Survival games tend to be among the more brutal genres of games out there. This is because most experiences that fall under this umbrella drop players into a world with almost nothing and forces them to try to gather material and keep their health up to stay alive for as long as possible.
While the concept seems overwhelming enough, it can then be taken up a notch when these games are brutal in presentations. The most brutal are those that are rated M for Mature by the ESRB as these typically showcase violence and other intense themes that wouldn't be appropriate for a younger audience.
8 7 Days To Die
Survival games are known for having a ton of systems that players can tinker around with. 7 Days to Die is one of the deeper survival experiences out there as they have a ton of systems that are spread out among many different gameplay elements, pulling from other genres like first-person shooters and tower defense games.
The open world of 7 Days to Die is split between five different biomes that the player can explore and take on hordes of zombies. It has a deep crafting system that allows players to make tools ranging from weapons to vehicles. It can be played with friends and against other players, plus it has a huge modding community.
7 State Of Decay 2
Some games under the survival umbrella could be considered simulators as they tend to be simulating an experience that an individual may have if dealing with the adversities in front of them. State of Decay 2 very much leans into the simulation aspect, along with being a zombie-fighting experience.
Another open-world experience, State of Decay 2 tasks players to rebuild society while also dealing with post-apocalyptic repercussions. There are many choices that are crucial to survival, including where to set up a base and who to bring on adventures in hunting for food and killing zombies.
6 Conan Exiles
Settings matter when it comes to an open world that players will spend a lot of time with. Conan Exiles is an open-world survival multiplayer game set in the Conan the Barbarian universe, where the game starts with Conan rescuing the player and then setting them off to survive on their own.
Along with wandering an intense world to gather materials, Conan Exiles players can gear up their character in a specific way that will get them ready to create or join a clan in war. Along with building civilizations, an arsenal of tools can be used to take on players, from swords and bows to endless amounts of magic.
5 DayZ
One aspect of the high-stakes survival experiences in games is the fear of permanent death. In other words, there are games that place players in the world with one life. Dying means that player will lose all their items and progress, forcing them to start from scratch after they die. DayZ was one of the biggest entries to implement this.
Another open-world multiplayer survival experience, DayZ places players in a world filled with both dangerous zombies and players that will be willing to take anyone down given they can loot the player after the fact. Up to 60 players can be on a server at one time with the ability to find some that are customized with mods.
4 Rust
Most of the time, games rated mature in the survival genre are given that rating because of the violence and gore. While that is also the case with Rust, the survival multiplayer game is also known for having players start out with nothing at all. Not even clothes.
While this is a comedic element of Rust, there's much more to the game than its unique starting point. Unlike many other games on this list, the game is very focused on surviving the wilderness, which includes animals and other players who are living around the world. If players don't want to interact with random people, there are private servers available.
3 This War Of Mine
As mentioned earlier, mature-rated survival games are among the most brutal in the genre. This War of Mine is a look at what it is like being a civilian trying to survive in the middle of a war, where enemy soldiers have no problem taking down innocent people that aren't trying to fight back.
From this angle, This War of Mine tells the story of many of the people who have to live in this dangerous world trying to provide for each other while their world falls apart. Decisions made throughout the game will determine how long a person survives in this bleak environment.
2 Frostpunk
The creators behind This War of Mine have also made another mature survival title called Frostpunk. The world has completely frozen over, and the player is in charge of building a society that can have sustainable heat to thrive in these frigid conditions.
Decisions are also at the forefront of Frostpunk. Along with gathering resources and attempting to make it as easy as possible to keep society running, players will need to decide the basic everyday life of the people in the community. Players are ultimately a ruler, so they must choose how compassionate or intense they use their power.
1 The Forest
A lot of survival games typically start the player off in the middle of nowhere with no backstory to know how they ended up in the situation they are currently in. The Forest starts with the player on a plane that later crashes into the woods, where horrific mutants are ready to make their attack.
As with many survival games, The Forest tasks the player to attempt to live in the woods after the crash. This includes building a camp and gathering resources, plus dealing with any enemies that may try to kill the player at night. The depth of the game actually comes from the mutants themselves, as they are more than just monsters, as well as a dynamic combat system.