6 Most Complex Survival Games of All Time
Survival games offer a challenging experience every time you load in. But while Minecraft and Raft are cozy variations of the survival genre, some complex survival games will put your skills to the test. If you find that health, food, and water are easy to keep track of and want more of a challenge, then you’ll be excited to learn about these intense experiences. Not only do you have the basic needs, but you also have to deal with other factors like shelter, infection, enemies, and sanity.
6. Don’t Starve Together
Though this cartoonish style might not seem all that bad, Don’t Starve Together is easily one of the most complex survival games available. But it’s also pretty straightforward. Gather materials, craft useful items, and don’t stand in the dark too long. With a day and night cycle, players have to be quick and smart about their time, ensuring they have the right materials right off the bat before night falls, which will plunge them into pitch darkness. The longer you are without light, the more danger you’re in with the depletion of sanity.
5. Ark: Survival Evolved
With the classic chores of crafting, building, hunting, and exploring, Ark: Survival Evolved might seem like your average game. But when you introduce the dangers of dinosaurs, it turns into one of the most complex survival games. While the game is easy as you play, the beginning is one of the most stressful experiences, as you’ll often get eaten by a dinosaur while you explore the land to find a safe zone to spawn in, just to start leveling up and understanding the game.
4. The Forest
Along with Ark: Survival Evolved, The Forest seems like a regular survival game on the surface. After surviving a plane crash, players must stay alive by eating, drinking, crafting weapons, and building shelters. But after hearing a few too many bushes rustle in the distance, players will quickly realize that they’re not alone on this adventure. Not only are you worried about your health stats, but you must fight off groups of hungry cannibals, with enemies that are extremely difficult to overcome, leaving you in a frustrated and stressful predicament.
3. This War of Mine
One of the most complex survival games that you can play has to be This War of Mine. The game offers a violent, yet depressive atmosphere that focuses on civilians trapped in a besieged city, depicting horror and survival themes that perfectly blend two genres. Not only do players experience a story unlike any other with various life-or-death moments, but some of the hardest parts of the game are necessary for progression, like inventory management and resource gathering.
2. DayZ
Speaking of life-or-death situations, another one of the best complex survival games is DayZ. In this post-apocalyptic universe, players are encouraged to do thorough research before diving into this unforgiving game, making it have an insane learning curve that many might not be up for. Not only that, but once you die, all progress is lost, as the game doesn’t offer checkpoints or save options.
1. Green Hell
Do you want more than just your food, water, and health to worry about? Do you want the thrill of dealing with infections, sanity, and more? Then Green Hell is the game for you. The game sees you playing an anthropologist as he travels through the Amazon to find his linguist wife, who has gone missing after she established contact with the Yabahuaca tribe. The player must face the Amazon’s deadliest creatures while keeping track of their complex food intake requirements that consist of fats, carbs, and proteins.
