Best Survival Games Where The Player Is Hunted

One of the most sprawling genres in gaming, survival games drop players into the midst of often hostile worlds. With only the clothes on their backs and scavenged resources, players must juggle needs management with exploration, crafting, and item gathering. Players are rarely the only dangers that stalk these lands. Whether it be starvation, zombies, or reptilian behemoths, players must adapt to these dangers if they have any hope of survival.

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5 Best Open-World Games Where The Player Is Hunted

These open-world games let players experience both the thrill of being the hunter and the tension of being the prey.

The following entries were chosen as they thrust players into the action-packed role of both predator and prey. Every moment is laced with terror, as a deadly predator could be lurking around any corner.

1

7 Days To Die

Zombie Hordes

Systems

Released

December 13, 2013

Developer(s)

The Fun Pimps

7 Days To Die is a zombie survival game set in a modern world overrun by the undead. Humans are no longer the apex predators here. For the few survivors that remain, every day is a battle as they fight through hordes to scavenge food, weapons, and building materials from the ruins of humanity. Zombies are not the only threat survivors face either. Wolves, bears, and even wild boars will hunt down and kill the unprepared.

Even in their bases, players cannot escape the hunger of the undead. Zombies will break down every structure between them and their prey, whether it’s made of wood, metal, or concrete. Every seventh night, a great man-eating horde will also descend on players, testing how well they’ve prepared for the fateful night.

2

Minecraft

Darkness Brings Danger

A less realism-focused survival game, Minecraft is all about crafting, building, and mining. While the daytime of this game is largely peaceful, horrors lurk in the darkness. Whether a player travels at night or explores the depths of underground caves, they are sure to be hunted by dangerous monsters. Players had best not underestimate these creatures’ cartoon appearances. From deadly giant spiders to otherworldly endermen, there are many ways that an unprepared survivor can meet their doom.

On higher difficulties, hostile mobs can be particularly terrifying with their boosted strength and larger numbers. They will hunt down the player for as long as the player is in range.

3

Ark: Survival Evolved

Prehistoric Predators

Run back in time to the day of the dinosaurs in this survival crafting game. In Ark: Survival Evolved, survivors find themselves at the bottom of the food chain in a wilderness stalked by deadly T-Rexes that will devour them in an instant. Not even herbivores are safe in this land, as many will quickly trample unprepared hunters. Survival hinges on the player’s ability to avoid detection, build secure bases, and flee from dangers.

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Dense vegetation makes evasion all the more difficult, serving to conceal larger predators and making it harder for characters to escape pursuit. Realistic movement speeds add even more tension to these chases, as players are often slower than the dinosaurs hunting them.

4

Kenshi

Wasteland Hunters

Kenshi is a survival crafting RPG builder set on an alien planet of sprawling wastelands and deadly marshes. Lethal monsters stalk this world, each larger and more terrifying than the last. From ruthless beaked things to monstrous skin spiders, even the most veteran adventurers can quickly meet their end in this cruel world. Hunting in packs is also common among the creatures of Kenshi, making encounters all the more dangerous.

Creatures aren’t the only predators players need to watch out for. Most humanoids will hunt, imprison, and kill players, including but not limited to: slavers, cannibals, bandits, and a faction that just really hates poor people!

5

Grounded

Terrifying Insects

Grounded is a co-op survival crafting game. Having been shrunk to the size of ants, players must navigate the diverse environments of a garden. From arid sandpits to bottomless ponds, every location has its own ecosystem — many of whose inhabitants will hunt the player relentlessly. This game isn’t for the squeamish! Whether it’s enormous spiders, blood-sucking mosquitoes, or deadly fish, practically every insect in this world is looking to make the player its next meal.

If players anger an insect faction enough, they will periodically launch raids on the player’s base, relentlessly destroying it and the player.

6

Subnautica

Aquatic Monsters

Subnautica is a single-player survival crafting game set in the depths of an oceanic world. Here the player finds themselves at the bottom of the food chain, eating only the smallest fish and being hunted by a diverse assortment of monsters. Every beautiful ecosystem hides dangerous predators, and every predator has unique behaviors, territories, and means to track the player down.

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Subanutica’s progression system also adds to the dangers of this world, forcing players to dive deep into the darkness. In the bowels of this planet, space is scarce, and predators are plentiful, so be prepared to run — or rather, swim!

7

The Forest

Human Hunters

Systems

Released

April 30, 2018

Developer(s)

Endnight Games

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

In this survival horror game, players find themselves stranded on a beautiful tropical island. The only problem is it’s inhabited by bloodthirsty cannibals and their grotesque humanoid mutants. While initially as curious as they are hostile, these cannibals will quickly become merciless killers that will attack the player on sight, hunting them across the island. Not even bases are safe, as cannibals will periodically launch assaults on them, usually with a hulking mutant in tow.

Like Subnautica, The Forest’s story progression forces players into cavernous, cannibal-infested depths. Through these winding corridors, players run, never quite sure when a pack of cannibals will leap out from the darkness.

8

The Long Dark

Hostile Wildlife

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A survival crafting game that prides itself on realism, The Long Dark sees players face off against the forces of Mother Nature. In a world already made hostile by extreme weather and resource scarcity, players must also learn to survive as both predator and prey in a hostile ecosystem. In this frozen wilderness, wildlife poses as great a threat as any blizzard. Wolves that detect a player will stalk and attack them relentlessly, while big game like bears and moose will savage anyone who dares trespass in their territory.

The constant need for resources forces players to regularly leave the safety of buildings, and ever-changing patrol routes mean players can never be sure that a wolf isn’t lurking around the corner.

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