State of Decay 3

Despite not starting life on the best foot forward, State of Decay 2 was able to turn the tides of fate around with a slew of meaningful content updates that have made the game better in more than just one way. State of Decay 3 will most likely build upon those foundations, and hopefully create a sequel that’s bigger and better with updated graphics, new enemy types, and a greater focus on survival. There’s no word on when it will be released, but we know that it will come out for Xbox Series X/S and P

Ark 2: Survival Ascended

The original Ark was a smash hit thanks to a surprisingly addictive gameplay loop and interesting creature design, and those merits seem primed to be taken to the next level with Ark 2: Survival Ascended. The sequel also looks to be placing a bigger focus on the narrative side of things with a star-studded cast that includes but is not limited to Vin Diesel, and all that sounds like a very interesting prospect for the game. It comes out for Xbox Series X/S and PC sometime in the near future.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornoby

GSC Game World is hard at work on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which is being built using Unreal Engine 5. Set against the backdrop of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 thrusts you into a world teeming with all sorts of mutated creatures and soldiers ready to maul you at the smallest of wrong turns. The gameplay and visuals are looking to be of supreme quality, and we are stoked to check it out when it releases on 5 September 2024 for PC and Xbox consoles.

Pacific Drive

Pacific Drive offers a weird but interesting mix of genres. It’s a driving simulator at its core, but it incorporates well-known survival progression mechanics to craft an interesting gameplay loop. It essentially puts you in the driver seat of a station wagon, and you must collect resources and upgrade the vehicle to finally get out of a radioactive zone. Pacific Drive is out now for PS5 and PC.

Road to Vostok

Road to Vostok is all about embarking on a long trek through a war-torn region. It’s a brutal survival game that features realistic shooting mechanics, complex progression trees, and an open world brimming with all sorts of dangers. Add to that permadeath mechanics and the ability to trade items with other players, and Road to Vostok becomes a pretty compelling survival experience for genre fans.

Project Ferocious

OMYOG’s upcoming Project Ferocious feels like the perfect tribute to classic shooters like Turok and Dino Crisis with its focus on hunting dinosaurs and exploring lush jungle environments. The shooting mechanics look fantastic, and the developer promises a dynamic gameplay loop which sounds pretty enticing. It comes out for PC, PS4, and Xbox One sometime in the near future.

Sons of the Forest 1.0

Sons of the Forest serves as an excellent sequel to The Forest, and the bevy of gameplay improvements has made this game better than the original in almost every conceivable way. Sons of the Forest has had some great critical and commercial reception since its release in early access, and version 1.0 is now available on PC. Endlight Games has stated that this release will have plenty of new changes, and while the details of those improvements are shrouded in mystery – it’s definitely worth looking forward to nevertheless.

Frostpunk 2

The original Frostpunk managed to win over the hearts of many survival game fans with its brutal simulation mechanics and tough choices, and those strengths will most likely be taken to the next level with the sequel. In Frostpunk 2, players will have to make tough choices to ensure the city stays warm and safe. You will have to craft controversial laws, keep a check on the several factions that reside within the city, and keep tabs on a ton of other variables to ensure a smooth flow of operations. It all sounds pretty captivating, and we will be checking it out when it comes out sometime in 2024.

The Alters

The Alters tasks you to make your way out of a distant planet after crash landing on its surface, and while that might sound like a generic narrative setup for a survival game – developer 11-bit Studios has quite a bit of tricks up its sleeve that makes this game a lot more interesting than its contemporaries. For starters, you can make clones of yourself and delegate tasks to them which is a pretty interesting concept with a ton of potential. Furthermore, there are elements of decision-making and crafting that all come together to make The Alters a game that’s worth looking out for. It comes out for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S sometime this year.

Light No Fire

Hello Games is no stranger to survival elements, as evidenced by No Man’s Sky, but Light No Fire offers a much larger scale. Announced as the first “real” open world with an Earth-sized planet to explore, players can create buildings and form towns, explore various biomes, uncover resources, explore its origins and maybe tame some wild creatures like dragons to serve as mounts. While the fight for survival is “constant,” there are no restrictions on where you can go. Climb underwater, go deep sea diving or sailing, and much more.

While some may want to jokingly proclaim it as “No Man’s Earth” (somehow missing the slam dunk of “No Man’s Land”), Light No Fire is incredibly ambitious, offering all of these with role-playing elements, various fantasy races, and co-op. There’s no release date, but it’s in development for PC.

ALOFT

Aloft is an upcoming survival sandbox game that takes place on floating islands in the sky. Players can dive in solo or co-op with their friends, and explore the endless skies to take control of the many islands peppered throughout its massive world while fighting the enemies that lie in your way. In addition to exploration, you can majestically fly through the air, collect various resources, and discover ancient ruins in this cozy-looking survival game. Aloft is scheduled to be released in 2024 on PC.

Once Human

Developed by Starry Studio, Once Human puts you on the path to uncovering a massive secret behind a dark corrupting force known as the Stardust. Set in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by fierce monsters and hordes of undead, Once Human’s gameplay revolves around exploring these desolate ruins and fighting gargantuan bosses while working on building out your character with strong weapons and high-level gear. Once Human also offers co-op options to join forces with friends, which should make it a pretty fun time for survival game enthusiasts. It comes out for PC in Q3 2024.

Rooted

Built using Unreal Engine 5, Rooted promises brutal survival mechanics in a post-apocalyptic world brimming with all manner of dangers like ferocious undead creatures and scarcity of important resources. It presents its post-apocalyptic world in great detail thanks to Unreal Engine 5’s impressive feature set, and that combined with the systemic game design makes it a compelling experience. It comes out for PC sometime in the near future.

Outbreak Island

Outbreak Island is all about a detective who has been stranded on an island and must now solve an overarching mystery surrounding the mystical land. The gameplay juggles between resource gathering, investigating clues scattered throughout the island, and shooting down enemies with a wide array of weapons – all of which sounds like a lot of fun. It will be released for PC sometime in the near future.

Derelicts

Developed by Romain, DERELICTS is set in a future where Earth has been covered by strange radiation – and you must embark on a grand adventure to get to the bottom of this mystery. It’s a simple narrative setup, but DERELICTS manages to impress with its intricate crafting systems that let you come up with all sorts of interesting ideas to delegate tasks like resource building and crafting to custom-built machines. It looks like a game that will be worth sinking your teeth into, and it releases for PC sometime in the near future.