Summary
- Stranded Deep offers deep survival mechanics, challenging players with hunger, thirst, and danger.
- Stranded: Alien Dawn immerses players in managing a crew on an alien world, with intense building mechanics.
- V Rising allows players to embody a freshly turned vampire in a detailed open world, blending action, survival, and RPG elements.
Over the last 15 years, survival games have become one of the most popular genres on the market. Whether players are enduring harsh environments, building thriving settlements, or fighting off various dangers, survival games are immersive and very addictive.
Every year brings a new crop of games for players to enjoy, and the 2020s have been no different. The last few years have proven that survival games still have a lot to offer, with developers pushing the genre into fun new places. From vibrant alien worlds to grim and frostbitten landscapes, these titles blend action, exploration, building, and crafting into engaging gaming experiences that are not easily forgotten.
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10 Stranded Deep
A Challenging Survival Experience
Stranded Deep
- Released
- April 21, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Beam Team Games
- Genre(s)
- Survival
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
In Stranded Deep, players control a plane crash survivor marooned on a tropical desert island. The game delves deep into survival mechanics, where players must manage their hunger, thirst, and health while avoiding dangers such as poisonous animals, searing heat, or man-eating sharks. Players can also construct buildings and rafts to explore further.
As the player progresses, they will discover hidden secrets and explore deeper biomes, from vibrant reefs to deep ocean trenches. Stranded Deep will appeal to fans of hardcore survival mechanics, as the game can be challenging for new players just starting out. However, with time, Stranded Deep is a satisfying gaming experience that genre fans will appreciate.
9 Stranded: Alien Dawn
Build a Community On an Alien World
Stranded: Alien Dawn
- Released
- April 25, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Haemimont Games
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
In this survival simulation game, players must manage the crew of a marooned spaceship who have settled on a distant alien world. Players must forage for food, build shelters, and assign tasks to the crew members. Alien Dawn offers several difficulty levels where the game parameters can be modified, such as the level of alien aggression.
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The game creates a procedurally generated world where the player expands the settlement, upgrading its technology as it grows. Stranded: Alien Dawn offers strong building mechanics, satisfying progression, and an engaging alien world. Fans of base builder and management games will love this sci-fi take on the popular genre.
8 The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
A Fun Spin-Off For Franchise Fans
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
- Released
- October 24, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Free Range Games
- Genre(s)
- Survival
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Set well after the events of the Lord of the Rings, in the Fourth Age, Return to Moria follows a group of Dwarves on a mission to retake their ancient mountain homeland. Led by Dwarven hero Gimli, once again voiced by John Rhys-Davies, players must explore the varied passages and dark halls of Moria.
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To survive, players must scavenge for food, collect resources, and build bases while avoiding or fighting enemies. The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a fun fantasy survival game that offers hours of fun base-building and exploration. The game is procedurally generated, meaning no two playthroughs are the same. While the game doesn’t innovate the genre, its simple survival mechanics and immersive atmosphere will appeal to all fantasy fans.
7 Medieval Dynasty
Survive the Dangers of Medieval Europe
Medieval Dynasty
- Released
- December 17, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Strategy
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
In this strategy-survival game, players control Racimir, a young man fleeing war and looking to settle in a new area close to his uncle. In the game, players must search for food and water and collect resources to build a home. The goal is to create a family to continue the player’s line.
Medieval Dynasty is an addictive survival role-playing game that fans of the genre will love. While the story is rather thin, the gameplay makes up for this with deep immersion and freedom.
6 The Eternal Cylinder
A Vibrant and Surreal Journey
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, GeForce Now,
- Released: 2021
- Developers: ACE Team
- Genre: Survival, Adventure
- Steam Reviews: Very Positive
This surreal sci-fi survival game puts players in control of a group of small alien creatures named Trebhum as a colossal sentient Cylinder slowly destroys their planet. Players must navigate hunger and thirst, solve puzzles, survive the elements, and fend off dangers by mutating the Trebhum through consuming specific foods.
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The Eternal Cylinder is a fun and unique survival game with a surrealist design and storybook narration. Players must explore numerous semi-open world areas, ranging from blazing-hot deserts to frozen landscapes, while searching for food and escaping the Cylinder and its strange half-mechanical followers. The Eternal Cylinder will appeal to survival game fans looking for something different from the norm.
5 Pacific Drive
A Unique Survival Experience
Pacific Drive
- Released
- February 22, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Ironwood Studios
- Genre(s)
- Survival
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
This unique survival game takes players on a surreal journey as they attempt to escape the nightmarish Olympic Exclusion Zone in their trusty station wagon. Unlike most survival games, it is not the player character that needs to be maintained, but the car itself.
Players must scavenge for spare parts as they avoid dangerous anomalies. Once players find enough special items called anchors, they can be transported back to a garage, where they can make repairs to the car. Players can customize their vehicle in the auto shop and fix it by repairing or replacing broken parts. Pacific Drive is a unique, atmospheric take on the survival game formula, blending complex car maintenance mechanics and a strange horror setting.
4 Grounded
Take On The Dangers Of The Backyard
Grounded
- Released
- September 27, 2022
- ESRB
- Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
In this fun survival adventure game, players are shrunk down to the size of an insect and must survive the dangers of the back garden. Inspired by the classic movies Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and A Bug’s Life, Grounded is the ultimate backyard fantasy. Players must find food and water, craft weapons and armor, and build a home base while avoiding the dangerous insects and animals found in the world.
The stunning open-world game is filled with hidden secrets, and can be played solo or in cooperative multiplayer. The oversized landscape is vibrant and fun to explore with numerous puzzles to discover. Grounded will appeal to all age groups and is an immersive and memorable gaming experience for the whole family.
3 Frostpunk 2
Return to the Frozen Lands
Frostpunk 2
- Released
- September 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Survival, City Builder
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
This survival city-builder game is set in an alternate history where a cataclysmic event plunged humanity into a never-ending volcanic winter. Set 30 years after the first game, Frostpunk 2 brings players back to the frozen lands of New London, where the introduction of petroleum has changed society.
In Frostpunk 2, players can create a larger city than in the first game by creating various city districts. Each area serves a different function, as the city suffers from overpopulation. The game introduced a more complex political system, forcing players to make tough decisions as different factions push their agendas. Frostpunk fans will love this complex and addictive sequel that expands on the themes and gameplay of the original.
2 Sons of the Forest
Survive the Horrors Hidden in the Forest
Sons of the Forest
- Released
- February 22, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Endnight Games
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Open-World, Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Sons of the Forest, the sequel to the horror-survival game The Forest, brings players back to the mysterious island filled with mutated monsters and savage cannibals. With a much larger map and expanded mechanics, Sons of the Forest delves deeper into the lore of the first game, with numerous secrets to undercover.
Sons of the Forest will appeal to all survival gaming fans. It blends hardcore survival mechanics, where players must build bases, find food and water, and survive the elements, with tense horror action. Fans of the first game will love this expansive sequel that improves on the first in almost every way.
1 V Rising
Explore, Fight, and Hunt As a Newly Born Vampire
V Rising
- Released
- May 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Stunlock Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
V Rising is an action survival game where players control a recently risen vampire. The game is played across a detailed open world that is split into five unique biomes. Players must gather materials, suck blood from NPCs, and build their castle while avoiding the sun and battling enemies and bosses.
The game can be played in either PvP or PvE modes, making this a great game to play either solo or with friends. V Rising is a fantastic game that blends elements of survival, shooter, and RPG mechanics in a fun, immersive experience that offers many hours of addictive gameplay.
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