Steam is a great place to get games, and the survival genre has plenty of titles to choose from there! This list isn’t ranked in any order, and we’ll add games as time goes on. For now, though, allow us to show you the best survival games on Steam!
#16 Once Human
Okay, this is a brand new game at the time of writing this description. Once Human is a fresh, free-to-play video game experience. Here, you’re dealing with an alien entity that has infected most of the world, leaving it a battle for humanity’s survival.
You’ll have to scavenge items and resources to make it, build up your area, and strive to remake the world. As mentioned, it’s a brand new game, so it’s one to watch how well players take up with the gameplay experience. But being a free-to-play game, it can’t hurt to give this one a chance.
#15 Palworld
It’s an old joke that we put Palworld towards the start of the list because of how it was perceived before its launch. Now, we’re putting it at the beginning because we think it’s funny to do so.
The game is indeed a kind of “survival-style ripoff” of a legendary franchise, but it is its own thing. For example, in the other franchise, the monsters don’t actively try to kill you. These ones do. As such, you’ll need to build your party and outfit both them and yourself with weapons so you can take them on and see what damage you can do.
Have fun with your pals!
#14 Rust
If you’re looking for a more classic style of survival title, then you might want to check out Rust. The game puts you and several other players on an island where your only goal is survival. You’ll start out with nothing, and have to work your way through the islands regions to get resources to make clothes, weapons and more just so you can survive.
The game is constantly updating, giving you access to new items and materials to help ensure your survival. If you think you can take on anything this place has to throw at you, then dive in and have fun!
#13 Don’t Starve
Ah, one of the all-time classic survival titles that was so well made that it spawned a set of spinoffs and expansions to keep its players both occupied and tortured.
Don’t Starve is a simple and intense survival game where you’ll be put in an area and told to survive. That’s it. That’s all. The game doesn’t hold back, and it doesn’t hold your hand, either. If you’re looking to ‘slowly adjust to the world and its nuances,’ you’re out of luck. You need to survive from the moment you open the game’s world, so if you’re not prepared to endure a lot of bad things from the start, don’t play this game!
#12 Sons of the Forest
The sequel to a hit survival game, Sons of the Forestputs you as a person hired to find a billionaire who has disappeared on an island they went to. That shouldn’t have been a problem, except, the island that both you and they are on is filled with mutants, monsters and other terrors that you now have to contend with. Good luck with that!
On this island, everything is in a constant state of change, even the seasons change depending on how long you play in it. You’ll have to find things to survive and to fight off the monsters that you encounter.
Will you survive the forest? Or will you be its next victim?
#11 Subnautica
Do you want a slightly less terrifying survival experience that will still be fun to play? If so, you might want to check out Subnautica.
The game puts you as the survivor of a crash. The twist is that the crash was via a ship that was sent to another world, and you’ve crash-landed in an ocean! That means you’ll have to dive to survive as you find supplies and attempt to see all that this world’s oceans have to offer.
Just remember, not everything “Under The Sea” is nice, so you’ll need to arm yourself to fend off threats. If you keep your eyes sharp, and your spear gun sharper, you might make it out alive.
#10 ARK: Survival Evolved
While we await the arrival of the sequel, it’s important that we appreciate what the original ARK: Survival Evolved gave us, which was a grand survival experience.
You wash up on an island with nothing to your name. Yes, that does sound familiar. Anyway, as you wander around to try and survive, you’ll soon realize that there’s more to this island than meets the eye, including the fact that there are dinosaurs on it!
So, work your way up the technological food chain so you can wield massive weapons, take some of these dinos for yourself, and take on all other players you come across!
#9 Valheim
If you want to explore a massive world with friends instead of alone, Valheim might be the one for you. The game is inspired by Nose mythology and puts you in a grand realm where you try to show your worth to the Allfather.
To do so, you’ll travel the lands and attempt to make them your home. Whether you play by yourself or with a large group, you’ll have plenty to do. You’ll even have the ability to forge weapons to help take on the monsters that lurk all around you.
What you become and how you shape this place is entirely up to you.
#8 Project Zomboid
Okay, so, you prefer to take on a survival scenario involving zombies instead of Norse beings? Then you want to give Project Zomboid a look.
This is arguably the ultimate zombie survival game because it’s truly just about that. You’ll be put into one of two towns that zombies are ransacking. You’ll have only a certain amount of time each day to find supplies and protect yourself against the hordes that are coming for you and the other survivors.
If you do well, you’ll live to see another day! If you don’t, you’ll be the next victim of the horde. Try to be the former.
#7 7 Days To Die
Yes, we did do right by the numbering; you’re welcome.
7 Days To Die is a massive survival title that is filled with not only plenty of zombies to kill but millions of players for you to deal with as you survive this post-apocalyptic world. How you choose to go about living in this world is up to you. You can go through the game’s massive area and many biomes to see where you can find a good place to live, or you can work with other players to try and build something that stands the test of the world.
If that doesn’t suit you, just kill everything in sight until there’s nothing to kill anymore!
#6 Frostpunk
Imagine a world where heat is the only resource that matters. That is the fate of those in Frostpunk, and it’s your job to try and fix things to rebuild the world.
You’ll be the head of the only human city left, and you must use the limited resources of the area to try to build a settlement so that humanity can thrive again.
You’ll have to make tough choices that could affect the city and its people, but these choices are necessary if you want to live to see another day. What will your city look like when you’re done? Start building it up and find out!
#5 Pacific Drive
How about facing nature in another way? Pacific Drive starts out as a simple test of survival through the Pacific Northwest as you attempt to escape a massive storm in your car. Pretty standard stuff, right? Except, as you go through a key area, you’ll find yourself dealing with anomalies both big and small, and you’ll need to pimp your ride to survive it all.
Each run through this area will be different, and you never know what might pop up next! You’ll need to use what you find and attempt to outfit your car to take on these challenges and keep chugging along.
#4 The Long Dark
Not all survival games are made the same way. The Long Dark dared to be different when it released by focusing solely on the survival elements of the genre and giving you the toughest and most bare bones scenario for surviving.
In this case, you are trapped in the wilderness of North America after a massive storm took out all the electronics. You’re trapped there with nothing but your wits to help you get through this.
Everything about the game is focused solely on survival. You’ll need to maintain your health and food intake and endure the weather, animals, and more. This is survival in its rawest form. Do you have what it takes to endure?
#3 DayZ
Oh, you like survival games that have a more tangible threat to your existence? Fine, we’ll go back to those titles with DayZ. This is a zombie survival title where you’ll be put into the throughs of Russia and have to survive day by day by scavenging for supplies and taking out any undead threats that come near you.
Just to be clear, though, it’s not just the undead you need to look out for. The living poses just as much of a threat here, as you’ll encounter other players who might want to help you or hinder you.
Use your best judgment, as one wrong move could be your last.
#2 Rimworld
Numerous sci-fi stories involve colonists who crash-land on a world and must survive. In Rimworld, that’s indeed your challenge, but it’s a bit more nuanced than that.
You’ll start out with just three people and then have to try and expand your colony through various means. That includes capturing other people you find on the planet to help build up your ranks.
As time goes on, you’ll have to deal with external and internal issues to survive, that includes having to help your colonists with personal and health issues, or dealing with threats like massive bugs and rampaging machines.
Each run will be different, meaning you’ll be tested numerous times over.
#1 Enshrouded
Enshrouded is our final game, and it takes us to a fantasy realm where a once great empire imploded due to its own greed. As such, there is a veil of corruption that surrounds the land; you are one of the few that can attempt to reclaim what this land once was.
That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, though. Far from it, the game tests you by giving you nothing to start, forcing you to traverse the rugged areas in search of items to help you hunt, build and survive. The more you travel, the more you’ll learn about this world and find out how it got into this state, and how you can bring it back to life.
