Survival games boil down an adventure to its most basic ingredients, pitting the user against the machine. Will you be able to withstand the challenges presented by the developer? Some semblance of a narrative drive is not completely unheard of in this genre, but the story is seldom the point. No, it is all about resource management, long-term planning, and a resolve to practice restraint when necessary.
Although not particularly common among AAA titles, survival games have recently grown quite popular in the independent scene. In fact, many of the 2010s' best additions to the genre have stemmed from indie studios. Using Metacritic as a reference point, this list will rank the 10 best survival games of the decade.
Survival horror projects will not be included, as those qualify as their own genre. That is why Dying Light, FTL: Faster Than Light, and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard failed to land a spot on this list. Mobile games will also be excluded, mainly due to Metacritic usually only having a few reviews to reference.
10 Duskers (83)
Strategy and survival are inherently linked, even if only a handful of games actively attempt to blend the two together in an obvious way. Duskers is one such title. An indie game centered around a drone operator who spends their time boarding abandoned ships in search of worthy loot, Duskers primarily leaves players to their own devices.
The goal is to traverse these ships, collect materials for upgrades and maintenance, and avoid the threats waiting on board.
9 The Forest (83)
We went back and forth on whether The Forest qualifies as a survival horror title; in the end, Endnight Games' fantastic title shares more in common with non-horror games than projects like Outlast.
Set in an open-world filled with dangerous animals and cannibals who adapt depending on the player's actions, The Forest is an intimidating ride from the very first second. The core gameplay loop centers around a day and night cycle that turns the protagonist - Eric LeBlanc - from the hunter into the hunted. While the sun is up, Eric can explore the map, catch animals, and build a shelter. Once the moon is out, prepare for the worst.
8 Don't Starve Together (83)
As a multiplayer expansion of 2013's similarly-titled roguelike survival game, Don't Starve Together takes a challenging but rewarding single-player experience and expands the player count. Like the base game, it is all about surviving for as long as possible while keeping track of the character's health, hunger, and sanity.
Don't Starve Together is all about teamwork, as losing a member will cause them to return as spirits that negatively impact the surviving characters' insanity meter. Any version of Don't Starve is worth playing.
7 This War Of Mine (83)
This War of Mine does not promise a pleasant experience. 11 bit studios' survival game captures the feeling of being a powerless civilian caught in a conflict they have little to do with.
What is the point? Is there some huge conspiracy to uncover? No, not really. While the dozen controllable characters have their strengths and weakness, they only want to survive in one piece until a ceasefire is declared. Meanwhile, they must barricade their flimsy shelters from NPC attacks, stave off hunger and depression, and carefully explore the terrifying war-torn environment.
6 Terraria (85)
A quintessential sandbox title, Terraria takes a more combat-oriented approach to exploration and survival than something like Minecraft. Dropped into a procedurally generated map, users are given basic tools to fight off enemies, mine for resources, and dig for items.
Along with gathering items to build structures that can eventually serve as homes to NPC characters and upgrading the tools at the protagonist's disposal, Terraria dedicates a lot of time to enemy and boss encounters. The map is divided into biomes that switch up the gameplay and make each new area exciting to explore.
5 Subnautica (87)
Subnautica is just as likely to trigger feelings of wonderment as it is terror. After crashlanding on a planet mostly consisting of water, the spacecraft's survivor gets to explore the beautiful (and creature-infested) ocean while figuring out the mysteries behind this world.
The story is actually quite interesting, but survival does take precedence over the narrative. Along with some pretty intimidating sea creatures, the survivor must also monitor their health by collecting resources while also constructing the necessary tools to make traversal safer.
4 RimWorld (87)
Despite being more commonly referred to as a management simulator, RimWorld undoubtedly qualifies as a survival game. Placed in charge of a colony stranded on a procedurally generated planet, the player must expand the colony, maintain the population's psychological health, and survive a disaster or two.
The characters within the colony came with their own personalities, some of which may not mix well together. RimWorld's coolest feature is the AI difficulty setting, which will determine the type and progression of events faced during the campaign.
3 Frostpunk: Console Edition (87)
Frostpunk is set in an alternate reality 1880s where natural disasters led to a tremendous drop in temperature, forcing humanity to huddle together in cities powered by coal generators. A truly hardcore city-building simulator, Frostpunk puts the player in charge of a small group of survivors who set up shop after discovering a generator.
This is not one of those simulators were making the correct choices will lead to a flourishing city. Frostpunk constantly asks the player to make difficult decisions that often force long-term survival to be sacrificed in favor of making it through the cold night.
2 The Binding Of Isaac: Rebirth (88)
While not typically considered a survival game, The Binding Of Isaac: Rebirth is recognized as such on Metacritic. Among the best indie games of the last decade, Rebirth helped popularize roguelikes and is one of the genre's best representatives.
With permadeath making every step count, Isaac must fight off numerous grotesque and deadly monsters while traversing his mother's basement. The gameplay is fair but also incredibly challenging, as survival depends on the items found throughout a playthrough.
1 Minecraft (93)
Released in 2011 on PC and ported to every platform imaginable, Minecraft was the game of the 2010s. Depending on the game mode chosen, the player's experience will differ greatly. For this article, Survival Mode is the one that matters.
Compared to other survival games, Minecraft is quite streamlined, with players only really needing to keep track of building resources, crafting materials, and food. There are also monsters that attack during the night, which makes constructing shelter of utmost importance. Minecraft could easily be dismissed as baby's first survival game, however, like Creative Mode, there is a lot more depth here than meets the eye.