Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- #21 Palworld
- #20 War Hospital
- #19 Dread Pilots
- #18 Once Human
- #17 The Alters
- #16 Crashlands 2
- #15 Pacific Drive
- #14 HeatWave
- #13 Road to Vostok
- #12 Light No Fire
- #11 ASCENT OF ASHES
- #10 Wanderlost
- #9 Enshrouded
- #8 Sand
- #7 ALOFT
- #6 The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
- #5 Nightingale
- #4 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
- #3 Dune: Awakening
- #2 ARK 2
- #1 Frostpunk 2
When it comes to survival games, they come in all shapes, sizes, and settings. These ones in 20244 will test players in numerous ways.
#21 Palworld
Platform: PC Xbox One XSX|S
Release Date: January 19, 2024 (early access)
When it comes to a certain OTHER “monster-catching franchise,” you rarely, if ever, had to worry about your avatar’s survival. After all, the whole point of that game was simply to battle monsters and not have to worry about what they might do to you.
But in Palworld, survival is something that should absolutely be on your mind. Why? Because these monsters won’t be afraid to come after you and potentially kill you!
That’s why you need to see out and use the power of the “Pals” to stay alive. Train them to be strong so they can fight off everything you come across! Or, if you face an unstoppable foe, use the Pals to sacrifice themselves so you can get away!
#20 War Hospital
To free ourselves from the last game, let’s talk about a title about survival in a more emotional sense. In War Hospital, you’ll be part of a battlefield hospital in World War I. This is still the “dark age” of medicine, and you need to do all you can to help the soldiers that come into your care.
Your decisions will affect their treatment and how things go. You’ll want to build up a staff to treat as many people as possible. But you’ll also need to maintain your supplies to do the treatments as much as possible!
Life and death are in your hands. Will you be able to do what is right and save lives?
#19 Dread Pilots
The last game might have been a bit morbid for you, and we’re sorry if that was the case. So how about we go to a sci-fi future where you get trapped in a nightmare dimension? That sounds fun, right?
In Dread Pilots, you are truly trapped in a realm where there are dangers in every direction you look, and your ship won’t be able to handle them unless you outfit it with a crew and weapons to take them on.
Your mission is simple: find a way out! But with so many threats, is there even a way out? There’s plenty to do in this game just to survive, so keep your head on a swivel and look out!
#18 Once Human
We’ve shown you some rather dark games so far, and we will continue that trend! Why? Because we can!
In Once Human, you’ll be in a world that has become infected with an alien entity called “Stardust.” And when we say “infected,” we mean that in the broadest sense. Everything from the people, the animals, the water, the food, the ground, and everything in between has been infected!
Thus begins you’re struggle. You are one of the few that can fight against the monsters that lurk everywhere. But without food and water, you’ll lose your sanity. But if you ingest it, you’ll become more infected. What will you do?
#17 The Alters
One of the most dangerous situations to be in is one where you have to rely on yourself alone to get through a challenge. In The Alters, you’ll have no one but yourself and your past selves to free you from a planet you are trapped on.
The game will allow you to “summon” past versions of yourself that made different choices in their lives. Through these “alters,” you’ll have many hands, and potentially get to do light work.
But with each Alter you summon, the strain on your mind will increase. You’ll need to work through the problems of your past if you hope to survive the present and make it to the future. Think you can handle that?
#16 Crashlands 2
After the events of the first game, a certain trucker wanted nothing more than to take a vacation and not have to worry about being thrown into an intense survival situation. So, in Crashlands 2, he goes to take that vacation and gets thrown into a new and very intense survival situation! Such a lucky guy.
Alone and in a part of the world you’re not familiar with, you’ll have to do everything you can to make it out alive and get through the aliens and dangers that this place has.
The good news is that you can make friends and have them help you survive. It’s a big alien world out there, so do your best not to die.
#15 Pacific Drive
Platform: PC PS5
Release Date: February 22, 2024
How does one survive an area full of mysterious “anomalies,” vicious storms, and terror lying around every corner? Well, you ensure your car can take you through everything without becoming a wreck!
That might sound cheesy, but that’s the point of Pacific Drive. The game puts you in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, where massive storms are ripping through the region, and the only way to safety is through the Olympic Exclusion Zone, a place full of dangers.
You’ll need to find materials and build up your car into a mean machine that can carry you through the trials ahead. It won’t be easy, but survival is never easy.
#14 HeatWave
How do you survive a HeatWave? Simple, you get inside, you turn on the air conditioning, and you hope you don’t fry in the process.
Oh, this is about a game called that? Our bad. The game focuses on a potential future where global warming has forced the continental United States to cut itself off from Alaska, and that leaves it open to a united front of Russia and China. Why? Because Russia used to own the state before they sold it to the US, and they want it back!
You’ll need to assemble a resistance movement and fight off the invaders so you can keep your homes safe!
#13 Road to Vostok
Many of the survival games we’ve shown you and will show you don’t exactly involve “realism” in all its many forms. But in Road to Vostok, the game tries to make the gameplay loop feel as real as possible.
In this case, you’ll have to deal with real-world health issues and damage, use weapons as they’re meant to be used, and deal with things like permadeath.
The world is alive, and you won’t know what you’ll find until you get to certain spots. Scavenge for supplies to extend your life, and if you do find people, consider trading with them to get even more stuff.
Build shelters, fight off dangers, and do whatever it takes to survive.
#12 Light No Fire
Traditionally, survival games are about “making it to the next day” and hoping it’s enough. But in Light No Fire, the title wants you to build a life for yourself alongside other players. You’ll be put in a world with fantasy settings but with familiar elements.
As you travel around, you’ll meet other players and get the chance to build up this world so you can survive in it. This is a living world. That means you’ll find biomes to check out, animals to deal with, and you’ll need to look around for resources and supplies to help your crew survive.
What kind of life will you build on this world? You’ll find out.
#11 ASCENT OF ASHES
Surviving this next world will be anything but easy, and that’s part of the point. ASCENT OF ASHES will put you in another post-apocalyptic world that has been invested with alien creatures and people willing to do anything to survive.
The game accurately depicts survival tactics and combat as you’ll have to deal with injuries as they happen and can not only scavenge for supplies but repair things like vehicles to get around.
How you live in this world will depend on your interactions. You can kill everything in sight or try to tame some of the aliens to help you. Just be aware of the potential dangers; they are numerous.
#10 Wanderlost
Huh, we haven’t had a survival game that’s featured zombies yet, have we? Let’s change that! Wanderlost is a cutely-rendered title that will throw you into a wilderness and expects you to survive. That shouldn’t be to hard, right?
Well, it will be given the zombies and other creatures that exist in this world. You’ll need to construct a home to protect yourself within and then slowly expand it via the resources you collect. As you venture deeper into the world, you’ll get access to more things, so don’t be afraid to roam!
Just remember, there are dangers everywhere, so bring some weapons to fight back!
#9 Enshrouded
Platform: PC
Release Date: January 24, 2024 (early access)
Survival games are all over the place nowadays; they’re a key genre for many players. However, where Enshrouded continues into play is that it gives you a deep fantasy RPG world to enjoy while you attempt to survive in it.
Long story short, mankind got too greedy for its own good, and they accidentally turned their home realm into a fog-filled nightmare.
You wake up in this nightmare with nothing to your name, and thus, you’ll need to work hard to get what you need to survive. The longer you last, the more you’ll find out about this world and whether there’s a way to save it.
#8 Sand
We don’t like Sand, it’s course and irritating and, what’s that? Oh, have we already made this joke several times? Darn.
Anyway, in this game, you’ll be put into an alternate version of history where a massive empire ruled over several planets. But when disaster struck, and their prized world fell to the sandy depths, they left much behind to be found.
That’s where you and other players come in. You’ll go to the world and attempt to find the treasures and resources that were left behind. Plus, you’ll have a mech known as a Trampler that you can upgrade to help you on your journey.
Will you find what was lost?
#7 ALOFT
Ready to set sail? You might think that’s odd given the game’s name of “ALOFT,” but it’s an apt question. After all, in the title, you’re surviving on an island that is floating in the sky due to a hurricane that swirls your home and other islands around its vortex!
The only way to travel around this hurricane is to build upon your island a set of masts and sails and ride the winds to adventure! You can build your island however you want and then venture to other islands to see what they hold and what you can use to continue your adventure.
If you want, you can even build a flying wing for yourself and glide around!
#6 The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
Our next game has an interesting twist on things because this tale is set after the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary trilogy of books.
In it, you’ll play as dwarves who are attempting to reclaim their land of Moria. Orcs and trolls drove them out, but with the fall of Sauron, it’s time to get back your land under the Misty Mountains!
You’ll travel through the caverns, search for remnants of your lost civilization, and attempt to rebuild! But with a procedurally generated land, you never know what will be out there. Prepare yourself for battle, and do what it takes to wipe out the invaders and restore your dwarven pride! In 2024 we’ll finally get this game on the Xbox platform.
#5 Nightingale
You might think that survival is hard in the many worlds we’ve shown you, but in Nightingale, you’re not trying to survive a singular world. Instead, you’re trying to survive numerous realms that you’re traveling through as you attempt to reach your destination.
Long story short, your home world has been sealed off, and you’re off in search of a realm where humanity is now residing. But getting to there won’t be easy when each new realm you enter will be full of awe-inspiring sights and terrible dangers.
You’ll need to craft weapons and work together with other players to survive what’s out there.
#4 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
A sad fact about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is that you should’ve already been able to play the game. However, given the situation with the nations that helped make this game and other factors, they felt it best to delay things.
But once the game arrives, you’ll have a riveting experience to undergo. The game takes place many years after another nuclear event went down in Chornobyl. Yeah, because the first one wasn’t enough, apparently!
You are one of the many people who will venture into the exclusion zone to harvest the wonders, riches, and mysteries of the place. But whether you survive the zone is another matter entirely.
#3 Dune: Awakening
At first, you might be put off by the idea that we’re showing you a game based on a movie. But we’re not! We’re showing you a video game based on a book that was eventually turned into several movies. Totally different!
Plus, this game isn’t based entirely on the plot of the books or films. Dune: Awakening will put you on the desert spice world of Arrakis and allows you to craft a tale that fits what you want to be. Will you be a hero to this world and others? Will you try to conquer and see what wonders await you?
The choice is yours, so choose your path and get started!
#2 ARK 2
We’ve shown you plenty of survival games on this list, but how many have Vin Diesel in them? Exactly! Just this one! ARK 2 will put you in a strange world you do no know how you arrived at. Your mission is not only to survive this crazy world but also to figure out the truth about all that is happening in it.
What’s happening on it? Well, a whole bunch of people are fighting it out. Humans riding dinosaurs and using sci-fi technology, that kind of thing. But we’re sure you’ll be fine on it! You have Vin Diesel to help you! He’s big on family.
#1 Frostpunk 2
In wintertime, the cold is what many people fear and hate the most. But in Frostpunk 2, things are much colder and much worse than you could’ve possibly imagined.
You’re thrust into a world where a great storm has caused the last city of humanity to be put on the brink. Your mission is to build this place back up and help the people who live in it. Unity is essential to survive, but that’s hard to do when everyone has different agendas and desires for what this city can be.
You’ll have to do a balancing act like never before to make it all work. Expand where you can, be smart with how you grow the city, and ensure the people’s actions don’t destroy everything you’ve built!