Summary
- Survival games offer a cathartic escape to build a life in exotic and dangerous settings.
- Subnautica, Starbound, and The Flame in the Flood are simpler, accessible survival games for newcomers.
- Raft, Grounded, Astroneer, No Man's Sky, and Minecraft offer unique survival experiences with accessible mechanics.
The survival genre has a certain cathartic appeal, letting fans abandon the trappings and expectations of society and build a life for themselves in dangerous, inhospitable circumstances. Many of these games feature strange and exotic landscapes, further tempting players to try their luck against the cruelties of nature.
That said, survival games tend to have a reputation for complexity and inaccessibility. It takes a lot of work to stay alive, even in the digital wilderness, and many titles have a lot of mechanics to keep track of. Not all, though. These survival games are comparatively simple, allowing newcomers to the genre to get acquainted with the formula before they go overboard.
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8 Subnautica
The Briny Deep
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Subnautica is one of the more exotic survival games out there in terms of atmosphere, as it takes place on an alien planet dominated by vast, endless seas. While the player character crashes into the ocean without resources, tools, or even dry land to stand on, Subnautica still takes strides to be approachable and engaging. There's plenty of helpful tutorial content to ease players in, and the survival mechanics aren't too demanding.
This isn't to say that Subnautica is a pleasant swim, though. The game can still get intense, particularly in later sections. This is mostly due to the atmosphere of the deep sea, and the massive, terrifying sea creatures that call it home. Luckily, players have plenty of resources at hand to help the ocean become a little less terrifying.
7 Starbound
Wandering the Stars
Starbound
- Released
- July 22, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Sandbox
Starbound is a charming little 2D survival game that takes heavy influence from Terraria. This simpler experience casts players as members of an intergalactic peacekeeping organization who must flee a destroyed earth and find a way to avenge the planet and keep the universe safe. The game is procedurally generated, and each planet offers a wide sandbox full of opportunities to battle, build, explore, and craft whatever players would like.
Starbound eases players in with an accessible tutorial, and its mechanics are generally much simpler than Terraria's. Players are further aided by their spaceship, which acts as a hub for fans, giving them a reliable place to store goods and rest their heads while they explore the universe.
6 The Flame In The Flood
On The Road
The Flame in the Flood
- Released
- September 24, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen: Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Roguelike
The Flame In The Flood introduces a unique twist on the survival genre by turning it into a roguelike adventure. Players must venture down a procedurally generated river, scavenging resources and tools as they go. They'll have to carefully monitor the protagonist's hunger and thirst, as well as her warmth and fatique, in order to stay alive.
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Luckily, Scout's dog can help her find the food and water she needs to stay alive, and craft clothing to help her fend off the elements. The game's approachability is aided by its roguelike structure; if players mess up too drastically, they can simply start fresh with a new run.
5 Raft
A Wandering Home
Raft
- Released
- June 20, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Survival
As the name suggests, Raft takes place almost entirely on top of a floating raft, drifting through the ocean current. Players can technically swim off the raft, but doing so risks separation from the vehicle, as well as death by the numerous sharks prowling the water. Fans are encouraged to stay on the raft and fish up whatever resources float by in order to upgrade the vehicle and keep themselves alive.
Since players have very little control over what they're able to harvest from the sea, the things they need those resources for are relatively simple. Raft's mechanics are much less demanding than other survival games, to make up for the fact that players are largely at the mercy of the seas.
4 Grounded
A Bite-Sized Adventure
Grounded
- Released
- September 27, 2022
- ESRB
- Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Survival
Grounded's backyard setting is full of mysteries and dangers to discover, and it's impressive how much variety the developers were able to introduce into such a geographically tiny location. As the game's shrunken teen protagonists explore this daunting realm in search of a way to regain their true size, they'll also have to adapt to this tiny biome and find ways to keep themselves alive.
Luckily, Grounded keeps itself fairly accessible for newcomers to the genre. The game's ample tutorials guide fans quite handily through its crafting and upgrading mechanics, and there aren't many resources players need to track down before they can start decking themselves out in some particularly potent gear.
3 Astroneer
Building A Better Galaxy
Astroneer
- Released
- February 6, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Astroneer is all about interstellar exploration and terrain manipulation. Players can freely terraform the face of whatever planet they visit, molding it to suit their needs before laying down modular structures and crafting tools to aid them in their journeys.
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The game is a much more casual experience than most survival games; resource collection is less urgent, and it's generally much less dangerous to explore. That said, outer space is still a threat, and players will need to keep their oxygen up if they want to go on a spacewalk.
2 No Man's Sky
Infinite Resources
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
No Man's Sky might seem like an intimidating game to get into, given the functionally infinite scope of its procedurally generated galaxy, but the mechanics needed to survive and prosper during one's journey through the stars are luckily quite simple. The most broadly important resources, such as copper and carbon, are generally plentiful, and players can harvest them easily with their multi-tool. The first couple of quests in the game consist of helpful tutorials to help fans learn the ropes.
Building and crafting tools and structures is also generally quite simple; the game utilizes a snapping system to help players put bases together. While there's a lot of depth to what can be done with these systems, the systems themselves remain accessible, letting players focus on the infinite majesty of the cosmos.
1 Minecraft
Limitless Possibility
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
Minecraft is a game that needs no introduction. In many ways, this title put the survival genre on the map, and it remains at the top of the heap due to its incredibly varied gameplay and world design, as well as its approachable building and crafting system. Minecraft's cube-based world makes building structures easy for anyone, and while the crafting system has some intricate hidden depths, the basic system remains simple enough that players can easily build up a solid base and good equipment for themselves without struggling too much.
Advanced Minecraft fans can create wild structures and systems, using Redstone to program elaborate computers and devices, but at its heart, Minecraft is a simple game about mining and crafting. Once players get these basics down, they can go on to build whatever they want.
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