Survival games are an extremely popular genre of video games in which the player is placed in a setting in which they must essentially start from scratch. The reward in survival games is creating a world that is safe, and prosperous, but there’s so much freedom to be found in survival games that the goal is whatever the player sets out to achieve.

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With such an abundance of survival games, only some are regarded as the best of the best, as well as being the better of the lot for replay value. Some games can be replayed endlessly, with a constant state of fun for a solo experience, or one with friends.

7 Ark: Survival Evolved

Ark Survival Evolved Featured

Players create their unique characters to arrive at the shores of a mysterious island in Ark: Survival Evolved. Very quickly, players will have to learn how to survive, and use their cunning to both kill and tame the primeval creatures that roam the mysterious lands of Ark: Survival Evolved.

The game has grown exponentially over the years, with many updates adding new content to the game. Ark: Survival Evolved is still highly popular, and a replay could be on different servers, with unique rules and locations. Besides, what sort of player would not want to spend their survival days taming unique dinosaurs?

6 Rust

rust player being chased by a bear

There’s possibly no world as hostile as that of Rust. The only aim of the game is to survive, making it the truest survival experience. In Rust, everything wants the player dead. From the animals to the environment, and even the other players that inhabit the island.

Players will need to do whatever it takes to survive another night, and turn their survival into an act of thriving. With weapons and armor on their side, players in Rust can enjoy a new experience with each server, from unique encounters with other players to roleplaying with random groups, there’s endless fun to be had in the ever-evolving survival game.

5 Terraria

Terraria Prepare For The Worst

In the world of Terraria, the choice is that of the player. Through digging, fighting, exploring, and building, the players in Terraria can seek survival, fortune, and glory. There’s a deep exploration aspect to the 2D world of Terraria, and one that is adored, even after 11 years of success. The game is filled with action and adventure, with a selling point of the co-op.

Considering players can enjoy a sandbox-style experience, with the utmost creativity, the journey that players can seek is vastly different from player to player. The adventure is truly in the hands of the creator, and there’s so much to do, making a replay a new experience every time.

4 Valheim

Valheim - Using The Abyssal Harpoon On A Boar

One of the more recent releases to the survival scene, Valheim has become extremely popular, and for good reason. Valheim is a brutal exploration and survival game, in which players can celebrate and exist in Viking culture. Through building great halls, battling foes and players, and conquering their way through a procedurally-generated purgatory, players can claim their place at Odin’s hall.

Related: Beginner Tips For Valheim Multiplayer

Valheim features crafting, building, and combat, all the pillars essential to a good survival game. The fact that players can team up with up to 10 players makes for an exciting experience, one that can be replicated and new with each replay.

3 Don’t Starve

wolfgang wilson wendy abigail and willow sitting around fire surrounded by the dark

Don’t Starve is all about surviving. Players will learn the essentials of surviving, like the horrors that lurk in the dark, and how important it is to not set woods on fire. It’s a charming game with a lovely art style. Each character has a unique personality and set of animations and strange new powers. Don’t Starve is a great experience for the solo player.

There’s an abundance of science, magic, and strange creatures, all of which await exploration by the player. Through gathering supplies, and overcoming dangers, players will be able to thrive. Each replay is different, with unique biomes and locations within the vicinity.

2 Call Of Duty: Zombies

Call-Of-Duty-Vanguard-Zombies-Splash-Image

Ever since the release of Call of Duty: World at War, Zombies have been a staple game mode alongside a campaign and a multiplayer. Zombies feature a great survival game, in which players will start in the first room of a map with nothing but a pistol. Through surviving long rounds, players will have the tools and equipment to explore the map and survive for as long as possible.

What makes Call of Duty: Zombies such a fun game mode is that, for a survival game, it is greatly replayable. Players are restricted to one of many maps, with each map featuring different challenges and enemy types, but an equally unforgiving horde of the undead.

1 Minecraft

Image from Minecraft showing Steve and Alex running out of a cave.

Minecraft is often seen as the most iconic survival game, and for good reason. Minecraft features an art style like no other, with its blocky design, and it’s friendly for every player that picks up the game. With over 11 years to its name, there’s so much to experience, and each playthrough offers a unique variety of choices for one of the most infinite sandboxes out there.

There are few survival experiences like Minecraft. The game offers a range of choices, from servers to playing with friends online or co-op, to even enjoying the experience solo. With each new world, Minecraft has a new generated world, each one random and unique, but filled with so much to explore and build.

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