Action-Adventure Games With The Best Survival Gameplay

Survival games are a blast to play, with players loving the idea of struggling to make it through every day by keeping track of metrics like hunger, thirst, and fatigue, among other things. Of course, there’s also a place for more laid back survival games where the threat of death doesn’t loom over the player at all times.

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Many action-adventure games employ elements of the survival genre to great effect, ensuring that players will have a great time exploring the world and finding the resources they need to survive. Players will have a great time with these titles once they acclimatize themselves to the gameplay mechanics.

8

Palworld

A Promising Action-Adventure Survival Game That Has Become Very Popular

Open-World

Shooter

Survival

Systems

Released

January 19, 2024

Developer(s)

Pocket Pair, Inc.

OpenCritic Rating

Fair

The innovative combination of monster-catching, third-person shooting, and survival mechanics has turned Palworld into one of the most popular survival games players can get their hands on. Players love capturing creatures that they can assign to certain tasks, making the survival gameplay of this title easier to manage.

Given the issues many people have with Pokemon, it’s easy to see why Palworld has emerged as such a worthy competitor. Hopefully, Nintendo’s lawsuit won’t prevent this title from reaching its full potential.

7

V Rising

Guide A Newly-Awakened Vampire And Help Them Survive

V Rising‘s combination of action RPG elements with the survival genre has helped it stand out as one of the best games players can check out. Helping a fledgling vampire slowly but surely become powerful is more captivating than players would assume.

Once players gain access to a castle, it’s a ton of fun to acquire materials and deck out this abode in whatever manner they see fit. Then it’s just a matter of setting out into the world and staking their claim on a ever-expanding domain. Once V Rising sinks its teeth into players, they’ll find it hard to tear themselves away from the game.

6

The Long Dark

Players Must Survive In A Cold, Harsh Landscape

The Long Dark is an intense survival game where players will die over and over again before they learn how to survive in the frigid Canadian wilderness. Once players get a handle on the basics, the action-adventure trappings of this title kick in.

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Players must explore the world and hunt animals to get food, slowly but surely improving their survival skills as they make progress. Encountering a wolf or a bear is a harrowing experience every single time, and players will bleed out if they don’t have the medical supplies to spare.

5

ARK: Survival Evolved

Surviving In A World Full Of Dinosaurs Makes For A Great Time

Players who want to explore a hostile world full of dinosaurs will love what ARK: Survival Evolved brings to the table. The game may be an unoptimized mess with some issues, but the core of the game is solid enough to keep fans coming back for more.

Adventuring in this hostile world and crafting the weapons needed to deal with its hostile residents makes ARK a blast to play. If players rope some friends into a playthrough, then this enjoyment can be enhanced considerably, as there is nothing quite like hunting dinosaurs as a team.

4

Grounded

An Excellent Action-Adventure Game With A Focus On Survival And Co-op

Obsidian Entertainment has slowly but surely transformed into a seasoned developer who has tackled a variety of different genres. Players who feel that only this studio’s RPGs are worth checking out will sing a different tune after playing Grounded.

This title is essentially a gamified version of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids where players control one of four miniaturized children who must deal with huge dangers and survive by any means necessary in the deadly environment of their own backyard. As they make progress, the threats become bigger and make it important for players to have the equipment they need to deal with these horrors.

3

State Of Decay 2

A Fun Action-Adventure Game Set In The Zombie Apocalypse

Systems

Released

May 22, 2018

OpenCritic Rating

Fair

Players who want to play a co-op action-adventure survival game will love what State of Decay 2 brings to the table. While the survival mechanics themselves may not seem all that intense, the game makes up for it with tense combat scenarios and some fun, simple base-building.

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As resources start dwindling, players must explore hostile areas and find the items they need to help their camp expand. State of Decay 2 has its issues, but players itching for a fun survival game with great action that promotes and encourages exploration will love what this title has to offer.

2

No Man’s Sky

A Relaxing Survival Game Where Players Explore Endless Planets And Solar Systems

No Man’s Sky had a rocky launch, with Hello Games’ promises being largely overstated as the game initially disappointed fans. However, the developers didn’t give up on this title, launching numerous free updates to help No Man’s Sky reach the standards that fans expected.

The developer didn’t stop there, adding even more content to turn No Man’s Sky into one of the most content-rich action-adventure survival games around. Players love the massive game world and how every planet has something new and interesting for them to discover.

1

Subnautica

An Atmospheric Action-Adventure Title With Engaging Survival Gameplay

Subnautica is one of the most immersive survival games around and is a must-play for fans of the genre. The horrors of the ocean can catch players by surprise, compelling them to build up their base and acquire the tools they need to make exploration easier to manage.

Every expedition outside the safety of the base is a harrowing experience, as players will deal with powerful underwater threats while attempting to acquire valuable resources. Even if players become comfortable with playing this game, Subnautica features an uncanny ability to scare even the most seasoned players with larger-than-life monsters that they have no chance in hell of killing.

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