Looking for the best survival games on PC? You are where you need to be! Survival games have experienced explosive growth over the past few years. Charts Steam filled with a wide variety of examples, including classic survival horror games and new hardcore survival simulations. To help all the perplexed adventurers out there, we've rounded up the best survival games to help guide you through storytelling and unexpected adventures.
Here are the best survival games on PC:
Whether you have the guts to survive the terrifying The Long Dark or the underwater wonders of Subnautica, our picks will help guide you into the (not so) safe pastures of the best PC games that challenge you to fight for your life. Whether you enjoy reliving the horrors of war or you love a new breed of hunger and disease fighting games, get ready to endure agony and a lot of pain in this thrilling survival adventure.
Do not starve
The scariest thought about real survival is having to do it alone. That's exactly what you're going to do in Don't Starve, as it's a completely solo experience. The horror of having to survive on your own in the wild is thankfully offset by beautiful Tim Burton-style 2D art and a collection of downright bizarre creatures that lurk in this sepia world. Verepigs, Bugbears, Deerlopes and many other absurd monsters roam the land, trying to make life difficult for you.
Don't Starve puts a lot of emphasis on crafting to make your way through life, and so most of your time is spent gathering raw materials - just like in other crafting games. But instead of building houses like Rust and Minecraft, this indie game is about tools and gadgets that you can create. The science machine and alchemy engine will become your best friends, and then give way to ancient wonders and the art of magic. Like Minecraft, Don't Starve embraces madness and mysticism, and that makes it all the more enjoyable.
Minecraft
If you want the best survival game, look no further than Minecraft. At some point, it seems like someone decided that survival meant brutal punishment, lazy advancement, and killing everyone who wasn't like you. But before Steam there was a big explosion of survival, we had Minecraft: a fun, colorful, creative survival sandbox game. Sure, there are zombies out there to eat your face, spiders, skeletons, and dragons, but thanks to Minecraft skins, you at least always end up being blocky and cute. Nobody minds having a cartoon monster eat you for breakfast.
But more importantly, the way you survive in Minecraft is up to you. You can build an elaborate fortress and play a defensive game while fighting off the night creatures. And you can create exciting weapons and go to the most dangerous areas of the world, testing your metal for strength. The world is literally endless and filled with amazing natural wonders that are just begging to be explored. Just remember to eat something from time to time and you'll be fine.
We spend so much time on the creative side of the game and its many Minecraft mods, Minecraft maps and all the other amazing features that sometimes we forget that the vanilla survival mode is just as interesting. And if you really want to make an automated mining line in survival mode, don't stop you. The main thing is that the creepers do not interfere with you.
This War of Mine
For all the stress that some survival games can cause, nothing beats an immersive 2D adventure. As you will learn from our review of This War of Mine, the game offers a very different type of survival. It tells about how a group of civilians are trying to survive in their war-torn country. Trapped in a house under siege, under sniper guns, attacked by other survivors who want what you've found, this is a game about traumatic decisions and life-or-death consequences. This is the side of the conflict that few people consider in war games. And this game should definitely be on the list of the best survival games on PC.
Each of the randomly generated survivors has a story that gives them the ability to survive. Former shooters have become stronger and stronger, and those who used to cook professionally can now feed the hungry. But as you venture out into the world to find the things you need—medicine, ingredients, bed scraps—you might run into those who are willing to kill. And turning a survivor into a killer leads to suffering, depression, and, if left untreated, suicide.
It is a grim existence, and making the seemingly obvious right decision at any given time can lead to disastrous consequences. Ending the war constantly seems like a pipe dream and everyone will probably be dead before you get there. However, if you think you can live in such difficult circumstances, then this game is a must-play.
valheim
Abandoned in the Norwegian wilderness with nothing but a loincloth and a quick wit, you - and nine other Vikings - must build a shelter, forage for food and constantly build up your strength before setting off in search of a glorious battle. The grasslands you start out in are relatively safe, but the procedurally generated wilderness contains various biomes of increasing difficulty - you won't want to stumble upon the plains before you're ready, trust us.
Each of the Valheim biomes has its own magnificent boss; discovering it, summoning it, and defeating it will unlock resources and abilities that will help you advance to the next region. You will also provoke more and more powerful raids on your base, so it is extremely important to build a well-defended house and do not forget about the chimney, otherwise the smoke will overtake you before the big blue troll does.
ARK: Survival Evolved
Ark isn't just the best dinosaur survival game you can buy, it's arguably one of the greatest dinosaur games ever made. After all, prehistoric beasts do everything better. It's a survival game that fills all the edges of the template: chop down trees to get wood, use wood to build a shelter, kill animals to find food, and inevitably die because you forgot to drink water. However, Ark goes beyond the typical survival game layout: it has leathery leviathans that want to hunt and eat you, but with a little persistence, they can be tamed and ridden. What's more, cold wars rage between the mega-tribes as they seek dominance over their world. Master Builders push the limits of creativity in a survival game. Purposeful players play for years.
Everything Ark makes is durable. The survival elements may be similar to what you've played before, but they are the foundation for the game's more ambitious elements (and the strong Ark mod scene). Your character has RPG-like stats, and you can venture out into the world to hunt down sci-fi secrets that offer little more incentive to play than just "stay alive."
It's these varied promises that make Ark worth playing: other survival games rely on just surviving the night, while Studio Wildcard sets you long-term goals like "tame and ride a T-Rex." A real sense of development and purpose makes you feel the value of your time in Ark, something that many other survival games struggle with.
The two-part Genesis expansion, the first half of which was released in February, explores simulated regions with volcanoes, ice mountains, and vast underwater biomes. Ark 2 starring Vin Diesel is coming soon, so it will be interesting to see what's new in the sequel to one of the best games on the list of the best PC survival games 2024.
Scum
Like many other survival games on this list, Scum starts life in Steam Early Access, which means two things: it's still pretty crappy, and there's still a lot of features to be added to it. But even at the very beginning of its existence, this detailed survival game, which takes place on a maximum security prison island, has a lot to offer.
What makes it stand out from its peers is its incredibly intricate metabolic system, which turns Scum into a kind of simulator that fully tracks what you eat, drink and excrete. Eat a lot more calories than you burn and you will get fat, eat less than you burn and you will have no energy and you will gradually lose weight.
But it's much more complicated: you'll have to keep track of your vitamin levels, the volume of your stomach, intestines, bladder, and colon, and make sure you're eating well before you need energy, as it takes time for your body to process everything you eat. put into it. In Scum, the hunger and thirst mechanic used in other survival games is second to none. You can also be rewarded for taking care of your body. Fit characters do more melee damage, run faster, and are better with weapons than their depleted or overweight counterparts.
The result is a survival game where survival is more important than amassing an arsenal of military-grade gear. Although, once you figure out how to take care of your body, you will still have ultimate goals, such as exploring high security areas, improving weapon stocks, and participating in PvP.
DayZ
The one that started it all. This nimble undead remains one of the best. zombie games and survival games. In other words, it is the king of zombie survival games. By today's standards, DayZ can even be considered one of the most meager virtual survival games: it has almost no craft and no goals other than staying alive. Food and water are vital, and illness can quickly kill you if you don't pay attention to the symptoms. Walking without shoes will cut and infect your feet, and transfusing the wrong type of blood will keep you alive forever.
If you're content with battling diseases, bodily disorders, and the zombies that sometimes go through walls, you'll move on to DayZ's best feature, exploration. The world of Chernarus is a Soviet wasteland, and Bohemia captured the feel of the Eastern Bloc with towns and villages on the map. The forests in DayZ look truly realistic, not artificial imitations, and there is a genuine sense of isolation in the wilderness.
This game is best played with a friend or two and it's a journey where things can go horribly wrong. And by "horribly bad" we mean being captured by bandits who will force-feed you bleach and take your can opener. So yes, proceed with extreme caution.
Conan Exiles
With the huge success of games like DayZ, it was only a matter of time before a licensed IP decided to try out the survival genre. Conan Exiles takes you to the Hyborian era, where everyone's favorite barbarian is trying to destroy people and avoid death.
The gameplay is generally familiar - grow crops, build settlements, beat enemies to death - but Conan has one thing that none of the competitors can claim: human sacrifice. If you manage to drag someone onto the altar and stab you, you can win the favor of the gods and change the balance of power in your favor. This unique concept makes Conan Exiles stand out from the crowd.
Rust
This grim tale of endurance has been made infamous by naked men - but it's not the size of manhood that impresses in Facepunch's open-world game (and we all know that doesn't matter anyway, right?). No, these are fortresses that players can, ahem, build. Rust's forte is building: by collecting materials from the wild, you can start stacking various items in a Sims-like manner, creating your perfect rural retreat by connecting floors, walls, stairs, and windows.
While there are plenty of servers with a traditional shoot-to-kill mentality, Rust has plenty of havens for those looking for a more civilized lifestyle. You can find player-created cities with attempts at management, trade, and even prisons. This is one of the sweetest reminders that if people come together and share their resources, fantastic things can be done.
Rust has undergone a massive overhaul that has scrapped much of the original game in favor of a slightly new approach and a completely new core code. As a result of the changes, quite a lot of the main features of the game, such as zombies and rad cities, were eliminated, but over time they were gradually reapplied along with new ideas.
Subnautica
With its dreamy underwater setting - partly community-created - and addictive gameplay, Subnautica is one of the best exploration survival games on PC 2024. Subnautica is far more reassuring and relaxing than many survival adventures. Sure, you're a lonely person, lost at sea on an alien planet, but this is a game about how to set up your new environment and make an unfamiliar land your home.
The artwork helps push the idea of home hope: bright and shiny technology, beautifully blue oceans, and schools of tropical fish fill your vision at every turn. You explore the ocean depths in your submarine, looking for new materials in sea trenches and among coral reefs. And when you find everything you need, you can start building bases on the ocean floor.
Survival elements of the game include food and water requirements, like most games in this genre, but Subnautica obviously has a more pressing issue: oxygen. You cannot breathe seawater, so oxygen levels and consumption must be kept under control at all times. Since you're constantly in danger of drowning, it's really worth reading our Subnautica guide to make sure you're making the most of your life as a diver. Every survival game has an ominous shadow following you around, but here it's just good old O2.
Astroneer
Astroneer is one of the best games released on the early access platform Steam: solid at the start, but turned into something really special after two years of constant content updates and refinement. In Astroneer, you crash-land on an alien planet and earn your living by developing your life support pod into a complete base with vehicles, power sources, and labs.
Of course, like all the best survival games, you'll need a lot of resources to start building the best base modules, and to do that, you'll have to explore the planet, collecting rare crafting materials and modifying the terrain to discover resource-rich caves.
Astroneer isn't as dark as most other survival games, despite being no less devious. The gorgeous low-poly art style promises to reassure you as you navigate each new horizon, as well as the fact that your friends can join you at any time thanks to co-op playthrough. There's also a sense of progress in Astroneer, as you'll eventually be able to hit the road and begin colonizing the other six planets in your solar system, giving you tangible goals to work with rather than simply exist.
long dark
This chilled adventure is similar to most of the games mentioned above, but it has some of the best horror games. Although, unlike the other games on this list, The Long Dark has a pretty interesting story mode (called Wintermute) that you can dive into.
Set in Canada's frigid northern regions, The Long Dark replaces zombies with bears and replaces tropical islands with deadly snowdrifts. Mother Nature is your real enemy, and to combat her, you'll have to watch your calories, hydrate your body, and keep the flame going as you curl up for the night.
The stylish aesthetic makes this a pretty artsy game, but don't let that fool you if you think it's something that slows down the pace and makes you think long and hard about what you've done. The Long Dark is a real, challenging survival game with a real thrill.
Icarus
Dropped off at the relentless Icarus Station, you and up to seven of your online friends must complete missions before returning to the comfort of an orbiting space station to upgrade your gear. In this sessional survival game - fighting against inclement weather, vicious animals and unruly terrain - you must successfully collect the indicated resources and return to the ship before the time runs out.
Icarus has seen its fair share of bugs since leaving Early Access, but its refreshing take on sandbox survival and its robust progression system make this a varied and surprising game.
That's it, you survived! Whether you're escaping the horrors of the deep or battling hostile mobs in Minecraft, we hope the games above will satisfy your appetite for survival. Just remember to stay calm and take deep breaths regularly. Do this and your survival is assured.
Recommended:
