10. H1Z1
Death on all sides
Few games like DayZ get the mod’s formula just right. We’re glad to say H1Z1 aims to please.
Like DayZ, H1Z1 is an MMO survival game set in a massive open-world infested with rotting, stinking undead. Think of it as The Walking Dead game that everyone wants to play but was never made.
You’re one of thousands of players running around rural America trying to survive everything from zombies to nature itself. This entails plenty of scavenging, shelters to build, and items to craft. Not to mention you can’t trust everyone; even though teamwork should be at the center of everyone’s game plan, the direness of the situation turns some survivors into hostile douchebags. If fighting zombies as well as the living sounds intense, that’s because it is.
He just wants to say hello!
Sunset slaughter
9. Sir, You Are Being Hunted
Proper gentlemen!
It’s nice to know that there are things other than zombies out for your hide… things like skeletal robots attired in the fashion of Victorian gentlemen!
In Sir, You Are Being Hunted – the sandbox title that combines survival, stealth, and comedic elements – you are tasked with escaping an island in time for tea and crumpets. Sounds simple? Well, you’ve also got the aforementioned robots hunting you down. And their dogs. And their balloons.
You’ll have to scavenge villages and towns for weapons and food, and rune stones, which are your ticket off the island. But, careful! Should the robots find a rune first, they can surround it with sentries, making it harder to collect!
As for the game world itself, it’s procedurally generated, which means a unique island is generated for every playthrough. Few games like DayZ are this innovative!
All sorts of creepy
The sky bleeds
8. Miasmata
Shelter for the weary
Survival horror doesn’t need zombies to be freaky. Sometimes, all you need is a huge, mysterious island to explore, and a single, unseen stalker following your every step.
In Miasmata, you’re a scientist who’s been infected with a plague. To survive, you need to scour the uninhabited island for medicinal fungi and plants in the hopes of creating a cure. Because you’re ill, you’ll need to regularly drink water to prevent dehydration. It’s also easy to become disorientated.
To make matters worse, you’re not alone in the island. Something is lurking in the shadows, watching you, waiting.
But all hope is not lost. Certain plants can alleviate the condition’s symptoms. Also, the island can be mapped using triangulation techniques, helping you avoid getting lost and ending up in the creature’s belly.
Not many games like DayZ are this nerve-wracking!
Don't let the island's beauty lure you into complacency
Concocting a cure
7. Savage Lands
What the hell is that??
Want to play games like DayZ but with a little more Skyrim thrown in? Check out Savage Lands.
Savage Lands exiles you to an open-world teeming with fantasy wildlife, including dragons and giant monsters so grotesque they make Game of Thrones’ White Walkers look friendly. Combat is robust, making encounters with such creatures as intense as they are brutal. Players would do well to band together to take on the island’s challenges; while it’s possible to do everything alone, a lack of allies to watch your back could result in a swift death.
The land itself is harsh, with nights so cold they drive every living thing to sanctuary lest they freeze to death. Thankfully, players can build fortifications to shelter themselves from the unforgiving weather. There are also items to craft – from weapons and armor to food – which improve your ability to survive.
Another great multiplayer survival game!
Demons and their hellfire
Aww, they're so cute!
6. 7 Days to Die
He doesn't look very friendly
Civilization has crumbled to dust. The only thing left for humanity? Survival in a world that’s gone to hell.
7 Days to Die is another open world survival horror game. It takes place in Navezgane, a fictional county in Arizona, after World War III destroys a large portion of the planet. Similar to other games like DayZ, your activities will include scavenging for useful supplies, finding food and shelter, and surviving attacks by zombies. Yes, because it’s a scientific fact that nuclear fallouts always result in homicidal mutants.
Daylight weakens the freaks, making them slow and sluggish. But come night time, their bloodlust rises, making them faster, more aggressive, and stronger, capable of destroying doors and walls to get to their prize of fresh meat. If players want to survive the night, they must learn to work together.
The game also features destructible and moldable objects and environments, crafting, items that degrade over time, and other details that add realism to the experience. A joy to play!
Looking a little pale there, Mario!
Not your best friend
5. Rust
Survival of the fittest
Survive at all costs. It’s a simple as that.
Rust thrusts you into an open-world fraught with danger: wolves and bears seeking to gnaw on your bones; irradiated areas that’ll melt your eyeballs in their sockets; and other players who want to steal your stuff, or who simply enjoy spreading misery.
Players have to chop trees, hunt animals, and mine rocks to gather resources such as wood, food, cloth, and metal ores. The aforementioned irradiated areas also hold items that’ll raise your odds of survival, from weapons and armor to blueprints.
To make things more interesting, maps are rare in Rust. So how do you tell where you’re going? The natural way: by memorizing landmarks and relying on the position of the sun.
Players can form factions to make their lives easier. Together, they can build houses and even raid other factions to steal their stuff. If you prefer a life on the road, however, you can always go nomad.
One of the best games like DayZ, and it doesn’t even have zombies!
This majestic creature must die for you to live
A hunter is born
4. The Forest
Blood-red glow
You crawl out of the wreck of your crashed plane only to find yourself enveloped by the shadows of a mysterious forest. And as the night deepens, the terrifying truth reveals itself: you aren’t alone in this dark place.
The Forest merges horror, stealth, survival, and a huge open-world, but brings something other than zombies to the table. Here, what you’re up against are mutant cannibals keen on making you a snack.
To survive, you’ll need a camp, a fire to keep the cold away, and food to warm your belly. As the dangers grow worse, you’ll have to upgrade to a larger shelter, and lay traps to keep out unwanted intruders. Don’t waste the light dillydallying; explore, scavenge, and craft your items, because come nightfall, it’s time to defend your home from the deranged freaks.
The Forest is home to all manner of creatures, from birds, reptiles, and fish to terrifying monsters – making it one of the scariest games like DayZ to play.
A Snow White moment
Whatever that thing is, it's probably dangerous!
3. Unturned
Splattered
Want a sandbox, zombie apocalypse survival experience but with the charming, Lego-like look of Minecraft? Then Unturned is for you!
By using building blocks, your group can create and develop your shelter to the point of transforming it into a massive fortress. You can even build complex traps and other systems to help your chances of surviving the world.
Of course, you’ll also need to gather resources, so pick up that ax, ‘coz you’ve got trees to chop down! And don’t forget your rifle while you’re at it, because, aside from zombies, there are wild animals out there seeking to sink their teeth into your flesh. And if you’re too lazy to do all that back-breaking scavenging nonsense, feel free to gang up on other players to steal their hard-earned junk!
Who knew games like DayZ could be simultaneously brutal and cute?
Headshot!
A beautiful world of bricks
2. Project Zomboid
Your assistance is required
A game doesn’t have to use the first or third person perspective to convey the terror of the zombie apocalypse. The isometric Project Zomboid has everything you want from games like DayZ: an enormous sandbox world, multiplayer, scavenging and crafting, shelter-building, and of course, armies of the undead.
Despite its simple graphics, Project Zomboid aims to be the most realistic zombie survival experience in existence. Characters will have to deal with more than just zombies; there’s hunger, illness, depression, and even boredom to worry about. There’s weather and a day/night cycle. Nature will constantly seek to reclaim what humanity has taken from it. You can farm, fish, trap animals, do carpentry, and customize your character. And that’s just a fraction of what the game has in store for you.
Zombies appear either individually or as migrating hordes. You can go Rick Grimes on them and mutilate every undead in sight, or you can turn off the lights in your home, cover the windows with sheets, and hope they don’t hear you breathing.
One of the most suspenseful and authentic zombie survival experiences ever.
Fast food
The horde is on its way
1. State of Decay
Run Forrest, run!
A third person action game set in a dynamic open world, State of Decay combines survival horror, stealth, and social simulation elements in one grim package. And it will throw not just swarms of man-eating undead at you, but every other problem you can expect from living in the zombie apocalypse.
State of Decay allows players to test their zombie survival methods. When not looting abandoned supermarkets, you can trade with other survivors, scavenge, or manufacture your own stuff at your base.
That base needs growing of course, but developing a variety of special facilities for it is a team effort, not something you can do solo. Thankfully there are AI survivors who, upon rescue, will gladly join your cause. It’s nice to have friends in a world ruled by the dead!
As you can guess, leadership plays a significant role in this game. How well you guide your group determines whether you become zombie food or not. And as much as you want to avoid zombies, there are times when you have no choice but to kill them. Leave a horde alone for too long, and they can infest an area, which in turn will prove demolishing to you group’s morale.
Definitely one of the best games for those who want to experience what it’s like surviving in the zombie apocalypse!
They did warn you about picking up hitchhikers
Burn for me, baby
So, Gamers Decide readers, when it comes to games like Day Z, which ones do you think are the best? Tell us in the comments section below!
