Ever googled for "best survival games" just to be met with the classical Minecraft, Terraria, No Mans Sky, etc? No? Well I have and I'm bored of getting the same recommendations over and over.
So.. I decided to search for some interesting niche survival games that I haven't played yet and I'll share some of them here 🐢
Soulmask
Soulmask is a pretty new game on the list, but it's got a lot of potential.
This game has online co-op (up to 50 players) ✅
You play as a wanderer trying to lift a curse. Every NPC you meet has their own tragic backstory, adding layers of depth to the in-game world.
The combat system is rather unique with a total of 8 different weapon types and 75 combat skills. The game rocks a gigantic handcrafted map (won't show it, cause we ain't gonna spoil you) with different biomes to explore, bosses to defeat and masks to collect.
The story of the game is very cryptic with deep NPC dialogue, hidden notes, and clues you can find in the environment. You have limitless building potential as well, as the building system is very similar to Valheim's.
Overall, it's a pretty interesting game, that's also packed with content.
Abiotic Factor
Abiotic Factor is a very unique game. You play a bunch of scientists stuck in an underground facility after a containment breach unleashes anomalies and interdimensional creatures.
This game has online co-op (up to 6 players) ✅
What's so "survival" about this game, you may ask? Well, there's crafting, base building and resource management! You just do all that within the facility itself.
The item crafting system is also pretty unique, because you have to figure out the recipe's combination of materials to craft items.
ASKA
ASKA is very similar to Valheim, but more focused on building your own village with villagers you can boss around. There are a few bosses and harder to defeat enemies, but it's overall a pretty cozy game.
This game has online co-op (up to 3 players) ✅
This game looks gorgeous and has a lot of potential. It's relatively new and there isn't a wiki for it yet, so you'll have to uncover most of its content yourself (or through youtube guides).
Definitely worth checking out if you like Valheim!
Aloft
Aloft is a brand new cozy survival game (‼️ released yesterday as of writing ‼️), which takes place in the sky! Kind of like Stardew Valley, but instead, you explore the open sky.
This game has online co-op (up to 8 players) ✅
This game focuses more on base building, decorating, farming and cooking. You also have to protect ecosystems from a dangerous fungi virus.
It's a very cozy and casual game you can play with friends to relax after a long day of work (or resting from the grindset if you're a sigma male, of course 💀).
Just gotta warn you, this game is in early access and as of writing this, has some optimization issues, so you might need a more beefy PC to play it. The developers are working on improving the game's performance though.
Voyagers of Nera
This game is planned to release in Q2 2025, but has a playable early access demo.
This game has online co-op (up to 10 players) ✅
Voyagers of Nera is an open world, Breath of the Wild inspired survival game, based in the ocean. There are some cool unique mechanics such as surfing and swimming underwater (yes, there are underwater temples 🌊).
Just like the other games, this game also has a very well developed building system, allowing you to build practically however you want.
It's totally worth checking out, especially if you're a BotW enjoyer (like me, although I haven't finished TotK yet).
Conclusion & thoughts
Honestly, nowadays there are so many motivated indie developers that keep delivering awesome new games.
The current gaming scene isn't really dominated by AAA studios and the barrier to entry for creating your own game isn't that high anymore. If you're someone who really wants to make a game, don't be scared and go for it 🐢