Summary
- Harmonic Depths offers a relaxing beginner-friendly survival experience with players controlling a shark hunting for food.
- Don't Starve Together allows up to six players to survive together, making it accessible to newcomers.
- Grounded offers a fun survival experience with a multiplayer option to ease the pressure on beginners.
Survival games are usually designed with a challenge in mind, as players face more than just combative enemies, and they will also have to contend with other hazards such as the weather, hunger, thirst and exposure to the elements. It's a lot to keep track of, but this is all part of the fun.
Most Complex Survival Games
These excellent survival games offer the most depth and complexity to satisfy the most extreme survival enthusiasts.
However, to the uninitiated, it can sound a little overwhelming, and they might not be ready to dive in at the deep end with more challenging games. Perhaps they might want something a little more beginner-friendly to start with. Luckily for these gamers, there are several great survival games out there that can ease them into the genre.
7 Harmonic Depths
A More Peaceful Take On The Survival Genre
- Platforms: PC
- Release Date: December 8th 2023
- Developer: Override
- Genres: Immersive Sim, Survival
In most games, including those in the survival genre, the player does not control the monsters. Instead, they play as someone fighting against them. Well, Harmonic Depths does things a little differently. Swimming through the oceans as a shark rather than a hapless diver trying to avoid becoming dinner, the player is now the hunter seeking its next morsel.
As such, this does alleviate some of the pressure, as all the fish encountered are smaller, weaker, and all too easy to gobble up. Although the player's health is constantly depleting as the game goes on, it's not too difficult to find the next meal to give it a boost, alleviating some of the pressure. This makes it a strangely relaxing survival game suited for beginners who are still warming up to a challenge.
6 Don't Starve Together
Work Together to Survive
Don't Starve Together
- Released
- April 21, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Teen / Fantasy Violence, Crude Humor
- Developer(s)
- Klei Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Adventure, Open-World, Crafting, Sandbox
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
A sequel to the original single-player game, Don't Starve Together brings not one person, but up to six into the unforgivable wilderness. Each game offers a procedurally generated world to explore and discover and encourages players to try not to starve or perish to any other hazards that can be encountered. Players need to gather resources, farm, and fight in order to survive.
Being able to bring a friend along is bound to make this game more accessible to newcomers to the survival genre, even if their friends aren't experienced either, as six heads together are bound to be better than one. They can even divvy up their duties between them, so one person can focus on farming, another on gathering resources, a third to fight monsters, and so on. This way, their chances of survival are much, much higher.
5 The Long Dark
Story Mode Has No Perma-Death
The Long Dark
- Released
- August 1, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Hinterland Studio
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
The Long Dark is a game that has more than survival to offer, as players can opt to try their hand at survival mode or play through story mode. Story mode follows pilot Will Mackenzie and his passenger after they crash in the frozen Canadian wastelands due to a storm, and the player will switch between the two to witness their individual struggles against the frigid cold and wild animals that inhabit the tundra.
Best Survival Games Set In Cold Climates, Ranked
Survival games are typically set in a harsh environment, but few settings pose a greater challenge than cold climates where food and water are scarce.
Story mode is certainly the more beginner-friendly game mode, as there is no option for perma-death, so players won't need to start off from the beginning of the game should they die. It serves as a great way to prepare players for survival mode, giving them a chance to pick up some tips and tricks to ready themselves for the harder option.
4 Grounded
Multiplayer Option Relieves Pressure
Grounded
- Released
- September 27, 2022
- ESRB
- Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
Inspired by movies such as A Bug's Life and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Grounded sees the four playable characters shrunk down to the diminutive size of an ant, and they must now try to survive in the backyard, which is full of insects. The players must survive encounters and keep an eye on their hunger and thirst, which could cause damage if left unattended. This provides a fun challenge while never becoming too difficult.
The fact that players can rope a few friends into the fun means that there is a higher chance of survival, as everyone can work towards the common goal of survival by working together in order to complete their objectives. More people being involved makes the game that much easier and that much more welcoming to those who are not experienced with survival games.
3 The Forest
The Learning Curve Isn't Too Steep
The Forest
- Released
- April 30, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
After crash-landing on a forest island, main character Eric sees his son Timmy being taken by a mysterious man covered in red paint just before losing consciousness again. Once he wakens, he readies himself to set out into the forest and do what he needs to in order to find his son and rescue him from his kidnappers. Before doing so, however, he first needs to ready himself to survive on the island.
Despite being thrown into the game after the introductory cutscene, The Forest isn't too challenging, as players can quite easily get to grips with what they need and can do, crafting and gathering resources to make shelters and weapons to forage for food. It can be a little frightening with the presence of cannibals and exploring the dark caves, but those who don't mind a little horror will find much to enjoy here. There is also even Peaceful Mode, which will lessen the number of enemies for an even more beginner-friendly experience.
2 Subnautica
Any Dangerous Threats Are Easy To Mitigate
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Subnautica might seem a little daunting to those not overly familiar with the survival genre, as exploring a vast ocean on an alien planet is a terrifying prospect, especially since Earth's oceans are scary enough alone. However, players who do take the dive might be a little surprised by what they find, as the game may not be as unforgiving as what they think.
Best Survival Games Set In Open Waters
Survival games set in jungles, deserts, and tundra are common, but there aren't many set on the open sea. These games help solve that issue.
After crash-landing on an alien planet with no land in sight, the player has no choice but to explore the ocean in order to gather resources to aid in their survival, populated by all sorts of aquatic, alien life-forms. Even those who have never played Subnautica might be familiar with the Reaper Leviathans. One look at these terrifying and gargantuan creatures might cause players to write off this game as too challenging, but it's possible to mitigate the threat by giving them a wide-berth and swimming away to calmer waters when necessary. Players are also given ample warnings when oxygen is depleting. All this combined results in the game being rather forgiving, even for newcomers to the genre.
1 Minecraft
There Are Many Ways To Play And Enjoy Minecraft
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Mojang
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
- Platform(s)
- 3DS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
There is no doubting the success of Minecraft. This game has spawned into a franchise in its own right, comprised of spin-off games, merchandise, and even a live-action movie adaptation that became something of a sensation among avid fans. There is no beating the original game, though; there is so much freedom that the only limit is the imagination of the player.
There is an actual game mode in Minecraft named survival mode, which places a bigger emphasis on the survival aspects of the game, such as gathering resources, crafting tools, building shelters, and fighting dangerous enemies, and this is all done in the name of surviving. That said, if players feel unequipped for this challenge, they can try their hand at creative mode, which still has survival game elements but comes with a lower risk of dying, making it a more beginner-friendly option.