10 best survival games to play in 2022: Horror, multiplayer & open world

June 2023 · 9 minute read

Survival games are all the rage in gaming today, so if you’re looking for new horror, multiplayer, or open-world titles to sink your teeth into, here are 10 of the best survival games you can try in 2022 on PC, Nintendo Switch PlayStation, and Xbox.

While some survival games are focused on the horror genre, others tend to be about exploration and crafting, with each offering unique elements to keep players on their toes as they try to survive.

Some provide an addictive gameplay loop that often sees your character isolated and scrambling around for resources to survive, whereas other survival games forgo an open-world environment and instead provide a cinematic experience — one in which your decisions and reflexes are put to the ultimate test.

Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best survival games you can play in 2022 on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC, from multiplayer through to horror and open-world titles. While each one may share some similarities to the others on the list, every title below is a unique experience and is a must-play for survival game fans.

Contents

Creepers are known for ruining survival efforts in Minecraft.

Best survival horror games in 2022

Here are five of the best horror survival games that will keep you sleeping with the lights on long after dark, from Resident Evil through to Until Dawn:

Resident Evil (Remake)

Will you survive the night at the Spencer Mansion?

What better title to start with than a game that coined the term survival horror? While not all survival games are horror and vice versa, the remake of the original Resident Evil slots into both camps. As the player, you step into the shoes of an elite mountain rescue team who have been trapped in a mansion filled with zombies and other horrific bioweapons.

Bullets won’t be the only way out of this mess, though, as you’ll also need to trust your survival instincts. For example, do you waste ammo killing that lone zombie trapped in a hallway? Or can you safely sneak past it or use another route? Resident Evil forces you to make these decisions, and getting one wrong can lead to your character getting eaten alive. No pressure.

Resident Evil Key Features

Outlast

There’s no crafting in the survival game Outlast – only running and screaming.

Outlast and its sequels put the player in the shoes of someone armed with only a video camera in a dangerous, creepy location while murderous psychopaths stalk them. Be it mutated patients from an insane asylum or scythe-wielding cultists; your only option is to run for your life if they see you, before hiding and praying they don’t look in that spot you picked. It’s heart-racing stuff and something every survival game fan needs to experience.

Outlast Key Features

Until Dawn

A psycho killer in a clown mask isn’t the only threat to your survival in Until Dawn.

Until Dawn is essentially a playable horror movie where the player controls the narrative. Those looking for a scary interactive experience on a dark night will find exactly what they’re looking for here. You’re in control of a group of stereotypical horror movie teens as they take refuge from the snow in a log cabin.

Naturally, they start getting murdered one by one. The question is, can the player’s choices save or doom them? It’s also free to PS5 owners who subscribe to PS Plus in the PlayStation Library. Who survives is ultimately down to the player, but keeping everyone alive isn’t going to be easy.

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Until Dawn Key Features

The Last of Us

The Last of Us blends survival, horror, and shooting.

While The Last of Us and it’s equally acclaimed sequel aren’t traditional survival experiences, they borrow heavily from the genre to tell a compelling story. Both games are set in a fungus-filled zombie apocalypse where horror and survival are key gameplay elements.

The Last of Us feature moments that are simply terrifying, be it the enemies you face or the depths of human depravity in the name of survival. The series may actually represent the future of survival horror, one in which the genre isn’t constrained by expectations of what it should be.

The Last of Us Key Features

Alien Isolation

The Alien will stalk you through the whole game.

In space, no one can hear you scream, but your neighbors will. Alien isolation catches the spirit of Ridley Scott’s original monster movie: Forget colonial marines, pulse rifles, and Xenomorphs as cannon fodder – this is a game about survival, where one Alien creature stalks the player across a space station. The emphasis is on pure horror, making Alien Isolation one of the most nerve-shredding survival games ever made.

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Alien Isolation Key Features

Best multiplayer survival games in 2022

While the below survival games may also involve horror and combat, they’re more traditional survival experiences, while also offering multiplayer capabilities. This means they prioritize the fight to survive over trying to scare you as a survival horror game would:

DayZ

Zombies are the least of your worries in DayZ.

Much like its undead denizens, DayZ refuses to die. This MMO puts players in the shoes of a lone surviver in the wake of a zombie apocalypse, with the goal being to explore and survive. This can be achieved by looting whatever you can find while avoiding the undead. However, where DayZ gets really interesting is in your interactions with other players. Will you join forces to help each other survive, or will you mercilessly kill and loot every other living person you meet?

Beware though, as you’re not the only one out in the wilds preying on the weak. While DayZ is a game about avoiding or killing zombies, the true horror lies in what you’re fellow survivors are willing to do to stay alive.

DayZ Key Features

Subnautica

Subnautica is gorgeous, but you’ll need to work hard to survive.

While Subnautica is not strictly speaking a multiplayer game, this helpful mod can turn it into one. Subnautica is beautiful at first glance: the world is bright and vibrant, and the prospect of exploring an alien underwater wonderland is a tantilizing one.

However, reality soon sets in when you realize that the gorgeous world ultimately wants you dead. You start to understand that you’re alone in a marine wilderness, and if the elements don’t get you, the creatures that lurk in the depths will.

What makes Subnautica special is that it’s the only survival game that places so much emphasis on the ocean. While Subnautica has elements of survival horror, it leans more heavily into the survival and exploration side. This means if horror and spooky survival games aren’t really your thing, Subnautica should be a much nicer refuge overall.

Subnautica Key Features

The Forest

The Forest’s original inhabitants are intrigued by you, and what you might taste like.

If the ocean is the star of Subnautica, then the vast woods are the star of The Forest, a game that sometimes feels like a photo-real Minecraft. You’re a plane crash survivor who’s stranded in a vast wilderness, and what’s more, there doesn’t appear to be any signs of civilization in any direction. To survive, you’ll need to find shelter, food, and water, while also needing to craft items and ultimately figure out a way to be rescued.

The only problem is that at night, The Forest becomes home to a whole host of humanoid cannibals who’ve taken a keen interest in you. You’ll need to defend yourselves from them and even seek them out in dark caves during daylight hours to thin their numbers. Just don’t lose your humanity and become something worse than them as you do.

The Forest Key Features

Ark: Survival Evolved

Hunting a T-Rex isn’t recommended for your survival.

While Ark: Survival Evolved felt like it was in development forever, the finished version is with us and it does not disappoint. Ark blends prehistoric beasts, survival mechanics, combat, and even a slither of sci-fi into one unique, memorable experience.

If you’ve ever wanted to live in a dinosaur-filled world, free from the trappings of modern life, then Ark will be exactly what you’re looking for.

Ark Key Features

Minecraft

Minecraft is the king of survival games.

Minecraft is perhaps the most popular and celebrated survival game of all time. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny its influence. Mojang’s masterpiece came from humble beginnings and has expanded exponentially since that time. The premise is simple: you’re a little blocky person living in a big blocky world. You’ll need to explore, mine, and craft your way to survival and enjoy the adventure along the way.

While Minecraft is huge now, the memory of hurriedly building a cabin to sleep in before night falls, which is when the monsters come out, is one of our favorites of all time. And, judging by the success of the franchise, we’re not alone. Minecraft is simple at times, but it can also be scary, addictive, and always charming.

Minecraft Key Features

So there you have it, 10 of the best survival games to play in 2022.

Check out more gaming lists below to find plenty of exciting titles to play:

10 Best MMOs in 2022 | New World starter guide | Best scary Roblox horror games in 2022 | Best VR horror games | Best indie horror games | Best free horror games | Best multiplayer horror games | Best horror games to watch on Twitch

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