Best First-Person Survival Games, Ranked

Survival games have become all the rage in modern times. For some reason or the other, players just can’t get enough of games where the protagonist is stranded in a desolate location where they must struggle to find food, water, and shelter to survive against the elements. This compelling gameplay loop has made itself apparent in so many survival games that fans of the genre must pick and choose the best of the bunch that appeals to their interests.

These survival games come in all shapes and sizes, with some of the best titles using a first-person perspective to make things more immersive. Players feel like they’re stepping into the shoes of a character struggling to make it through every day as they scavenge for resources and either build or find a safe space to stay for the night without exposing them to hostiles, predators, and everything else along the same lines.

5 The Long Dark

Surviving In The Frigid Wilderness Makes For A Harrowing Experience

One of the most brutal and immersive survival games players can get their hands on, The Long Dark is an interesting game for players to sink their teeth into if they want to try out a game in this genre that’s set in a snowy wilderness. Hunting enemies, improving stats, and finding ways to combat the cold are harrowing as they come, and it’s fine if players die a few times before coming to grips with how the game works.

While the survival gameplay itself is as engaging as they come, the game also comes equipped with a story mode that is nowhere near as riveting. It feels tacked on but is a small part of a larger experience that is stellar and jam-packed with unique content. The rollercoaster of emotions players go through when they survive a grueling encounter with a wolf only to find no way to bandage their gaping wounds is something that can’t be put into words.

4 Sons Of The Forest

A Sequel To One Of The Best Indie Horror Games Where Players Must Fight Off Cannibals In A Forest

Systems

Released

February 23, 2023

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Developer(s)

Endnight Games

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

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The Forest was one of the most beloved indie survival games players could get their hands on, and it’s easy to see why a sequel would turn many heads. Despite the central premise of a player being stranded in a desolate forest with cannibals persists, the expanded open world and gameplay mechanics ensure that Sons of the Forest justifies its position as a sequel that fans will adore.

Finding resources and fortifying a shelter for players to stay the night without being killed by cannibals or other enemies in their sleep is critical for players to ensure success. All of this is wrapped up with a story where players uncover a mystery, a task that can only be accomplished by mastering the gameplay systems. Surviving for days on end while forging weapons to take out these bloodthirsty cannibals can be pretty scary, making this game’s horror roots clear for everyone to see.

3 Rust

A Multiplayer Survival Game Where Every Playthrough Is A Riveting One

A survival game with multiplayer elements that have become all the rage in modern times, Rust is a title that continues to receive numerous updates to this day, letting players join servers and build up from humble beginnings to make secure bases while either forming uneasy alliances with other humans or battling against them.

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Regardless of the options players choose, they can never rest easy and assume that their interactions with other players are friendly. Unless real-life friends are collaborating on a server, the possibility of being backstabbed is ever-present. Hoarding resources and trying to survive every day is a huge part of this gameplay loop and proves why people can’t get enough of Rust to this day.

2 No Man’s Sky

Overcame A Poor Launch To Become One Of The Most Laid-Back And Relaxing Sci-Fi Survival Games

The journey that No Man’s Sky has gone through since its launch is a riveting one full of lies, shame, and a comeback for the ages. The game was hyped to the nines only to disappoint fans when it was released. Numerous promises were left undelivered and the idea of exploring a massive universe fell flat when people saw the poor procedural generation and the soulless nature of each planet. However, Hello Games didn’t give up on its passion project and cranked out numerous updates to ensure that this game achieved the vision it set out to achieve.

This has led to No Man’s Sky undergoing a renaissance, with the game currently being touted by many as the greatest relaxing survival game they can get their hands on. Interacting with other aliens and acquiring resources to bolster the player’s spaceship is a simple yet engaging gameplay loop, letting players reach the center of the universe and interact with a post-game where the possibilities are endless, as long as players are willing to accept the limitations of procedural generation.

1 Subnautica

An Immersive Survival Game That Is Sure To Trigger A Player’s Thalassophobia

Systems

Released

January 23, 2018

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OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

The legacy of Subnautica is unmatched and something that its spinoff sequel couldn’t touch, either. Even if fans may not necessarily like survival games, they should still give this immersive title a shot. Even if the idea of exploring the ocean and being surrounded by unknown horrors may rub players the wrong way, players who give Subnautica a chance will be rewarded with one of the richest gameplay loops they can interact with for hours on end.

The sheer terror players experience when they encounter one of the massive Leviathan-type creatures in the ocean is horrifying, with the game tapping into a player’s thalassophobia and forcing them to be prepared for every underwater expedition. It’s a game that players can sink a ton of hours in without even scratching the surface of what they can accomplish in one of the greatest first-person survival games ever made.

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