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The best survival games in 2025

With our picks for the best survival games, so you can keep on living inside games full of zombies, dinosaurs, creepers, and much more.

Custom image for best mobile survival games guide with a Minecraft Creeper on a green background

What are the best survival games? Well, that’s a tricky question. It depends on whether you’d run from hordes of zombies, go all Castaway and make a life for yourself on a desert island, or something else entirely. Fortunately, we’ve put together this list with plenty of options, so you can get on with the tricky business of surviving.

If the idea of being stranded on an island and finding a Wilson of your own isn’t for you, not to worry, you can go and relax with our list of the best games like Stardew Valley. Or, if you want a more harrowing test of survival, we suggest you venture into our picks for the best Resident Evil games – there are crazy villagers, tons of zombies, and rabid dogs to boot, good luck!

Here are the best survival games:

Best survival games: Don't Starve: Pocket Edition. Image shows a character standing near a rough wall.

Don’t Starve

Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds

Don’t Starve is a fine choice if you’re into survival games, and the mobile adaptation happens to be a very good version of the game. You play as Wilson (is this intentional, or a happy coincidence?) and find yourself stranded in the wilderness, all alone, with little to no resources at your disposal. You need to dig deep, chop trees, hunt for food, and withstand the elements.

Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition is a charming game, it’s full of perilous situations, and many creatures that want to ruin your day – don’t let them. Embrace your inner Bear Grylls, work your way through this strange land, uncover its mysteries, and find your way home.

Play Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition on Apple Arcade.

Two carridges sitting watching the sunset in Oregon Trail game for Apple Arcade

The Oregon Trail

Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds

Not to be confused with the ’70s classic, The Oregon Trail is the latest addition to the old series, bringing a challenging survival game that will see you and your party travel across the Oregon Trail, embarking on a perilous adventure that will see you make difficult choices between historically accurate and utterly bizarre.

Delivering randomly-generated events that will cause you to think on your feet, alongside consequences that affect the future of your party, The Oregon Trail is a delightful survival game brought into the modern era.

Play The Oregon Trail on Apple Arcade now.

Screenshot of the raft from Raft Survival Ocean Nomad for survival games list

Raft Survival – Ocean Nomad

Portable platforms: Android and iOS

Surviving on dry land is difficult enough, but in Raft Survival, you have to muster the skills to stay alive in the middle of the ocean. Unlike Castaway, you don’t have a friendly soccer ball to call your friend, just a few basic tools to catch your food and keep any predators from making you their dinner.

If you’re a fan of crafting, there’s plenty to do here, with various mechanics you need to get your head around to make sure you don’t end up swimming with the fishes. Better still, this is one of the many free-to-play options on our list, so you can try it out without parting with a single dollar.

Best survival games on mobile: LifeAfter. Text reads "Survive in the out of control doomsday world full of zombies" and an image shows someone shooting at zombies.

LifeAfter

Portable platforms: Android, iOS, and Windows handhelds

It’s a harsh world out there, and, no matter where you are – be it in the frozen mountain landscapes, a scorching desert, or luscious jungles – zombies are everywhere. One of the best things about LifeAfter is that it doesn’t force you to endure such hostility alone. You can form friendships, each of which strengthens your chances of survival. Well, that’s assuming they don’t betray you at the first opportunity.

Remember, it’s not just about avoiding becoming zombie chow, but also finding food for yourself and building a shelter that’s capable of protecting you from everything that wants to end your life.

Survival games Stormfall: image shows a house being contructed. Text at the bottom of the screen reads "Build your shelter. Defend your home with traps, walls, and more."

Stormfall: Saga of Survival

Portable platforms: Android and iOS

Survival games don’t have to just be about post-apocalyptic worlds and zombies, you know. Sometimes it’s nice to forget about The Walking Dead, and return to a time where it’s a bunch of angry people casting you out into exile – I know this still isn’t a great scenario, but at least there are no zombies about.

In Stormfall, you must do what it takes to survive as you build a new life for yourself in exile. You need to fight off starvation, withstand the elements, develop weapons, craft gear, and learn what it means to truly be a survivor.

Best survival games on mobile: Ark: Survival Evolved. Image shows a dinosaur near a house under construction.

Ark: Survival Evolved

Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds

Okay, we’re going even further back this time, to a period before humans walked the earth. Ark: Survival Evolved sends you to a place where dinosaurs roam the lands, and if you thought surviving at Scout’s camp was tough, well, you’re in for a rude awakening with this one.

Honestly, if ever there was a time to yell ‘I’m a survivor’ this is it, and the chances are you’re truly alone, so nobody is going to tell you to shut up – though a dinosaur’s way of doing this may be to eat you, so there’s that. Ark features all the stereotypical elements from survival games – you must scavenge for food and resources and set up camp. Furthermore, you need to modify what you wear, given the cold and heat are just as likely to kill you as a dino – such fun.

Key art from Westland Survival, a cowboy RPG on our list of the best survival games

Westland Survival – Cowboy RPG

Portable platforms: Android and iOS

If you’re looking at this list and thinking these games need more cowboys, Westland Survival might be the one for you. Balance your exploits as a cowboy with simply surviving the trials of the old west while you work together with fellow ranchers and cowpoke to earn an honest living.

Ok, so the phrase “honest living” is doing some heavy lifting there, but it’s solid fun all the same. More than ten million survivors have toughed it out in the old West, so why not see if you can do the same? 

Best survival games on mobile: Live or Die. Image shows a picture of a lady in sunglasses near an abandoned freeway, with the text "travel the ruined world".

Live or Die: Zombie Survival

Portable platforms: Android and iOS

Here’s another game that features both a post-apocalyptic world and an obscene amount of zombies. You know the drill, gather supplies, craft your gear, and go bash a few brain munchers. It’s a well-known formula, but few games do it as well as Live or Die: Zombie Survival.

Of course, it’s all about survival of the fittest here, and that means that not only must you build a base to keep the brain-loving crazies outside, but a fortress that can keep out your fellow survivors. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, so all that’s left to say is live or die. Make your choice.

Screenshot of Lost Signal key art with a floating man and a shark for survival games guide

LOST Signal

Portable platforms: Android and iOS

While there are no prizes for guessing where this game takes influence from, it’s probably a bit more enjoyable than the series finale of Lost. Yes, I’m still bitter.

Try to survive on a desert island with limited supplies, take on monsters you’ve never seen back in humanity, and try and find a way to escape. It’s a Castaway simulator minus Wilson, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a ball. There’s a bit of a learning curve with this one, but once you get the hang of island life, it’s one of the more engaging titles on our list of the best survival games. 

Best survival games on mobile: Minecraft. Image shows a character near a house at night. Zombies are approaching and text reads "Fend off dangerous mobs".

Minecraft

Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds

How could I possibly write a list of survival games and not include Minecraft? Love it or hate it, we’ve all gone around punching trees, mining ore, and shaving sheep before. Minecraft is a great game if you want to both test your resolve, and simply vibe along while you do it – there’s no pressure here, just chill vibes, cool air, and a ton of farm animals. At least until nightfall hits, then bam, zombies, spiders, and creepers, oh my.

Seriously though, it’s a great game to play if you don’t want to think. Sometimes you just want to exist, and this game lets you do that. We also have a number of guides, such as Minecraft diamonds and Minecraft houses, in case you want a helping hand. And, if you want more games like Minecraft, head over to our picks for the best games like it on Switch and mobile.

Screenshot of a character looking at blueprints in Last Day on Earth: Survival for best survival games guide

Last Day on Earth: Survival

Portable platforms: Android and iOS

No setting suits survival games more than the end of the world, and that’s exactly what you’re dealing with here. Following the downfall of civilization, it’s your job to simply make it through every day. What waits for you outside of your compound? Zombies, of course.

Last Day on Earth: Survival is a properly engaging mobile title that allows you to customize everything from your appearance to your weapons, to your secure base. It’s also pretty graphically impressive for a mobile game, a free-to-play one at that, so be sure to give it a go if you think you’ve got what it takes to outlast the undead.

Screenshot of people lining up to get in the vault in Fallout Shelter for best survival games guide

Fallout Shelter

Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS

A nuclear apocalypse is a classic survival game setting, and wastelands don’t come much more iconic than that of the Fallout series. While Fallout Shelter emphasizes resource management over combat than other games on this list, it’s still all about staying alive, which is much easier said than done.

In this pick, you’re a vault overseer, managing the day-to-day experience of your vault dwellers. Whether you want to try and create an underground utopia or your own factory full of unpaid workers is up to you, but be sure to expect a few surprises from the outside world to turn up at your door from time to time.

Screenshot from The Wanderer: Survival RPG showing a man and his dog in the post-apocalyptic wasteland for best survival games on mobile guide

The Wanderer: Survival RPG

Portable platforms: Android and iOS

The pixelated art style of The Wanderer: Survival RPG might make it look basic, but you should never judge a book by its post-apocalyptic cover. This is a deep RPG, with building mechanics, plenty of quests to keep you busy, and a massive world to explore. What more could you ask for?

If you’re a fan of the Fallout games, this is one for you, with plenty of nods to Bethesda’s smash hit series. It has lockpicking, and factions to join, and you also get your own canine companion, making fighting off any wasteland attackers that bit easier.

Screenshot of a night time battle in Terraria for best survival games guide

Terraria

Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds

Terraria is an absolute classic of the survival game genre, combining sandbox mechanics with Metroidvania-style exploration to offer something that is much more engaging than it appears at first glance. There are no real limitations to what you can do, from building your own stronghold to making a name for yourself as an intrepid adventurer and finding the treasures of this procedurally generated world.

Admittedly, Terraria has a bit of a learning curve, but much like Stardew Valley, once you get the hang of it, you won’t be able to put it down. I’d tell you how many hours I’ve put into building and exploring my world, but you might judge me. For help getting started in this one, check out our Terraria house, Terraria armor, and Terraria bosses guides.

There you have it, our picks for the best survival games. If you’ve checked out our options and still can’t find anything that tempts you, be sure to check out our guides to the best Steam Deck games and the best Nintendo Switch games while you’re here. Or, if you’re more into thriving than surviving, make some moolah with our free Monopoly Go dice guide.