In recent years, survival games have seen a monumental boom, growing in popularity at a staggering rate on a global scale. There’s something compelling about being thrown into a wasteland or an intense environment and being forced to survive by collecting resources, finding food, and fighting desperately against enemies. With that in mind, we’re looking at a list of the best survival games in 2024.
If you’re in the market for one of the top survival games, you won’t want to sleep on this list. Be warned, though – some of these games are hard as nails if you play them for long enough, and they’re rarely forgiving for newcomers.
Without further ado, here are the best survival games in 2024.
Sons of The Forest
Sons of the Forest was released in early access in 2023, and by 2024, it had ‘graduated’ into a fully released game – a 1.0. It’s easily one of the best coop survival games you’ll ever play, allowing you to explore a vast open world alongside your friends.
In Sons of the Forest, you’re involved in a chopper crash while flying over a mysterious, diverse island. From there, you’ll be left up to your own devices, being forced to scavenge, fight, and farm to survive the brutality of the game’s story.
It’s a spooky game that’s riddled with things to see and do, and you’ll never quite be done exploring the enormous map. At the drop of a hat, you can build a camp, drop trees, set up defences, and try your best to live a life on an island that really doesn’t want you to be there.
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Rust
Rust is iconic, and we could say that and just move on — but we won’t. First launched in 2013, Rust is often seen as the defining title of the survival genre, and it’s one of the best games on the market even ten years after it was released.
In Rust, players are dropped into a map and forced to make do with their own devices to survive and carve out a life for themselves in a hostile world filled with enemies – and other players. From farming for food to defending a home settlement, players are mostly free to do whatever they desire in Rust.
It’s not exactly forgiving, though. It can be a complex game for newcomers, but that’s part of the charm of Rust. It’s definitely one of the best survival games in 2024, and it likely will be for a long time to come.
7 Days to Die
In 2024, 7 Days to Die graduated to a full game from an early access release that took place ten years before. If that wasn’t important enough, the developer pumped the 1.0 version of the game full of new content and upgrades, making this survival game better than ever.
7 Days to Die is one of the most addictive zombie survival games ever made, giving players complete freedom over how they explore the world around them. It can be played solo or with friends, and it has a nice enough challenge written into it that makes you genuinely feel as though you’re trying hard to just survive.
With crafting elements, base-building mechanics, investory management, combat sequences, and resource farming, 7 Days to Die is inarguably one of the best survival games in 2024.
Frostpunk 2
Frostpunk 2 is a unique title, fusing city-building mechanics with a survival-based theme and giving players complete freedom to do as they please. It’s a post-apocalyptic, city-building survival game that’ll test your abilities to lead an ever-growing settlement of survivors.
In Frostpunk 2, players must manage power, food, shelter, factions, and assorted quests. It can be fairly taxing, but there’s a brilliant sandbox mode written into Frostpunk 2 that takes away much of the struggle.
Frostpunk 2 might be a little more niche as it’s a city-building game by definition, but it’s one of the top survival games on the market today, and it’s also one of the newest, having been released in September 2024.
Palworld
Palworld is a Pokémon-like game with open-world exploration elements and assault rifles, amongst other things. That’s right – in Palworld, you’ll catch and collect ‘Pals’ using balls, putting them to work or settling them up to fight other explorers and Pals that roam the map, and you can even equip them with rifles or rocket launchers if you desire.
Palworld became one of the most successful indie games of all time when it was released in January 2024. It pulled in millions of players in a relatively short period, with many of those players drawing their comparisons between Palworld and Pokémon. It was such a roaring success that competitors are now making ‘Pal-like’ games.
Related: Blizzard’s Survival Game Was Cancelled Because of Engine Issues
Did we miss any? What do you think were the best recent survival games? Let us know on the Insider Gaming forum
