When it comes to challenging and immersive gameplay, the survival game genre is tough to beat. Survival games are all about players starting with nothing, tasked with crafting themselves a basic shelter before tentatively exploring their surroundings for much-needed resources. Sometimes these worlds are safe and free of outside danger, while others launch players in at the deep end, with enemies lurking around every corner. Though survival games can be tough at times, they have been growing in popularity over recent years, attracting a wider audience due to their replay value.

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The Nintendo Switch has over 5,000 games and counting, some of which are of the survival genre. Though the Nintendo Switch doesn't offer as many survival games as PC gamers can access, there are still many underrated survival games on the handheld console that gamers can choose from when they want to play on the go.

8 Forager

Forager Artwork

Forager is a quirky 2D open-world survival game, perfect for fans of games like Stardew Valley and Terraria. There is no time limit or pressure of any kind, which is perfect for newcomers to the genre. Forager is an idle game that players can tune into and play as actively or as passively as they want!

Like most survival games, players are left to their own devices as the world is their oyster. Players can do anything from collecting and gathering resources, to raiding challenging dungeons and collecting all the glorious loot. Different playstyles can be adopted, like being a capitalist merchant, gathering, farming, building, or simply becoming an adventurer. Forager truly lends itself towards replayability with an unlimited number of goals to achieve.

7 Breathedge

Breathedge

Survive in outer space! Breathedge puts players into the role of a character simply called The Man, who wants to carry his grandfather's ashes to a galactic funeral (seems normal enough, right?). Unfortunately, the funeral hearse crashes, leaving the player wrecked in deep space.

Survival is the player's number one mission in Breathedge: players must stave off starvation, monitor their radioactivity, fight for oxygen, and be cautious, as space can kill. Luckily, this game has a humorous storyline to offset the stress they will face when trying to gather finite materials to upgrade their oxygen tank.

6 The Long Dark

The Long Dark

Hunting for an atmosphere-heavy and challenging survival game? Look no further than The Long Dark. Play as a pilot lost in the Canadian wilderness following a horrific plane crash as he is stranded with no means of survival. In this first-person game, players must learn the basics of human survival and account for their hunger, thirst, body temperature, and other human necessities.

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The Long Dark has both a standard survival mode and a story mode, which introduces players to the gritty gameplay mechanics while allowing them to enjoy the narrative. The story mode also has multiple endings for players to experience, lending itself towards replayability.

5 Windbound

Windbound

Shipwrecked and alone, players must live off the land and seas to survive. Explore beautifully procedurally generated Forbidden Islands and navigate treacherous seas for precious resources. In Windbound, the player's own crafted boat will be their saving grace. There are dynamic weather patterns like storms and fog, and dangerous aquatic terrains like coral reefs, allowing for an immersive sailing experience. Perfect for relaxing!

Various monsters and enemies stand in their way, so players need to craft their own weapons to ensure their survival. For Legend of Zelda fans, Windbound also features some Breath of the Wild-inspired mechanics in the game, like a glider and even shrines that can increase player health and stamina stats.

4 Green Hell

Green Hell

Green Hell is a gritty and realistic open-world survival game, plunging players into the middle of the sprawling Amazon rainforest equipped only with their bare hands. Players can use real-life survival techniques like starting a fire, building a shelter, and crafting animal traps. There is even a body inspection tool to diagnose and heal themselves as tropical sickness poses a real threat. Sustenance is also a key factor, as players will need to monitor their protein, fats, and carbohydrate intake, as well as their hydration, making for a truly immersive experience.

The sound design in Green Hell is incredibly immersive, with simulations of wild animal behavior, a multitude of flora, and a dynamically ever-changing environment due to weather mechanics. There is danger everywhere, ranging from the smallest of insects to dangerous predators. Players need to keep an ear out for the slightest noise, which could set their pulses racing.

3 Rainworld

Rainworld

Rainworld places players into the body of a slugcat, where they are both predator and prey caught in the middle of the food chain. Separated from their family, lost and alone, they must hunt for both food and shelter between torrential downpours of rain that could drown all life. This survival platformer requires the player to be stealthy and careful as the world itself becomes their greatest threat.

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Players get to explore a world inspired by the aesthetics of 16-bit classics, with a unique art style in a similar realm to Ori and the Will of the Wisps. There are over 1,600 rooms, which span over 12 diverse regions with ever-changing ecosystems and undiscovered dangers.

2 The Flame In The Flood

The Flame In The Flood

The Flame In The Flood is a unique entry into the survival genre in that it features a permadeath mode, allowing for more of a challenge. However, beginners and casual players need not worry, as there are also various checkpoints around the map during the campaign, so they can respawn and pick up where they left off. The calming art style and carefully-crafted soundtrack do well to offset the daunting nature of the game.

Players take on the role of Scout, embarking on a challenging voyage with her dog, Daisy, to find a radio tower. She must traverse a treacherous procedurally generated river with realistic river mechanics on a wooden raft. Players can then dock their raft on land, and they are then free to explore. There are elements of real survival, as players can gather medicinal herbs to cure lacerations and infections. They must also manage their sleep, hunger, thirst, and other resources to ensure they make it through the day. A gritty survival-adventure game not for the weak-minded!

1 Don't Starve

Don't Starve

Don't Starve is easily one of the best survival games available on the Nintendo Switch. Its whimsical yet dark art style looks straight out of a Tim Burton movie with Eldritch horrors from the depths of nightmares. The core of the gameplay is simply survival, by gathering materials and food during the day and preparing for the horrors that emerge at night. Players must ensure they have a light source or face certain death.

Don't Starve features many standard survival game tropes, like immersive crafting mechanics and randomly generated worlds, so no game is the same as the last. The game will continue for as long as the player can survive, with permadeath being a real threat to the player's progress. Explore, survive, adapt, but most importantly, don't starve!

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