Best Survival Games Without Base Building

Usually, when players think of survival titles, they assume a game that tasks them with not only hunting for food and collecting resources, but also a game that encourages them to build makeshift shelters to hide away from the dangers of the worlds they are exploring.

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By  Harry Ted Sprinks

While base building is a common mechanic for many games in the survival genre, there are a few great games for players who wish to purely focus on surviving through avoiding dangers or collecting certain resources. Many of these games instead have players inhabiting pre-built locations that only leave room for light fortification, or even games where the player's base of operation travels around with them. With this in mind, these are by far the best survival games that don't include base building.

8 The Wild Eight

A Packable Camp Is All The Player Requires

Starting off strong, The Wild Eight is a survival title that's set in the frozen lands of Alaska. Players can either face the frost solo or with friends as they explore the Alaskan wilderness, craft weaponry, and attempt to survive the wilds of each and every day.

Players will constantly be on the move in The Wild Eight, with the only base to speak of being the tent they are able to pack up and take with them as they explore across the frozen landscape. Players have no place to stop and build a base in The Wild Eight, leaving them to travel light in the hopes of surviving.

7 Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey

Living Out In The Elements Requires No Base

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is an interesting survival game that is unlike many other titles in the genre. Players control a primate that has been commonly seen to be one of humanity's ancestors from countless years ago.

Through exploring the jungles and other biomes of Ancestors, players will need to choose bases for the rest of their clan of primates if they hope to successfully evolve. Although crafting and building do exist as mechanics in Ancestors, these only allow players to create bed piles for sleep — and barricades to prevent the dangers of this ancient life.

6 Dying Light

Players Have No True Base Of Their Own

Survival horror games that include zombies commonly have players creating bases to protect themselves from the undead. These bases are great for setting up crafting stations or when the player needs a break. However, Dying Light is a horror survival experience where players already have various bases they can visit, with no way of building their own.

This way, players can instead focus on crafting various weaponry or focusing on the story of Dying Light. Plus, as the game takes place in an urban environment, there are plenty of homes to take shelter in with little space to build more.

5 Chernobylite

It's Dangerous To Build In The Radiation

In a survival game that is set within the radiation zone following the meltdown of Chernobyl, it's too dangerous for players to be able to build bases within this excursion zone, even though it is possible to meet various people that live within it.

Chernobylite, instead, has players who already have a base of operation that they can invite various people back to and can craft various facilities within it, but this isn't an extensive base building mechanic, as players are unable to expand the base within the facility. Instead, they will spend more time exploring and collecting resources as they find a way into the now Sci-fi altered nuclear power plant.

4 The Long Dark

Hide From The Elements In Pre-built Cabins

Some of the best survival titles are those with a heavy focus on nature exploration and therefore surviving against natural disasters. The Long Dark is an interesting survival experience where the player's biggest enemy is the snow and harsh winds that can quickly kill the player's character from hypothermia.

Players may assume that a survival title like this would therefore allow a player to build shelters to shy away from storms. Instead, players must explore the wilderness to find long abandoned buildings that have a working fire and possible supplies that allow them a few moments away from the wildlife and the snow.

3 Pacific Drive

The Player's Car Is Their Base

Pacific Drive is unlike any other survival game as players will find themselves incredibly dependent on the vehicle they drive throughout these dangerous areas. For the majority of the game, this car is their life with anything they could ever require being found within it.

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Players are unable to build an entirely new car or create small bases to set up within these danger zones. They must rely on upgrading parts of the ominous vehicle and returning to their main garage when they have successfully found the resources or completed what was required of them.

2 Darkwood

Make The Most Of Abandoned Homes

Another great survival horror experience that players can enjoy is Darkwood. This game leaves the player stranded in a creepy forest where strange mutants are likely to attack the player at night. While it's important to find shelter when night approaches, the game doesn't allow the player to build their own houses for safety.

Instead, Darkwood provides various homes across the map for players to inhabit. They all come with their own flaws and can be fortified by the player through boarding up the windows and settling down bear traps.

1 Barotrauma

Fix Leaks And Survive In A 2D Submarine

Barotrauma is another unique survival game — more specifically, a survival horror game — that doesn't provide players with the features to build their own base. This is because players are already in their base of operation for the entire survival experience.

They and a friend in this co-op survival experience must work together to steer and patch up their 2D submarine while defending against the monsters that live within the deep blue waters. Allowing the submarine to become too damaged will see it explode, and players will need to try again if they hope to successfully survive.