Survival games typically include building, crafting, combat, and food and drink mechanics in an open world and usually have a non-linear storyline. Though it varies from game to game, usually, people start with virtually nothing and must gather resources and unlock new technologies to craft better equipment. This core gameplay loop encourages people to continue to explore and discover new and better technology while overcoming increasingly tough challenges and enemies.

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10 Ark: Survival Ascended (2023)

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox X/S

Though the initial reception for Ark: Survival Ascended has not been overwhelmingly positive, it's the newest iteration of the Ark series, which certainly is one of the better survival franchises to exist. Ark: Survival Ascended is a survival game where the main goal is to capture prehistoric creatures and killer dinosaurs while avoiding environmental hazards and other players.

A new build of Ark: Survival Evolved in UE5: there is a long list of planned updates and expansions coming to Ascended that were released for the previous game. Though the launch of ASA has surely had a few bumps in the road, the roap for ASA shows that Studio Wildcard is dedicated to improving the game.

9 Don't Starve Together (2016)

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One

Don't Starve Together is a classic procedurally-generated survival title in a 2.5D perspective. Like the previous Don't Starve, the game tasks people with surviving a dangerous world filled with Lovecraftian beasts and includes the typical survival mechanics one would expect. Unlike the previous title, however, Don't Starve Together is a co-op affair, with up to six players without the use of mods. With new seasonal bosses, various interesting mechanics, and a unique art style, Don't Starve Together is a great time with friends.

8 V Rising (2022)

Platforms: PC

V Rising is a top-down survival title with a bloodsucking twist. In the game, people assume the role of a ravenous vampire that must rebuild their domain by constructing a castle and increasing their power. Susceptible to the sun's rays, hiding in the shadows is a must. V Rising has both co-op and online PvP but can be played solo. Still in Eary Access, the gothic hit was a smash success when it came out, selling one million copies a week after release.

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7 Enshrouded (2024)

Platforms: PC, PS 5, Xbox X/S

Enshrouded is a co-op survival action RPG in a fantasy setting. Another Early Access title, in Enshrouded, people are thrust into the vivid realm of Embervale and must survive the torrid land by crafting, building, and upgrading weaponry to defeat the threats that loom. With caves, forests, dungeons, and a wide-open world, it's one of the better survival games set in a fantasy setting that's out right now. In addition, there's 16-player co-op gameplay, providing a lot of potential for larger-than-average party sizes.

6 Frostpunk (2018)

Platforms: PC, PS4/5, Xbox One

Frostpunk is an interesting take on the survival game, as it's also a city-builder and society management simulation. Controlling a society after a devastating chill covers the Earth in ice and snow; in Frostpunk, it's up to people to make decisions for the populace while managing resource collection and the society's happiness. With law-making mechanics, a host of technology tiers, eight different maps, and a variety of game modes, this single-player civilization management title is unlike others in the survival genre.

5 Valheim (2021)

Platforms: PC, Xbox One & X/S

Though the epic Viking saga known as Valheim was released a couple of years ago, its procedurally generated nature and constant updates make it an easy survival game to return to and enjoy. Still in Early Access on Steam, most recently, Iron Gate AB released a seasonal event called Yuletide Treats, and with a larger Ashlands update to drop sometime in 2024, there's still more to look forward to.

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With up to 10-player co-op, full building freedom, a multitude of armor, weapons, and ships to unlock and discover, Valheim is unarguably one of the best survival titles — or games in general — developed by an indie studio right now.

4 Project Zomboid (2013)

Platforms: PC

Project Zomboid is an expansive 2.5D survival RPG where players must fend off rabid and ravenous infected hordes of zombies. Set in a sandbox world, it's up to one to discover how they want to play and what they want to accomplish. Though the game doesn't possess the most impressive HD graphics, the deep mechanics and multitude of activities, items, and crafting possibilities make this arguably one of the best survival zombie games to ever exist.

Though the game has been in Early Access for over a decade at this point, the hyper-ambitious Build 42 has been under development for some time and will unlock a whole new host of possibilities for those who jump into the game.

3 Rust (2018)

Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One

Rust is a long-running survival game that helped set the standard for others that followed it. Awakening on a beach in the nude, people slowly build up from a single stone to expansive, sprawling compounds with production chains and advanced weaponry and vehicles. A multiplayer, PvP-focused survival title, the brutality of Rust makes it addictive to some while simultaneously making others never pick up the game again. Arguably one of the better PvP FPS survival titles to exist, Rust hasn't lost its luster even years after it was originally released.

2 Sons Of The Forest (2023)

Platforms: PC

Sons of the Forest is the 2023 followup to The Forest, an indie survival game that places people, well — in the middle of a forest. What is uncovered is an interesting story of rabid mutated humans roaming the land and an even darker secret. With hidden lore to be found around the world, brutal survival mechanics like thirst and hunger, and constant updates that keep the first-person game feeling fresh and alive, this is another Early Access survival title that's worth checking out.

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1 Palworld (2024)

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox X/S

An instant success, Palworld accrued over 19 million total players in under a month since its Early Access release on January 19, 2024. An expansive creature-collecting title, Palworld melds aspects of what makes the survival genre so popular, with 111 unique creatures that can be collected and bred together. With a deep tech tree that offers 50 levels and a huge variety of bosses, enemies, creatures, and weapons, it's swept the gaming community by storm. Though not as punishing as typical survival titles, the game is still a ton of fun to play.