The PS4 became the console home of survival games, from open-ended crafting sandboxes to tense horror where every bullet counts. Its library covers base-building, scavenging and starvation as well as stalking monsters and ruined worlds, so there is a survival game for patient builders and for players who want their heart rate up.
1. Subnautica#
Unknown Worlds drops you into an alien ocean after a crash landing and asks you to find food, water and a way home. Subnautica turns diving into the core loop: you harvest resources, craft tools, build underwater bases and pilot submarines, all while the depths grow more beautiful and more frightening. Its world is handcrafted, so exploration feels like discovery. The story is light but effective. On PS4, load times and texture pop-in can be noticeable, and players with a fear of deep water may want to think twice.
2. The Last of Us Remastered#
Naughty Dog's remaster of its 2013 post-apocalyptic drama follows Joel and Ellie across a ruined America, and it is survival in its most cinematic form. Ammo is scarce, crafting happens in real time and every encounter forces a choice between stealth and violence. The writing and performances are among the best the PS4 offers. It is linear and scripted rather than an open survival sandbox, so anyone wanting freedom to build and roam will find it more of a guided experience.
3. The Forest#
After a plane crash, you have to survive on a forested peninsula inhabited by cannibalistic mutants, and Endnight Games makes that a lot of fun. You chop trees, build a fortified base, craft traps and explore eerie cave systems. The creatures adapt to how you play, which keeps the threat fresh. It works well with friends in co-op. The PS4 version has rough edges, including occasional bugs, and the combat is a little clumsy compared with the crafting and exploration.
4. Resident Evil 2#
Capcom's 2019 remake of the classic takes survival horror back to Raccoon City, where rookie cop Leon and student Claire face zombies with limited ammo and a tiny inventory. Resource management is the heart of it, and the relentless Mr. X turns every corridor into a risk. The over-the-shoulder camera and sound design are superb. The campaign is relatively short, although the two characters' scenarios and higher difficulties encourage replays, and some will find the stalker's scripted appearances less scary over time.
5. This War of Mine#
11 bit studios flips the war game and has you control civilians trying to outlast a siege in a ruined city. By day you rest and craft, by night you scavenge at risk, and every decision about food, medicine and morality has a cost. The survivors have needs, moods and memories, and the game never lets you feel heroic. It is powerful and uncomfortable, and it is also grim, slow and at times random, so it is not for players seeking power fantasy.
6. Alien: Isolation#
Creative Assembly's first-person horror game places you on the decaying space station Sevastopol as Amanda Ripley, hunted by a single xenomorph that learns from what you do. You have no real way to fight it, so you hide, craft improvised tools and listen for its footsteps in the vents. The retro-futuristic art direction captures the original film with startling accuracy. It is long, and its middle stretch repeats ideas, so some will find the pacing uneven, but the core tension is hard to beat.
7. Frostpunk#
11 bit studios asks you to keep a city alive in a world frozen by a catastrophic winter, and the tools are coal, generators and hard laws. Frostpunk mixes city building with survival by forcing choices on child labor, amputations and martial law, and it forces you to live with them. The atmosphere is oppressive and memorable. A controller is not as precise as a mouse, so the interface can be a little cumbersome on PS4, and the scenarios offer limited variety once you know them.
8. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard#
Capcom reinvents the series with a first-person view and a rotting Louisiana plantation home occupied by the Baker family. You conserve ammo, solve puzzles and run from enemies who seem impossible to kill, in a return to the series' survival-horror roots. The first half is brilliantly frightening. The last act leans toward action and loses some of the tension, and the PS4 version has lower resolution than newer consoles, but it remains one of the scariest games on the system.
9. Metro Exodus#
4A Games takes Artyom out of the tunnels and across post-apocalyptic Russia on the train Aurora, in a mixture of shooter, stealth and survival. Gas masks need filters, weapons are cleaned by hand and you craft ammo from scavenged materials, so scarcity shapes each decision. The larger sandbox-style levels around the Volga and Caspian are the highlight. The story is more linear than the open areas suggest, and it is more shooter than survival game, which might not suit players who want relentless deprivation.
10. Don't Starve#
Klei Entertainment's hand-drawn, gothic survival game drops you into a hostile wilderness with no instructions. You gather food, craft tools and track hunger, health and sanity through seasons that get harsher every year. The art style is distinctive, and the crafting and cooking systems run deep. It is also punishing, and permanent death means that early runs end quickly, so a wiki is almost necessary. Players who enjoy learning by dying will find it addictive, while others will find the opening hours frustrating.
11. Darkwood#
Acid Wizard Studio's top-down horror game set in a nightmarish Polish forest splits every day into two parts. In daylight you scavenge and craft, and at night you barricade your hideout and listen as something terrible tries to get in. The audio, the hand-painted look and the vague story create real dread. Inventory management is tight and the pace is slow, and the game's obscure story and fixed camera will not suit everyone, but the atmosphere is excellent.
12. Terraria#
Re-Logic's 2D sandbox lets you dig, build, fight bosses and craft thousands of items, and it is survival in its most generous form. Night brings monsters, the underground hides dangerous caves and new tools open up further exploration. Co-op play with friends makes it an easy recommendation. The survival pressure is mild next to the other entries here, and the game explains little, so newcomers can feel lost early on. Still, its content depth is huge.
13. Medieval Dynasty#
Render Cube's survival simulation starts you in a ruined medieval valley with nothing but the clothes on your back. You hunt, farm, build a home and then grow a village, hiring villagers and managing seasons, professions and food supplies. It has a calming, steady loop. It is also slow and grindy, and the animations and interface feel stiff. The PS4 version is more rough-edged than the PC one, but if you enjoy long-term building, this one rewards patience.
14. Amnesia: The Bunker#
Frictional Games sets its horror in a French World War I bunker where a creature stalks the corridors and the only thing keeping it away is light. A generator needs fuel, bullets are scarce and supplies and ammo are placed differently each run. The systemic design means every run plays out differently, and it is tense throughout. It is relatively short and some players will find the repeating structure limiting, but it is among the best recent horror games on PS4.
15. Endling: Extinction Is Forever#
Herobeast's game puts you in the paws of a mother fox trying to keep her cubs alive in a dying world. You forage for food, avoid humans and find safe dens, and the choices are morally uncomfortable when hunger forces your hand. It is a short and emotional experience, with a strong environmental message. The side-scrolling controls can be a little imprecise, and the survival systems are simpler than in bigger sandboxes, so it is best approached as a story-led game.
16. 60 Seconds! Reatomized#
Robot Gentleman's dark comedy has you grab family members and supplies in 60 seconds before a nuclear bomb hits, then survive in the fallout shelter. The choice of what to bring and what to ration leads to funny and brutal outcomes. The retro-style art and its humour are a pleasant change from the grimmer entries on this list. It is repetitive after a few runs, and it is shallow compared with the bigger survival games, but it makes a short, amusing change of pace.