Summary
Survival games are one of the most popular video game genres of recent years; their simple and addictive gameplay loops, focus on exploration, and often-included multiplayer interaction make the genre a particularly unique one.
Due to their often open-world nature, survival games are typically large endeavors, but indie developers still manage to create detailed and expansive experiences. This list includes games from small development teams all the way to independent studios, with every game on this list being relatively affordable at the time of writing.
This story-driven single-player survival game features a dark, creepy, and grim aesthetic; the colors of its environments, the music, the writing, and the characters of the world all work in tandem to unsettle the player.
Pathologicis more focused on its narrative than its survival elements, but its gameplay is built around a survival game skeleton; the plagued town in whichPathologicis set is completely open-world, and the game encourages players to explore to stay well-fed and keep their immune system strong.
9NEO Scavenger - A survival game roguelike
Steam User Rating: 89%
This post-apocalyptic roguelike RPG may not look like much on the surface, but its gameplay is full of deep simulation and complex mechanics that force players to make tough decisions as they fail over and over against the game’s steep learning curve.
NEO Scavengermay be a roguelike with its randomized map, turn-based gameplay, and permanent death, but its gameplay loop is firmly focused on survival game mechanics. Players must worry about hunger, thirst, weather, and even a realistic wound system.NEO Scavengeris ridiculously brutal and unforgiving, and its roguelike nature won’t be for every survival game fan. However, it’s a great game for those that enjoy a challenge.
In this science fiction indie game, players salvage floating debris and titular space trash from their zero-gravity surroundings in order to build their base and survive in the harsh environments of space.Space Trash Scavengerhas a great, cartoon visual style and even features light trading mechanics.
On top of the usual resource gathering, crafting, andbase-building gameplayof the average survival game,Space Trash Scavengeralso has players defending their ever-expanding space rig from hostile aliens.
The Long Darkis bereft of any fictional monsters or creatures, instead tasking the player with surviving in harsh, cold environments and conditions, with nature itself being the player’s worst enemy.
While there are wolves and bears present inThe Long Dark’sworld, players must also worry about keeping warm and staying well-fed, among other things. Because of this, traveling is an arduous task, and shelter is of the utmost importance to survival.The Long Dark’saspects of simulation and focus on quiet, slow-burning gameplay make it a particularly unique survival game.
Starting with nothing but a small, basic raft and a rudimentary hook,Rafttasks players with pulling in the surrounding flotsam and odd trash to expand their raft into a fully-fledged base.Raftalso has online co-op, allowing players to build up their base and explore the open seas together.
Raftfeatures a crafting system, underwater exploration, farming mechanics, and combat, but what makes it so unique is its combination of base building andexploration through sailing. Due to the nature of the game, the player’s raft doubles as both a base and a boat, making exploration and travel an intuitive task that rarely gets boring.
Thisopen-world zombie survival gamewas released all the way back in 2013 and remains one of the oldest Early Access titles on Steam. However, despite its long journey through Early Access,Project Zomboidis a game that has received constant development by the indie team behind it.
Project Zomboidis a simulation-heavy survival gamefrom a top-down perspectivein which players must explore, craft, and gather resources in order to survive. Hordes of flesh-eating zombies roam the streets of the game’s suburban towns, and a single bite can end an entire run.Project Zomboidis one of themost unforgiving gameson this list, in part due to how easy it is to get trapped and killed by a horde of zombies, and also because players have so many simulated elements to worry about; hunger, thirst, happiness, shelter, wounds, and even infection must all be dealt with quickly and efficiently if players are to survive inZomboid’shostile world.
4The Forest - A combination of classic survival and horror
Steam User Rating: 95%
This horror survival game sees players surviving in a cannibal-infested forest after surviving a plane crash.The Foresttasks players with building a base, exploring the open world, and defending themselves from the mutated cannibals that dwell in it.
The Forestdistinguishes itself from other survival games with its horror elements, making it perfectly playable in single-player and arguably less scary when played in the game’s online co-op.The Forestalso features light stealth elements, allowing players to avoid combat.
This game takes place in a Viking-themed fantasy setting full of creatures to hunt and fight and varied environments to explore. The game can be played solo, butValheimisbest played with friendsin online multiplayer, exploring, building, fighting, and surviving together.
Valheimis unique for its setting, as well as its solid combat system and sailing mechanics.Valheim’sconstruction mechanics are also more than competent, allowing players to build impressive bases to store loot and rest after a long journey.
This iconic top-down indie survival game from Klei Entertainment (Griftlands, Hot Lava, Oxygen Not Included) features a uniquely haunting art style, harsh environments, and various hostile creatures to fend off.
Don’t Starveis rather unforgiving, and players must constantly worry about hunger as they craft items, build a base, and explore the game’s open world. There’s a variety of characters to play, places to explore, and tricks to uncover, makingDon’t Starveone of the most replayable games on this list.
This survival game is unique for itsentirely underwater environments; marooned on an alien ocean planet, players must explore the depths ofSubnautica’sopen world in order to salvage technology from their crashed spaceship and gather enough resources to survive.
Subnauticabegins as a passive, slow-paced experience, but as players research new technologies and gain access to exploration tools such as the game’s various vehicles, the deeper, darker territories ofSubnautica’socean become available to the player, where the game’s horror elements come into play.
