Though the heyday of survival games may be behind us, there are still many great games out there worth trying. Luckily, these games are usually fed updates long after they first release, with some becoming truly great in the meantime.
Whether it’s games that have enjoyed a rare but well earned redemption story, or games that came out solid and only got better with the years, these are some survival games that are well worth trying today.
As a relative latecomer to the boom of survival games in the early 2010s,The Long Darkhad a lot to prove to stand up to its mighty competitors. It excelled in almost every way with a genuinely unique combination of naturalistic horror of the elements mixed with brutal survival needs due to the freezing temperatures.
Add to that an impressive wildlife system with deadly wolves that have a bad habit of striking down good runs quick if the player isn’t ready to fend them off and a distinct art style,The Long Darkis well worth playing today with ahost of new updates and brilliant expansionsboasting quality of life improvements and ever more variety in the maps and gameplay.
DayZhas had a long and rocky road to the top of the survival pile. Starting originally as anARMA 2mod,DayZcould be credited alongsideMinecraftas being one of the major reasons why the survival genre got so popular in the first place with incredible organic multiplayer experiences and brutal difficulty that never holds the player’s hand (though there’s plenty of great tips to help a new player get started).
In 2018,DayZfinally released from early access and into a fully fledged game of its own. Despite a somewhat rugged reputation based on its buggy early access version,DayZhas persevered into being the premiere zombie survival experience with new maps that continue to prove the developer’s skill at crafting realistic and engaging theatres for firefights with humans and zombies alike.
WhereDayZpopularised the zombie genre, it’s probably fair to say thatRustfocused much more on the human side of the equation, developing a reputation for some of the funniest and most toxic players in gaming.Rustis a survival game in the typical style, but it has a heavy PvP focus as players compete for resources and spaceusing all the expert knowledge they’ve accrued over the game’s life.
What results is servers full to the brim with interesting social dynamics. Some servers have generated entire towns where non-aggression pacts are in place, where other servers are complete manic free for alls where anything goes and blood is always being spilled. These days, it’s reached maturity, and if a player is able to find a server and community that fits them, there’s few better pleasures than a good game ofRust
WhileThe Forestmade a big splash as one of the best horror survival games when it first released,Sons of the Forestiterated on everything that came before and created an experience almost unanimously beter in every way. Taking place on a strange island filled with cannibals and mutants informed by in-depth AI systems, the player must find shelter andgather up the best items in the gameto survive the forest-born creatures.
For some, this sounds too similar toThe Forest, and that much is true. Not a lot has changed about the fundamental formula at all. However, if a player bounced offThe Forestback when it first released and hasn’t tried out the sequel yet, they really should.
No Man’s Skywas pioneering in a lot of ways, but perhaps none so meaningfully than developing the video game redemption story that has single-handedly turned its reputation around. Once considered a total disaster upon its release, the development team has toiled away on the game nonstop since release and arestill releasing updates that improve the game with every patch.
No one would blame a player for staying away fromNo Man’s Skybecause of the justifiably negative press on its release, but if they’re ever looking for a new survival experience but unsure where to go, now is the time to giveNo Man’s Skya second chance. They won’t regret it.
