Best Survival Games on PS4 and PS5: 40+ Picks from The Last of Us to Subnautica

Survival games on PS4 and PS5: more than 40 survival titles — story-driven hits, hardcore simulators, co-op with crafting, and atmospheric horrors. Not every survival game that exists on PC is available on PlayStation, so we've gathered the best survival games on PS4 and PS5 that you can actually play on console. For convenience, we've noted where the DualSense shines, which games you can play two-player on one screen, and which titles run on PS5 via backward compatibility with PS4.

Games in this genre assume that you're not just gunning down every enemy in your path but fighting for your own life. That can mean desperate battles against powerful foes where you need to use your wits, the need to eat and drink, and the constant struggle to keep from freezing. In some entries you'll have to fight off infections, as well as manage the psychological state of heroes who, under certain circumstances, can lose their minds.

PlayStation's great strength is story-driven survival games with cinematic presentation, which either don't exist on other platforms or arrived there noticeably later. Survival is woven right into the gameplay: scarce ammo, crafting from scavenged materials, stealth, and a constant fight to stay alive. It's for those who want not just to survive for survival's sake, but to live through a powerful story with well-developed characters.

This Naughty Dog project is rightly considered one of the best zombie games of all time. A genuinely strong story with full-blown drama is paired with complex gameplay that has room for gunfights, stealth sequences, and melee combat. And you can often decide for yourself exactly how to handle a given situation. Among the enemies in The Last of Us you'll meet both living people and infected of various types, each requiring its own tactics. The dense atmosphere deserves special praise — it makes the game world feel alive and believable. The PS5 version remains unique even today.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

The second The Last of Us drew divisive reviews because of its plot twists and the themes it raised. The very concept of playing as two different heroines is contentious — some fans find it a success, others don't. From a gameplay standpoint, though, it's clear-cut: the sequel is a step forward compared to the first game. The levels are bigger and more intricate; during combat, in particular, you have to control the situation across several floors at once. On top of that, the duology still has no direct equivalents to this day.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

A game with a large open world that you explore on a motorcycle. You have to upgrade it, repair it periodically, and keep an eye on the fuel tank. The greatest danger here comes from the local zombies, known as Freakers. They move in huge groups, so you can't fight them out in the open. You'll have to lure them into narrow passages, make heavy use of traps, and try to pick them off one at a time.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is the new project from Hideo Kojima, for now available only on PlayStation 5 (like the first game, a PC release will come later). Most of the time you deliver cargo across a post-apocalyptic world, plotting routes through dangerous terrain while managing your stamina, gear, and load. Behind the "courier simulator" lie a dense atmosphere, a strong story, and tense skirmishes with enemies where conserving resources matters. If you enjoyed the first game, the sequel is worth your attention; if you never played the original, this is a good reason to start.

DualSense support. Currently PS5 only.

A genre classic — surviving amid hordes of the walking dead, where the main danger often comes not from the zombies but from other survivors. On PS4 and PS5 you'll find both online projects with PvP and single-player campaigns focused on crafting and base defense. Many of them support co-op, so you can fend off the undead together with friends.

DayZ started out as a mod for the shooter Arma 2, which is why it was originally PC-only. In late 2018, however, it was released on computers as a standalone project, and six months later it was ported to consoles. It remains one of the best zombie games. Your main task here is to not die at the hands of the walking dead. To that end you explore the open world, enter buildings, and search every corner for weapons and attachments, ammo, and medkits. It's also important to watch your hunger level and eat in time. Early on you can get by on canned food, but later it's worth taking up hunting and fishing, as well as growing vegetables. Keep in mind: your main enemies are not so much the zombies as the other players.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

This project's defining feature is its emphasis on parkour. Thanks to it, you can clear obstacles, slip past zombies, and simply move quickly through the open world. And when it does come to a fight, you have around a hundred kinds of melee weapons to choose from. There are firearms too, but they require ammo, so you can't rely on them constantly. The game also has a progression system that lets you develop the skills that suit your playstyle. Dying Light made it into our top of the best co-op games, because fighting the local infected with a group of friends is a real pleasure.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

The first game's ideas were developed further in the sequel. The open world got bigger, but it's no longer seamless and is split into several sectors. Initially Dying Light 2 Stay Human had no firearms, but they were added in the Firearms Update. So now you can fight zombies with pistols, rifles, shotguns, and automatic weapons. Axes, machetes, maces, and katanas all come into play too. Battling enemies and moving through locations using parkour skills and various tools has become more engaging.

Also keep an eye on the standalone expansion The Beast. It's devoted to the fate of Crane, the protagonist of the original game, who gained superhuman strength.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

You appear in a randomly generated world, and the goal is simple — survive as long as possible. By day the zombies aren't much of a threat, since they're slow and relatively weak. But everything changes at night, when the walking dead start moving at high speed and hit harder than usual. So you need to prepare for the dark hours — gather weapons and consumables, and ideally build a sturdy shelter. Among 7 Days to Die's standout features are its destructible environments and the ability to distract enemies in all sorts of ways.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Projects with an emphasis on realism and complex, interconnected systems: hunger, thirst, cold, illness, and injuries, where any mistake can be fatal. Here you have to plan every excursion, track a dozen parameters, and reckon with a harsh environment. On a controller, survival games like these feel especially deliberate — haste is almost always punished.

A great option for those who want authenticity from their games. The main enemies in The Long Dark are wild animals, among them wolves, bears, cougars, and moose. You have to both fight them off and look after your own needs — eating, warming up, and treating injuries in time. You can die here not only from an animal's claws but also from spoiled food that gives you food poisoning.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

This survival game's key difference from others in the genre is the need to stick to a certain diet that provides your body with a full set of nutrients. A smartwatch is used for this. It shows exactly which micronutrients your hero is lacking. In Green Hell, it's wise to heed that advice and prepare the appropriate meals.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

It feels like a hybrid of the usual survival game and an action RPG in the spirit of the first two games in the Gothic series. For instance, there are plenty of enemies who pose a huge threat, especially early on, as well as teachers from whom you buy skills, and the option to work for different factions. Even the clunky interface is reminiscent of the original Gothic. But in Outward you also have to account for extra parameters — eating and drinking in time, and making sure your hero doesn't fall ill. In cold locations, for example, you need to put on warm clothing, in hot ones something light, and you'd best avoid getting caught in freezing rain.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

A rather unusual survival game that depicts the lives of modern humans' distant ancestors. You control a bipedal ape, find food for yourself and your kin, turn sticks into weapons, and fend off aggressive predators. As you progress, you'll get to unlock new skills and pass them on to your descendants. In this way, in Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey you witness evolution at work with your own eyes.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Medieval Dynasty is a survival simulator about life in the Middle Ages. Starting empty-handed, you hunt, gather resources, build a house and a homestead, start a family, and develop your own village. You have to watch your hunger, temperature, and the changing seasons, preparing for a harsh winter. Survival, building, and an unhurried role-playing system make this a game for a long, measured playthrough.

Available on PS5 (since 2022).

Here you start empty-handed and gradually build up a base: gathering resources, crafting tools, and turning a flimsy shelter into a real fortress. This is the genre's largest section on PS4 and PS5 — from underwater stations to medieval settlements and rafts in the middle of the ocean. Most of these survival games support co-op, and building a base with a friend is twice as fun.

A survival game in the Conan the Barbarian universe. To avoid dying in the arid Exiled Lands, you have to provide yourself with food, water, clothing, and weapons. Beyond the usual battles with people and aggressive wildlife, Conan Exiles has a slave-capture mechanic. You need slaves to create valuable items. Building your own fortress also plays an important role, protecting you from aggressive animals and other players.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

You're the sole survivor of a plane crash. The action begins out on the open sea, but later you can find an inhabited island and set it up to suit your needs. At first it's limited to a simple hut, but eventually you can build an entire mansion and even a helipad. You'll explore the wrecks of sunken ships and the seabed, as well as fight the local monsters that act as bosses. Among Stranded Deep's features is the absence of hints, which can be off-putting early in the playthrough. But there's an upside to that approach too. Some players will take special pleasure in figuring out all the core mechanics for themselves.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

You spend almost all your time underwater: the action takes place on an ocean planet. Scuba gear and submarines let you go longer without air and open up access to new, more dangerous biomes. But it's precisely there that you can find the most valuable resources. Over time, Subnautica unlocks the ability to build surface and underwater bases that house crafting tools, planters for growing plants, and incubators with eggs for raising creatures.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

This survival game is built around multiplayer combat. Using scavenged tools and randomly found resources, players are invited to build entire bases. And once you've provided yourself with water, food, and warm clothing, you can try crafting weapons and attacking your neighbors. In the standoff with rivals, control of the monuments — groups of buildings inhabited by hostile NPCs — plays an important role. In Rust you can also stage raids on other players' shelters. To speed up travel across the map, you use boats and hot-air balloons. If the original has worn you out, take a look at our top of alternatives — the best games like Rust.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

A distinctive survival game where you play a vampire who has awakened from a long slumber. The goal is not just to survive but to reclaim your former power. To do that, you build and expand a castle, gather resources, and hunt humans to slake your thirst for blood. Each victim has their own blood type, granting unique passive bonuses. The main progression in V Rising is tied to bosses — bearers of Dracula's blood, scattered across the whole map. Defeating each one unlocks new spells, blueprints, and crafting options. Add to that full co-op with a PvP mode where clans assault each other's castles, and you get one of the freshest, most distinctive survival games on PS5. By the way, V Rising was in the PS Plus Extra catalog in October 2025.

A role-playing game with survival elements set in the world of Norse mythology. Solo or with friends, you'll explore a large open world, build your own settlement, and battle legendary monsters in the vein of giant Jötnar. To defeat them you need first-rate weapons and runes that grant your heroes unique abilities. Tribes of Midgard also deserves praise for its excellent visuals, which resemble a colorful cartoon.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

A survival game set in Frank Herbert's book saga. The developers did an excellent job with the universe and managed to capture the atmosphere of the scorching desert. For the first few dozen hours, the game plays as a full-blown survival title where you search for valuable resources, craft and build, and fight dangerous enemies. The setting imposes its own quirks — for example, you'll definitely die if you move across the sand dunes in daytime. You either wait for night or use a vehicle. The game will constantly challenge you, since over time it unlocks new, even harsher biomes that are no easy feat to survive in. And those who love exploring large locations can check out our top of the best open-world games.

Already out on PC; releasing on PS5 on September 22, 2026.

Minecraft is the most popular survival sandbox in the world, and on PlayStation it's available in full. In Survival mode you gather resources, craft tools and weapons, build a shelter, and fend off the monsters that appear at night. The blocky world is infinite, and you can do anything in it — from a simple hut to giant redstone contraptions. It plays great on a controller and supports co-op, including on a single screen.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Raft is survival in the middle of an endless ocean on a tiny raft. With a hook you fish planks and supplies out of the water, expand the raft, watch your hunger and thirst, and fend off the sharks circling around you. Gradually the raft turns into a floating base, while the story leads toward mysterious islands. It released on PS5 and PS4 in December 2024 and can be played in co-op with up to four people.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Survival in huge open worlds and beyond Earth, where the genre's familiar mechanics meet the specifics of alien planets: lack of oxygen, unfamiliar flora and fauna, and abnormal weather. On PS4 and PS5 this means both sprawling sandboxes with dinosaurs and the calm exploration of space, solo or with a partner. Space fans will also find our top of space games on PS4 and PS5 useful.

An intriguing game that combines a prehistoric world with quite advanced technology, such as firearms. An important role in Ark: Survival Evolved is played by taming dinosaurs, which you can use as mounts and as allies in battle. Building isn't limited to putting up a single house — you can set up an entire village and become the leader of a tribe. Within a single server you can take part in competitions between tribes or even declare war on another people.

In 2023 the remake ARK: Survival Ascended released on Unreal Engine 5 — with improved graphics, full crossplay between PC, PS5, and Xbox, better building, and support for user mods on consoles. If you're choosing between the two versions for PS5, get Ascended.

No Man's Sky sends you off to explore boundless space with dozens of planets. At launch it met a negative reaction from users and mixed reviews from the press because of its empty open world and unfulfilled promises. But over a long period afterward, No Man's Sky received updates that brought the project up to scratch. The planets became more varied and are now interesting to explore, you can investigate space debris, and if you like, you can even build a starship to your own taste, choosing its size and the layout of its cabins, engines, and everything else.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Astroneer is a laid-back survival game about exploring planets, where the emphasis is not on combat but on exploration and building. You touch down on procedural worlds, gather resources, deform the terrain with a special tool, plot routes, and gradually set up automated bases. The main limitation is oxygen, so you can't venture far from a station without a supply. Its gentle presentation and co-op make it a great option for a family playthrough.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Grounded is a survival game where you play a teenager the size of an ant, and an ordinary backyard turns into a zone of deadly danger. Spiders hunt you, so you have to craft weapons from scavenged items, collect dew for thirst, scrounge for food (right down to frying up aphids), and eventually build a base. It feels great on a controller and in co-op. The sequel, Grounded 2, is so far only on PC and Xbox, so on PlayStation the first game is especially valuable.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Smalland: Survive the Wilds — as in Grounded, you play a tiny human, only the setting is more fairy-tale. Among the insects you'll find both enemies and allies, the latter of which you can tame as mounts. Changeable weather and shifting seasons affect the gameplay, and otherwise it's a classic survival game with resource gathering, crafting, and base-building. You can play through it with a friend if you like.

Available on PS5.

Abiotic Factor is a hybrid of a survival game and a first-person shooter with a focus on co-op, reminiscent of the first Half-Life in its story and setting: a catastrophe has struck a secret laboratory, monsters are crawling in from parallel dimensions, and the military is cleaning up the evidence. Together with other scientists, you piece together what happened, shoot, level up skills, and craft actively. On console with a controller, the game offers a fresh experience even for those who've already finished it on PC.

Available on PS5 (since July 2025; it hit PS Plus on day one).

Atomfall is a survival-action game that's been called the British version of Fallout: the action takes place in England after a nuclear disaster, in the open world of the Lake District. Beyond health, it's important to watch your heart rate — it rises when you run, shoot, and fight in melee, worsening your vision and hearing. You'll battle mutants, cultists, military forces, and robots. It'll click with anyone who's finished the modern Fallout games.

Available on PS5.

In this game's story, the surface of the Earth is poisoned and unfit for life. So the survivors are left to drift above it on huge airships. Periodically, though, you'll have to descend for resources and other useful things that can be found in the ruins of civilization. With them, in Forever Skies, you upgrade your aircraft. But be ready for encounters with mutated wildlife that will be hostile.

PS5 only.

You'll be building a colony on a distant planet. There's only one protagonist, but he can create Alters — clones of himself, each with a specialization. This is how you set up resource extraction and ensure the development of the ship that serves as your home base. Each copy of the protagonist has its own preferences, though, and if one of them dislikes something, it'll start acting aggressively, stop carrying out its direct duties, and may even damage the ship. But the key resource in The Alters is time. It's important to get a series of tasks done in time, or the ending will turn out grim.

PS5 only.

Palworld is the much-talked-about open-world survival game with creatures called Pals, often described as "Pokémon with guns." You catch Pals, put them to work at your base or send them into battle, gather resources, craft, and build, all while fending off poachers and the harsh environment. The game released on PS5 in September 2024 and quickly drew a massive audience. It works great in co-op.

Available on PS5.

Survival games where an oppressive atmosphere and a constant sense of danger come to the fore, and the resources you need are always in short supply at the worst possible moment. Here it's important not only to gather supplies but also to keep your sanity, hide, and plan every step. On PS5, the horrors in this section feel especially intense thanks to the DualSense — its haptics and stiff triggers heighten the tension.

This game's setup is hard to call original — after a plane crash, the protagonist comes to on an inhabited peninsula. His task is to find his son and figure out the causes of the crash. But beyond gathering resources and setting up his own shelter, the protagonist of The Forest has to deal with a tribe of cannibals. These are quite clever and cunning people who will watch you and wait for the right moment to attack. As a result, you'll periodically have to glance over your shoulder and peer into the thicket, which creates constant tension. You can play through the game with a friend if you like. If you enjoy that format, take a look at our top of the best co-op horror games.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

According to Darkwood's story, a certain mysterious forest began growing rapidly, which changed the lives of people in the nearby settlements. On top of that, a plague began spreading that turned the infected into monsters. At first people tried to study the territory, digging tunnels and bunkers, but by the time the game begins they're abandoned. As often happens in survival games, by day you have to search for resources and craft, and by night defend your shelter from uninvited guests. Death brings penalties but lets you continue the game. Darkwood also has NPCs you can help. Their fates depend directly on your actions and are revealed in detail in the ending.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

This is a remake of Pathologic, which can be considered one of the most unusual games ever developed in Russia. The events take place in a steppe town that lives by its own rules. But a deadly disease breaks out in this settlement, isolated from the outside world. The protagonist, the Haruspex, arrives in the town to figure out what's happening, but the locals are clearly not happy to see him. As you progress, you'll have to make choices that affect the plot and the finale of the whole story. Besides the usual survival-game features — the need to drink in time, rest, and monitor your level of infection — in Pathologic 2 you also have to account for other factors, such as the townsfolk's trust. It's also worth keeping in mind that an important quest is easy to miss if you don't perform a specific sequence of actions in time. And the unsettling atmosphere and the constantly changing town generate tension and fear.

Also keep an eye on Pathologic 3, which is devoted to another character from the original game — Daniil Dankovsky, better known as the Bachelor. It differs noticeably from the previous installments thanks to the ability to travel back in time.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

The events unfold during the era of Victorian England, and the setting features elements of H.P. Lovecraft's mythology. You'll become the captain of a steamship that sails an underground sea and runs into ancient horrors. Sunless Sea blends features of a survival game, a horror, and a roguelike. After death you'll take command of a new crew, but the world stays unchanged, so you'll remember the dangers that lie ahead. What's more, you can preserve part of your crew or the gear you managed to find. That lets you get a little further next time. As you progress, you'll find valuable artifacts and resources that can be sold for a profit, as well as discover new areas and mark them on the map. The Sunless Sea: Zubmariner expansion lets you turn your steamship into a submarine so you can explore the seabed.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

An indie survival game in which you have to monitor three parameters — health, fullness, and sanity. The last is affected by being in the dark, encounters with monsters, and sating your hunger with rotten or raw food. The result is hallucinations and a drop in vitality. Night is the most dangerous time of day in Don't Starve, so it's wise to prepare for it during the day.

The game also has a spin-off subtitled Together, which is geared toward cooperative play.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

The Callisto Protocol is a space horror from Glen Schofield, creator of the first Dead Space. You fight people infected with a special virus in a well-designed action system with limited resources. On PS5 the DualSense comes into its own: trigger resistance conveys firing, reloading, and weapon jams, while the haptics convey every blow you take.

DualSense support.

In this section you're responsible not for a single hero but for an entire settlement: you distribute resources, develop your base, and make decisions that determine the fate of the whole community. Survival here is from the perspective of a group — you have to feed, heal, and protect your residents, keeping a balance between their needs and outside threats. Projects like these are built for long sessions and translate well to controller play.

An unusual strategy game in which you keep house in a large home during wartime. Each resident has their own skills and needs that you have to account for. In This War of Mine you'll have to watch their health, hunger, fatigue, and morale. If something displeases them, they may leave you, taking their belongings with them. Periodically you need to make excursions for valuable materials, and you can act either peacefully or as brutally as possible. That said, marauders will pay you a visit at a certain point too. It's also worth noting that needs depend on the time of year. In winter, for instance, water is less of an issue, since you can melt snow, but the need to heat a large space comes to the fore.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

You take control of a colony on a distant planet. Behind RimWorld's simple visuals lies deep gameplay, where you have to account not only for global processes like the influence of climate but also for local ones — family ties between settlers, feuds among them, and even a pet's emotions at the loss of its owner. Settlers can also take part in battles with hostile factions and get wounded. Their mood is affected by dozens of factors, including quarrels and the stench that lingers if you haven't set up garbage removal. The ultimate goal in RimWorld is to build up production, design a spaceship, and fly away.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

A city-building strategy game in which heating every building plays an important role. The events take place in the Arctic, amid a global cooling, so a lack of heat will doom the entire settlement. And each new building increases coal consumption, so it's important to keep a balance. In Frostpunk you also have to account for the interests of all population groups and try to keep them in comfortable conditions.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

In the second installment of the Frostpunk series, the scale jumped sharply. Here you'll manage a large city, setting economic strategy for individual districts in particular. It's also important to account for the social moods of different groups of citizens, which sometimes differ radically from one another. You'll have to seek balance, make serious decisions, and be ready for the fact that they'll please far from everyone. Because of its emphasis on politics, the sequel differs noticeably from the original with its intimacy and its influence on the fates of specific residents. We recommend starting with the first game and only then moving on to Frostpunk 2.

PS5 only.

A strategy game set in Slavic mythology, with battles fought by card-game rules. That said, in a world full of dangers, brute force is far from always the best way to solve a problem. Stealth, the elimination of specific characters, diplomacy, and much more all come into play. The situation in Thea: The Awakening is complicated by numerous random events and a nonlinear story that makes each playthrough unpredictable. As in many survival games, the day-night cycle plays an important role here. During daylight, scouting and keeping the situation under control is easier than in the evening. Besides, once it gets dark, monsters come out to hunt and behave more aggressively than usual.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

The distinctive thing about this strategy game is that you'll have to fend off literal hordes of zombies advancing from all sides. They can infect your residents and turn them into walking dead just like themselves. So alongside developing your base, you'll have to repel ever-new enemy attacks and also think through your strategy — for example, betting on small but strong, well-upgraded squads. But even they can be easily wiped out by ranged attacks if you don't react in time. As a result, what's happening feels less like a conventional strategy game and more like a full-blown survival game, in which you have to make a series of nontrivial decisions to keep from dying.

Available on PS4 and PS5.

Among the best are The Last of Us Part 2, Subnautica, Death Stranding 2, and The Long Dark, along with many other projects from this list.

These include Don't Starve Together, Cult of the Lamb, and Dysmantle. You'll find more options in our top of games with local co-op on PS4 and PS5.

Yes. These include 7 Days to Die, Stranded Deep, Rust, and Conan Exiles.

Most single-player survival games don't require a subscription — it's only needed for online multiplayer.

Almost all PS4 games run on PS5 via backward compatibility, so there are no separate "lost" projects. If you still have a PS4, you can still play both parts of The Last of Us, Days Gone, The Forest, Subnautica, and Conan Exiles.

From our selection, the Days Gone remaster and Abiotic Factor meet that criterion.

Yes, most games in this genre have Russian. Some developers limit it to subtitles, but full voice acting is sometimes found as well.

Yes. These include DayZ, Dying Light, and 7 Days to Die.

A full-fledged open world can be found in Outward, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, Subnautica, No Man's Sky, and many others.

Yes. Among the kid-friendly ones are Grounded, No Man's Sky, Astroneer, and Smalland: Survive the Wilds.

For a real thrill, go for The Forest, Darkwood, and The Callisto Protocol, as well as the games in the zombie section.

Among the recent releases are The Alters, Forever Skies, Abiotic Factor, and the Days Gone remaster. All support PS5 features: the DualSense's precise haptics and fast loading.

Survival games periodically appear in the PS Plus Extra catalog — Green Hell, V Rising, This War of Mine, Don't Starve, Abiotic Factor. The lineup changes, so check the current list on the official PlayStation site.

Some landmark PC survival games never came to PlayStation. Among them are Valheim, Sons of the Forest, Enshrouded, and Project Zomboid — if you want those, you'll need a PC.

On PS5, most survival games get improved graphics, 60 FPS, and DualSense support. Some games — Days Gone and the The Last of Us series — are PlayStation exclusives and are unavailable on other platforms or release significantly later.

Which games from our selection are your favorites? Did you discover something new? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The genre of survival games on PS4 and PS5 has grown to an enormous scale in recent years. Where it was once associated exclusively with DayZ and hardcore zombie apocalypses, today it has a project for every taste and pace of play. Want to get your nerves on edge — grab The Forest or Darkwood. Love to build and explore — take a look at Subnautica, Stranded Deep, or No Man's Sky. Looking for story and emotion — The Last of Us Part 1 and Days Gone have long been benchmarks of the genre on PlayStation.

The genre is developing actively right now. In 2025, The Alters, Forever Skies, and Abiotic Factor came to PS5, and Dune: Awakening reaches consoles on September 22, 2026 — each with its own unique mechanic and setting. And thanks to DualSense support, with its precise haptics and adaptive triggers, immersion on PS5 feels sharper than on any other platform.

If you play not only on PlayStation but also on PC, take a look at our big top of the best survival games on PC — it gathers more than 60 survival games of every kind.

Want to find even more games to match your mood? Check out our related roundups — there's co-op, horror, open world, and much more: