Survival games can be many different things depending on how they are created. Fun, challenging, and immersive are a few words that come to mind when you think about some of the more popular survival games. Minecraft, for example, can be all of those things and there are plenty of extra mods that add to the game.
However, there are a few games that took the word challenging and created a game that was more than challenging and sometimes even downright extreme. These games will not only test your patience, but they will make you wonder if continuing the game is even worth it.
10 Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
This survival game might just be one of the most ambitious survival games to date. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is a game all about growth and the evolution of life.
In this third-person open-world survival game, You play as the first hominids in Neogene Africa learning about the world. The game offers almost no help when starting off and everything from exploration, crafting, and learning is left up to the player to figure out.
The emphasis on evolution and gaining knowledge to pass down to future generations makes this a very interesting yet difficult game.
9 The Long Dark
The Long Dark showcases the difficulty of what life as a solo player in a cold and harsh environment is like.
Set in Canada, The Long Dark takes place in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. You must survive by exploring, hunting, and scavenging whatever you can find.
Everything from what you eat, what you do, the weather, and how you take care of yourself in the harsh cold has consequences for the player. This really makes the player’s every decision an important one because once you die your save file is deleted.
8 State of Decay 2
Zombie games are very popular and there’s a good reason why. It can always be a challenge, but State of Decay takes it up to another level.
State of Decay 2 is an apocalypse zombie survival game in which teamwork helps out tremendously. If you are playing single player you can switch between AI for different skills and abilities.
There is plenty to explore while fighting off zombies that try to hunt you down including massive juggernaut zombies. You must gather resources including fuel for cars and materials in case your weapons break.
7 Don’t Starve
Don’t Starve is a unique 2D-looking game, but can be very punishing in its gameplay.
Don’t Starve brings together magic and science in a fantasy survival game. What makes this game both fun and punishing is trying to make sure your character doesn't die while trying to make his way back home.
You use the wilderness to your advantage in crafting, farming, hunting, and researching, but there are plenty of creatures trying to kill you. What adds to the difficulty of the game is there are no instructions to help you out, so you must figure out everything on your own.
6 ARK: Survival Evolved
One survival game that really took off in popularity was ARK: Survival Evolved. What really made this game successful was not only its meme-worthy interactions, but when you get down to the gameplay it is a very expansive game.
Starting off with almost nothing there is plenty of resource grinding and crafting. There are other players that can knock you unconscious and even kill you.
Many creatures try to kill you, which you can try and tame. Farming, hunting, the food you eat, drinking fresh water, and the weather all have effects on the player as well.
All items have durability and will wear out over time. Not to mention if you log out of the game, other players can steal your items.
5 The Forest
Horror survival games can both look great and have great gameplay. The Forest showed why it’s not only a great-looking game but can be difficult at times.
Like most survival games you start off with almost nothing but stuff leftover from a plane crash. From there you spend quite a bit of time resource gathering and trying to craft items to survive where you are.
Where it really gets tough is the mutants that you have to defend your base from at night. There are plenty of enemies in this game with camps you can raid, caves to explore, and creatures that can be hard to kill.
4 Green Hell
If you’re looking for a game that delivers both stunning graphics and is extremely brutal then look no further to Green Hell. This open-world survival simulator really goes out of its way to be as extreme as it can be.
Set in the Amazon rainforest, your job is to survive while gathering resources, hunting for food, and trying to keep your sanity. What really sets this game apart from others is the body inspection mechanic.
Anything can infect your body such as weather, scratches that aren't treated, and parasites. Green Hell will truly test your survival skills.
3 7 Days to Die
There are plenty of zombie games out there, but none are quite like 7 Days to Die. In this open-world survival game, there is plenty to explore, craft, and build all while fighting off zombies and leveling up your character with RPG aspects.
Certain skills give added perks to characters for different weapons and fighting styles. What truly makes this game difficult is the longer you stay alive and level up, the harder the game gets.
Zombies become uniquely infected, tankier, and can explode, which makes crafting traps and defenses, for both solo and multiplayer, very necessary.
2 DayZ
DayZ is arguably one of the most popular survival games that have been released. It also might be one of the most unforgiving as well.
What makes DayZ stand apart from other survival games is its lengthy resource gathering, but also hardcore gameplay. Crafting, food gathering, and exploration all play a role in this game, but player interaction may have the most crucial role.
There are many players who simply prey on others while some might be more forgiving and assist you. You could spend hours base building, gathering materials, and stocking up weapons, but nothing is safe, because you can be raided offline and once your character dies you must start over.
1 Rust
There are plenty of survival games where everything is trying to kill you, but no games do it like Rust. Rust might be the definition of extremely difficult and brutal when talking about survival games.
You start off completely naked in this game only armed with a rock and a torch. Resource grinding, crafting, and base building are very necessary if you want to keep your items in one place.
Specific zones also require certain gear before being able to enter them. However, griefing, base raiding, and PvP are very common on servers and can make you start over from scratch.