TOP 10 clones: games similar to Rust

Rust is a unique game that perfectly combines the mechanics of survival, construction, shooter and island exploration. It's hard to find a second project with such a high level of hardcore and the same abundance of opportunities. In this material, we have collected ten games that come as close as possible to Rust in terms of atmosphere and gameplay!

Initially, DayZ was a mod for ArmA 2 — however, the thing turned out to be so remarkable that it grew into an independent project. Developer Dean Hall told about a post-apocalyptic world that fell under the onslaught of zombies. However, the main danger for a survivalist is not the walking dead, but other people who are ready to kill for a can of canned food.

The game is still full of problems, and at the start the number of them was completely shocking. Gamers complained about the technical condition, errors in balance and unpolished mechanics — however, even behind the heap of shortcomings, huge potential was visible.

In essence, we are talking about an ordinary survival game, where you need to search the area, look for better equipment, build a base, take care of the character and treat injuries that can be obtained even if you fall from a low ladder. However, there were so many threats everywhere that gamers shook from every rustle and tried not to make a fuss.

Perhaps high difficulty is the main thing that DayZ and Rust have in common. You can collect junk, build fortifications and craft valuable goods in all survival games, but few other games make you so nervous. This is why gamers fell in love with DayZ and turned a blind eye to the problems.

Rust knows how to intimidate, but it does it in a natural way. It's hard not to wince when a character is peacefully chopping down a tree and another player suddenly jumps out of the bush and starts swinging a spear. However, in The Forest there is much more horror: after all, the game is about an unfortunate man who ended up in a forest overcrowded with cannibals. Plus, there are creepy creatures running around, dreaming of feasting on flesh. In short, survival has never been so scary.

During the day, the gameplay is traditional. We run through the forest, collect resources, build a base, craft weapons — all this is familiar to connoisseurs of the genre. Of course, cannibals can be seen even in daylight, but at this time they prefer to study the hero rather than get into a fight.

However, when the sun sets behind the horizon, forest creatures will begin hunting for the survivalist. If you don't take care of fortifications and traps, they will easily get to the poor guy and eat him whole.

Gamers who love Rust for its survival and exploration, but want an even more challenging experience will definitely enjoy The Forest.

The success of the early version of Rust clearly inspired the developers of Subsistence. As in the creation of Facepunch Studios, players will find themselves in a huge open world where they need to collect resources, create weapons, build a house and arrange food supplies. At the same time, there are other characters running around who are also trying to survive — they are ready to attack you for a piece of bread and a bundle of resources.

Subsistence should be praised for its diverse biomes, changing weather conditions and sophisticated agriculture. It's hard to name a game where gardening and growing grain would be just as exciting.

The problem is that enemies can attack the base at any moment — they will quickly snatch up all the goods and deprive the hero of his life. To survive the assault, you will have to look for allies, build settlements and plan defense together.

Subsistence relies specifically on cooperative playthrough: a solo player will develop too slowly and will quickly get bored. But in the company the gameplay is transformed.

In SCUM the gamer will take control of a notorious scoundrel who is trying to earn freedom by participating in a bloody game. In the future, people are tired of watching football and TV series — that is why a show appeared where criminals are thrown onto an island and asked to survive. At the same time, there is no need to hide in the bushes, because no one likes boring episodes.

The key resource to fight for in SCUM is the love of the audience. The higher a character's rating, the more bonuses and sponsorship contracts he will receive. This will help you dominate other players.

The viewer craves spectacle, which means the criminal will have to go hunting more often, set up ambushes and shoot competitors. This concept is a good refresher for the survival genre.

Alas, there are also plenty of disadvantages. Bugs lurk around every corner, running around the island takes too much time, and the need to relieve yourself seems unnecessary. However, gamers who have already leveled up to the maximum in Rust should take a look at SCUM.

As in Rust, the heroes of Ark: Survival Evolved come to their senses on the shore of a pond and have only a cape on their belts. To survive, they will have to do things familiar to the genre: collect junk, create weapons, build a house and punch aggressive players in the face. The difficulty is that there are huge dinosaurs walking around — some of them are friendly, but others will kill the hero as soon as they notice.

At the same time, the world cannot be called prehistoric. The hero's hand has something incomprehensible and technologically built into it, the dinosaurs are full of cyborgs, and with the right amount of persistence, the character can craft the most sophisticated guns.

However, the main feature of Ark: Survival Evolved is the taming of dinosaurs. To climb higher up the food chain, you need to turn dinosaurs into pets and train them to get resources.

Ark: Survival Evolved is full of goodies. It's not surprising that I liked the game so much Vin Diesel.

If in Rust characters cut down trees, drink water from a stream and fight with people, then the heroes of Grounded cannot do this. They are so small that they can only collect dew from blades of grass and tremble in fear at the sight of insects. For survivalists, this concept is new.

The plot tells about children who have shrunk to the size of insects. Now the grass seems huge to them, like a three-story house, and the ants reach their waists. Will the kids be able to improve their lives and learn to survive in a world of all kinds of midges? After all, if you can still make friends with ants, then the evil spiders will destroy the entire group without talking.

The setting became the main advantage of Obsidian's creation. Running among the grass, making contact with insects and using chewing gum to craft is an original experience. In addition, Grounded has a beautiful environment, high-quality textures and varied biomes — as a result, it is pleasant to be in a charming but dangerous world.

Alas, the project can be criticized for the abundance of bugs, but this does not change the essence: the thing turned out great. If you are tired of surviving in forests and deserts, pay attention to Grounded — it's been a long time coming millions of gamers are hacking.

Valheim was developed by a modest team of five people. Surprisingly, their efforts were enough to create one of the biggest hits of 2021. The game led the Steam charts for many months, attracted 500 thousand gamers at its peak and earned 95 percent of positive reviews.

It's a pleasure to be in the world of Valheim. Technically, the environment is simple, but the artists did a great job on the design and biomes, making the visuals one of the main advantages of the game.

The situation is similar with other mechanics. There are not so many combat techniques, but chopping skeletons and other evil spirits is exciting. The construction mechanics are typical, but cool physics make it fun to build houses. Cutting down trees is a common thing, but when they realistically fall and crush the hero to death, you are surprised.

In addition, Valheim has a plot where a brave warrior must help Odin defeat powerful creatures. The story is simple, but adds meaning to the gameplay.

Co-op is another advantage of the game. You can hack in Valheim with up to ten people — in this format, fulfilling Odin's will is even more fun.

In Stranded Deep, the hero survives a plane crash and ends up on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. You shouldn't wait for help — it's better not to waste time and get down to organizing your life. If you hesitate, the hero will be overtaken by hunger, thirst or sunstroke.

The poor fellow has a lot of tasks. Build a farm that will provide food. Establish control over other islands where valuable resources are scattered. Create a luxurious raft for comfortable exploration of the ocean. Get weapons to fight sharks, snakes and other fauna. In general, there is enough hassle.

It's easy to get stuck in Beam Team Games' creation for a long time. The game has powerful bosses, a map editor, countless islands, a cooperative mode, and so on. If you've explored the entire island from Rust, take a look at Stranded Deep — there are many land areas available for exploration.

Raft — another survival game about islands and the endless ocean. True, if Stranded Deep relies on realism, then the events of Raft take place after the apocalypse, and during the adventure you can find an island with a robot butler. Every now and then he will shock the hero and demand to calm down.

However, the heroes also have plenty of traditional problems. A man-eating shark swims next to the raft, there are constantly not enough resources for crafting, and food reserves are running out — you can replenish them, for example, by fishing or creating a vegetable garden.

Raft spent four years in early access, but finally made it to release at the end of June.

Unlike Rust, Project Zomboid has an isometric camera, and the events take place not on an island, but in a city. However, in terms of the complexity of survival and the abundance of mechanics, the zombie game perfectly matches the standards of Rust.

A zombie apocalypse is about to occur in the world of Project Zomboid. So far, humanity has not understood what happened, but the houses still have water and electricity. However, the walking dead have already captured one city and are preparing to wipe out all the people from the face of the earth. Alas, the hero was not lucky enough to find himself in the very epicenter of events — he will try to survive as long as he can, but in any case he cannot avoid a sad fate.

The developers don't call Project Zomboid «the story of your death» for nothing. The trick is that the game is full of hardcore mechanics, and the difficulty is constantly growing.

To open a tin can, you need a special knife. Products will quickly disappear if they are not stored in the refrigerator. If you plan to relax, do not forget to make curtains and cover the windows: otherwise the zombies will notice the sleeping poor fellow and eat him. There are a lot of little things like this, and each one is important to take into account.

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What games would you recommend to Rust fans? Write in the comments!