Best Survival Games of All Time

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Survival games pit you against an adversary in a hostile setting. The player is often tasked with surviving for a set length of time or for as long as they can.

The finest survival games present us with a variety of scenarios that will put us to the test in a variety of ways. From gathering resources to build useful goods, homemade weaponry, and the all-important medkits, to exploring and seeking shelter, everything you do will be in the name of survival.

We've selected the best survival games for you to jump into and put your skills to the test.

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ARK: Survival Evolved

If you're looking for a survival game that's "fresh and interesting," you should definitely check out ARK: Survival Evolved. Ark is the best dinosaur survival game you can buy—and probably the best dinosaur game ever made. It's a survival game where you pound trees to gain wood, use wood to build shelter, kill animals to find food, and eventually die because you forgot to drink water. However, it deviates from the norm by having dinosaurs who want to hunt and eat you, but you can also tame and ride them with some patience. Despite outdated graphics and a challenging difficulty level, the game has a large fan base because it makes the business of staying alive so intriguing.

DayZ

Chernarus, a post-Soviet republic, is attacked by an unknown virus, infecting the majority of the population. Fighting for resources has fostered a violent mentality among survivors, driving what remains of mankind to extinction. DayZ's trees feel genuinely life-like rather than artificially created, and there's a genuine sensation of isolation out in the bush. DayZ's survival elements are robust, with comprehensive nutrition, hydration, and health systems that go beyond simply eating, drinking, and bandaging wounds. Scavenge a large and deteriorating persistent open environment, interact with other players in difficult situations, customize weapons and gear, and try not to die.

Rust

It is a PVP-intensive game in which players compete for dominion over a certain territory. The game's strongest aspect is its forts, which players can build. Everyone spawns naked in a random male or female avatar, and you're trapped in a barren wilderness where practically everything that moves wants to kill you. The most important question is not whether you will die, but how many other players will kill you before. "Rust" is one of the most well-known survival games.

The game's violent, punishing characters and tense combat are contentious. Rust by Facepunch Studios includes a fully customizable base system, flying vehicles, a randomized environment, and a diverse weapon arsenal.

Valheim

The Valheim game is one of the most enthralling indie releases of 2021. A procedurally generated world, fearsome boss fights, and excellent base-building systems mesh wonderfully with survival elements like cooking and crafting.

A battle-slain warrior whose soul has been ferried to Valheim, the 10th Norse world. It's an easy contender for one of the best survival games of the decade. Valheim's procedurally generated wilds contain various biomes of escalating difficulty. Each of Valheim's biomes has its own magnificent boss—once you locate it, summon it, and defeat it, you unlock resources and powers that help you progress.

It's easy to play solo but really shines in co-op with up to nine other players.

Minecraft

Minecraft is possibly the most influential open-world survival game to have appeared in the last decade. Minecraft can be played alone, in creative mode, with friends and strangers, as an explorer, or with custom game types on specialty servers. It's still a superb survival game, with well-implemented hunger and thirst mechanisms and robust crafting and building. Minecraft is a fantastic example of what game design can be.

Mining for materials, creating equipment, and constructing a shelter are as stressful as they ever were. Farming and foraging in an immense, unexplored area provide lots of adventure. It may no longer be the purest survival game around, but Minecraft still has an incredible capacity to draw you in.