Best Survival Games On PC
Here’s a list of some of the best survival games on PC, across different styles—realistic, open-world, sandbox, horror, and even multiplayer. Whether you like crafting, base-building, exploration, or just staying alive against overwhelming odds, there’s something here for you:
🔥 Best Survival Games on PC (as of 2025)
🏕️ Open-World / Crafting-Focused
- The Forest / Sons of the Forest – Survive on a cannibal-infested island with deep crafting and base-building.
- Green Hell – Hardcore jungle survival with psychological elements and real-life survival mechanics.
- Valheim – Norse mythology meets survival. Gorgeous visuals, co-op friendly, and lots of exploration.
- Rust – PvP-heavy survival, gather resources, build bases, and try not to get raided while offline.
- Subnautica / Subnautica: Below Zero – Underwater survival, beautiful and terrifying with excellent storytelling.
- ARK: Survival Evolved – Tame dinosaurs, build massive bases, and survive in a prehistoric sci-fi world.
❄️ Hardcore / Realistic Survival
- Project Zomboid – Isometric zombie apocalypse survival with intense depth and permadeath.
- The Long Dark – Atmospheric, solo survival in the freezing Canadian wilderness.
- DayZ – Post-apocalyptic open-world zombie survival with emphasis on realism and PvP encounters.
- SCUM – Deep systems like metabolism, combat, and crafting in a large, semi-realistic world.
👻 Horror Survival
- Don’t Starve / Don’t Starve Together – Quirky, stylized art with brutal permadeath mechanics.
- 7 Days to Die – Zombie survival with crafting, horde nights, and base defense mechanics.
- The Outlast Trials – Co-op horror survival with puzzles, stealth, and limited resources.
🧭 Narrative / Story-Driven Survival
- This War of Mine – Emotional survival from the perspective of civilians in a warzone.
- Frostpunk2 – City-builder survival in an apocalyptic ice age. Heavy moral choices.
- Raft – Survive at sea, build a floating base, and explore islands in a more casual co-op experience.
👥 Multiplayer / Co-op Friendly
- Minecraft (Survival Mode) – Classic sandbox survival with infinite mod support.
- Terraria – 2D survival-exploration with deep progression and insane boss fights.
- Grounded – Honey I Shrunk the Kids meets survival. Fun co-op gameplay with giant bugs.
- V Rising – Vampire survival with base-building, PvE and PvP options.
