When you get a popular genre that sees a lot of new IPs regularly, it becomes harder to differentiate some of the games from one another. Within the genre of survival games come subgenres such as sandboxes or horrors.
Perhaps certain survival games don’t sit right with you, while others do. Do those games prioritize more realistic crafting? Everyone has asked themselves what they would bring if they were stranded on an island. It’s the most realistic survival experience we can see ourselves in. This article compiles some of the best survival games that are specifically set in hot climates with realistic gameplay.
TheFar Cryseries is very popular and long-running.Far Cry 3is the most popular game in the franchise due to its writing, storytelling, and gameplay. If you haven’t played Far Cry 3 yet, you definitely should. The game is a story-based action shooter,but it is an open world, allowing you to spend your time how you please.
Far Cry 3 is renowned for having one of the best villains in video game history. The story is about a group of Americans vacationing on an island when they get mixed up with the wrong people. Far Cry 6 is also set in the hot climates of a fictional Caribbean island. If you have already played Far Cry 3, you should definitely take a look at their other titles.
Stranded Deepis an open-world survival crafting game that doesn’t focus on storytelling. The world, or island, is yours to have. In this game, you are stranded on an island, butthe island is not your last hope. You are encouraged to use the ocean to your advantage by diving into the waters for food and resources.
There are multiple vitals you must keep up with to ensure you don’t die, such as hunger, thirst, and damage from overheating. There are skill sets to upgrade, enemies to fight, and even ships to sail.
7The Survivalists
The Survivalistschanges things up a bit. This is an open-world survival crafting title, but it is 2D and cartoonish. You get to adventure and stumble upon side quests, enemies, and wildlife that you’re able to train to help you.
In The Survivalists, you’re able to build bases and ecosystems full of hard-working chimpanzees. If you are someone who prefers action to tedious building, there are Temples around the island that offer different challenges for those who dare enter.
6Arizona Sunshine
Arizona Sunshine wasmade specifically for VR headsets. This experience allows you to feel what it’s like to really be in a zombie apocalypse and really load a gun. The game focuses on action and survival horror aspects.
The game is less about crafting and more about first-person shooting. You must explore the wasteland and use your wits to conserve ammo and make your way past hordes of zombies. There are even survivors you can find and save if you can spare the ammo.
Dead Islandis a classic zombie game from 2011. If you’ve never played it before, you definitely should, now that there is a second 2023 instalment. Dead Island is popular for its use of combat and movement.
This is an open-world story-based game about survivors on a vacation gone awry. You will have the most fun in this game using different melee weapons and skills to kill hordes of zombies in satisfying ways.
ARK is a massively multiplayer survival crafting game where you have to worry not only about the wildlife, but other players as well. There are half a million Very Positive reviews on Steam from players with over 400+ hours in the game.
Think Rust with dinosaurs. you may find dinosaurs and work on taming them to use them in battle or run for your life from a T-Rex. Build bases and villages with your friends and try to become the strongest primitive village in the server.
Rafthas a unique set-up that is different from other survival games. You aren’t stranded on an island or some forest. In Raft, you are stuck in the middle of the ocean. Nothing but water for miles. You must use pollution and scrap found floating in the water as resources for building and surviving.
You are able to find land here and there to scavenge for food and materials, but the point of the game is to grow your raft into a large and livable ship. You are one with the sea now, a pirate if you will.
Green Helltries to focus on realism when it comes to surviving. You must dress your wounds, make sure your mental health doesn’t decline, and create fire from scratch. There are multiple diseases and conditions your character can take if you don’t play your cards right.
The game wants you to use your smarts to figure out how to get past challenges and dangers. It has hints of a psychological thriller as you struggle to keep your sanity and fight whatever seems to be watching you in the forest.
1Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
This survival crafting experience focuses on us humans in our primitive years, when monkeys learned to start walking on their hind legs and using tools to their advantage. In Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, your goal is to continue your generation of advanced species and do your best to evolve.
This is an open-world, third-person experience where you can explore as a monkey and face many obstacles and challenges. The game is set to have different outcomes and choices based on how you choose to raise your generation of people.
Looking for a new and exciting survival game to try?Nightingale is available on Steamin Early Access starting July 17, 2025!
Survival Week
Welcome to the home of TheGamer’s Survival Week, a celebration of all things, well, survival. Here you’ll find features, interviews, and more dedicated to this popular genre, brought to you by Inflexion Games' upcoming open-world survival crafter, Nightingale.
