Survival games, especially open-world multiplayer survival games with crafting mechanics, seem to be everywhere as of late. Yet, there is a lot of ground that this kind of game still has to cover. It's rare to see one of these games set anywhere other than the fantasy wilderness or feature any kind of combat besides action or shooting. Another front where the genre is surprisingly lacking is that of magic.

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Perhaps magic risks ruining the survival part of the survival game. Perhaps developers are scared that learning a new spell would undercut the struggle of crafting a new weapon or repairing used-up tools. But if the presence of magical survival games is any indication, there is no reason why a castaway or the new recruit of the adventurer's guild can't also be a mage. Figuring out how to integrate magic into a crafting system is not a simple process, but it can certainly be done.

6 Core Keeper

Crafting Magic Items To Become A Wizard

In Core Keeper, the player and up to 7 friends take the role of cave dwellers, adventurers and explorers attempting to survive an endless cave system. Core Keeper has all the elements one can expect from a survival crafting game. Being set in a cave, the main objective of the game is to mine rare minerals and use the extracted material to build new tools to get even rarer resources.

Like many other aspects of the game, Core Keeper only has magic in the sense that it has magical items that the player can craft. But then again, that's like saying that it only has mining in the way of tools that can be used to mine. While not being able to summon fireballs with sheer might make the game less inviting to some players, magic builds in the late game are definitely viable; they just require some creativity.

5 Tribes of Midgard

RPG Class System Where Every Class Has Magic

Tribes of Midgard is a unique mix of the RPG and survival genres, with more than a bit of action thrown in, too. Tribes of Midgard is built around the staples of survival games - collecting resources, crafting, and base building - but features two different game modes. One is about classic, endless survival, while the other, called Saga Mode, is about defending a village from waves of enemies.

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Being an RPG, the magic system of Tribes of Midgard is built into the game's eight classes, but not in the way most players would expect. Pretty much any class can perform magic through items, though some are more efficient than others. Against all odds, one of the best classes for casting magic in combat is the Warrior, while the Seer acts as more of a traditional spellcaster.

4 Don't Starve

Classic Survival With Mysterious Magic Crafting

Don't Starve is now a classic of survival crafting games. This punishing title sees players teleported into a strange world of mutated animals and nightmare creatures, tasked only with their own survival. Soon enough, the mysterious world will spark players to try and mix some odd items themselves, resulting in the creation of magical artifacts.

The list of what Don't Starve considers "magic" can be a bit confusing at times. A teleportation rod is definitely a magic item, but what about a musical instrument that turns a group of enemies friendly? What about the "Bat-Bat," a bat (weapon) made out of a living bat? Still, those items certainly fit the off-tilt, darkly comedic setting of the game.

3 Conan Exiles

Gory Sorcery And Blood Rites

Conan Exiles, the online multiplayer survival action game, didn't always have a magic system. In fact, th game is relatively new, as it was only added with the 2022 Age of Sorcery update. Instead of using a class or skill system like most RPGs would, sorcery in Conan Exiles is discovered as part of an organic quest into a sorcerer's lair.

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While not all magic in Conan Exiles is brutal blood magic, sacrifice is pretty much necessary to unlock advanced sorceries. Aspiring mages will eventually get their hands dirty, and it won't be long before crafting a new spell begins to require ingredients like human flesh, blood, or a handful of skulls.

2 Outward

Three Different And Mysterious Magic Systems

Outward sets out to be a realistic survival game, one where the cold is as much of a threat as an enemy attack. While it was panned on release for being too slow, especially in the beginning, Outward seems to have found an audience that really appreciates its methodical approach to survival, combat, and even magic.

Magic in Outward isn't a flashy fireball-throwing spectacle, at least not for most players. What makes this game's magic system unique is the way basic spells and Sigils can be combined. While standing inside those large glyphs, the power of some spells is increased so much that it almost creates a new kind of magic. But there are other magic systems besides those. Those are runes and chakram, both of which have their twists while being a bit more like traditional spells.

1 Nightingale

Turning Magic Into A Tool In A Hostile Fantasy World

Nightingale might not be a traditional survival game, but it has all the classic elements of the genre, from managing hunger and sleep to detailed building mechanics. Nightingale also has a fun little magic system that is really well integrated with the game's setting. Magic is something that the humans of this world can build with, a power to harness, but it's not a power they can truly develop.

In Nightingale, players can apply spells to their items (or weapons) to cast magic, but they are still limited to what spells they can craft and what items they have in hand. While this means that it's hard, if not impossible, to go for a full magic build, it also means that everyone has some strong incentives to work magic into their character's build.

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