11 Best Zombie Survival Games to Play in 2016

Updated:

22 Aug 2024

11. 7 Days to Die

7 Days to Die Features Trailer

In a world destroyed by a nuclear attack, you are one of a handful of survivors. Do you have it in you to survive?

Set in an open world, 7 Days to Die is a first-person zombie survival games with heavy emphasis on crafting to survive. You have to find shelter, hunt for food, find drinkable water, and fight off a horde of mutant zombies that want to kill you.

One thing that sets this game apart from the rest is the realistic degradation of items through use. In a real world survival situation, your axe would get dull and your clothes would get tattered and worn. Even the world around you, the buildings you build or repair, will fall apart without care.

In a time where there are many zombie survival games to choose from, this one is great for someone who enjoys the crafting aspect of survival.

An impenetrable fortress.

10. Dead Effect

Dead Effect Official Trailer

Grey awakens early from her cryostasis to find that the crew of the ESS Meridian have become zombies. With only one other living human on board, together they must stop the ship from reaching Earth to avoid spread of the zombie virus.

With twelve playable missions, choose to play as Jane Grey or Gunnar Davis in this fast paced first person shooter. The missions are sequenced and go with the story of how the ship’s crew became infected.

There are also two other modes to note:

Survival mode: Kill as many enemies as possible in the allotted time.

Biohazard Mode: Survive and defeat waves of zombies.

Dead Effect was originally an iOS and Android game available on the app stores for purchase. In 2014, the game was greenlit for Steam and a sequel was released in October 2015.

While infected, avoid use of heavy machinery.

9. Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid Steam Announcement Trailer

Death is inevitable. Survive as long as you can.

There isn’t much of a story to put behind Project Zomboid. The goal is to survive as long as you can by crafting, hunting, and managing your hunger, tiredness, and emotions. It is truly in vain however, because eventually, you’ll make a mistake.

And you will die.

The game offers three different modes: survival mode, sandbox mode, and last stand mode. The game is also multiplayer.

If you aren’t sure about sinking in $14.99 for the game in its alpha stages, there is a playable demo on Steam to check out beforehand.

Now would be the time to run.

8. Killing Floor 2

Killing Floor 2: Incinerate ‘N Detonate Release Trailer

The world is being overrun by Zeds. Gather your team and fight them off. Stop the spread of the epidemic.

I loved the first Killing Floor, so when I heard a sequel was coming, I squealed with joy. I have bought the game and I have played it. I still love it.

Defeat waves of zombies with your friends. Play different class such as support or damage. Work together to stop Hans Volter, an evil 100-year old Nazi doctor that has nearly immortalized himself through the use of Horzine technology.

Kill it with fire!

7. Resident Evil HD Remastered

Resident Evil HD Gameplay Trailer

S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team has gone to find out what has happened to Bravo Team after losing contact with them. They arrive to find their helicopter has crashed and are attacked by vicious dogs. Finding shelter inside of a mansion, they soon realize that there is more to the attacks and murders that they were sent to investigate.

This game is a remastered version of an already amazing game. The epitome of zombie survival horror. Play as Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield and explore the mansion, fighting zombies and other monsters that will give you nightmares.

Jill Valentine to the rescue.

6. Contagion

2015 Contagion Flatline Trailer

Hunt your enemies. Complete missions and escape. Extract survivors.

These are the three modes you will encounter in Contagion. It’s solely multiplayer focused and has come quite a long way since I first played it.

Hunted mode: this is a death match that supports up to 16 players. You start off as a human and fight zombies like any normal zombie killing game. But when you die, you become the zombie and hunt other players!

Escape mode: mission and objective based mode in which you have to complete objective with your team of up to 8 players in order to progress through the level.

Extraction mode: the goal is to save as many non-player characters (NPCS) as you can while exploring the area.

I have played this game in quite a while, but I’m thinking it might be time to go back and check it out!

Smoking is bad for your health.

5. Dead Island 2

Dead Island Official Trailer

California is in a state of chaos and has been sealed off from the rest of the world because the dead are returning to life. Those who are immune must survive while battling the undead and other threats to their lives.

Dead Island 2 is still very much in the works, but we are hoping to see it in 2016. It will be one of the best zombie survival games to play. There are quite a few perks to look forward to.

We can look forward to playing 4 shiny new playable characters. It would be awesome if customization was also available, but this hasn’t been suggested or announced.

The game takes place in California, namely in Los Angeles and San Francisco, so we can expect to see some famous sights that take place there. Fighting zombies on the Santa Monica Pier or in Beverly Hills will be awesome!

The hungry horde.

4. Organ Trail

Organ Trail Trailer

The end of the world has come. Zombies are eating people. But there’s rumor of a safe zone and that’s where we are headed.

A playful tribute to the old-school Oregon Trail, this game aims to bring us a similar feel but with a differently dangerous theme.

Load up in your station wagon with 4 of your friends and set off across the United States to reach the safe zone. Along the way you’ll have to scavenge for supplies, deal with diseases, put down infected party members, fight bandits, fix your car, and of course deal with hordes of zombies.

Well Jim, this is the end of the line for you.

3. Survivalist

Survivalist Official Trailer

When the world collapsed, hedge fund manager and self-centered jerk Joe Wheeler locked himself away in shelter he had built in case something like this happened. A year later, he must emerge to look for food. The world is still in ruins and now he must find a way to survive.

Survivalist is an open-world RPG in which you control Joe, a man who probably wasn’t well liked before the apocalypse. Now, he must find other survivors and interact with them to gain their trust. The best way to overcome is to rebuild, and that’s exactly what he is going to do.

Your choices have consequences in Survivalist, so in order to be successful, leaving your previous attitude of a Joe the Jerk is important. If you’re a jerk, they’ll remember that. If you’re kind, they’ll remember that too.

You’ll also have to complete quests, plant crops, look for supplies, trade, face moral dilemmas, and go to war.

Scavenging to survive.

2. Dying Light

Dying Light Gameplay Video

Kyle Crane is on a mission to blend into a quarantine zone to obtain a file that contains sensitive information. However, his position is compromised when he realizes the survivors also need his help to fight of the growing horde of infected that are at their doors.

Dying Light is a first person zombie survival game that is fast paced and full of action. It has a heavy focus on parkour mechanics where the player must run and jump across buildings and over obstacles while avoid the zombies.

They’re stronger at night.

1. Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2 Theatrical trailer

Four strangers, immune to the disease known as the green flu, must band together to survive. They will fight mutant zombies as they make their way from Savannah, GA to New Orleans, LA.

Though possible to play single-player, this first person shooter is much more fun with friends. The game is set in the world that has suffered a huge catastrophe at the hands of a deadly pandemic that has left the majority of the world the walking dead.

Starting in Savannah, GA the game follows a story mode through each level, uncovering the pasts of each survivor as they make their way to New Orleans, LA. Along the way they will find safehouses where they can stop and recuperate before continuing to the next area to reach an extraction point.

A quick break.

Worth Mentioning

No More Room in Hell

A free-to-play first person shooter that is truly one of my personal faves. In objective mode, you complete stages by finishing objectives and then heading to an extraction point. In survival mode you fight off waves of zombies that get harder with each round and fortify wherever you are holding out until your escape is secured.

This game has many achievements to get, including killing 1 million zombies. It’s a great game with friends and is free, so give it a try!