15. Ark: Survival Evolved (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBOX / iOS / Android / Mac OS / Nintendo Switch)
You wake up on the shore of a mysterious island. You must learn how to survive in this environment where giant primitive creatures abound. Start with absolutely nothing. Use your wisdom and knowledge to create tools and build a shelter. Hunt and tame the wild animals that inhabit this ecosystem. Find other players to cooperate and create the strongest tribe. Or compete against each other for survival.
Ark is one of the greatest survivors made. It offers a wide variety of things to do. Freedom is at a realistic level which is what makes it an addictive game. And the island has a beautiful design. Exploring the map is such a satisfying activity. You can step with the most beautiful scenarios!
A group of soldiers investigating a strange and unknown life form. The bright colors suggest it's an alien thing that might be radioactive.
14. Conan Exiles (PC / PS4 / XBOX / Project xCloud)
Set in the lands of Conan the Barbarian, this is a highly customizable game.
You are an exiled who has been rescued from death by Conan. Now you have to learn how to survive by yourself in hostile desertic lands. Progress to build your imperium and reclaim your place in these lands. Conquer other territories or live a peaceful life far away from everybody.
The game offers the chance to play a single-player campaign, cooperative, or online multiplayer. This makes the game easy to adapt to your mood.
Conan Exiles is frequently updated with new battle passes to make sure you don’t get tired or bored. Explore a wild sandbox territory with different biomes. Discover places where the most interesting mysteries are hidden. Gather slaves to work at your place or use them to bathe you. In Conan Exiles limit is not important. But your entertainment is.
Let me introduce you to Ymir, the frost Giant. A primary God for the people of Asgard and Vanaheim. It is said that those who die in battle will go to his hall of Valhalla.
13. Raft (PC / PS4 / XBOX / LINUX / Mac OS)
Raft is an oceanic adventure where an epic journey through the waters waits for you.
You start with a humble float. It barely keeps you alive. But it will be enough for now. Navigating the ocean will provide you with things of interest. But how will you quench your thirst? Every hour that passes you become more and more exhausted. Sharks are lurking around your poor raft. No lands in sight. Everything seems to lead to your death. But if you make it, you’ll receive incredible rewards. You will even have the chance to discover ancient civilizations under the water. Everything relies on your survival knowledge.
Become the most experienced navigator and make the sea your home.
These sharks are very common and will usually attack your raft. You should be prepared to face them by creating lethal tools.
12. Valheim (PC / XBOX / LINUX)
Join thousands of players in one of the most acclaimed survivals. Valheim is set in a procedurally generated world inspired by Viking culture.
You’re death. The valkyries have taken your soul to Valheim: the Nordic purgatory. You have to prove that you are worthy of reaching Valhalla.
Venture yourself into this vast hostile world and pass the trials. Explore wonderful places taken from fairytales. Face yourself against legendary bosses in hellish environments. Build your shelter and survive the trials. Or if you want to take it to another level, create your world in your own server. However you choose to play, Valheim is always a magical experience.
Here we can see a mage using his spells to defeat a seeker. The environment looks dark and dry. Pretty accurate for a purgatory.
11. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey (PC / PS5 / XBOX)
This curious game is set 10 million years in the past. Right when evolution began. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is a unique proposal that takes place in an open-world game.
Experience human evolution from the Neogene Africa period. Play as the first hominids and evolve. Secure your survival by learning the basics and creating a clan of your kind. Take a unique path as your choices and decisions will give shape to the world around you. Be careful, your choices will determine the future of your race.
Will you be able to complete the evolution? Try your best in this magnificent and primitive new world.
Two hominids taking a peaceful walk in their natural home. These are common scenarios that you get to see and create in Ancestors.
10. This War Of Mine (PC / PS5 / XBOX / LINUX / Android / Mac OS)
Take control over a group of civilians struggling to survive in the middle of a war. A different perspective of what we know as war. Here you don’t go out shooting other soldiers. Here you experience the feeling of innocent people living under the constant threat of war. A ruined shelter is everything they have. Protect your people and do your best to keep them safe.
This War Of Mine was inspired by real-life events. Some situations will require you to make hard decisions. You must keep in mind that there is no good or bad, only survival.
This game can be really tough if you have a heart. But is an experience that everybody should have. Also a great example of how important is empathy. An absolute masterpiece with high replayable value.
In this image, we clearly see the views of This War Of Mine. A ruined place by war. Everything is decadent. The color palette and atmosphere are very well done.
9. Green Hell (PC / PS4 / XBOX / Nintendo Switch)
You find yourself alone in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. Everything you have is your hands and a radio to keep you alive. You must find a way out of this green hell. The problem? You don’t know where you are in this immense forest. To make it through you’ll have to learn realistic survival skills. The wilderness is merciless. And you have nobody to rely on.
The biggest challenge in Green Hell is to face your fears and keep your mental sanity under control. Of course your physical health matters too. Do find yourself capable enough to survive in this beautiful yet lethal environment? The only way to know is to test your skills in Green Hell!
You can create a shelter that will look primitive and complex at the same time like this one. It can progress and become better depending on the resources gathered.
8. Subsistence (PC)
Subsistence is a hardcore survival game that takes place in a sandbox PvE open world.
Your goal is to build a strong shelter and defend it from possible attacks or raids. There are hunters scattered around the map. They will try to bring your defenses down. You must survive the wild as well. Prepare to face hungry bears and wild dogs.
Cooperate with friends or, if you’re brave enough, venture into the wild by yourself. This game has a lot of things to keep you busy. It’s a great game that provides hundreds of hours of pure survival entertainment.
Three companions keeping watch before night. It is important to keep your shelter safe from possible raids.
7. Rust (PC / PS4 / XBOX / LINUX / Mac OS)
Right when we’re talking about hardcore survivals. Rust is one of the most challenging and fun survival games ever made.
Starting from the very bottom, naked and alone on an unknown island. You start to move and explore the island to soon find out you’re not the only one. There are others like you but watch out. This place has no rules and will not be kind to strangers.
Become an expert on how to survive and progress to build and craft anything you can imagine. Shape the game as you want and don’t let others kill you!
Two players piloting the Heli. A primitive form of a helicopter. One of them is the pilot while the other takes the role of a shooter.
6. Don’t Starve (PC / PS4 / PS3 / PS VITA / XBOX / Android / iOS / Nintendo Switch / Mac OS / LINUX)
Play as Wilson the scientist. A man who has been taken to another world. The only way out is to learn what this strange place is about. Carefully gather resources and information about the inhabitants and environment around you. Maybe you’ll be able to craft something that’ll take you back home.
Don’t Starve is a fascinating game where you explore with no helping hand your survival skills. You must learn and understand how the game works by yourself. The experience tries to be similar to a real situation where nobody would be there to help you through. Plus it can generate random new worlds for you to never leave your house again.
The character in the middle and the only human is our scientist Wilson. He reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe somehow. The dark art style is similar to Tim Burton’s art style.
5. Scum (PC)
Described as a complex simulation, Scum is a brutal PvP open-world RPG game. Perfect for the most meticulous players. This game allows you to explore deep levels of control over your character. Focusing more on the aspect of role play, it offers terrific and realistic gameplay.
Scum is set on an island where you are imprisoned, your goal is to escape at any cost. You can go for a single-player experience or play with up to 60 players per server. Your choice but the result will be the same: a rewarding development of your character.
Scum is one of the most detailed and complete survival games ever made. The full realism of the human body and the environment makes this game a masterpiece.
Two characters relaxing and chilling on a sunny day on the beach. They seem very peaceful considering the place where they are standing.
4. The Long Dark (PC / PS4 / XBOX / Mac OS / LINUX / Nintendo Switch)
Put yourself in Will Mackenzie’s shoes. A man who has suffered an air crash accident after a strange lightning event in the sky.
You crash-landed on the cold and wild lands of Canada with your partner. Now you have two problems: your partner is missing and you must survive a geomagnetic catastrophe.
The story mode has five episodes to complete. And you have two game modes available to play: Survival and different challenges.
Survival mode challenges you to stay alive as long as you can. Your death is permanent.
The story mode on the other hand can be played comfortably as an exploration experience.
The landscapes are breathtaking and the survival system is excelent.
This beautiful scene is the Northern Lights. A clear guide to knowing where you are. And also a magnificent landscape at night. It is dangerous to be out in the dark but this is worth it.
3. V Rising (PC)
You wake up after centuries of being asleep. Your thirst for blood increases with each minute that passes. You have seen in your dreams that you will become the next Dracula. But there’s a long road yet to be walked.
Explore a gothic open world and take back the power that once belonged to you. Hunt your victims during nighttime. Do not expose yourself to the burning sunlight. As you belong to the dark. Build your castle and raise an imperium. Grow an army out of dark forces.
Play online with other fellow vampires. Create a server for you and your friends. Or take a solo campaign. Master your vampire skills and become the strongest evil in this world.
As a classic RPG V Rising has several slots for your items and abilities. In the middle is our vampire becoming stronger with dark forces.
2. Grounded (PC / XBOX)
What would you do if your size went down to the size of an ant? Become the smallest human in this super fun survival adventure. Face spiders, bees, and other insects that would normally not represent a danger. But since you’re so small everything looks scary and threatening. Try to survive in your backyard as you explore to find a way to get back to your normal size.
The game gets harder as you progress. New scenarios and more dangerous enemies will appear. Play in cooperative mode with friends or dive into a solo campaign. Both are great experiences. Grounded is guaranteed fun.
Disclaimer: If you have arachnophobia, do not worry because Grounded took care of this.
This little bug is an Aphid. A harmless creature found primarily in the Grasslands area. Is one of the smallest and cutest creatures in the game.
1. Project Zomboid (PC / LINUX / Mac OS)
If we’re talking about survivals, Project Zomboid can’t be skipped. This game is very popular among the community. And that is because it’s the most complete game you’ll ever play. The ultimate zombie survival. The greatest sandbox with RPG elements.
Project Zomboid has everything you ever wished for and more. In this game, there is no helping hand. Your death can not be avoided. Everyone in this world is walking right to their deaths. Your only goal is to keep yourself alive as long as you can. Enjoy your last days alive before succumbing to the infection.
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