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It’s currently one of the most popular genres in the gaming industry and there’s no shortage of survival games at the moment, with more on the way. Not all of them tap into that old primeval emotion, though some are more forgiving and don’t instill the fragility of human life well enough. Hence, for a more brutal digital field trip that most players won’t survive, these games will surely make everyone appreciate their comfort zones much better.
Updated October 22, 2022 by Sid Natividad: Survival games are more fun than ever before with new games like Grounded raising the bar for possibilities and ideas. It’s only a matter of time before players find the usual survival game offering a little too tame. Thus, looking for harder challenges is a typical venture.
After all, this is the survival genre, and survival isn’t supposed to be fun or leisurely. Sometimes, one has to feel the raw harshness of nature in order to appreciate the modern comforts that are usually taken for granted. And of course, brutal survival games can be more entertaining with friends.
15 Project Zomboid
Release year: 2013 (early access) Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems
It might not look as involved or as shocking as first-person zombie games due to the top-down, isometric perspective, but Project Zomboid can be more nerve-wracking. It’s one of the toughest survival games out there due to the steep learning curve and the less forgiving enemies.
Project Zomboid places a stalwart focus on realism and the sandbox nature of its world. The zombies also don’t run but they do come in frightening swarms that will punish any small mistake or indecision on the player’s part. On top of that, players also have to deal with depression and boredom on top of their physiological needs.
14 Stranded Deep
Release year: 2015 Platforms: Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
If players want to get a taste of what it’s like to have a similar predicament to Tom Hanks in Cast Away, then Stranded Deep is a good trial run. It’s a game where players are stranded on an island. But they soon realize that they’re not Polynesian islanders who are adept at surviving such environments, so this paradise might as well be hell.
The worst part is that players are encouraged to leave their island since their starting plot of land doesn’t have all the resources available. Players will need to venture to other islands to complete their hierarchy of needs. That would have been easy if not for the sharks and other violent sea critters looking for a meal.
13 Green Hell
Release year: 2018 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows
It’s best known as a rainforest simulator especially if players crank up the difficulty level to how the developers intended. Players will need to attend to insect bites, numerous kinds of poison, and other jungle illnesses to find their missing wife in the story mode or perhaps last as long as they can in the sandbox mode.
12 7 Days To Die
Release year: 2013 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox Cloud Gaming
Much like Project Zomboid, 7 Days to Die is a definitive zombie survival experience where players can roam around and create their own survival stories. Interestingly, it was released on early access at the same time as Project Zomboid.
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The difference is, 7 Days to Die presents a more intimate view of zombie slaughter. Thus, it has more pronounced horror elements and the zombies look more visceral and distinct. Players can also craft some rather ridiculous melee weapons and try to McGuyver their way into survival, though that won’t make the experience any less intimidating.
11 Subsistence
Release year: 2016 Platforms: Microsoft Windows
If players want a simple survival game with Stone Age tendencies but modern equipment, then Subsistence is the game. There are no supernatural threats here, just the usual human doubt and greed. Players must defend themselves against wildlife, nature, and AI hunters who also behave the same way as they do.
It’s a pure sandbox setup where players can even build their own communities and develop their mini-communal civilizations. It’s similar to Rust but with less wackiness and with more available modern technology. The game is also famed for its difficulty as it often tries to simulate real-world rules.
10 This War Of Mine
Release year: 2014 Platforms: Android, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Xbox One, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Classic Mac OS
It’s set in the modern world but that doesn’t mean This War of Mine ceases to be as unforgiving as survival games that start with Stone Age tech. At its core, This War of Mine is similar to The Sims, except all the sims are in war-torn Eastern Europe and they’re all depressed and are a couple of missed meals away from dying.
That’s how bleak the situation is in This War of Mine. Players are tasked with managing civilian survivors in a city under siege where every member must be kept alive. The problem is, some are better than others when it comes to certain tasks and looters are everywhere, turning the whole city into a free-for-all.
9 Kenshi
Release year: 2013 Platforms: Microsoft Windows
Kenshi is a weird post-apocalyptic video game where Mad Max and anime had an unholy union and gave birth to the game’s peculiar aesthetics. It’s a sandbox survival title where players are allowed to do whatever they like in a world where frequent storms and giant anomalies can squish people-sized objects like bugs.
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In essence, Kenshi’s developers consider it an RPG but it’s just so hilariously savage to its players that it can easily double as a survival game. Since gameplay is freeform, players can become merchants, traders, slavers, or just roamers. Of course, the strongest always survive in that kind of society and that’s where the bulk of Kenshi’s survival experience lies.
8 Don’t Starve
Release year: 2013 Platforms: Android, iOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Don’t be fooled by the simple and popup storybook art style. Don’t Starve means nasty business. The game pits players and the character of their choice against unknown and alien elements and creatures of a dreary Lovecraftian world where they must shore up their base defenses while also exploring for better opportunities to live.
Don’t Starve has a day and night cycle where the latter provides an intense challenge since the dark makes the grotesque monstrosities bolder and hungrier. Part of the reason why the game’s difficult is that it’s also a roguelike. Death means starting over again from scratch.
7 The Long Dark
Release year: 2017 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Macintosh operating systems
For players who want a winter apocalypse to see if they have a shot at surviving frostbite and hypothermia, then The Long Dark should more than satisfy (or traumatize). It’s another post-apocalyptic game where a geomagnetic disaster turned the whole world into a refrigerator.
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There are no zombies, monsters, or ghosts in The Long Dark. The only enemies are the sheer coldness of mother nature herself and her starving four-legged Mammalian children. Players will have to manage not just their fitness, food, sleep, and hydration but also their clothing and temperature. It’s immersive enough that its players will likely feel their character’s spine-chilling predicaments.
6 Rust
Release year: 2013 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Macintosh operating systems
Rust is one of the oldest and most popular survival games that started as an early access title. It’s now at its best state and while the graphics and general gameplay have improved, the players remain mostly the same. Most are armchair Social Darwinists and Machiavellians who wouldn’t hesitate to shoot a kind stranger in the back if that meant a bit more loot for them.
To that end, Rustfosters and rewards every kind of playstyle, be it hiding from social contact to piling up bodies in order to make a throne. The tribal mentality is rampant among players and there’s a high-risk, high-reward element in the form of rare loot. Arguably this makes the game a lot of fun.
5 SCUM
Release year: 2018 (early access) Platforms: Microsoft Windows
SCUM initially looks more like a DayZ clone but it’s quickly setting itself apart by piling up mechanics that have turned it into the most complex Hunger Games simulator but with zombies and mechs. Players will have to take care of their characters as if they were taking care of their newborn kids here.
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Everything from macronutrients, micronutrients, defecation, urination, wetness level, and even musculature and body fat percentage has to be taken into account. It’s an intimidating collection of mechanics, to be sure.
4 Darkwood
Release year: 2014 Platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS, SteamOS, Ubuntu, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Darkwood is a horror game and a survival game rolled into one nightmarish package. Because worrying about starvation isn’t enough; players also have to worry about those creepy sounds and shapes at night. This all plays out from a top-down perspective.
Even so, the fear and desperation are too palpable as Darkwood sets its own atmosphere masterfully. There are no quest markers or maps. Players have to commit locations to memory. Day areas are also randomly generated, so by night, players will know where to scramble back into once the initially static shadows start running toward them.
3 Outward
Release year: 2019 Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Google Stadia
Outward can be best described as Dark Souls except players don’t care about being a god and simply want to explore the wide-open world because they got evicted by their greedy pig of a landlord. Except, this world isn’t pleasant. There’s no map, their characters are lousy combatants, and monsters and bandits are everywhere.
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These, however, are what make up the core of the game. Outward is all about journeying on foot in a magical land where players are about as strong as the typical hapless NPC. There’s also no traditional RPG progression here and players will have to gauge their progress by how skillful or clever they have become.
2 Neo Scavenger
Release year: 2014 Platforms: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux
Think of Neo Scavenger as Civilization meets Dungeons and Dragons except the setting is a city that’s been turned into a trash bin of a ghetto and everyone is either a junkie or a hobo. Some of its players even resort to calling it “hobo simulator.” Turns out that kind of life isn’t easy as there’s a high chance of getting shivved during the night by a random meth-head.
Neo Scavenger captures that atmosphere. The reason why it’s hard is that there’s too much RNG involved in fights, retreats, or just about anything. So even if players get too comfy by finding an iPad they can weaponize and having a garbage bag to cover their torso, the game’s numerous enemies will still smoke them.
1 Escape From Tarkov
Release year: Closed Beta Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems
Technically, Escape from Tarkov is a mil-sim/battle royale game where the objective of each session is to rush to the exfiltration zone without dying. But the obstacles players have to go through to achieve that can easily be turned into a Hollywood anti-war film where the protagonist dies.
Escape from Tarkovhas a combat system that’s too realistic to be casually enjoyed. Thus, its players are also sharp and shrewd, often taking their time and shooting others from behind. If players die, their stuff gets looted and they have to start from scratch depending on which items they have insured. To that end, it can also be a lovely lesson about making wise decisions that can be applied in real life.
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