The Best Open-World Games If You Want To Live Off The Land

Open-world games strive to make their vast environs feel real, to draw players in and convince them that they’re actually living in a fantastical realm, unlike anything the real world can offer. Some games choose to do this in a particularly demanding way by introducing survival mechanics, forcing players to engage with the world on a deeper level as they struggle for what they need to survive.

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Open-world games that make players live off the land typically have a much higher degree of player interaction, as fans struggle not only to complete story and gameplay goals but to gather the resources they need to stay alive. Here are ten open-world games with survival elements to up the challenge and engagement.

10

Red Dead Redemption 2

Life On The Frontier

Released

October 26, 2018

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

Red Dead Redemption 2‘s survival mechanics are rather light compared to some other games in the genre, but the title’s well-known emphasis on detail and realism still makes these features worth paying attention to. Fans who want to keep Arthur’s performance as strong as possible should play close attention to his hunger levels. They should also monitor the temperature, and make sure he’s dressed appropriately for his environment.

Neglecting these survival elements won’t have severe repercussions, especially when compared to more intense survival games, but the gameplay benefits fans will get from keeping Arthur comfortable and well-fed are enough to incentivize keeping track of them. This in turn keeps players immersed in Rockstar’s incredibly detailed open-world.

9

Fallout: New Vegas

The Long Road To Vegas

Released

October 19, 2010

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Fallout: New Vegas presents a rich and immersive post-apocalyptic desert realm, and fans who invest in the Survival skill can gather ingredients from every corner of this bleak wasteland and create beneficial and nourishing healing items. Fans who really want to put their survival skills to the test can turn on the optional Hardcore mode, which makes the Mojave Wasteland much more punishing.

Hardcore mode introduces several gameplay challenges to up the ante, such as making healing and support items less immediately effective and making it possible for companions to permanently die. The most noticeable changes, however, come from the introduction of mechanics measuring food, drink, and sleep. If players don’t stay nourished, hydrated, and well-rested, they risk immediate death. This mode is the ultimate survival challenge for Fallout fans who want to live off the land.

8

Palworld

Building A Life For Your Pals

Open-World

Shooter

Survival

Released

January 19, 2024

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Violence

Much has been made of Palworld‘s remarkable similarity to the Pokemon franchise, but in terms of gameplay, the title does stand on its own. This open-world game tasks fans with building a base and taming various creatures to aid in their survival.

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As they work on taming their creatures, fans must also manage their own hunger levels, ensuring that they’re well-equipped and well-prepared to survive in this hostile open world. Players who are interested in a survival experience might enjoy keeping both themselves and their Pals alive in this extensive game.

7

Terraria

A 2D Odyssey

Released

May 16, 2011

ESRB

T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol

Side-scrolling and open-world are two game descriptors that don’t go together very often, but Terraria proves just how well the combination can work if executed well. The game has often been likened to a 2D Minecraft, but this description doesn’t do justice to Terraria’s incredible depth and complexity.

This intricate survival adventure tasks players with building up their base and exploring a vast realm in search of treasure and resources to help ensure their own survival. Fans who want to hunt for the game’s titanic and horrifying bosses will need to use whatever they can find to stay alive.

6

Subnautica

Under The Sea

Survival

Horror

Open-World

Science Fiction

Released

January 23, 2018

ESRB

E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language

Subnautica stands out from the crowd of survival crafting games on the back of its unique setting. The game strands players on an alien world almost entirely covered in ocean, tasking them with survival in a realm without dry land.

Players of Subnautica will have to make use of whatever they can find under the waves in order to stay alive in this beautiful and terrifying alien sea. In addition to food and shelter, fans will need to contend with the menacing leviathans that prowl the depths as they struggle to stay alive.

5

Conan Exiles

Heroes Of The Hyborian Age

Survival

Action-Adventure

Released

May 8, 2018

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Nudity, Use of Alcohol

This multiplayer survival game brings players to the legendary realm of Conan the Barbarian, tasking them with survival in the inhospitable wastes. Fans will have to go to extreme lengths to stay alive, fending off mythical beasts, hostile players, and the ever-present threat of starvation.

If players can keep themselves alive long enough, they can grow to prosper in this cruel world, building elaborate settlements and establishing factions to rule over the wastes. A successful Conan Exiles player can become a mythological figure on par with the legendary barbarian himself.

4

Grounded

Bite-Size Survival

Grounded

Released

September 27, 2022

ESRB

Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Violence

Obsidian’s strange survival game presents a unique twist on the formula by casting fans as teens shrunken to the size of ants and stranded in a house’s backyard. Players must reorient themselves and adapt to their odd new situation, keeping themselves alive by eating bugs and drinking dew.

Grounded puts a bizarre twist on the familiar environment of a suburban backyard, casting innocuous small bugs as threats and food sources. If players can successfully reorient their perspective, they can survive and thrive, and even make a home for themselves in this expansive backyard.

3

Project Zomboid

Life Among The Dead

Systems

Released

November 8, 2013

ESRB

m

Project Zomboid takes the well-tread zombie apocalypse premise and gives it an in-depth survival angle. Fans need to not only resist the endless hordes of the undead, but must gather resources and build up a base for themselves, all the while managing their food levels and even finding ways to stave off boredom and stress.

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Death is an inevitability in Project Zomboid. Players aren’t expected to survive and thrive in this post-apocalyptic world so much as they’re tasked with keeping themselves going as long as they can manage. With robust multiplayer offerings and a variety of custom settings to play with in sandbox mode, fans have a lot of options for trying to survive the apocalypse.

2

Valheim

A Viking’s Quest

Systems

Released

February 2, 2021

ESRB

r

The titular realm of Valheim is a sort of purgatory for Viking souls to prove themselves worthy of Odin’s court. Fans of the video game must demonstrate their valor by hunting down the mythical beasts that haunt the realm, all while keeping themselves nourished and sheltered against the threats of the world.

Players must fish, farm, and forage in order to stay alive, while also arming themselves against threats like the game’s infamous giant trolls. Valheim is an unforgiving realm, but one where true Vikings can thrive.

1

Minecraft

The World Is Yours

Released

November 18, 2011

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence

Minecraft needs no introduction. This titanic game gives fans a world the size of a planet to explore, and gives them the freedom to travel and build wherever and whatever their hearts desire. In terms of raw, unrestricted freedom, there are almost no games that can hold a candle to Minecraft.

In order to last in survival mode, fans will have to gather the resources to become self-sufficient. High-level players can use Redstone to build automated farms, ensuring a constant stream of nutrients and resources, and underground dungeons can yield valuable finds like melon seeds to further increase survivability against the countless threats prowling the night in Minecraft.

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