Summary
- The best survival games reward exploration with rare loot and resources, making it vital for progress.
- The Long Dark offers a challenging survival experience in a snowy Canadian setting.
- Valheim stands out by making exploration a central gameplay element, necessary for progression.
Survival games have become incredibly popular in recent years. Many survival games follow proven themes, such as learning to survive in a zombie apocalypse. Others simply rely on the complexity of survival in a harsh environment to drive gameplay.
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Something that many of the best survival games do well, is reward a player for exploring the open-world game map. Some survival games dangle rare loot and resources as the carrot for exploration, while others make exploration a prerequisite for progressing in the game. The very best survival games make exploration challenging, requiring the player to fully prepare for their expedition.
8 The Long Dark
Winter Is Coming
The Long Dark
- Released
- August 1, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Hinterland Studio
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The Long Dark is a survival game that presents a challenge to even seasoned survival game fans. While many survival games are about as dangerous as breathing, this is a game that seems to take great pleasure in finding new ways to kill a player.
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Set in a snowy region of Canada following an apocalyptic event, exploration in The Long Dark rewards the player with stunning snowscapes. However, with a detailed weather system, that can quite literally kill a player, exploration means preparation, to ensure survival. Overall, a fantastic survival game, with exploration only adding to the feeling of isolation.
7 The Forest
Prepare To Be Scared To Death
The Forest
The back story to The Forest, is that the player survived a plane crash, and has found themselves trapped on an island that is populated by cannibals and other strange creatures. At face value, this sounds pretty basic. However, the AI of the cannibals is incredible, as they will proactively hunt the player, calling for help if it is needed. It is a truly spooky, disturbing experience at times.
Exploration in The Forest is vital to progress in the game, and solve the unwinding puzzle of the island and its inhabitants. Exploration is rewarded by the discovery of hidden areas, such as large cave systems (which are scary as hell) and rare resources.
6 Stranded Deep
A Survival Game With A Twist
Stranded Deep
- Released
- April 21, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Beam Team Games
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Genre(s)
- Survival
Stranded Deep begins with the player surviving a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean. They must then try to thrive and survive by learning to craft items needed for survival. The gameplay takes place both on land and underwater.
Exploration in Stranded Deep is not optional. The player will need to locate and explore other islands and parts of the ocean to find the resources that they need to progress in the game. The undersea biomes are especially fun to explore, although they can be pretty dangerous at times.
5 Subnautica
Stunning Underwater Exploration
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
The player finds themself on an ocean planet in Subnautica, almost entirely covered in water. There is some dry land, but at the start of the game, the player needs to find a way to survive beneath the waves. This involves survival game staples such as resource gathering, crafting, and base building.
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Subnautica makes this list for the breathtaking underwater scenery. The map is huge and varied, and populated by strange alien aquatic life forms, some of which are extremely dangerous. This is a true survival game, but one that transforms the gameplay by shifting it to beneath the waves.
4 Ark: Survival Evolved
There Be Dinosaurs!
ARK: Survival Evolved
Ark: Survival Evolved is another survival game that is set on an island. This time, an island that is populated by prehistoric creatures, including dinosaur analogs. Most of these animals can be captured and trained by the player, and some can even be ridden.
The fact that the game has such a varied ecosystem, with distinctly different biomes, some of which are hazardous, is why Ark: Survival Evolved made this list. Exploring in this game is the only way to find specific resources and items the player needs to progress as well.
3 No Man’s Sky
A Game With Exploration At Its Heart
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Nintendo Switch 2
Despite its rather rocky launch, No Man’s Sky has come to be considered one of the best sci-fi survival games around. Hello Games, the developers, have regularly released free updates that expand on the original gameplay, and add more content.
No Man’s Sky is all about exploration, as players slowly make their way to the center of the galaxy. There is plenty to discover in this game, and each new system, planet, animal, and plant the player discovers first, they can name. There are regular community expeditions as well, which are quest-based, curated journeys of discovery. Players complete different phases of an expedition to unlock unique rewards.
2 Terraria
2D Survival Sandbox
Terraria
- Released
- May 16, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Re-Logic
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Vita, iOS, Android, macOS, Linux, 3DS, Stadia, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
There are very few 2D survival games, and even fewer that are fun and engaging to play as well. Terraria is one of these. Despite the fact it is 2D, it still manages to immerse the player in a very comprehensive and complex survival experience.
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Terraria made this list for the way that the procedurally generated maps manage to include some very detailed and varied biomes, and the way that underground exploration areas are a vital part of the process of exploration. Yes, it is 2D, but somehow this works in a genre that is generally populated by 3D first-person games.
1 Valheim
Exploration Is Not Optional
Valheim
- Released
- February 2, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Iron Gate AB
- Platform(s)
- Linux, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
Valheim is a classic survival game in every sense of the word. Combat, crafting, base building, and exploration are all activities that every player will need to tackle at some stage of their progression.
Indeed, it is impossible to progress in Valheim without exploring. Each new tier of resources, tools, weapons, and armor is gated behind the need to kill the next boss. Apart from the initial boss that spawns close to the starting area, this means building a boat and setting sail for uncharted coasts. Progressing from biome to biome, killing each boss in turn. This is why Valheim takes the top place on this list. It doesn’t just reward exploration, it makes exploration a central part of the gameplay.