Most mainstream games are doing their best to handhold every player throughout the entire playthrough. They tell you how to fight, what to buy, where to go, and usually pinpoint the exact location on your minimap, so you never get lost. Fortunately, there’s a remedy to this tendency for anyone seeking a challenge – and it’s called survival games.

In games like The Forest, your main task is to survive at all costs. There’s no tutorial, minimap, or indicator showing where to go next. You’re only provided with a short backstory and basic tools to figure out how to survive in the harsh world you’ve found yourself in. 

The survival elements presented in The Forest are top-notch, leaving you with a grin of satisfaction if you manage to figure them out on your own. We can safely say it’s a must-have for any survival genre enthusiast, but it’s not the only game with excellent survival mechanics and engaging personal tales

At RoyalCDKeys, we’ve picked up the best games like The Forest that you’ll love. What’s more, they’re available for purchase on RoyalCDKeys at competitive prices!    

ARK: Survival Evolved

• Release Date: August 29, 2017
• Developer: Studio Wildcard
• Platforms: PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iPhone/iPad, Nintendo Switch
• Metascore: 70

You can tell it’s a survival game by simply reading its name, and it’s not an ordinary one. You start as an outcast on a distant island. Here, you will gather resources and craft gear in a harsh, open-world environment like in The Forest. But instead of blood-craving cannibals, you’re going to meet an entire zoo of dinosaurs trying to eat you for breakfast. 

Without preparation, even smaller predators will kill you in one hit. However, you can learn to tame them later on and even use one as your bodyguard. They can also be used for resource gathering and collecting tons of food in a matter of minutes. It sounds easy, but getting to this point will take you a hefty amount of time, and early on, you should focus on simply staying alive.

Apart from single-player adventure, the game features multiplayer modes, where you can team up with your friends. With this option, you are the one who controls the settings, and you have to start the game so others can join. But as a newbie, I advise you to join someone who’s been playing for quite some time and will teach you the basics due to the game’s steep learning curve.

ARK: Survival Evolved Xbox Live CD Key is available for purchase on RoyalCDKeys.

Key Features

• Similar to The Forest, you will be focusing on collecting resources and crafting gear.
• Dangerous dinosaurs roaming the land.
• Various game modes including multiplayer with up to 4 players.
• Steep learning curve.   

Subnautica

• Release Date: January 23, 2018
• Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iPhone/iPad
• Metascore: 87

Subnautica is a first-person survival game with quite unique approach. The game focuses on exploring the deep, underwater world instead of another desolated island. Here, you will hardly feel any ground beneath your feet, and the only solid surface available is your submarine. The story is also unique, as the game takes place on a foreign planet where our protagonist landed after a plane crash. Now you must scavenge for food and materials to stay alive and find a way to get back home.

The story sounds simple on the surface, but it’s one of few survival games where story mode is amusing and worth delving into. It blends seamlessly with survival mechanics, leaving you clues along the way, slowly revealing a grand mystery about the place you’ve found yourself in. It’s told in fragments via found notes and audio recordings that require you to venture further away from your pod onto more dangerous seas. Many threats await inside the black void of the deepest parts of the sea.

You can still build your underwater base, though, and the game delivers plenty of freedom for placing items exactly where you want them. Sadly, it doesn’t have any co-op, but the underwater world has enough attractions to keep you busy.

Subnautica Steam CD Key is available for purchase on RoyalCDKeys. 

Key Features

• Most of the game takes place underwater.
• A gripping story told in the form of lost notes and audio recordings.
• Many dangerous animals, from little, biting fishes to deep-sea tentacled monsters.
• Expanded crafting system with plenty of freedom when building your base. 

Stranded Deep

• Release Date: TBA – Early Access
• Developer: Beam Team Games
• Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Metascore: 65

Stranded Deep is similar to Subnautica as it also offers an underwater world to explore. However, you’re stranded on the ocean this time, not below it. A small lifeboat is the only thing that keeps you afloat, and your task is to explore nearby islands for resources necessary to survive.

The map is generated randomly every time you start a new game, so the experience from previous playthroughs won’t help you find what you need. Crafting also plays an important role. The system responsible for creating items is intuitive – the interface has been limited to the essential minimum. This approach forces you to think about combining individual elements into useful tools. Apart from basic equipment, such as a fishing rod or a primitive weapon, you also have the opportunity to create more advanced structures, such as a raft or a shelter.

Unfavorable weather is another danger waiting for you on the Pacific Sea – not only storms but also ordinary heat during the day or cold at night. This requires you to think about your apparel and craft some provisionary clothes. Also, your food deteriorates over time so getting a stockpile is not the best idea.

Luckily, you can get food and water supply through gathering and hunting and through your own crops. As you can see, the game has a lot to offer despite being in Early Access. The amount of survival mechanics is overwhelming and will still improve over time. If you’re looking for games similar to The Forest, this one will satisfy your needs.

Stranded Deep EU Xbox Live CD Key is available for purchase on RoyalCDKeys.

Key Features

• Procedurally generated world, both on the surface and underwater.
• No tutorials – you have to think about combining individual elements into useful tools.
• Co-op multiplayer.
• Many easter eggs referring to Tom Hanks’ movie “Cast Away.”  

The Long Dark

• Release Date: August 1, 2017   
• Developer: Hinterland 
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Metascore: 77

The Long Dark is a sudden climate change as we leave the tropical islands for the frozen Canadian wilderness. Thanks to its four difficulty levels, it’s the most accessible title compared to other games on this list. Each level offers a different gameplay experience, whether you’re playing Story, Challenge, or Survival Mode.

The game tells the story of pilot William Mackenzie and doctor Astrid Greenwood, survivors of a geomagnetic storm that caused all electronic devices to shut down. Your goal is to survive in a world where temperatures are extremely low, food and water are hard to come by, and predators hunt humans. 

The sandbox structure of the game creates a lot of possibilities. It's up to you which direction you take, and the freedom of movement in the snow-covered areas is not limited in any way. Exploration of the vast world, divided into several regions differing in climate and difficulty level, is the basis of gameplay. You’re constantly looking for shelter from the cold, food, resources to light a fire, or useful items. This includes weapons to protect against wild animals like wolves or bears.

The Long Dark offers three different game modes, as we stated in the beginning. With such a variety of gameplay options, you’re up for a lengthy adventure.

The Long Dark Steam Key is available for purchase on RoyalCDKeys.

Key Features

• A stunning world covered in snow and ice, full of environmental dangers and wild animals.
• No boundaries; you can venture whenever you want to seek shelter.
• Three game modes to choose from.
• Hunt animals for materials to improve your weapons or protect yourself from cold weather.
• A meaningful storyline that pushes you into the wilderness.

Dying Light

• Release Date: January 27, 2015 
• Developer: Techland
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Metascore: 75

Apart from other titles here, Dying Light is a more fast-paced game. It’s a survival horror with RPG elements that focuses on parkour and fighting hordes of zombies along the way. It created its own niche in the zombie genre, and you won’t find many games like it. If you prefer extra action with dozens of jump scares instead of slow-paced survival in The Forest, this is a great alternative. 

The story revolves around secret agents and their stolen confidential data, but gameplay mechanics is all you should care about. Especially the crafting system, where you can create items from almost everything. A wooden stick with some nails covered by duct tape? No problem – it’s enough to smash a zombie’s head against a wall. The constant fear of being ambushed from any direction is something you never get from third-person perspective games. That’s why in Dying Light you have to keep your head on a swivel.

The game offers a lot in terms of the presented world – during the gameplay, we often come across random events. Whether you want to help someone or avoid a possible threat, it's up to you. The authors have provided a lot of side quests, which are a nice distraction from the main plot. There’s also a sequel with improved graphics and even more expanded mechanics.

Dying Light Steam Key is available for purchase on RoyalCDKeys.

Key Features

• A fast-paced survival horror during a zombie apocalypse.
• Excellent parkour system.
• Exceptional crafting system with over 1000 possible weapon combinations.
• Non-linear storyline.  

No Man’s Sky

• Release Date: July 24, 2018
• Developer: Hello Games
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One  
• Metascore: 77

No Man’s Sky is the pinnacle of open-world exploration titles, although it didn’t live up to the expectations upon its release. However, developers from Hello Games didn’t waste time and fulfilled their promises from promotional trailers. It doesn’t feature any horror elements, but the exploration aspect is enough to appeal to most survival-horror players.

The game can be played solo or with other players in online multiplayer. You begin in a small spaceship used for space exploration. Your endgame objective is to reach its center. Later on, you will upgrade your ship to cover longer distances so you can visit any planet in your eyesight. 

Your ability to explore is largely limited by the equipment that you can purchase from merchants or craft. Crafting requires resources, which can be obtained from rocks, plants, animals, or other materials found on the planet. You can use these to produce new equipment or for base building purposes.

The world in No Man’s Sky is procedurally generated, so it’s hard to measure its actual size. To put it simply, you can spend a few years playing it, and you won’t discover even a fraction of the available planets. 

No Man’s Sky is A truly remarkable achievement and a great proposition for any exploration enthusiast. Get No Man’s Sky CD key on RoyalCDKeys!

Key Features

• The best game on this list that’s all about exploration.
• Single or multiplayer mode.
• Upgradable ship.
• Procedurally generated world with unique planets.