Survival elements have been incredibly immersive and fun in a lot of games that aren’t survival games. These are some great examples.
There’s something strange about the word “survival” that makes gamers happy. On the one hand, having to find, scrape, and strategically budget resources is the most interesting and exciting thing that could happen to a person. The other hand, survival games sometimes have a bad name for needing hours of constant attention and letting you play without any real purpose.
But some games give players a taste of the standard “human vs. the elements” theme without getting too technical. These games give players little bits of survival gameplay without leaving them craving a big story or a lot of other fun game mechanics.
Fallout: New Vegas & Fallout 4
There is something different about each of these Fallout games, which were made by different companies. Some people might find New Vegas’ “Hardcore Mode” scary, but that’s how the game is meant to be played. If not, ordinary places become useful hotspots for getting food or drinks. Just as the player’s thirst reaches its peak at the base of an old ruin, the tension builds in a very nice way.
However, Fallout 4’s “Survival Mode” sits perfectly on top of the main game’s “shoot, loot, craft” loop. There aren’t many saves, but luckily the game will save itself when you quit and go back to your desktop. This gives the player a lot more reason to keep and build up a strong home base.
No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky already has a lot of systems that need to be taken care of, and the player will often end up on empty alien worlds deep in space, which is not a good place to look for food or water. Also, you have to stay away from dangerous things in the surroundings. And the game has a special mode called “survival.”
Survival mode in No Man’s Sky is a lot like Minecraft in that when the player dies. All of their things are taken away. Other than that, the game is balanced so that there are fewer supplies and more aggressive enemies, like you might find in the deepest parts of space.
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater
Fans of video games who have played Metal Gear Solid games know that most of them have two main types of gameplay: sneaking and long cutscenes. Still, each new game improves on the ones that came before it. This is probably most clear in the third game, Snake Eater. For the most part, you should never put the words “Survive” and “Metal Gear” next to each other. But this entry is a good exception.
It’s not often in the MGS series that the title isn’t a hint at some kind of “hidden in plain sight” secret. In order to stay alive, players may have to eat a lot of snakes (and enjoy them). Because Naked Snake needs to keep his energy level high to heal from injuries and keep his aim straight.
Grounded
It looks like Obsidian likes to add survival features to their games a lot. In Grounded, the player is shrunk down and put in a familiar setting: the garden. They will have to look for food while they are there. Which shouldn’t be too hard since food is as big as everything else. The only problem is getting to the food.
You can always cook some popped grubs, oak bits, or cooked tadpoles if climbing gets too hard. The player will have some small cooking tools available. Depending on the type, each item gives the player a buff. Even though there is a lot of food and it’s not as hard to find as in full-on survival games, food can still go bad.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Even though Kingdom Come isn’t a peasant survival simulator (that would be awfully sad and dull). Warhorse Studios probably felt they had to add hunger mechanics to give it a bit of medieval realism. This means that you have to listen to the main character, Henry, complain a lot about being hungry.
Henry will lose health and full stamina if you don’t pay attention to him for too long. Other bad medieval survival effects you can find in Drive Mad, especially in “hardcore” mode, are tapeworms, sleepwalking, and bones that break easily.
The Outer Worlds
The main idea of The Outer Worlds is trying to make it through space business without getting caught. But there is “supernova” challenge for players who want to either raise the stakes or improve their role-playing experience (or both). In this mode, players must eat, drink, and sleep (though they should do this in their own bunk on the ship, out of respect for others).
It makes sense that enemies hit harder and take more damage before they fall. Unfortunately, allies can be killed forever in battle, even by friendly fire. This is a shame because Obsidian put a lot of work into their dialogue.
Outward
Outward doesn’t try to sell itself as just another global power dream. From the very beginning, it’s clear that the main character isn’t important. And they are left to find their own way in the world. It is up to the player to carry them over long distances while keeping an eye on their hunger, thirst, energy, and temperature.
In Outward, food can go bad, which is something to keep in mind. Because if you lose, your character can’t play for days or even weeks while they heal. It’s clear that the people who made the game wanted to make an experience that would make players want to practice long-term planning, get lost, and really put themselves in the (very dangerous) shoes of the main character.
Death Stranding
Death Stranding might be the first big-name game that makes you make choices based on getting the main character to the bathroom on time. Other games might make you think about your character’s hunger or thirst.
Sam Bridges, the main character, has to keep an eye on his bladder and digestive system. Also, getting to a “safe” bathroom (Sam’s private room) gives him a special explosive weapon that he can use against enemies, but going outside gives him an odd “thumbs up” mushroom.