Essential Buyers' Guide

The best survival games on PS4 and PS5

Experience hostile worlds where your resourcefulness, instincts and craftiness mean the difference between life and death.

Myth and legend

Brave the fantastical in worlds filled with mythic creatures, legendary gods and ancient arcana.

Conan Exiles | Funcom

Set in Robert E. Howard’s brutal fantasy realm, this sandbox action survival game can be enjoyed alone or online. Your warrior must build a home and craft weapons of war to survive a vicious and vast open world.

Tribes of Midgard | Norsfell Games

It’s Ragnarök, the Gods are gone, and dark beings are hunting for the sacred Seed of Yggdrasil that your Viking clan is sworn to protect. Explore the land, craft weapons and defend your home from Giants.

Worlds unknown

Strive against environments both hostile and unfamiliar - uncharted locations filled with uncertainty and peril. 

RUST: Console Edition | Double Eleven Limited

Rust brings you into its world naked and leaves you to fend for yourself. Build yourself up from nothing while struggling to survive against the elements, animals and other ruthless players.

ARK: Survival Evolved  | Wild Card Games

You are one of hundreds of players trapped on ARK, a hostile island designed to test your survival instincts. Tame over 100 prehistoric creatures as you plot your escape from this vast sandbox environment.

Subnautica: Below Zero | Unknown Worlds Entertainment

Submerge yourself in an all-new, sub-zero expedition in an arctic region of Planet 4546B. Arriving with little more than your wits and some survival equipment, you must set out to investigate what has happened to your sister.

Stylish settings

Settings don't need to be gritty to be tense - some of PlayStation's most enduring survival games are surprisingly colourful and family friendly.

Minecraft | Mojang AB

In addition to its incredible creative mode, this cube-centric classic boasts a deep survival mode where you mine resources, build shelters and craft weapons by day to prepare for the horrors at night.

Terraria | Re-Logic

Descend into dangerous, resource-rich caverns and gather the materials you need to craft your own cities and build the gear necessary to keep you alive. This 2D sandbox game has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary – and is still an essential for all action and survival fans.
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When order breaks down

Fight for your existence in worlds brought to the brink - where normality has vanished and only a savage struggle for existence remains.

This War of Mine: The Little Ones | 11 Bit Studios

Experience the realities of war from the perspective of a small group of civilians struggling to survive amid the chaos. Scavenge supplies under cover of night, and make tough decisions for the greater good.