To a certain crowd, survival and crafting are almost synonymous with each other. For a long while, possibly due toMinecraft’ssuccess, in-depth crafting systems were always accompanied by some survival elements. However, that is no longer the case.
Some of the most complex and compelling crafting games ever made, likeFactorioand its first expansion, feature almost no combat and survival at all. That said, it’s also true that nothing makes brewing a good cup of coffee as intense as the post-apocalypse or Half-Life-inspired alien invaders. If you’re looking for this oddly specific thrill, you want a survival crafting game.
1# – Don’t Starve
Even though it’s approaching its twelfth anniversary, this ugly-cute,roguelite survival gamecomes with depth that would make most modern competitors envious. It certainly helps that, in the years since its release,Don’t Starvehas received a wealth of updates, expansions, and DLCs, the last of which was a crossover with 2023’sCult of the Lamb.
Don’t Starveisn’t focused on telling a story, but as far as survival games go, it does a pretty good job of it. It even integrates its backstory with the description of craftable items, which are tied to game progression, and with the various characters’ reactions to them. The more talkative and interesting characters are unlocked later in the game, just as the most curious items are only available during the late game.
#2 – 7 Days to Die
A classic survival crafting game that helped popularize the genre in the early 2010s,7 Days to Dieis as divisive now as it was 10 years ago. Over 10 years in early access did not manifest in a stable, bug-free 2024 1.0 edition, but it helped create a crafting system that is tied to game progression without being too linear.
What you’re able to and can’t craft in7 Days to Die, as well as the quality of what you will create is tied to your crafting skills. However, unlike ability scores and perks that increase when leveling up through normal play, crafting skills only improve when reading the appropriate magazines found in the game world.
#3 – Core Keeper
Core Keeper’s early accessperiod was short lived but managed to create a unique, creative, and – most importantly – complete game that stands out even in the crowded genre of survival games with crafting mechanics. It does so in part with a classic but extensive tier-based crafting system, and in part with multiplayer co-op up to eight players, but the biggest selling point is probably its unique setting.
Lots of games in the genre feature mines and dungeons, so lengthy resource-gathering sessions have to take place in a dangerous environment. Core Keeper goes one step further and sets the whole game in an inhabited cave system which players are encouraged to mine through and make their own.
4# – Project Zomboid
Project Zomboidis a lot of things, but it’s not what most players imagine when they think of a survival crafting game. But don’t let appearances fool you. Even if it looks like a city management game from the early 2000s,Project Zomboidis one of the most in-depth and open-ended survival games out there. And with the right mods, it can also be a management game.
If you ever want to be intimidated by a game, just take a look at the (incomplete)list of crafting recipesinProject Zomboid, which has more categories than some games have items. But while crafting is a big part of this game, looking at this massive list can’t even begin to explain how much there is to do. You can build a house from scratch. Starting from theB42Project Zomboidpatch, you can run your own farm. You canno longer be killed by a treebut hey, no game is perfect.
5# – Empyrion – Galactic Survival
Some survival games try to stand out by having an original storyline. Many go all-in on a unique mechanic or a weird design quirk. Others, likeEmpyrion – Galactic Survival, are very, very big. While it’s nominally a survival game,Empyrionis also a shooter action RPG, a ship/settlement/anything builder, and a space exploration flight sim.
If that isn’t enough,Empyrioncomes with a massive crafting system and extensive mod support to add even more possibilities. And while it’s not as complex as software engineering simulatorFactorio, there is some automation to make the most tedious aspects of resource gathering go by smoother.
6# – Abiotic Factor
Abiotic Factorbegins its life as a mix ofLethal Company’s sense of humor with a healthy dose ofHalf-Lifereferences. The highly unstable concoction is then trapped in a survival game with story progression until the chaotic energy of six player co-op increases pressure and leads the mixture to break containment. It’s pretty fun!
The first ofAbiotic Factor’s many twists is that the protagonists are scientists in a top-secret research facility. While they don’t have the inexplicable survivor instinct of a classic survival game protagonist, they’re pretty good at building makeshift batteries and overclocked laser pointers. Things only get weirder once they get their hands on alien technology and objects of unspeakable evil.
#7 – Subnautica
Subnauticais one of the most popular survival games of the last few years, and for good reasons. In a genre full of cannibal islands and zombie apocalypses, crash landing in the middle of an alien ocean is a refreshing setup, while de-emphasized combat makes for a unique gameplay rhythm. The slow drip of story beats certainly helps, too.
However, what attracted hundreds of thousands of players is almost certainly the crafting and especially base building. Lots of survival games have crafting recipes written down in a wiki, but how many have a fan-madecrafting helper website?
8# – Vintage Story
Originally based on a Minecraft mod,Vintage Storyis sure to be familiar to anyone who ever fell into the rabbit hole of hardcore Minecraft crafting. Yet, unlike that game, creating an item here isn’t just a matter of having the ingredients and knowing the recipe. Making an axe in Minecraft means drawing the right shape with the right materials. InVintage Story, an axe is made through knapping.
What’s knapping? Why, it’s the most ancient form of stone crafting, which involves smashing a durable rock on a sharp but fragile rock. Take off the right shape, stick it on a stick, and you have your stone age axe. Not every bit of crafting is as involved, but pottery and smithing are just as complex, if not more, than knapping, makingVintage Storyone of the best survival games out there when it comes to crafting.
