Survival games live and die by how well they manage to immerse players in their environments, be it dangerous jungles on Earth or a fantastical alien world that does not need or want humans. Although certain mechanics are required, the genre is more flexible than it gets credit for, with some releases opting for a survival-only gameplay loop, while others are far more story-driven.
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Certain games demand players do everything within their power to earn their survival, and they go beyond just monitoring hunger or crafting a bed to avoid exhaustion. In these cases, the world constantly changes to either reflect the protagonist's actions or to support a narrative's progression, requiring players to also evolve to meet the changing needs. Let's take a look at a few survival games that use their environments as weapons against players.
Subnautica
Depth Brings Change
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Crash-landing on an alien planet that is more water than land, Subnautica surrounds the player with the unknown, challenging them to not only survive but also explore, discover, and escape. Rather than through changes in weather or difficulty, 4546B evolves the deeper you go into its ocean, introducing new layers that come with their own ecosystems. You must delve deeper and deeper to progress, forcing you to constantly enter new areas of the map rather than just sticking to a haven.
Besides exploring new areas, Subnautica's world also reacts directly to the player's unwelcome presence, impacting both creatures and fauna. Even places that once felt safe suddenly become a lot more tense, almost like 4546B is actively pushing back against your existence. The player's understanding of the world also constantly evolves, which can add new context to previously visited areas.
Project Zomboid
A Merciless Survival Experience Where The World Gets Worse And Worse Each Day
Project Zomboid
- Released
- November 8, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- The Indie Stone
- Publisher(s)
- The Indie Stone
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- How Long To Beat
- 60 Hours
Day one of the zombie apocalypse: Players still have running water and electricity. Week 2: Some players might have already built up a neat provision of food and resources, electricity just got cut, and some smart survivors are using a power generator to keep fresh food still going. Week 4: No more running water, no more electricity. The zombies have taken over everything, corpses pile up in the streets, and some players might be among them.
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The world of Project Zomboid constantly challenges players to optimize everything they do. A silly mistake like not exercising enough, or sweating too much without drying, and then going out in the middle of winter might be fatal. A sprain means instant death when surrounded by hungry undead, and there's no safe place to hide from the horde. Those survivalist players who want to run away from urbanization might find better chances in the forests, but if they don't build a shelter fast, the climate will kill them faster than the obnoxious zombies.
Green Hell
Mind Your Surroundings, Every Misstep Could Be Your Last
Green Hell
- Released
- September 5, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Crude Humor, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Creepy Jar
- Publisher(s)
- Creepy Jar
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 17 Hours
Lost in the middle of the jungle, tracking down a missing person, surrounded by wild animals that could either become a source of nourishment or the last thing players see. The merciless Amazon lives and breathes, which means that players are in the belly of the beast. An enormous beast with hundreds of ways to kill them at every misstep.
If poison doesn't kill them, perhaps a Jaguar will. A scrap without proper care becomes infected, and if players do not act fast, the fever will come, and with it, the hallucinations. The mind can break when reduced to a state of survival, and those unprepared often meet a gruesome end without knowing what they did wrong. Everything that grows and moves around in this Green Hell might be their doom, or their potential salvation if they learn how to awaken their inner survivalists and embrace the jungle.
Frostpunk
There Is No Escaping The Passage of Time
Frostpunk
- Released
- April 24, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- City Builder, Survival
OK, here is a bit of a different example than all the rest. Frostpunk is a city-builder with survival elements set in a post-apocalyptic Earth consumed by snow and devastated by frequent storms. Very few humans are still alive, and players are put in charge of a group of refugees who are trying to establish a city called New London. Things vary a bit depending on the scenario and mode, but the constant pace is that players must gradually build up resources while trying to keep the citizens from losing all hope, a journey that can often feel futile and regularly requires tough choices.
Survival games often pit players against the inhabitants of a planet or region, but Frostpunk specifically established the world itself as the threat. Your group's survival comes down to how well you can persevere in the face of a constantly worsening climate that not only requires steeper resources for survival, but also impacts the people living under the player's guidance. Change is constant in Frostpunk.
Don't Starve/Don't Starve Together
A Cozy World To Explore, Or Your Worst Nightmare
Don't Starve
- Released
- April 23, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Fantasy, Violence, Crude Humor
- Developer(s)
- Klei Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Klei Entertainment
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Platform(s)
- Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, Nintendo Wii U, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PC
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Management
- How Long To Beat
- 30 Hours
The Isometric and cute-ish world of Don't Starve and Don't Starve Together might feel cozy for inexperienced players, but beware: The world will eat those who underestimate it, quite literally. From the perils of starvation to the dangerous and unpredictable wildlife, and even the unnatural creatures that roam the forests thirsty for blood, every choice might be the last players make.
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Finding the secrets of this place might take some time, so in the meantime, players will have to learn how to manage time and resources to survive the worst season: Winter. With unpredictable weather and freezing temperatures, the climate will try to crunch them down into stiff popsicles, if the monsters don't get them first, that is. The games maintain this eerie and weird atmosphere that seems to have made it out of Tim Burton's imagination, and for those thinking that is a good thing: they're sorely mistaken.
The Long Dark
Winter Is Rough, You Better Toughen Up
The Long Dark
- Released
- August 1, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Hinterland Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Hinterland Studio
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- How Long To Beat
- 22 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
The Long Dark is a beautiful game that perfectly reflects the solitude of winter and the loneliness of a survival experience in the Canadian wilderness. Players can pick up the story mode called Wintermute, and play as Will Mackenzie, a pilot who is seeking his missing ex-wife amidst the wild and forgotten Great Bear lands, where a geomagnetic storm took down their plane and left them at the mercy of nature.
There's also a Sandbox mode and Challenge mode, with several levels of difficulty. This game's world will constantly but surely try to kill players. Be it hypothermia, starvation, dehydration, or the jaws of many, many wolves, players will meet their doom at one point during their playthrough. Slowly but steadily, they'll learn the basics, and once they do, their chances of survival will increase (a little). A truly dramatic and enthralling survival experience that will make players think twice before adventuring far from civilization.
Nightingale
An Endless Challenge, Many Realms To Explore, Constantly Shifting
Nightingale
- Released
- February 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
Nightingale defines its setting as "gaslight" fantasy, but in truth, it has a lot of grimdark and dark fantasy spots lurking around the many realms players can visit while they try to survive the events that left them stranded in the Fey Realms. Folklore always teaches about the perils of trusting the Fae, or revealing our true names in front of them, but folklore will be the least of the players' concerns in this place.
Dangerous beasts lurk among the lush treelines, hunger is an issue, and getting back to civilization will not be an easy task. First, they need to fabricate a refuge, then weapons and clothing, and after that, seek the secrets of the Fae Realms and learn how to travel using the portal systems. Each time players cross to a new realm, they can modify (partially) what awaits on the other side of the portal, by using Realm Cards. These Fae artifacts have the power to alter reality, turning a nightmarish hellscape into a bountiful forest with many prey to hunt and berries to forage. But players should never let their guards down, since playing a Realm Card doesn't mean the dangers of the world have disappeared, as Harpies, Wolves, Giant Spiders, Bandersnatch, Jabberwocks, and even the bloodthirsty Bound could pop out of anywhere to kill them.
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