10 best survival games on Steam to play

Humanity’s hardwired nature to survive partly makes survival games a popular item in the gaming world. A player’s perseverance not to die is constantly challenged virtually, and that cranks up the excitement. The cardinal rule is to stay alive, but you eventually lose the game by dying. However, if you’re really in the mood to survive the toughest game plots, Steam is offering some of the best titles.

Terraria

The world of Terraria is all about digging, exploring, fighting, and building. Players have a complete control of their journey and destination, which means it’s really up to them how the game unfolds. Terraria combines classic action and sandbox-style creativity into an adventure gaming experience. 

Players can choose to explore the wide and hollow corners of the Terraria world in search of resources and treasures. They can also go out and test their skills in combat with the toughest enemies. Terraria is available for $6.00 while the Four-Pack can be had for $15.00 from Steam.

The Long Dark

Released in September 2014, The Long Dark has grown to be one of the best single-player survival games on Steam. The game challenges players to explore a wide frozen forest that’s been recently devastated by a geomagnetic catastrophe. The challenge lies in surviving nature’s wrath. Players need to provide information without revealing the answers.

The Long Dark stands out in the saturated genre of survival games for its core focus on environmental survival, breaking away from the crowded zombie apocalypse. It’s available to download on Steam for $10.00.

Don’t Starve

Don’t Starve is another survival game set in the wilderness, complete with all the elements of science and magic. The game tells the story of how Wilson, a scientist trapped by a demon in a mysterious world, learns to survive the odds. 

Playing as Wilson, you must do all you can to return home safe and sound and escape from the dangers and eerie creatures. Create items and structures using various resources according to your survival style. You also need to solve the mysteries of the strange wilderness if you are to survive. Snag the game from Steam for $8.00.

Rust Alpha

Learn how to overcome hunger, thirst, and cold in the harsh world of Rust. Players need to build a shelter, create fire, hunt for animals to eat, fight other hostile players, and tie up with other players all in the name of survival. Rust Alpha is available on Steam for $10.00 while the Rust Alpha – Four Pack is now going for $29.

ARK: Survival Evolved

Survival Evolved opens with the player naked and with no possession of any sort in a mysterious and primitive island, where the only way to survive is by hunting, crafting items, building shelters and growing crops. Tame and ride dinosaurs and other primeval creatures that reside on ARK. 

In order to survive, players need to either form alliances with other players or prey on them. Survival Evolved is available to purchase for $15.00 and you can buy ARK Survivor’s Pack for $21.00.

The Forest

In this survival horror simulator, players find themselves in a mysterious forest following a passenger jet crash. In order to stay alive, they need to wade through a world of cannibalistic mutants by building shelters and exploring a vast network of caves and underground lakes. 

Players can also create weapons, tools, and traps to maintain a safe zone. But this is a survival game, which means it’s calling on players to bring the battle to the enemies. Buy The Forest from Steam for $8.00.

Rogue Warrior

Rogue Warrior is a shooter game that features the badass character Richard ‘Demo Dick’ Marcinko. Players can engage in an action-packed multiplayer combat to destroy a ballistic missile program run by North Korea. Set in USSR, the game plot presents a conspiracy engineered by communists during a Cold War era.

The game also features more than 25 different kill moves to destroy the enemies. Players can also develop tactical advantages to prevent the adversaries from gaining an edge in the game. The game features the voice of Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke as Dick Marcinko. Rogue Warrior is available for roughly $6.00 on Steam.

 RimWorld

If you’re a fan of Dwarf Fortress or Firefly, you might also get hooked to RimWorld. A sci-fi colony simulator with an intelligent AI narrator, the game opens with three shipwreck survivors. The game simulates psychology, ecology, gunplay, melee combat, climate, biomes, diplomacy, and relationships to create stories. 

The game controls the events thrown at the players. There are colonists who come from all occupations – nobleman, farmer, accountant, a housewife, etc. – who survived the crash as well. Players must capture more colonists in combat and build a colony with them. RimWorld is a whole new world of gaming experience rich in stories told by a narrator of your own choosing: Randy Random, Cassandra Classic, and Phoebe Friendly. Buy the game now for $15.00, with other game packs available on Steam.

Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2 is the sequel to the award-winning Left 4 Dead set in an apocalyptic world of zombies. The first-person shooter action horror takes multiple players, usually a band of four new survivors, across five campaigns. The players go through cities and cemeteries armed with various classic and upgraded weapons to take on three new Special Infected and five new uncommon common infected.

AI Director 2.0 serves to help players navigate the expansive campaigns by changing the weather and the pathways, controlling the number of enemies, and customizing the effects based on the players’ performance. You can check out the action horror game by snagging it from Steam for $10.00.

Factorio

In the 2D world of Factorio, players design and build automated factories to manufacture items using resources mined from a locality. But as you develop your factory into an industrial powerhouse, locals will try to destroy your infrastructure for exploiting their resources. You can protect your structures by forging alliances with other players in a cooperative multiplayer mode.

The game is played mostly in a freeplay scenario, but players can choose to take on challenges with the Scenario pack that’s available as free DLC. You can even make your own maps or scenarios using the in-game Map Editor. Grab Factorio from Steam now for $10.00.

If we missed any of the best survival games you can find on Steam, share them in the comments below.