Survival games continue to be one of the most popular genres in gaming, regardless of the console. This trend remains true even in 2023. This is why I have listed the best survival games of 2023 below.
Top 10 Survival Games of 2023
Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest is a sequel to the popular survival game, The Forest. Sons of the Forest offers a similar experience, allowing you to craft a wide range of equipment as you prepare to fight whatever lurks in the forest. The building system has also been updated, handing you more tools to strengthen your base. Lastly, the game received an update to its graphics, providing a much more immersive experience as you explore your surroundings.
Valheim
There have been a lot of popular survival games for every kind of gaming platform, but I have never seen one get as popular as Valheim is, and it makes sense since it comes from a Swedish developer. The survival sandbox game is based in a Scandinavian setting, giving you an experience of the Viking culture as you build your bases in order to conquer all battles.
Unturned
If Unturned looks familiar to you, then you're not mistaken, as it came from a developer who previously worked at Roblox. A free-to-play game, Unturned came out as a fun, blocky-textured game with aspects of zombie-slaying, and it went on to become a massive community with hundreds of players who play the game every day. Since it has player-made servers of all kinds, you can find any kind of game mode you can imagine.
ARK: Survival Ascended
ARK: Survival Evolved took the survival game genre by fulfilling every player's fantasy: dinosaurs. The game gained massive popularity and managed to retain a significant player base despite being released in 2017. With ARK: Survival Ascended set to release in October 2023, it aims to refresh the beloved Survival Evolved with a host of new features and improvements.
Now, with Ark II announced and rumored to be released by the end of 2024, this only adds to the excitement of playing Survival Evolved and Ascended. The anticipation of another (hopefully) great game makes it even more enjoyable because, let's face it, who doesn't love battles with dinosaurs?
Don't Starve (Together)
The goal of the game is, as the name states, to not starve. You find yourself in a mysterious wilderness as you attempt to establish your base by collecting resources and crafting a variety of gear. This gear will not only help you hunt for food but also protect you from the dangers that surround you. The multiplayer (Don't Starve Together) version of the game is identical to the original, except now you can team up with friends to help each other survive. Even in 2023, it is still one of the best (and actively updating) survival games in the industry.
DayZ
If you've been a fan of the survival genre for a while, chances are you've probably heard of DayZ. DayZ was released in 2013 as the full version of the Arma 2 DayZ mod due to its popularity. It allows you to play in a sandbox map with other players using voice or text chat, where you make split-second decisions, scavenge for loot, and do your best to survive. DayZ remains one of the most popular survival games on PC to this day.
Terraria
In my opinion, Terraria is one of the best survival games ever made. In Terraria, you start off on a map with very few resources, and your goal is to gather various materials using Terraria's intricate crafting system. These resources, will help you in your battles against bosses and other mobs. You can collect resources to fortify your base with stronger materials, or simply to make it look nicer. You'll have several NPCs, all of whom offer you some kind of service.
Terraria is incredibly popular! In fact, if you search for the most played survival games, TModLauncher, a modding tool for Terraria, consistently ranks at the top. This is due to the game's large and active modding community.
RimWorld
RimWorld is the most sophisticated survival game I have ever played. It's a colony simulator with endless possibilities. You crash-land onto a planet and try to establish yourself from scratch. You can choose from several different storytellers, each of whom triggers different kinds of scenarios or quests for you to complete. There is nothing you can't do in RimWorld. Want to start a vegan cult that sells jackets? You've got it. The game also has a massive gaming community, with vanilla mods that further expand what you can do.
Related: RimWorld pollution, explained and how to deal with it
Rust
Rust was released in 2013, and it has completely changed since then, all for the better. You wake up in a world naked and armed with only a rock as you strive to survive in vast maps full of other players. Each player is either competing against or assisting one another in establishing their presence. The game offers some of the best base-building mechanics I've ever seen, along with a unique PvP system that sets it apart from other survival games. Since it's a multiplayer game, you can join a clan and pop in one of the thousands of player-made servers on a quest to rise to the top.
Minecraft
There isn't a single gamer in the world who doesn't know what Minecraft is. In fact, by the time I'm writing this, there are more than a million people actively playing Minecraft.
The world in Minecraft is huge, with an abundance of resource blocks that you can collect to create a wide range of equipment to aid you in your adventures. You can live in a castle-like base as you collect all kinds of loot and raise your animals. Minecraft receives regular updates since it was acquired by Microsoft in the past, and it continues to be the most popular survival game of all time, even in 2023.
There is an endless stream of survival games being released regularly. At one point, a game or two sticks around and ends up becoming the go-to game for many players at a time. If you enjoy collecting resources, building your own base, or simply farming different kinds of resources, all of the games I've listed will allow you to do just that.
For more on survival games, be sure to check out Can you still Code Raid in Rust? and How to Make A Map in Minecraft here on Pro Game Guides.
Published: Dec 30, 2023 07:00 pm