Top 10 Survival Games That Are Amazingly Fun
Can you survive?
Survival games are in a genre that has recently hit its peak. There is a plethora of survival games out there to choose from, all ranging in difficulty, theme, time period and realism. So how do you choose the right one? With so many different survival games out there, we can't tell you which one is the very best, so instead here's a list of our top ten picks for survival games.
1) The Long Dark
Wildlife is a huge threat to your survival, collect and build weapons to keep the animals from killing you.
Set in the far Canadian north, The Long Dark is one of our favourite survival games. The dev team is still working on the story mode, but while you wait for that, there's a sandbox mode that is more than worth the price. With hostile animals, hostile conditions and limited easy food and water sources, this game presents a challenge. You're a lone survivor in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster, stuck in the middle of nowhere in Northern Canada, you have to figure out a way to keep yourself alive. You start with basic winter clothing, but it's not always enough to keep you warm or protected from the intense wind storms. You have to keep an eye on your hunger, thirst, fatigue, and body temperature. There are several different areas, you spawn in one of them but can walk to the other zones easy enough. It starts out pretty simple, with food and drinks being able to be scavenged from houses and cars, but eventually the easy to find supplies run out and you're left to find alternate ways to get food and water. With the ability to hunt, fish and melt snow for water, this survival game really tests a player's ability to not only monitor several stats, but also their ability to use their supplies well. With a very promising story mode coming soon, this game definitely tops our list of amazing survival games.
2) Don't Starve
The hounds have come, as they do on every full moon. With the added challenge of timed enemies, this game doesn't make it easy to survive.
With a quirky art style and unique creatures, Don't Starve is quite an interesting game. They break out of the normal set up for survival games and put their own spin on it. With three stats for most characters to begin with; health, sanity and hunger, it seems like quite a simple game. The longer you play, the more elements you find in the game. There's plenty in this game to keep you entertained for hours, whether you play alone or play Don't Starve Together with your friends, there's much exploring to do. The maps are sizeable, there are optional caves you can choose to add, and a great base building aspect. Each base character has their own perks depending on your play style, and there are plenty of new characters to download for free on the Steam Workshop. With changing seasons, the impending danger of night, and hostile creatures to accidentally wander across, this game keeps you on your toes and constantly gives you something to do.
3) State of Decay
In a world full of zombies, can you take charge of a group of survivors? The added pressure of keeping others alive really makes you have to strategize in this game.
A zombie survival game with a great base building feature, State of Decay definitely makes for a solid survival game. A third person style game, it requires leadership and strategy on the player's behalf. With the ability to recruit and befriend survivors, or trade with them, this game puts emphasis on keeping your group of survivors alive and happy. Items take durability damage when repeatedly used and need to be repaired regularly or they will break. Each character has specific attitudes, and their attitude will change depending on events that they go through. With scavenging aspects, specialty zombies that make for tough one-on-one combat and a bunch of unique survivors, this game will provide you with hours of entertaining gameplay.
4) Subnautica
Just one of the alien creatures you'll encounter. With a bunch of unique creatures, you never know what you're going to run into.
You're the only survivor of a plane crash in the middle of the ocean on an alien world. In order to survive you've got to dive down and scavenge what you can. Distilling water, gathering food and ore, and trying not to be killed by the many strange creatures under the water are just a few of the aspects this game has. You start on a small escape pod, but as you progress you can build yourself underwater bases and watercraft. Exploring the depths of this ocean is dangerous and necessary in order to gather materials. With creatures lurking around every corner and in every crevice, this water-based game is unique and entertaining. One of the coolest features in the game is the ability to terraform, to mould the ground to the shape you want it by digging the sand. The night and day cycles provide for a different set of creatures and a slightly different experience depending on the time of day. All in all, Subnautica is a very promising game already, with a lot of content to keep yourself occupied.
5) The Forest
What lurks in the forest? Cannibals, mutants, and wildlife are all lurking in the trees, watching and waiting.
You're on a plane that hits some turbulence, and suddenly your plane goes down. In the aftermath of the crash, you watch a strange being take your son from you and run off. You're the only survivor of the crash aside from your son, as far as you know. You must scavenge to keep yourself alive and try to find your son. You follow a survival book that tells you what you need to know about the basics of surviving, such as building a shelter and making a fire. Not only do you have to find materials, food, and water to survive, but you also have to deal with dangerous wildlife and cannibals. A thrilling game full of danger and crafting, The Forest brings a creepy as hell edge to the world of survival games that's sure to have you panicking just a little at every strange noise.
6) KHOLAT
Mysterious figures stalk you as you try to figure out what happened to the nine students who mysteriously died in the mountains.
Kholat is a horror style survivor game, based on a true story about nine Russian college students who disappeared during a trip to a mountain called Kholat Syakhl. In the game, you play as a person who wants to find out what happened to those nine students. This isn't a traditional survival game, in the sense that there are no thirst or hunger meters, and no base building, but this game includes surviving in the snowy terrain of Russia and living through the strange events that happen and the unique creatures that inhabit the land. Plenty of creepy noises and an amazingly done atmosphere will keep you on the edge of your seat as you discover journal entries that explain the experience of one of the search party members who found the bodies of the nine teens back in 1959. Armed with nothing but a compass and a map, you must survive and try to figure out what's going on in these mountains.
7) Stranded Deep
Find better weapons on shipwrecks and use them to take out sharks to gather supplies and food from them.
Play as the sole plane crash survivor stuck on a set of islands with nothing but a water bottle, a knife and the emergency raft from the plane. You must craft things and hunt food in order to survive. You've got to move from island to island to collect the materials you need in order to continue to survive as some supplies are limited. Brave sharks, hunt crabs and drink coconut milk to keep yourself going. With a crafting system that allows you to build better boats and better materials to survive with, you'll have plenty of content to work on. With sunken ships that you can plunder and different types of sharks that will attack, this game is full of all sorts of things to do and all sorts of islands to adventure and keep your attention.
8) Shelter 2
Raise your children and keep them safe from the dangers of the world. Face predators and hunt for prey in this unique survival game.
Shelter 2 is an artsy and unique survival game. Play as a mother lynx with her children in tow. You must hunt to feed yourself and your babies and avoid predators. With different seasons and night and day cycles, the environment keeps your attention. Your main goal is to keep your children safe and fed, and explore the world around you while you do so. Discover new locations, fight off predators, and learn new skills. With a large map to explore that only continues to get larger, Shelter 2 is a unique survival game, sure to provide you with hours of entertainment.
9) Dead in Bermuda
Set each survivor to do tasks they're best at, collect food and other supplies to make sure everyone stays alive.
Dead in Bermuda is a survival-management game. You control a group of eight plane crash survivors. Have them fish, gather supplies, research new items and much more. You control what they do and when they do it. This game requires you to manage their actions with strategy in mind to keep them alive. A more idle survival game than most, it still provides plenty of entertainment and is a change of pace from most survival games out there. An entertaining way to spend your time, this game will make you keep your wits about you in order to keep everyone alive.
10) Miscreated
Discover vehicles to travel to new lands and scavenge for supplies and food while watching out for mutants and other players.
Miscreated is a post-apocalyptic style survival game. Collect supplies, drive vehicles and fight both the wildlife and the mutants in this sandbox style game. The game includes free-form building and online multiplayer, so you can team up with your friends to build and protect your base, or raid other players bases and take their supplies. With nature ever-changing and night and day cycles, mother nature works against you to thwart your survival efforts. Whichever way you choose to play this game, you're sure to have a great time.
With the large amount of survival games out there, it’s always hard to decide which ones to play. Hopefully, this list of our top ten favourite survival games will help you with that decision.
Want more survival? Check out these other great articles!
"The Best Multiplayer Survival Games for PC"
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