The goal in all video games is to get your character safely from point A to point B. Whether it’s Super Mario , Grand Theft Auto , or Fallout , you want your character to stay alive. But some games make it difficult. There are survival games that require you to make difficult decisions and go out of your comfort zone to stay alive and win. These ten are some of the best of them.
The Walking Dead
We’re going to ease into this whole survival thing. Telltale’s seasons of The Walking Dead are definitely survival games. You’re trying to see if you can save as many people as possible, including yourself. You don’t have to keep track of stats or kill an onslaught of enemies, but the whole life-or-death thing still applies. You’re making consequences that determine the course of your own and others’ lives!
Terraria
Terraria is so relaxed, it’s easy to forget it’s about survival. After all, the zombies that come to attack each night aren’t too terrifying, even if it is a Blood Moon. And the slimes that show up during the day are never a threat. It’s only once you start showing progress, doing some serious mining, and building up a settlement that goblin armies invade, the Eye of Cthulhu comes around to see what’s up, and you provoke the wrath of Skeletron. Otherwise, it’s pretty easy to get by!
Minecraft
Like Terraria , Minecraft is one of the more relaxed survival games. As long as you build yourself a hut to hide in at night, you’ll be good. It just gets more dangerous when you start considering creatures like Creepers and Eldermen. And, you know, all the portals into other, darker worlds. You do need to be a bit on top of things to survive, but it isn’t too overwhelming a prospect.
Zero Time Dilemma
Zero Time Dilemma is a lot like Telltale’s The Walking Dead . It’s an adventure game, so you know there are scripts to follow. It’s more deadly and terrifying, because you know there are also puzzles you have to solve and people you may need to betray to survive. Your greatest enemy is Zero, the person who’s locked all nine people in this strange bunker and is forcing them to decide who lives or dies, but it’s also your “allies” and yourself. It may not be a typical survival game, but Zero Time Dilemma is all about working toward the best possible outcome and staying alive.
Rust
Here’s my issue with Rust . It’s a great survival game. One where the most deadly enemy could be the other people playing the game with you. But, it’s those same other players that can keep it from being so awesome. Because you always have to watch your back. Always. You never know when someone could come up and decide it’s time for you to go. Even if you were doing a fantastic job of staying alive, your skills could mean nothing!
Survival Kids
We’re going to take things all the way back right now, folks. Before some of you were even playing games, there was a fantastic survival game on the Game Boy. It was Survival Kids , from Konami. You had to help a shipwrecked kid survive on an island, charting it, befriending a monkey, and performing daily tasks like eating, drinking, and sleeping. How did you get off this island? There was a timer keeping track of how long you were there. You had to hit certain milestones, like finding a radio, reaching a part of the island, or building a boat, to be saved. It ended up inspiring a whole series, called Lost in Blue , and showed how great a survival series could be even back in the 90’s.
Don’t Starve
The beauty of Don’t Starve is that this is a brutal survival game. You not only have to survive, but also stay sane in the process. It’s very difficult to go far, with only the most skilled players accomplishing it. But, when you do find a groove and develop a little settlement, it’s the best feeling in the world. Though, it’s even better if you go with Don’t Starve Together , because then two people can team up and try to stay alive together!
ARK: Survival Evolved
Dinosaurs. ARK: Survival Evolved has dinosaurs. You can fight them. Even better, you can tame them. Then, you can go off flying or riding around the world with your dinosaur buddies. Granted, gaining such a creature’s trust is no easy feat, but it’s absolutely worth it and helps make this survival sim stand out.
Far Cry Primal
Far Cry Primal is already a survival game, tasking players with staying alive and bringing a tribe back together. Its Survivor Mode takes things a step further. It adds permadeath and a stamina gauge. It takes away the minimap. There’s more fog of war and fewer people and animals. Even traveling becomes more of a chore, since going through more frigid climates will require warmer clothing and you’ll need to eat and sleep after fast traveling. It’s much more challenging than before, which is just the way we like it.
Fallout 4
Survival mode in Fallout 4 is brutal. Do you think you could survive a post-apocalyptic wasteland? This mode will show you that you can’t! You’re more susceptible to everything, with illnesses being added, healing rates reduced, and your character taking more damage. You can’t rely on the compass to show you enemies or points of interest, as they’re obscured and harder to find. Chems lower your immune system, making it more likely you’ll get sick. You need to sleep in a bed over seven hours to restore health. Though, sleeping is needed anyway, as it’s the only way to save and your character must eat, drink, and sleep to stay alive. Even your robot buddies have it harder, as they’ll be destroyed if you don’t repair them after they fall in combat. The Commonweath is a terrifying and tumultuous place.