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The 10 Best PS5 Survival Games

Published

10 months ago

July 1, 2023

What are the best survival PS5 games?

The survival genre is incredibly popular, and it allows players to experience a variety of difficult situations from the comfort of home.

However, if you’re looking to put what you’ve learned from Bear Grylls to the test, not just any survival game will do.

That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive list of the best survival games on the PS5!

The 10 Best PS5 Survival Games

We played a lot of games in the survival genre and picked the best based on their gameplay mechanics, level of difficulty, uniqueness, and how fun they are.

There’s a little bit of something for everyone here, so no matter what type of survival games you’re into, you can find something to love!

With that said, here’s our list of the 10 best survival PS5 games:

10. Conan Exiles

Starting off our list, we have Conan Exiles, an online multiplayer survival game that takes place in the universe of Conan the Barbarian.

Along with being one of the best games like Ark Survival Evolved, this game offers an extremely difficult challenge to fans of the survival genre.

Conan Exiles tasks players with trying to stay alive in a huge open-world sandbox where you will need to build your character from the ground up literally.

Starting off the game, you have absolutely nothing. From that point, you will have to scramble to find clothes, food, shelter, and weapons.

While you could choose to stay close to the starting area, there is also an entire world to explore, from searing deserts to frozen wastelands and loot-filled dungeons.

You will have to try to find a balance between staying safe and exploring the world to find the resources you need to truly thrive.

There is a ton of content jam-packed into this game, and it is definitely one of the most brutal survival challenges we’ve faced!

9. Breathedge

Breathedge is akin to Subnatuica but in space, and it follows a simple man and his immoral chicken after their ship crashes.

Yes, this game has an immortal chicken that you basically use as a multipurpose tool, and it’s been handed down in your family for generations.

If that alone doesn’t make you interested in playing this game, then we’re sorry, but we can’t be friends.

Anyway, this entire game revolves around you trying to deliver your grandfather’s ashes to his funeral, only to end up crashing into a galactic conspiracy.

Now stranded, you will have to do whatever you can to survive, including scavenging supplies and building a space station.

There are many creative ways to die in this game, including freezing, suffocating, being incinerated, being electrocuted, and succumbing to depression!

On the brightside, you never have to worry about your chicken dying, so that’s a plus!

However, don’t let the humor and silly antics fool you. Staying alive can be incredibly difficult, and it’s really easy to get yourself killed.

If you’re after a PS5 survival game that can offer as many challenges as it does laughs, look no further than Breathedge!

8. Ark Survival Evolved

Ark Survival Evolved is one of the best survival games of all time, and it stands out from the rest by including dinosaurs.

When the game kicks off, your character is stranded alone on a mysterious island where you will have to hunt, harvest crops, craft items, and build your own shelter.

However, there are also over 100 dinosaurs and creatures that can be encountered roaming the land, and you can even tame and breed them!

Furthermore, because this is an MMO, you can choose to team up with other players or raise a dino army to crush everyone around you.

You can also create your own tribe with your friends, which gives everyone in the group the ability to share tamed creatures.

Building a strong group is a smart move since everything can be looted and stolen in this game, including actual players.

Yeah, you can literally knock out and capture other players and use them for your own nefarious purposes.

This can include extracting their blood for transfusions, using them as food for your tamed animals, or harvesting their, um, excrement for fertilizer.

As you can see, things can get super intense in this game, making it one of the best survival games for players who want an unforgiving experience!

7. Rust

Like Ark Survival Evolved, Rust sees players wake up on a strange island, only here, there are no dinosaurs to contend with.

Instead, players will have to face off with each other, the environment, and the local wildlife who call the island home.

The only things you start off with are your clothes, a torch, and a rock. Everything else you will need to either craft or find.

To stay alive for as long as possible, you will have to build a shelter, scavenge or grow food, and research new tech.

You will also need to craft weapons and armor to defend yourself from other survivors who may not have good intentions.

Of course, you can also cooperate with your friends to build a town together and create a self-sustaining community that trades with other players.

Alternatively, you could also form a band of raiders to terrorize everyone else and steal their hard-earned resources!

In Rust, you can really do whatever you want so long as you’re able to keep yourself alive long enough to build up the power!

6. Tribes Of Midgard

A bit like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, one of the best PS5 RPG games, in that it’s all about Vikings, building a central base, and taking on legendary threats!

In this game, there are two different modes; Survival and Saga. While Saga Mode is all about fast-paced attacks, we’ll be focusing on survival for this list.

Survival mode allows players to explore the realm of Midgard at their own pace while doing whatever it takes to stay alive.

You can set up your home wherever you see fit and work to level up any of the 90 skills in the game to give yourself an edge.

While you can play this game solo, you can also form your own tribe of up to 10 other players in PvE co-op mode.

However, keep in mind that the difficulty increases to account for additional people in the world, so don’t think you’ll be able to breeze through with a big team!

What makes this game really stand out from other survival games is that it has a larger focus on combat, with the end goal being to prevent Ragnarok.

Players can’t just build their defenses and hide behind them; instead, everyone has to get up and fight!

5. Dysmantle

Dysmantle is interesting as it’s kind of like the best Fallout games, only much more colorful and focused on survival.

Set in the post-apocalypse, the game starts off with players emerging from their underground shelters to face a brave new world inhabited by terrible creatures.

With no other humans in sight, you will have to clear out monsters to build your own shelter and craft your own tools, weapons, and armor.

You will also have to find food either by hunting, scavenging, fishing, or starting your own farm. Ingredients can also be used in recipes to gain bonuses.

As you explore the world, you can set up various outposts to establish yourself and give you somewhere to fall back to if you need safety.

What really makes this game great is that 99% of everything in the game is breakable, meaning it can be broken down for materials.

While your overarching objective is to find a way off of the island you’re on, you’ll have a long way to go before you can really start focusing on escape!

4. Subnautica

If deep water gives you the heebie-jeebies, you’ll find Subnautica absolutely terrifying but, at the same time, addictively fun.

This game kicks off with players crash landing on an oceanic alien planet after the ship they were on, the Aurora, is blasted from orbit.

However, there is much more going on here below the surface, and the depths hide the secrets to your escape and more than a few monsters.

In Subnautica, players have to build everything from scratch, gathering resources and using the fabricator to put them all together.

While there is a mode where you don’t have to worry about food or water, on this list, we’re all about struggling to survive.

Not only will you have to monitor your hunger and thirst constantly, but you’ll have to do so while trying to venture deeper and deeper under the waves.

One thing that we really love in this game is the awe-inspiring biomes that you can discover as you explore the vast ocean.

Every new location you come across will absolutely stun you. Our favorite is the Jellyshroom Cave, which is as beautiful as it is terrifying.

3. No Man’s Sky

Often considered one of the best games like Minecraft, No Man’s Sky is all about exploring a vast procedurally-generated universe.

Seriously, this universe is infinite, and no matter how long you play, you will still be finding new worlds to explore.

If you land on a planet and look up at the stars, each speck of light that you see will have actual planets orbiting around it that you can visit.

Players start off on a randomly generated planet with only their multitool to scan, mine, and collect resources for survival.

The goal here is to gather what you need to fix your ship and then take to the stars to see what the galaxy has in store.

While traveling between planets, players can engage in space battles with pirates, trade with alien factions, or become pirates themselves.

What makes this game really feel alive is that every other player is also somewhere in the galaxy, and you can stumble into them at any time.

Of course, there are also plenty of NPCs to bring life to the game, including the aforementioned pirates, along with trade convoys and police.

If you’re impressed that Starfield has over 1000 planets, well, this one has over 18 quintillion, meaning you can always stumble upon one no one has ever seen before!

2. This War Of Mine

This War of Mine is a unique survival game where, instead of playing as a super soldier, you play as an ordinary civilian struggling in a besieged city.

So often, when you find survival games that deal with war, players are given the ability to shoot their way out of situations like Master Chief.

This ends up forming a disconnect between players and the content, something that this game seeks to rectify.

We’re not going to lie, This War of Mine is absolutely brutal, and it is a harsh exercise in empathy that makes you wonder how far you’d really go to stay alive.

In this game, snipers will prevent you from leaving your hideout during the day, so that is the time to build up your fortifications, craft, and tend to other survivors.

However, when night falls, you can take one of the civilians on a scavenging run to find the resources needed to sustain your group for another day.

Throughout the entire game, you will also have to make life-or-death decisions, such as whether to try and save everyone or make sacrifices for the long term.

While the only thing that truly matters is survival, it doesn’t make these tough decisions any easier.

This War of Mine is easily one of the saddest games of all time, and it will really challenge both your survival skills and your sense of right and wrong.

1. Subnautica: Below Zero

Taking our number one spot is Subnautica: Below Zero, a game that is set 2 years after the events of the original game.

Here, players can return to Planet 4546B and explore the frozen north, where the water is colder, and the threats are more deadly.

Like the original, players have to survive by scavenging food and resources, but now there is the temperature to worry about instead of just hunger and thirst.

There are also brand new biomes and creatures to discover, as well as an alien mystery that can find its way into your head.

This game fleshes out the world of Subnautica so much more, and the ending is absolutely mind-blowing.

However, you first have to survive long enough to reach the end, which is much easier said than done when everything is below zero!

Summary

We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of the best survival PS5 games and that some of these games have piqued your interest!

While many survival games are frustratingly tough, all of these titles manage to deliver both a challenge and a fun experience.

However, we highly recommend checking out Subnautica: Below Zero and its predecessor if you haven’t already, as these games really go above and beyond.

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best survival PS5 games: