Summary

  • Abandoned islands are a popular setting for many games, providing the perfect landscape for adventures and survival challenges.
  • Games like The Survivalists and The Forest offer multiplayer survival experiences on deserted islands, allowing players to scavenge resources and build settlements.
  • Minecraft allows players to create procedurally-generated islands where they can get lost and explore, making it one of the most popular survival games to this day.

Typically, a remote tropical island is synonymous with leisure and pleasure. However, this is not the case for the majority of the games on this list. Remote and abandoned islands are often used as a popular setting for many popular stories in any form of media.

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From the long-running TV show Lost to adventure games like The Forest, deserted islands have been used to explore different ideas and lately have even become a genre in themselves. Islands isolated from the rest of the world provide the perfect landscape setting for adventures, with many island survival games being beloved by the masses.

Updated on October 17, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: Abandoned islands make for great settings as players get lost in these worlds and try their hardest to either bring these dilapidated islands back to a state of quaint normalcy or try their hardest to survive in a hostile landscape that takes no prisoners. Regardless of the gameplay loop that developers choose to integrate into these titles, there's no denying that most island survival games feel more exotic and engaging.

15 Harvest Moon DS: Island Of Happiness

Harvest Moon DS Island Of Happiness

The Harvest Moon series has gone through its fair bit of turmoil, being rebranded as Story of Seasons after some dispute following the IP's name. The titles still manage to be fun and engaging farming sims that players absolutely adore, in no small part due to the relaxing gameplay and fun cast of characters they get to interact with.

Initially, the island that players are shipwrecked on is abandoned. However, as players clean up this location and make it more habitable, more and more people will arrive on this island, making it a nice habitable location where people can have a great time.

14 Forbidden Siren 2

A player being attacked by a malignant spirit

A deserted island is pretty much a perfect setting for a horror game, and Forbidden Siren 2 certainly understood the assignment. The title is pretty unnerving, and players will have to survive harrowing encounters against a fair share of monsters before they can uncover the truth of what really happened here.

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The story is a mind-bending tale that is told from multiple perspectives. Forbidden Siren 2 is a great sequel that builds up on the success of the first game, although some people felt that it fell short in some ways too.

13 The Survivalists

The Survivalists

Players looking for a multiplayer survival experience that takes place on a deserted island will be more than happy with what The Survivalists brings to the table. It's a great game that friends can play, enjoying the experience of scavenging for resources and building habitable settlements while exploring these procedurally-generated environments and figuring out its many secrets.

However, players who want to get into this game should know it's not the most stable experience, with bugs detracting from this experience quite a bit. Thankfully, there are many times when the elements of this title and make for a great experience that many fans of such survival games will enjoy quite a bit.

12 Minecraft

Minecraft Sniffer and Snifflet and Plants
Minecraft
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Sandbox
Survival
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Released
November 18, 2011
Developer(s)
Mojang
Genre(s)
Sandbox, Survival

While Minecraft doesn't always start off on an abandoned island, players who know about seeds and how the world is generated can definitely create a procedurally-generated island that players can get lost in for hours on end. The inclusion of an island in this survival game adds greater depth, with players having less room to explore and having to scavenge their surroundings to great effect.

As is to be expected, Minecraft's gameplay is simple yet effective, with the game featuring a wealth of combinations to create powerful weapons and form habitable spaces for players to save themselves from the horrors of the night. There's a reason why this game continues to be one of the most popular survival games around to this day, and players who decide to jump into this rabbit hole will find themselves lost for hours on end, if not days!

11 Lost In Blue: Shipwrecked

Lost In Blue Shipwrecked

It's a shame that more people don't know about Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked. The game is a survival title that was released for the Wii, which is a pretty odd platform for such a game to be released on. However, the cute art style helps the game stand out and feel pretty fun to play, despite the colors being pretty washed out like most games on this console.

Dishonored In game Screenshot 5
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The game may have several problems of its own, but it is a unique gem in the survival genre that fans should check out if they have the means to do so. The game focuses on a teenager and his pet monkey who fall off their boat and get swept by the current, finding themselves on an island where they have to scavenge to survive while fulfilling many goals to eventually be rescued.

10 Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons title
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
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Simulation
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Released
March 20, 2020
Developer(s)
Nintendo EPD
Genre(s)
Simulation

Animal Crossing: New Horizons' basic premise is a getaway island brimming with possibilities. Players are invited onto an island by Nook Inc, owned by business tycoon Tom Nook. They begin with an empty island full of trees and rocks, tasked with cleaning it up and transforming it into a glorious dream home location.

Players get to populate the island with ten unique animal villagers, all with different personality types and quirks.

9 Fortnite

Fortnite title screen
Fortnite
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Survival
Battle Royale
Shooter
Action
Adventure
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Released
September 26, 2017
Developer(s)
Epic Games
Genre(s)
Survival, Battle Royale, Shooter, Action, Adventure

This famous free-to-play battle royale takes place on the iconic island. The only other inhabitants are the 99 other players dropping from the Battle Bus at the start of the round.

Far from a relaxing game, up to 100 players compete to find and loot the best weapons, build, and survive to become the number one victor. Players can be aggressive and build their way toward their enemies, or they can be passive and hide in bushes, dumpsters, and more to sneak their way into the safe zone.

8 Oxenfree

Oxenfree title
Oxenfree
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Released
January 15, 2015
Developer(s)
Night School Studio
Genre(s)
Adventure

The narrative-driven adventure game Oxenfree stars a teenager named Alex and her stepbrother Jonas. She goes to an overnight party on an old military island, Edwards Island, with her group of friends.

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1

Unbeknownst to her, this island has a dark past as the night takes a terrifying turn. They accidentally open a supernatural rift, and they must survive the horrors that escape. Every choice matters in this game, as the player’s interactions alter the plot based on every decision, big or small.

7 Path Of Exile

Path of Exile title
Path of Exile
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Action RPG
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Released
October 23, 2013
Developer(s)
Grinding Gear Games
Platform(s)
PC, Xbox One, macOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Genre(s)
Action RPG

Path of Exile is a free-to-play online action RPG, similar to the Diablo franchise. Players, as Exiles, wash up on the castaway continent of Wraeclast, filled with prisoners and criminals.

Players are left to their own devices where creatures freely roam. Their end goal is to fight to become stronger and create powerful builds to exact revenge on those who have wronged them through dungeons and epic boss battles of increasing difficulty. Path of Exile has frequent updates, with rumors of a sequel coming soon.

6 Salt

Salt ship gameplay of first person player holding sword on shoreline with shining water and ship

Salt is an open-world exploration game. Players begin on a deserted island with basic resources to build a raft. They are then free to journey in any direction they choose, as the world is procedurally generated.

Along the way, players may see uncharted islands, ancient ruins, and even some pirates and cultists! In Salt, players get to set the pace of their gameplay, taking it as easy as they want. There is also online co-op, so players can sail the seas with their friends and trade.