Survival games
The genre where you try to stay alive under hunger, cold and threat by gathering resources and building shelter.
What is the survival genre?
A survival game drops you into a hostile world with nothing. The first hour is usually the same: Find food, light a fire and make it through the night. What comes next is about how well the setup you build holds up. Hunger, thirst, temperature and stamina meters work against you all the time.
The genre brings crafting, exploration and building together under a single pressure. In single-player games that pressure becomes a story; on multiplayer servers the biggest threat is not nature but other players.
What defines it?
Hunger, thirst and temperature meters keep the game's clock ticking.
Turning raw resources into tools, weapons and shelter is the backbone of progress.
In most games, death takes away part of your inventory or progress.
The day-night cycle, weather and enemies keep the world on edge.
Landmark games
Well-known examples often used to explain the genre. For the list on our site, see the games section below.
At a glance
Survival games (117)
Tom Clancy's The Division 2 TR
Dead By Daylight TR
Permafrost TR
Long Gone TR
Cronos: The New Dawn TR
Survive the Fall TR
Ratopia TR
Rust TR
9.5
Valheim TR
8.5
Dawn of Man TR
God Save Birmingham TR
Minecraft TR
Subnautica TR
Subnautica 2 TR
RuneScape: Dragonwilds TR
Into the Fire TR
Frostrail TR
8.5
The Alters TR
Atomfall TR
The Last of Us Part 2 TR
The Last of Us TR
Latest stories on survival games
Frequently asked questions
Is survival horror the same as the survival genre?
No. The survival genre is built on resource management and building. Survival horror is a branch of horror played with scarce resources, and its main aim is to unsettle you.
Can you play alone?
Most games have a single-player mode with a pace tuned for it. On multiplayer servers, cooperating or clashing with other players becomes the most decisive part of the game.