive sandbox MMORPG set within an open medieval fantasy world based on the Arthurian legends, where you are free to do whatever you want, however you want. When exploring the vast open world of Albion Online, it’s entirely up to you to decide if you would like to join or create a guild and set out to conquer the world, or if you would just like to purchase a plot of land or a private island and put down roots to live a simple, peaceful life. Be a farmer or a blacksmith, an explorer or a dungeon-crawling adventurer, and any other number of playable roles, with your only limit being what you want to do with your story inside of this expansive, living world where every inhabitant matters.
One of the main features that makes Albion Online stand out from other MMORPGs is the classless character design system, which means instead of choosing from a list of set classes when you first create a new character, you can become an armor-plated knight, a powerful wizard, an agile archer, or any other number of character roles at any time simply by swapping out your current armor and equipment. Another unique addition to the game is that nearly every piece of armor and equipment that you can acquire was created by another player at one point or another, as Albion Online features a fully player-driven economy that adds that extra level of immersion to make this already living and breathing world feel that extra bit more alive. So, for example, you are fully able to travel across the expansive world of Albion without restriction to mine your own metals, and then craft those metals into a variety of weapons, armor, and other equipment, which you will ultimately be able to sell or trade with other real-life players, who themselves will take those weapons with them as they delve into dungeons, use the tools you make to tend their farmlands, and even use that armor you crafted to protect themselves in either PvE or PvP combat scenarios.
With the amount of content that you can limitlessly explore and experience, it truly can be a bit surprising to some that Albion Online is a free-to-play title. Of course, being an MMORPG, there are certain in-game purchases to be made that make the game “easier” in the opinions of some, but those purchases are still entirely optional and you can still play the game without spending even a cent. So if you want a classic MMORPG experience that’s only been elevated by modern-day technological advancements, then you should check out Albion Online when you get the chance.
Whether you want to become a daring dungeon explorer, a thriving farmer with expansive produce plots, or a master-class blacksmith, you’re free to make your mark however you see fit in the world of Albion Online.
#2: NARAKA: BLADEPOINT (PC/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S)
Naraka: Bladepoint - Launch Trailer
Eons ago on the Morus Isle, the two ancient gods Sun Ring and Moon Bay fought in an endless battle for control, and in doing so the combined might of their unimaginable power was channeled into an artifact known as the Mask of Immortality. The power of these ancient gods is granted to anyone lucky enough to wear the mask, which is why countless warriors have gathered to compete for the right to wear it, but only the last one standing will earn the right to possess it. With the knowledge that many other capable warriors are also competing for this prize, you must force yourself to become the best among them if you are to become the last one standing, and in turn, prove that you are worthy to wear the Mask of Immortality.
Naraka: Bladepoint is a free-to-play Battle Royale that takes an interesting twist on the usual Battle Royale formula, as instead of fighting enemies with modern-age firearms, Bladepoint focuses on melee-based combat and will have you collecting weapons like katanas, nunchucks, spears, and additionally a handful of ranged weapons like bows, muskets, handheld cannons, and an additional collection of weapons that fit the game’s ancient Japan-themed setting. To make the melee-focused combat feel all the more satisfying, you can also run along walls, swoop through the air, and zip across mountains and buildings with ease thanks to the game’s boundless movement features. And to tie it all together, in Bladepoint you don’t play as an interchangeable cosmetic outfit, but rather you can select from a total of 17 Heroes, who are characters that each come with one unique Skill and Ultimate move, and you can even customize each of Hero’s physical appearance, from their hair to their skin color and facial structure, to the outfits that your Heroes are wearing, which resembles the way skins work in Overwatch as an example.
Whether you choose to play alone or in Trios squad matches, Naraka: Bladepoint is a unique take on the Battle Royale genre that both does a fine job of getting your attention and a fine job of keeping it for hours on end. If you want to take your shot at Godhood and prove you’re the ultimate warrior, or if you’re just a fan of Battle Royales, then Naraka: Bladepoint is worth taking a look at. And don’t worry, this Battle Royale doesn’t have as many vampires in it as the last one. Probably.
Travel to the magnificent but dangerous land of Morus and Holoroth and battle dozens of enemy warriors in pursuit of the mythical Mask of Immortality in the one and only melee-focused Battle Royale.
#1: Unturned (PC/Mac/Linux/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S)
Unturned Release Trailer
Rounding us out at #1, we take a look at the deceptively simple 2010s zombie survival shooter that you’ve likely heard of at least once before, Unturned. The story is fairly straightforward in Unturned, you are one of the scattered few survivors that remain in the zombie-infested ruins of society, and you must fight to keep yourself alive no matter the cost in this blocky-looking world. And it’s entirely up to you to decide whether that means going solo or teaming up with friends, remaining hidden in the shadows or gunning down hordes of the ‘turned’, trusting random strangers you meet, or gunning them down without mercy for their supplies.
Unturned supports five official maps that feature locations from Washington to Germany to Russia, and in each of these expansive maps you will gather simple supplies like clothing for warmth and food and water for the obvious, along with more complex supplies like weapons and ammo, and equipment to fortify structures to protect yourself from the turned. Along with those usual features, the survival mode in Unturned also features gameplay like hunting animals or farming for food, seeking shelters for warmth during blizzards, donning protective gear to explore radioactive dead zones, and interacting with the new society of NPCs that both trade equipment and give you quests that progress the in-game story beyond survival. Outside of the main survival mode, Unturned also features plenty of modding capabilities for player-run multiplayer servers, meaning that you can also play alternate modes like Player-VS-Player arena modes, role-play-oriented servers where you role-play a character alongside dozens of other players in real-time, and many more alternatives. Alternatives that will likely still involve the undead hordes in some way shape or form, of course.
Unturned continues to see consistent content updates and general maintenance from developers Smartly Dressed Games nearly a decade after the game was first launched in Early Access on Steam. So don’t let the somewhat silly blocky-looking characters throw you off, as Unturned not only continues to see love from the devs and community alike, but it’s also one of the most in-depth zombie survival experiences that you can get out of a free-to-play title. So if you somehow haven’t tried it for yourself already, or maybe if you want to feel a bit of nostalgia if you have, then Unturned would be more than happy to have you. And to inevitably add your undead body to its shambling hordes. Though that goes without saying.
Stranded in the ruins of society as one of the few who hasn’t yet been turned, you will need to fight for your life against the zombies swarming around you, and perhaps even other players if you want to keep your humanity for just one more day.
Conclusion
And with that, we’ve reached the end of this article. Here’s a quick thanks to those who have decided to read the whole thing, and if you’re reading this final note, then I would be happy to read your comments if you have any. But otherwise, that’s it for today’s Top 10 list of free-to-play survival games, and maybe I’ll be seeing you around in the next article.
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