Has Sons of the Forest left you with a craving for even more survival games? We don’t blame you — even in Steam Early Access it’s pretty excellent. But there are a few games that pitch you into a hostile environment and task you with crafting your own means of survival. Here, then, are all the appetizing games like Sons of the Forest that you may want to try.
A List of Survival Games Like Sons of the Forest to Keep You Busy
Most of these games have an ending of sorts, but like Sons of the Forest, there’s no need to actually pursue the story, certainly not to its conclusion. You can dive in and craft, build, and just mess around as you see fit.
The Forest (PC, PlayStation)
We’ll start with the obvious. The Forest may not be as pretty as its sequel, but it’s still a real blast. Plus, there are plenty of features in the game that aren’t yet in Sons of the Forest. Want to build stone walls to keep cannibals out? Or a log sled to transport corps— er, logs around? Go right ahead.
Subnautica (PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch)
Subnautica’s enemies won’t follow you home, but just knowing they’re out there, swimming around this ocean playground, is enough. Set on an alien planet, the game has some absolutely gorgeous environments to explore. But that, in turn, requires that you gather the resources and vehicles to let you explore the depths. And the deeper you go, the more previously unseen lifeforms you’re going to run into.
The Long Dark (PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)
Forget cannibals and mutants — in The Long Dark, the cold is your mortal enemy. Yes, winter can be unpleasant in Sons of the Forest, but here it never ends. Sporting both a sandbox and story mode, The Long Dark can be downright brutal. Unlike The Forest and Subnautica, you won’t be doing much base-building. Rather, you’ll be trying to find a place where you won’t freeze to death, then making that your temporary home. Just don’t try to pet the wolves.
V Rising (PC)
A survival game where you play a vampire? What could vampires have to worry about, other than sunlight? Rather a lot as it turns out — V Rising features enemies that are capable of doing you some serious damage. But these trials are absolutely worth it, as you watch your castle — and influence — grow till you’re the baddest bloodsucker in the roost.
Green Hell (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)
Green Hell strands you in the jungle with natives who aren’t too happy to see you there. But you’ll spend more time worrying about diseases than you will about them.You won’t want to go to sleep for fear of what affliction you’ll wake up with. Sleeping on the forest floor? You have worms in the wrist to look forward to. Yes, there’s base-building, but you’ll spend just as much time wrestling with the jungle’s hazards.
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey (PC, Xbox, PlayStation)
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey has all the survival monkey business you could want, literally. It sees you shepherding a hominid clan through eight million years of evolution. Survival is the only thing that matters. Think tigers are scary? You’ll have to avoid being chomped to death by a sabre-toothed cat. Forget firearms, just crafting something as simple as a spear feels like a huge win.
Stranded Deep (PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)
Like Sons of the Forest, Stranded Deep is one of those games that dumps you on an island. But in this case, it’s just part of a massive archipelago. And since your island doesn’t have the resources to keep you fed, you’ll have to brave the perilous trip across the water. There’s plenty of base-building fun, but what you’ll remember is the time a shark bumped your boat from below and you held your breath, hoping it wouldn’t flip.
Raft (PC)
Raft is another ocean-going survival game, but instead of setting up camp on an island, the raft is your home. You’re regularly on the move, fending off attacks from sharks and ensuring you don’t starve before the sharks get you. Throw in a few other players and you’ve got a recipe for daft sea-based shenanigans.
Ark: Survival Evolved (PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch)
Ark: Survival Evolved is a survival game with dinosaurs and other weird and wonderful creatures. Its resource-gathering isn’t exactly enthralling, but the setting and story go a long way. After all, this is a game where you can ride a Tyrannosaurus rex. If you’ve had an interest in dinosaurs, now or as a child, it’ll give you a big grin.
Valheim (PC, Xbox)
Valheim sees your deceased Viking warrior roaming a Norse purgatory in an effort to prove they’re worthy of going to Valhalla. There’s plenty of land-based crafting and combat, but you’ll also get to roam the seas, tackling sea serpents and so on. And with over a thousand mods, you can tweak the game to your own tastes.
So then, Sons of the Forest could be just the start of your survival adventures with all the other games like it available to you. Be warned, any of these could absolutely consume your free time.
