Survival games are a genre where players have to fight through a hostile environment with little to nothing to keep them alive. Most survival games follow a basic premise, the player is stranded in a place unknown to them, and they have to rely on their environment to complete their objective, whether it's to obtain a certain object or even just survive.
A very popular sub-genre of survival games is horror survival. Game series like Resident Evil and Silent Hill have become ubiquitous in what defines these games since they were released on the PlayStation. Many of the games that came after have used their formula for making survival games that appeal to fans of the genre. There are a lot of memorable survival games on both PlayStation and the PlayStation 2, but there are a few forgotten gems that deserve more recognition.
10 Disaster Report
Disaster Report had its North America release in 2003. Players take on the role of a reporter on his way to the artificial island Striver Island. It's there that he's supposed to get his dream job, but things quickly turn into a nightmare as an earthquake hits the island. He meets different survivors along the way as he tries to escape and investigate the cause of the disaster.
Players have to find a way out of the city, avoiding hazards like falling buildings. There are seven different endings and each one is based on decisions that the player makes, whether it's to save another character, or who they choose as their companion.
9 Raw Danger
Raw Danger is a sequel to Disaster Report and features a cast of six main characters. Players get to play from the point of view of several people during a torrential flood. All six characters have to fight for their survival as they try to escape the flooding city of Del Ray.
Players have to keep their characters warm, and fed, and help them escape the destruction of the city. The game is broken up into different chapters, with each chapter dedicated to a different character. The choices that the player makes can affect what happens to the other characters during their chapter and ultimately at the end of the game.
8 Haunting Ground
The horror game of Haunting Ground centers around a college student called Fiona Bell, who ends up trapped in a castle after a car accident. Throughout the game Fiona finds herself stalked by the castle's inhabitants who all mean her some form of harm. The only friend she has is a white German shepherd, Hewie, who is vital to her survival as she can order him to attack enemies and explore parts of the environment she cannot.
Aside from commanding Hewie, Fiona can crouch and hide in certain areas to avoid her pursuers. Running causes her to slow down, and she can be frightened which will trigger a panic mode.
7 Siren
Siren is a Japanese survival horror game that was released in North America in 2004. A rural town in Japan suffers from a natural disaster. At first, it seems like an earthquake has struck the town, but it quickly becomes apparent to the survivors that what happened was far from natural. Players get to play the game from the perspective of ten different characters as they try to survive and escape.
The perspective alternates between the ten characters over a course of three days. Certain scenarios in the game can only be played by certain characters, and certain actions will have a butterfly effect on different characters. Siren is also a stealth game where players are encouraged to avoid enemies as they uncover the dark history embedded in their town's history.
6 Onimusha: Warlords
The Onimusha series is well known for being one of the best action-adventure, hack-and-slash game series. Onimusha: Warlords is the first game of the series and includes similar elements from Resident Evil, another iconic game series. The game features environmentally interactive puzzles, traps, and key items needed to progress further in the game.
Onimusha: Warlords is set in the Sengoku period of Japan where the player takes control of Samanosuke whose trying to rescue Princess Yuki from monsters. It blends Japanese historical figures and events with action and adventure and Japanese folklore.
5 Garlerians: Ash
Galerians: Ash is the sequel to the PlayStation game, Galerians. It takes place six years after the end of the first game and is a survival horror game with a sci-fi theme to it. The main character from the first game, Rion, returns to fight against the last of a group of genetically engineered super humans.
Just like in the first game, combat doesn't involve weapons, but psychic energy called PPECs, or Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals. There are different PPECs that players can have Rion wield to defeat enemies. Rion is humankind's only hope of survival against the leader of the Last Galerians.
4 King Kong
The King Kong game released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005 was based on Peter Jackson's King Kong film. An official game of the movie, it includes the likeness and voices of the actors from the movie. Players take on the roles of Jack Driscoll and King Kong himself as they try to survive the dangers of Skull Island. When playing as Jack the game is set in a first-person perspective and Jack has to use weapons and different techniques to advance.
Playing as King Kong makes the game switch to third-person, and he can punch, bite, grab and throw objects, and fight the giant creatures on the island through hand-to-hand combat. There are two different endings to the game, one follows the ending seen in the movie while the other is an alternate ending where King Kong can be saved and returned to his home.
3 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid is an iconic series that pioneered the stealth genre of video games. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater continues with the same gameplay, but adds in elements of a survival game. Taking place before the events of the first Metal Gear, Snake is sent on a mission that puts him in a jungle. With the new setting comes new gameplay mechanics like the use of camouflage to remain undetected by enemies.
Snake has to switch between the appropriate camouflage uniforms and face paint to blend in with his surroundings. Players also have to be more mindful of the injuries Snake takes as Metal Gear Solid 3 has an injury and treatment system. Snake won't recover from injuries unless they are properly treated. Snake also has to rely on the natural wildlife around him for food to keep his stamina bar up.
2 Cabela's Dangerous Hunts
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts are one of many hunting/outdoor games that were created from the collaboration between the retailer Cabela and Activision. Players go on hunting trips in twelve different locations. But this hunting game is more intense than the average hunting game as the targets include several dangerous predators like bears and wolves. These predator animals can attack back and actually kill the player.
The wildlife isn't the only problem to look out for. It was a fairly realistic hunting game of its time as players have to battle the terrain as well. Players could drown in deep streams and be injured or die from flying off of high ledges. Players also become fatigued after some time, and they have to conserve energy. The weight of hunting gear also impacted the player's energy, and they could subset it by buying lighter gear.
1 The Sims 2: Castaway
The Sims 2: Castaway is one of the spin-off games from The Sims 2. In it, players create a crew of Sims that wind up shipwrecked after a storm. The objective of the game is to survive and ultimately find a way to be rescued.
The gameplay is different from the gameplay of the main The Sims games, players have to have their Sims physically build their shelter by hand, as well as make their own clothes. Items like beds can't be bought but must be made from resources that the player's Sim can find.