Best Survival Games With Minimal To No Combat

Managing health, thirst, hunger, and many other resources are key mechanics in survival games and are what draw fans in. However, there are many survival games that are made tedious by hoards of enemy mobs with non-stop spawning and a sole desire to ruin everything that's been built.

Related

10 Games With The Best Stealth And Survival Mechanics

Survival games are a tense experience for players, making you feel like one misstep can make the difference between life and death.

Posts

By  Bilal Ahmad Kaakati

Survival game developers have taken note of the distain some fans have for combat and have added options to disable combat — and even created full survival games where combat is completely avoidable. So, whether players want to build an awesome base or just enjoy a cozy game with the survival mechanics they are used to in their favorite games, there are plenty of options available to choose from!

8 Stranded Deep

Stranded On A Desert Island

Stranded Deep has a fantastic premise, especially for a survival game, since it basically throws the player on an island after a plane crash with nothing but their wits and will to survive.

Stranded Deep has the mechanics that players have come to expect from their survival games. Players will need to manage their thirst and even purify water. However, Stranded Deep does not force the player into combat like many other games. Combat can be turned off in the main menu and, while there are enemies and sharks present in the world, they will be passive towards the player.

7 Raft

Build And Survive On A Floating Home

Raft, as the name implies, throws players on a raft in the middle of the ocean where they are completely vulnerable and must find a way to survive and build a better life. Despite the concept, Raft can actually turn into a very cozy game to play with friends, and players can build very comfortable and fun living spaces!

While Raft does not have a focus on combat, there is a shark that will follow the player's raft and try to bite it. This can basically be negated eventually, though, and is barely a distraction from all the exploration and base building available!

6 The Planet Crafter

Basic Survival In Space With Enthralling Terraforming

Many fans of The Planet Crafter will compare it to Subnautica, just in space and with a lot less anxiety and fear added into the mix! The Planet Crafter has no combat and the main goal of the game is to transform a barren planet into a beautiful utopia fit for human survival.

The survival mechanics in The Planet Crafter are pretty basic (food, water, oxygen), but they're vital. The base building and terraforming, however, are The Planet Crafter's bread and butter, and the lack of combat turns exploring and crafting into a very cozy, space-based experience.

5 Oxygen Not Included

Difficult Colony Management Survival

Oxygen Not Included isn't a typical survival game, but it does have some standardized mechanics of survival games. Oxygen Not Included sets the player up managing a colony of clones (that are not the smartest).

While Oxygen Not Included has an emphasis on management and base building, players will also need to manage resources like oxygen, food, and water. No enemies will appear to ravage the colony, but that doesn't mean Oxygen Not Included will be a walk in the park!

4 Subnautica

Terrifying Alien Ocean Survival

Subnautica has made waves since its release and has quickly become one of the best sci-fi survival games of all time. Combat is far from the main focus in Subnautica and should be avoided as much as possible.

Related

Which Video Game World Needs Its Own Cozy Game?

The cozy game genre can be extremely relaxing, and there are games that would fit it perfectly. I would love for Nintendo to create a Zelda-inspired cozy game set in Hyrule. There are tons of elements that they could take from the main series and use to create an adorable game. If there was a farming Zelda game, I would love for the Picori and Koroks to be part of it.

Posts

While combat should be avoided and is far from a main mechanic in Subnautica, there are plenty of absolutely terrifying enemies willing to give chase and make players' nightmares come to life, but killing them doesn't actually provide any real benefit — you're encouraged more so toward avoidance, rather than direct conflict.

3 Sons Of The Forest

Classic Survival With A Peaceful Mode

Sons Of The Forest, like its predecessor, is the typical base-building survival game with all the mechanics that fans of the genre fell in love with. It has a weird story to progress through during the game, but a lot of time will be spent exploring, finding resources to survive, and building a base for protection from the elements.

Sons Of The Forest is also packed with some vicious cannibals and mutants, but the game has a peaceful mode that can be turned on, which will completely remove enemies from the game. This allows players to experience pure survival, exploration, and base building without having to worry about base destruction or death.

2 The Long Dark

Survive In A Frozen Wilderness

The Long Dark is one of the most isolating survival games that fans of the genre can experience. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness — a frozen wasteland that pits its players against nature itself.

The Long Dark is extremely difficult, no matter how it's looked at. However, players can turn on easy mode for passive wildlife that won't attack (unless the player attacks first), and custom settings can be turned on to allow for passive wildlife — along with a more difficult experience in general.

1 Green Hell

Realistic Rainforest Survival

Green Hell is one of the most in-depth and realistic survival games available, and — while in easy mode — players don't have to worry about randomly being attacked by enemies or wildlife (unless they accidentally step on a rattlesnake).

Green Hell adds a ton of depth to typical survival mechanics. Players don't simply manage hunger; they manage protein, carb, fat, and water intake. They must manage each pouch of their backpack, from tools to food. Overall, Green Hell is a game about hardcore survival and exploration, so even with combat turned off in easy mode, the game feels very immersive and deeply rewarding.

More

Pro Tips For Subnautica You Need To Know

There's a reason that famous YouTubers like Markiplier have posted 70+ episode series of them playing Subnautica.

Posts

By  Joey Criscitello