Pure survival games can feel rather sparse on consoles. PC gamers have enjoyed many of them over a number of years, whereas Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have been oversaturated with FPS titles, sequels, peculiar indie creations, and various AAA releases.
It may take a bit of sifting through the fat, but a decent survival game waits for those who search. Here are five of them, all catering to different styles and player interests.
Don’t Starve
Showing off a whimsical hand drawn art style, Don’t Starve places you in the shoes of the illustrious scientist Wilson, who is ominously transported to a spooky wilderness. In true survival fashion, the game demands that you scavenge for resources in order to withstand the harsh elements and monsters that roam around the area, and most importantly, not to starve.
The game is presented in a way that is accessible to all, but to truly master it, you have to delve much further into the mechanics for those sought-after supplies. It’s an indie title that’s well worth the price of admission.
ARK: Survival Evolved
Although ARK was accessible through the early access program for Xbox One and PC a while back, PS4 players were finally given a slice of the action in December of last year.
The game places a human character in a prehistoric world full of dinosaurs with nothing but the equivalent of a loin cloth to cover their naked body. Both the dinosaurs and the potential of other players in the world present a constant threat to your own survival, but once you garner enough resources, you can eventually tame the dinos and use them to your own advantage. It’s an enjoyable take on the survival genre that utilizes a portion of history that is rarely explored in gaming.
While the title is still in the early access form, the full version is expected to be released this year.
Minecraft
Some might say that this is seriously scraping the barrel for the best survival games on PS4, but numbers don’t lie. Minecraft has sold millions upon millions of copies across its platforms and one of the sole reasons is the game’s premise.
You are free to play as you wish, gathering materials and creating your own safe haven or zany creations, but the underlying motive for much of the things you do in Minecraft is for survival. The daytime begs for you to explore, but at night, those stockpiled resources and the shelter you built with them are put to the test. Creepers and undead monsters begin to spawn, and the few minutes you have in the darkness is a miniature survival game all in itself.
7 Days to Die
7 Days to Die was a hit on PC, and while it wasn’t as well received on consoles, it can still be a commendable survival game if you give it a chance.
As one of the only pure, unadulterated zombie survival game of its type on console, the Minecraft-ian nature of the title gives it accessibility to anyone who picks it up. The dynamic day and night cycle that causes tougher enemies to appear as darkness falls constantly presses you to craft stronger defences, and the procedural generated worlds means that every session can be different.
The option to even cut zombies out altogether on maps opens up possibilities beyond its survival roots as well. Train up, loot up, gear up and prepare for this post-apocalyptic world.
How To Survive 2
It would be forgivable to not be acquainted with How To Survive, and that is because the first game wasn’t so well received. However, the second installment has attempted to amend the issues that plagued the first.
With more opened-up zones and missions to participate in, there is plenty to do as you scour for resources in this zombie survival romp. The top-down camera gives you clear view of all the action wherever you find yourself.
How To Survive 2 also gratifies the desire of playing with friends and it greatly increases the enjoyment gained from play. Surviving together is rarely shown in the genre so it is refreshing to see human teamwork play a major role if you allow it. Why attempt to survive on your own when you can do it with your best buds?
A well-made survival game doesn’t necessarily require a gripping story in order to push the player along, so the majority of these titles let gameplay rule the roost. There is a slight lack of polish that is oddly alluring in some of these games as well, but a bit of quirkiness can often help to elevate a game to success.
2017 also sees some new games on the block in the genre for PS4 players, such as Conan Exiles, so there is still life in the survival niche yet.
Have you played any of the titles on this list? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
Published: Apr 12, 2017 08:14 pm