Top 10 Games Where Survival is Everything

Top 10 Games Where Survival is Everything Punch a few trees down, and you’re good to go. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we will be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Games Where Survival is Everything. For this list, we’ll be taking a look at those games where you’ve got nothing to keep you alive but your own wits and what you can create from it. Whether the game has you braving extreme weather, exploring underwater, or mashing two items together until they become something useful, if surviving is your core goal, it’s eligible for this list. We’ll be focusing on games that are centered around crafting and scavenging, so games like PUBG, which is technically about surviving until the end, isn’t eligible.

#10: “Conan Exiles” (2018)

Despite delays and a rocky early access start, this game has come a long way. A lot of the bugs that plagued the game in the beginning have since been ironed out, and we have a fairly optimized game at our hands now. Set in the Conan the Barbarian universe, players begin with absolutely nothing and have one goal; survive. While it follows your standard survival genre gameplay, there are a plethora of things to do, and the game world is massive. Combat is visceral and bloody, and your building options are limited only by your imagination.

#9: “This War of Mine” (2014)

Oh, man. This game left us emotionally drained and scarred. This War of Mine is not only about surviving in the physical aspect but making sure our minds also remain intact. Set during wartime, the choices you make can’t be defined as good or bad, as the aim of the game is to keep yourself and your party alive, no matter the cost. You can give commands to your party members, scavenge for supplies, and make sure your base is running up to scratch, but looking outside at the devastation makes you wonder if it’s truly worth it.

#8: “Terraria” (2011)

Coming off the grim and depressing This War of Mine is the bright and colorful Terraria! With its poppy music and retro art style, players can explore the randomly generated world, craft, dig down, and fight monsters. There are a lot of mysterious and magical items that can be crafted, all to aid you in your battles with the many bosses the game has to offer. Playing cooperatively with a friend is a blast, and it makes inventory management and slaying monsters easier to handle.

#7: “State of Decay” (2013)

This game is as close to The Walking Dead TV show as you’re going to get in terms of survival and resource management. Stakes are high, and the zombies are always threatening. Games these days usually don’t have permanent consequences, but State of Decay pressures you to always be on your toes. If someone in your crew dies, they’re dead for good. No respawns for them, we’re afraid. Whether you’re defenseless against the undead army or are armed to the teeth, don’t ever let your guard down.

#6: “ARK: Survival Evolved” (2017)

Ah yes. Mining, crafting, base building, and dinosaurs. What else more could you want? Oh, being able to tame and ride them? Well, it has that, too! With its unique spin on the survival genre, ARK delivers in not just the crafting aspect, but also the progression and action aspects, too. It even has a story narrative you can follow which pits you against big bosses. While you begin the game throwing spears and making stuff from sticks, you eventually become more technologically advanced in your creations, and that’s when the game truly shines.

#5: “Minecraft” (2011)

Ahh, Minecraft, the most well-known out of all the games on the list, and there’s a reason for that. With its pixel block graphics and easy to use interface, the game is accessible to everyone, and whether you’re an adult or a kid, you’ll find something to enjoy out of it. You can craft, explore, fight bosses, build huge castles, and partake in a variety of different games. Players are constantly crafting – excuse the pun - new game types, so the experience never gets stale.

#4: “Don’t Starve” (2013)

While starving will kill you, so will the monsters, as well as your own general curiosity. You play as a scientist, so might as well experiment with everything, right? There’s a sandbox mode, and there’s a story-based adventure mode. It’s isometric view always keeps you wondering white lies just ahead, and its art style gives you a feeling of nostalgia for something you can’t really remember. Those elements, coupled with the inventive things you can craft create a unique experience that deserves to be played.

#3: “Subnautica” (2018)

Any video game developers out there that want to dabble in this genre, play this game and take notes. Seriously, the mood and atmosphere are unapparelled, and the sense of isolation and foreboding truly push you to traverse the waters, gather materials and craft your way to survival. Explore the ocean depth as you avoid running out of oxygen, as well as the alien sea creatures. Some biomes are generally beautiful to look at, while others will have you wanting to surface as fast as you can.

#2: “The Long Dark” (2014)

The biggest praise we can give The Long Dark is its visceral and punishing portrayal of desolation and survival. The fact that this game’s conditions beat you down at every turn make the small victories you achieve just that much rewarding. It’s a game about choice, in which survival should be the only outcome. Its game design is extremely thought out, in the fact that anything you do is probably going to have a negative drawback to it. Carrying a lot of supplies will slow you down, and whether you want to risk starving to death or face the extreme weather is left up to you.

#1: “Rust” (2018)

After spending many years in alpha, this game finally had a full release in February of 2018. As if surviving weather and wildlife wasn’t difficult enough, now we have hordes of other players to contend with, too. That’s what makes playing Rust such an exhilarating experience. The game blends gameplay elements from all the best survival games out there and throws you into an intense player vs. player royal rumble. You’ll have to keep coming back online to make sure you’re still safe in this hostile world. The last thing you want is for you to log on, look up and see someone smash your face in with a rock, but that dread is what also makes the game a blast to play.