Survival Game Reviews. – Bluntly Honest Reviews

Five characters in elaborate tribal outfits and masks wielding weapons in a mountainous, twilight setting with a bonfire

Is Soulmask Worth Playing?

When I originally reviewed Soulmask during Early Access, I felt it was one of the most interesting new survival games I had played in quite some time. It was already surprisingly polished,…

17 min read PC

Characters riding dinosaurs and engaging in combat with weapons in a prehistoric-futuristic setting

Review 10/10

Is ARK: Survival Evolved Worth Playing?

While official support for ARK: Survival Evolved is at its end, Wildcard's first foray into the survival genre still has plenty to offer, even as the launch of not one but two…

8 min read Nintendo Switch / PC / Xbox One

Review 9/10

Is ARK: Survival Ascended Worth Playing?

It has taken a few years, but ARK: Survival Ascended is finally on the verge of becoming a better game than ARK: Survival Evolved, and as someone who has been a fan…

7 min read PC / Xbox Series X|S

Man with backpack and pistol in grassy field looking back near abandoned car and two figures

Review 9/10

Is DayZ Worth Playing?

Despite being declared dead multiple times during its prolonged stay in early access, DayZ has proved its critics wrong by becoming the definitive zombie survival experience it always claimed to be.

4 min read PC / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S

Group of men posing with varied hand gestures against a pink backdrop with stylised black text

Review 8/10

Is The Alters Worth Playing?

Despite being a new IP, The Alters feels like a high-quality remake of a 1990s PC adventure game in all the right, and a few of the wrong ways.

5 min read PC / Xbox Series X|S

Four colourful LEGO Fortnite characters wielding weapons on a grassy hill under a blue sky

Review 8/10

Is LEGO Fortnite: Odyssey Worth Playing?

While LEGO Fortnite Odyssey is not as popular as it once was, ultimately, it is still one of the most popular survival games on the market, which is an achievement in and…

5 min read Nintendo Switch / PC / Xbox One

Five warriors in colourful tribal masks and armour stand in a dramatic dusk landscape with mountains and campfire

Early-Access-Review 8/10

Is Soulmask Worth Playing?

While Soulmask goes a long way towards revitalising the sandbox survival genre, it's still early days, and some of the developer's design choices are questionable, to say the least.

9 min read PC

Four fantasy characters stand in a dark, foggy forest with torches and ruins around them

Early-Access-Review 8/10

Is Enshrouded Worth Playing?

Enshrouded is a lot of fun, but it's hardly what I would call a traditional survival game.

8 min read PC

Characters wielding weapons in a battle scene with a fortress and catapults in the background

Review 8/10

Is Conan Exiles Worth Playing?

Conan Exiles manages to balance mature content with engaging gameplay in a way that most "adult-focused" titles have been unable to replicate.

9 min read PC / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S

Zombies approaching a glowing wooden house in a dark, foggy forest with 7 Days to Die title above

Review 8/10

Is 7 Days to Die Worth Playing?

7 Days to Die feels like a game that will remain in alpha development forever, and honestly, after playing it for the better part of a decade, I am fine with that

4 min read PC / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S

Person in a protective hazmat suit holding an assault rifle against a dark, misty mountainous backdrop

Review 8/10

Is Rust Worth Playing?

Rust is one of the most influential titles in the history of PC gaming and Early Access, and while its hardcore gameplay and toxic community make it unsuitable for some, I fully…

6 min read PC / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S

Review 7/10

Is Myth of Empires Worth Playing?

Myth of Empires, at the time of its early access launch, was the most exciting new survival game in several years; however, in 2024, it is "just another survival game" in a…

14 min read PC

A tattooed character in an orange prison outfit holding an axe with a rifle slung over his shoulder, standing in front of a chain-link fence near a forest fire

Review 7/10

Is Scum Worth Playing?

After a promising start, a disastrous few years, and a return to glory, the world's most realistic survival game is about to leave early access, and for better or worse, the survival…

5 min read PC

White and red Survive the Nights text with a zombie face on the right side against a black background

Review 6/10

Is Survive the Nights Worth Playing?

Survive the Nights is a decent zombie survival game in a market full of bigger, and ultimately better, titles.

4 min read PC

Four armed characters wearing hoodies and masks stand against a dark red and black background with the word Deadside in bold white letters

Review 6/10

Is Deadside Worth Playing?

Despite four years of early access and multiple post-launch updates, Deadside is still little more than a worse version of better games.

7 min read PC / Xbox Series X|S

A woman holding a sword and a bow stands on a raised platform facing a crowd of zombies in a ruined city

Review 6/10

Is Night of the Dead Worth Playing?

Night of the Dead is an excellent attempt at making a "better survival game" that unfortunately falls just short of doing so.

7 min read PC

A man in red winter clothing fighting a large bear with a spear under a full moon in a snowy forest

Early-Access-Review 6/10

Is Winter Survival Worth Playing?

While Winter Survival is a decent game and improves the winter survival formula in a few important ways, it still comes up short compared to The Long Dark (2014), which is a…

5 min read PC

Floating wooden platform with Route 66 sign, player characters, helicopter and jet ski above water

Early-Access-Review 6/10

Is Sunkenland Worth Playing?

Sunkenland is a decent game with plenty of potential; however, the developers' insistence on doing things "their way" will be its downfall long before it leaves early access, if it manages to…

10 min read PC

Game character holding rifle over shoulders in desert landscape with large Hurtworld text above

Review 6/10

Is Hurtworld Worth Playing?

While Hurtworld is not entirely dead, the vast majority of its small community has moved on, and with just 1 barely active community server online at the time of writing this review,…

4 min read PC

Early-Access-Review 6/10

Is Deadside Worth Playing?

Deadside is a fun but ultimately unrewarding survival game that lacks the legs to compete with more popular titles in the genre, such as Rust and DayZ.

3 min read PC / Xbox Series X|S

Three figures in tactical gear walk towards a gate with the word Miscreated above it in a post-apocalyptic setting

Review 5/10

Is Miscreated Worth Playing?

There is no reason to play Miscreated when so many better games exist in the same genre.

4 min read PC

Pirate woman leaps from ship mast aiming pistol while crew defend against fire-breathing dragon during sea battle

Early-Access-Review 5/10

Is Atlas Worth Playing?

Atlas could still become something special, but floundering on the rocks for almost four years has done little to assure the survival community of a positive outcome.

6 min read PC / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S

Project Castaway title displayed over a beach scene with skulls, palm trees, and wreckage in warm lighting

Early-Access-Review 4/10

Is Project Castaway Worth Playing?

Project Castaway is a game that no one was asking for, and as such, its poor sales and declining player base should surprise no one.

4 min read PC

Animated ducks in military gear with rifles and an axe approach a makeshift brick and wooden building

Early-Access-Review 4/10

Is Duckside Worth Playing?

Duckside is a less polished version of Deadside with bare-bones base building, worse visuals, horrifically bad gunplay and playable ducks.

2 min read PC / Xbox Series X|S

Three armed characters overlooking a misty forest landscape with futuristic tall crystal-like structures in the distance under a cloudy sky

Review 4/10

Is The Front Worth Playing?

Ten years ago, I would have been very excited to play The Front, yet in 2024, it's just too generic and uninspired to stand out in an already crowded genre.

4 min read PC

Review 4/10

Is Mist Survival Worth Playing?

Mist Survival was a great game at launch, but now almost five years and major updates later, I just want it to cease development before it gets any worse.

4 min read PC

Three fantasy characters including a horned warrior, an archer with leaf-like headgear, and a lizard-like armored creature

Review 3/10

Is Dark and Light Worth Playing?

Dark and Light was a great idea in 2006 and a decent idea in 2017; however, in 2022, there is just too much competition in the genre for it ever to be…

2 min read PC

Wizard casting a fire spell at flying dragons breathing fire near a medieval castle under siege

Review 1/10

Is Citadel: Forged with Fire Worth Playing?

Citadel: Forged with Fire is a decent game, but with so many better alternatives on the market, I cannot recommend it.

3 min read PC / Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S

A cowboy in a black hat stands on rocks overlooking a vast desert landscape with mesas, while a man plays guitar by a campfire next to a covered wagon and two horses.

Review 1/10

Is Outlaws of the Old West Worth Playing?

Games should not be developed purely to "fill a gap" until a better title comes along, and Outlaws of the Old West and its spectacular spiral into obscurity is ample proof of…

8 min read PC

Editorial

Is Deadside Worth Playing?

Over four years after entering early access, Deadside appears stuck in the past, while the rest of the genre has moved on to bigger and better things.

2 min read PC / Xbox Series X|S