This genre never really sounded all that interesting to me. But a week or so ago I downloaded a demo for Against the Storm. Played it, loved it. Next came the demo for Frostpunk. OMG, I never realized spiraling down into madness and death could be so much fun.
With that as an introduction, I'm soliciting opinions on other "like games" you'd think I'd enjoy. Specifically interested in Banished, Oxygen Not Included, and Rimworld, but if there's something else out there that you think is worth recommending, by all means let me know.
Are you only looking at non-1st/3rd person base building survival?
Assuming so, there are some improved versions of the Banished style of gameplay in the works, so I'd hold off on Banished itself and try demos of the newer games. (At work now so I'll have to wait for home to get a list.)
Hard to beat Rimworld, but quite a few games are trying to do so, or are offering different genres (and/or scaled down to something more manageable). Of course the grand-dwarf of that particular mode of survival game is Dwarf Fortress which finally got a gloriously upgraded release on Steam recently.
If you're looking for something a little more chill as a turn-based survival game, I can personally testify to two very different things worth looking into which go on sale on Steam reasonably often but are worth full price.
Settlements isn't really turn based now that I think about it, but it's a very pausable realtime, with deep character customization, which looks like it SHOULD be tbs. It starts out as a low-fantasy sticks and stones recovery game, and ends with your settlements (expanded slowly across the map) going into space-age technology and operations, trying to fight off fantasy trope staples (giant rats are an early problem for those sticks and stones) in order to avoid being destroyed by whatever corrupted force humanity unleashed the last time they went to the space age! (Or however many times they reached it in the past!)
Pre-dynastic Egypt and its sequel (which starts about 2/3 through the first game in a different area) Egypt: Old Kingdom is a settlement survival pure turn-based game, kind of puzzly although with random fluctuations on each run. The mechanics are simple and generally clear, and your resource management is generalized but not easy. I've played this duology to completion a lot, at least once a year each -- you can also get them for iPhone (although saves are not cross-platform). The style is workgroup-placement, a little like a solo-designed boardgame, rather than a character-based semi-RPG. I won't lie, it's hard as rocks, and you can fail a run by bad planning or RNG (much moreso a combination!) even on the easiest settings! The only way to win on anything worse than 'historical' settings (which are a tad harder than 'medium'), is to save scum like a scummy thing, and even on 'medium' (moreso historical) it's a good idea to save often. If you have incipient OCD (I mean OD-C!), this will develop it nicely! :ThumbsUp: :HideEyes:
If you want to try a first person game: I think "7 Days to Die" has few equals.
If you are even remotely interested in vampires, check out V Rising.
Quote from: ArizonaTank on March 14, 2023, 08:05:48 AMIf you want to try a first person game: I think "7 Days to Die" has few equals.
It certainly balances the survival and base-building aspects. Although the base-building is kind of almost optional: it has been entirely possible to play the game as a wanderer without a base, simply scavaging some things and lightly crafting some others, perhaps buying some things with the trader-system implemented some time ago. (Or ignoring the trader posts altogether if you'd rather not have a little functioning civilization in the game.)
Still, if you want to base build, about the only thing you can't really do in the game is set up factory systems. On the other hand, the great factory-system games (starting with the 1st-person
Fortresscraft Evolved and the more stable but 2D
Factorio, which have similar plots and mechanics), don't have a lot of survival elements per se.
A good solo 1PS base-building and survival game has been
Subnautica, although reviews of its sequel have been mixed.
Valheim can be added to that list now, which (like 7DtD) can be solo or as much mp as your system/server can handle.
Oxygen not Included has been my go to for years.
Surviving Mars is pretty good.
Rimworld was already mentioned.
Don't Starve is great
Oh yeah, I forgot Don't Starve, lots of steady development over the years, too!
Ixion is frequently described as FrostPunk in space. The devs are still bug squashing but I've yet to find any show-stoppers and I'm enjoying the game immensely in spite of my many poor decisions (save frequently!).
Here's a review... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9usJqGFhQw
Valheim is in a league of its own with regards to survival games. I honestly can't go back to your typical "shovel food down your character's mouth every 10 minutes or die" style of survival games. The way food gives you buffs, but isn't necessary to keep you alive, is a brilliant design choice.
Also, the building system is much more satisfying than traditional survival games IMO. In most survival games, the building system is like Legos where as long as one part connects with the next, it'll stand up. Valheim is more like Lincoln Logs where distribution of weight is key, and you must build supports to keep everything from collapsing. It takes a little while to learn, but once you get used to it, it's sublime.
Good options have already been mentioned above. I echo that 7 Days to Die and Valheim are good.
I just recently picked up and started playing Sons of the Forest with a buddy of mine and I can also say my initial impressions of it are very good. It adds a lot of innovative and new ideas and gameplay to the genre.
^Sons of the Forest is getting great reviews and is setting Steam on fire right now.
Quote from: Gusington on March 14, 2023, 06:17:00 PM^Sons of the Forest is getting great reviews and is setting Steam on fire right now.
For good reason. A few things that stood out to me
A realistic inventory system which maybe can be annoying, but yes, you have to lay out your backpack to select what's in your hands and assign hotkeys that are accessible. So, your inventory is "real" not just a screen.
A realistic map system that depends on you bringing out your GPS and holding it.
A morale system for enemies. The enemies have personalities. Some will be aggressive and come at you, but others will be afraid and hold back. Kill the Alpha and the cronies with false courage might melt away.
Enemies that will vary in their aggressiveness based on your interaction with them. Hunt down and kill every cannibal you see and they'll get over their fear of you and unite to lay siege to your base.
And more. Check out some lets plays, I have a feeling it might be the next thing in Survival/Building.
Allow me to add Empyrion: Galactic Survival for base building and survival. I played it (and bought it) waaaay back during its official alpha stage, and it was pretty decent even then. By now, especially with all the easily imported user-made content (up to and including campaigns spanning multiple star systems), it's stunning.
Now, it's a 1/3PS game, not a top-down/isometric. So it may not be in the line requested. But I'm occasionally reminded of it by the dev teams steadily updating it, so...!
Jason -- You mentioned "improved versions of the Banished style of gameplay in the works." Specifics (esp. now there's a sale on)?
Oh, right, yes the Spring Sale is on!
I was going to drop examples in last night but got distracted. Will try to do so tonight.
One game I didn't see mentioned is Project Zomboid, game will kick your ass. It's not a question if your going to die, you will, but how long can you put death off is the challenge. It's a must have survival game in my opinion. Just got a graphics upgrade a few months ago, so looks better. Like 7 days to Die it's in early access and has been for a long time, but completely playable. Plenty of settings and workshop support also. Longest I've survived is 28 days, can you do better :grin: usually I get greedy about looting.
Quote from: -budd- on March 18, 2023, 04:16:46 PMOne game I didn't see mentioned is Project Zomboid, game will kick your ass. It's not a question if your going to die, you will, but how long can you put death off is the challenge. It's a must have survival game in my opinion. Just got a graphics upgrade a few months ago, so looks better. Like 7 days to Die it's in early access and has been for a long time, but completely playable. Plenty of settings and workshop support also. Longest I've survived is 28 days, can you do better :grin: usually I get greedy about looting.
Word. 'tis a sweet game indeed.
Anno 1800 is free to play on either Epic or Ubisoft Connect until 3/23.
Quote from: -budd- on March 18, 2023, 04:16:46 PMOne game I didn't see mentioned is Project Zomboid, game will kick your ass. It's not a question if your going to die, you will, but how long can you put death off is the challenge. It's a must have survival game in my opinion. Just got a graphics upgrade a few months ago, so looks better. Like 7 days to Die it's in early access and has been for a long time, but completely playable. Plenty of settings and workshop support also. Longest I've survived is 28 days, can you do better :grin: usually I get greedy about looting.
LOL I survive about 28 minutes - my avatar stands there getting munched while I feverishly fail to interact with the action menu
Heh, 28 days later...
Dangit, I meant to post up Steam-sale examples of top-down survival/builder games like Banished but with more polish, over the weekend! I blame taxes.
Part of the problem is that while I own quite a few (and demos of more), I don't really play them much.
Okay, Steam has set up a handy page for plenty of Banished-like survival-settlement games:
ttps://store.steampowered.com/category/strategy_cities_settlements
You'll get a lot of things that don't really fit your criteria, but if you scroll down a little to the main tab set, you can select for City Builder and Colony Sim tabs. Which will also include some things you aren't looking for, but more of what you are.
Scrolling down farther will bring you to some other categories like Sandbox. And last is the main search function which will allow you to dial in genres and subgenres along with whether demos are available, early access, average rating, etc.
State of Decay 2. I'm not a big fan of zombie games but I do enjoy this one. Close to 'The Walking Dead'.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/495420/State_of_Decay_2_Juggernaut_Edition/
Games I own and enjoy:
1: 7 Days to Die - A first person zombie craft/survival game. Fantastic world gen options, and many ways to tweak it to make it more challenging once you get to grips with the mechanics. Also hella fun with a buddy.
2: Don' Starve - a top down 2d craft survival game with a very unique take on the genre (graphics and controls) with the caveat that this game is suffering personified until you learn some of the more essential survival tricks.
3: Dwarf Fortress - a top down 2d game and with its recent transition to retail and an actual functional gui you can't go wrong. It still has a huge learning curve and makes your spare time magically disappear once you get into it and being to understand the mechanics and level of control you have.
4: Factorio - another top down survival craft game all about trying to get off a planet that doesn't want you there. It has a strong focus on automation and designing efficient factory lines to the point that it becomes ridiculously addictive (there is a reason it's known as Cracktorio).
5: The Forest - same as 7 days except the world is fixed, not genned. This down side comes with a big up side; a far more focused narrative, a beautiful island to explore and moments that will make you fall out of your chair in terror.
6: Kenshi - a third person craft survival RPG hybrid that is really, really weird and funny. You can join factions, create factions, become enslaved, start settlements, raid settlements, make faction enemies and allies, fight really weird monsters, lose appendage, replace appendages and more. It's weird in a great way, but it does take a considerable amount of time to really figure out.
7: Reassembly - a top down space survival game. Start your own faction, design ships and space stations, scrap obsolete ships and space stations, getting into huge fleet battles and try to dominate the map before moving onto the next. The unique parts available to each faction and the ease of using the ship designer really sold it for me.
8: Subnautica - a first person craft/survival game set on a planet almost completely ocean based. Beautiful, serene, and a great narrative to boot, you really can't go wrong with this one. This is my go-to to help me unwind after a hectic day at work.
9: This War of Mine - a plat-former survival rpg hybrid. You control a growing number of civilians trapped in a city currently at war. Each night you need to choose a member to go out and raid for supplies while maintaining enough defenses back home to keep everyone alive, or enough heat to prevent them from freezing, or enough meds to stop them dying from illness etc etc. You'll have to make some really hard choices, like turning a starving kid away because you know you just can't take care of them properly without your currently party suffering badly because of it. If you wan't a tiny idea of what it must be like to be a Ukrainian citizen in the current war, this is the game. Just be prepared for heart breaking moments.
There are more, and a few have already been mentioned here (yeah I know I also +1 a few recommendations) but these are a good start for your consideration.
Oh I also forgot Satisfactory which is a basically a 3d Factorio.
Quote from: greengiant on March 22, 2023, 03:51:44 AMGames I own and enjoy:
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There are more, and a few have already been mentioned here (yeah I know I also +1 a few recommendations) but these are a good start for your consideration.
Some great recommendations. +1 on all of them.
I have recently picked Terraformers, especially since it just released the 1.0 version. You have to terraform Mars / build a colony on the planet. It also has roguelike elements and one playthrough takes about an hour and a half or maybe two hours. There are various goals to achieve too. It is a fun game.
The other I could recommend is called Kingdoms Reborn and it is more like Banished in style but there is a twist. Buildings are placed via cards. Every turn you get a set of cards, pick one (or sometimes more) and place them or keep them in hand waiting for a better opportunity.
If you enjoyed Frostpunk, you should check out This War of Mine - another gritty, emotional game that puts you amid survival in a harsh environment. As for the games you're specifically interested in, Banished is an excellent choice for a more relaxed, slow-paced experience, while Oxygen Not Included and Rimworld offer more complex gameplay with lots of different mechanics to master. You can even find great game accessories to enhance your gameplay at igitems.com (https://igitems.com/). This way, you can diversify and raise your gameplay to a new level. Happy gaming!
One that I've only seen briefly mentioned by greengiant that I want to vouch for is Subnautica. I've just recently started playing this on the PS5 and it is one of the most beautiful (and terrifying) games I've ever played. It's available on almost every platform and I highly recommend it.