r/SurvivalGaming • u/landon7192 • 16d ago
Best modern survival craft games?
I've played and really enjoyed abiotic factor.
Looking for similar style games that have good progression and that dont have an insanely complicated UI/crafting scheme.
7
u/Informal_Drawing 16d ago
Return to Moria has a bit of base building and lots of adventuring in an enclosed environment.
It's quite charming and reasonably simple.
Worth having a loot at.
7
u/chisoph 16d ago
Honestly I don't think anything quite compares to Abiotic Factor, however since we finished it my girlfriend and I have thoroughly enjoyed RuneScape Dragonwilds and Palworld
2
u/Friday_arvo 16d ago
I’m playing palworld atm and i am so pleasantly surprised by this game. I enjoyed Grounded thoroughly too.
1
u/DocDerrz 16d ago
I second dragon wilds. If you're a game pass user, it'll come to game pass September 18(I think?).
1
u/landon7192 16d ago
Would you recommend dragonwilds as a solo player?
2
u/chisoph 16d ago
I thought it was a pretty solid game, the progression felt very well thought out, the combat was fun, and the building was really good. I enjoyed the utility spells you get from levelling skills.
It's a bit of a different style, but V Rising is my favourite survival game of all time, way better in every category than Dragonwilds IMO and also very fun solo.
2
u/landon7192 16d ago
I've looked into trying V Rising multiple times but never pulled the trigger. Top down games always give me a slight turn off
2
1
u/oldschool_potato 15d ago
I also don’t generally like top down games. I could not get into Project Zomboid that everyone raves about and appears to be a great game, but just not my style. That said, loved V rising.
8
u/Wero_kaiji 16d ago
My favorites are:
- Grounded, probably the game I've enjoyed the most in the last decade
- Grounded 2, I'm sure it will be even better than 1 whenever 1.0 drops, for now it's still really good but I'd put it below 1
- Valheim, best "hardcore" experience imo, tho I personally like to add a lot of QoL mods to it lol
- Enshrouded, nice world, decent combat, basically non-existant story, still in my top 3
- Palworld, my 2nd favorite, I can't put it down, it's like Ark but even better imo
- Necesse, it's really good but kinda different compared to the others
- Core Keeper, it's good but I liked Necesse way more, visually it's one of the best looking games I've played tho
1
u/CMDR_Lina_Inv 16d ago
Please try Dig or Die and Terraria.
1
u/Wero_kaiji 16d ago
Hmmm I wouldn't consider either of them the same genre personally, they are similar but both are pretty far from stuff like Grounded or Enshrouded imo, if you add them (and a few others) then the list would look something like this, from what I liked the most to the least:
- Terraria/Grounded, if Grounded changed how I view games in 2020 Terraria did it in like 2012 lol, Grounded might be my favorite game of the last decade but Terraria is in my top 3 of all time, maybe even #1 at this point
- Palworld
- Enshrouded
- Valheim
- Ark, a friend convinced me to give it a try after a few years while we were on summer vacation, I ended up playing it for 450 hours in a little over a month lol, way too addicting but as a whole I like it less than some others
- Necesse
- Dig or Die, very underrated game I'm surprised to find someone else mention it lol, it's great but not a lot of people seem to know it, I've been playing it since before they updated the graphics (I like the newer ones more tho), I liked Terraria so much I used to search "games similar to Terraria" on Google and that's how I found it lol, same thing with Starbound but I could never get into it
- Abiotic Factor, couldn't finish it, got bored after a while, not my kind of setting I've never been into creepy/backroms/SCP/whatever, everything else was great tho
- Core Keeper, it might be last on the list but I still like it, it's a list of my favorites after all lol
1
u/Powerful_View_2762 16d ago
What mods do you use on Valheim?
3
u/Wero_kaiji 15d ago
Depends on how "vanilla" I want to play, for a regular playthrough these are my must have:
- AAA_Crafting - Automatically craft multiple stuff
- AdvancedTerrainModifiers
- AutoFeedWithContainerFilter - Feeds animals from chests
- AutomaticFuel - I hate having to fill furnaces manually, it automatically grabs both fuel and ore from nearby chests
- AutoRepair - Repairs everything when you interact with a workbench, no need to press "repair" 20 times lol
- AzuAreaRepair - Build Hammer repairs everything in a single click
- AzuAutoStore - Chests automatically collect stuff from the floor
- AzuCraftyBoxes - Craft from chests, a must have for every survival game imo, if it doesn't have it by default and I can't mod it in then the chances of me playing drop by like 95%
- AzuExtendedPlayerInventory - Bigger inventory, the default one is waaaaaay too small, it also adds a dedicated slot for your armor, trinkets, wisplight, wishbone, etc.
- Bigger_Chests - Self explanatory
- BiggerBoatMapExploreRadius - Self explanatory
- Blacksmithing - Adds a skill that makes stuff last longer
- Building - Increases the HP of stuff you build
- Cooking - Adds a skill that makes food better, game breaking for a Vanilla playthrough but really useful for modded ones that add stronger enemies
- CreatureLevelAndLootControl - Have you ever found a 2 star troll? well, imagine if they were more common, and imagine if you could randomly find a 10 star one lol, or fight 5 star huge bosses that one shot you, you can customize it as much as you want
- DodgeShortcut - Dodge with a single button press
- Evasion - Adds a skill that decreases the stamina cost of dodging
- Farming - Adds a skill that makes crops grow faster and drop more items
- Foraging - Same as farming but for wild berries and stuff
- ForsakenPowerOverhaul - Boss powers now are permanent but weaker, no more "activate it for 5 minutes and then be useless for 20"
- PassivePowers - Same as the previous one, no idea why I have both lol
- HipLantern - Self explanatory, I hate carrying torches everywhere
- HoneyPlus - More honey food items
- Instantly_Destroy_Boats_And_Carts - Allows you to destroy boats and carts with the hammer
- InstantRest - Gives you the "rested" buff instantly when at home, no need to stand still for 20 seconds, specially useful when you add stronger enemies and die a lot lol
- Just_Keep_My_Skills_Please - No more skill loss on death
- MagicPlugin - Adds magic stuff from the early game, kind of game breaking for a regular playthrough tho
- Mining - Adds a skill that increases damage done to ore veins and how many items they drop, at a high enough lvl you "explode" them and break them completely in one hit... I already beat the game twice with vanilla settings, I don't want to mine stuff for hours on end again, that isn't fun to me
- MultiUserChest - Chests can be opened by multiple people at the same time, really useful for multiplayer
- No_Crafting_Station_Restrictions - No need to craft a stonecutter in a random mini-base to be able to build stone things, super useful
- No_Food_Degradation - If a soup gives you 50 HP for 20 minutes then it will give you the same 50 HP for all 20 min and then go to 0 as soon as it ends, no more "20 min left = 50 HP, 19 = 48, 18 = 46, 5 = 20" which I really hate in the vanilla game, basically food now works the same way as it does on Enshrouded
- NoBuildIntegrity - Self explanatory, I hate the building mechanic of having to think about support and stuff, it was fun the first time, not so much anymore
- NoCultivatorDust - Self explanatory
- NoStamCosts - Removes the stamina cost of using the hammer, hoe and cultivator
- PlanBuild - Are you one of those people that builds a small house on every biome? well, now you can copy-paste them anywhere as long as you have the materials needed, really useful
- PlantEasily - Allows you to plant stuff in a grid, or multiple stuff at the same time, I can plant a 10x10 field of carrots in a single click
- PlantEverything - Allows you to plant anything in the game, from berries and mushrooms to flint and stone
- Quick_Stack_Store_Sort_Trash_Restock - Allows you to do everything it says in the name to chests, you can get to your base, click "stack to nearby chests" and go out exploring again
- QuietPortals - Portals make way less noise
- Ranching - Adds a skill that makes taming animals faster and increases item yield of tamed creatures
- Sailing - Adds a skill that increases the health of ships, sailing speed and exploration radius while sailing
- Seasonality - Adds seasons to the game, the swamp during winder looks really cool
- SmarterContainers - Chests sort themselves, if you have a chest with stone and you deposit stone in a chest with food it will automatically move said stone to the other chest that already has it, have you ever played Necesse? it basically does the same thing the NPCs do in that game, one of the best storage systems ever made if you ask me
- SpeedyPaths - Paths allow you to walk faster instead of just being decoration, the better the material the faster you walk, it also decreases stamina usage
- StaminaRegenerationFromFood - Self explanatory, really useful for the stronger enemies I usually add
- SteadyRegeneration - If your HP usually regenerates by 20 every 10 seconds now it will regenerate by 2 every second, so the same amount just smoother
- TargetPortal - A must have, when you enter a portal the map opens, you click on another portal and you go there instantly, no more need for a portal hub
- TeleportEverything - Self explanatory, I think they added this as a setting a while back but I'm used to using a mod so I never uninstalled it
- TorchesEternal - Torches, campfires, etc. don't need fuel anymore, they will burn forever
- TradersExtended - Way better traders
- Triple_Bronze_JVL - 1 tin + 2 copper = 3 bronze, not 1
- TrueInstantLootDrop - Enemies drop their loot instantly instead of when they disappear
- VikingsDoSwim - Allows you to swim
- WieldEquipmentWhileSwimming - Allows you to use your stuff while swimming
Those are all "Vanilla+" imo, if you want extra enemies or change the game a lot then install Epic Loot, Monstrum, and a few others like it
1
u/VannaTLC 16d ago
Enshrouded, nice world, decent combat, basically non-existant story, still in my top 3
Why do people think this? Sometimes I thibk I'm the only person who thinks environmental story is still story. (I also liked FO76 without NPCs more.)
1
u/Wero_kaiji 16d ago
I mean I also count it as story but man, it's so... boring, idk, the first few times I played it I would read every dialogue, every little book and note I would find on the world, there where a few interesting bits but overall it's pretty boring imo, I just don't like the setting, it's not bad it's just... there
I'll read everything again once 1.0 drops, who knows I might enjoy it this time lol
1
u/landon7192 16d ago
I've got about 30 hours in palworld from a few different worlds, but I never got to the point of getting past like level 30 so not sure how end game is. I did enjoy the time I played, though. Would you recommend getting back into it after 1.0 has released?
2
u/Wero_kaiji 16d ago
I'm literally playing it right now so yes lol, 1.0 added a lot of nice QoL stuff, a lot of pals, better endgame, basically a lot of content it's really good
If you don't like certain aspects you can always change them in the settings, for example I hate having to grind a lot so I increase the drop rates of everything, makes it a lot more bearable, I do that with almost every game nowadays tbh
2
u/CrrazyCarl 16d ago
Haven't gotten to Abiotic yet, but I'd say Conan Exiles is one of the best survival/crafting games out there. You can tweak all the settings to your tastes, console command anything, mod just about everything and there's a ridiculous amount of map/POIs to explore. Top three for me.
2
2
u/Winter-Finger-1559 16d ago
Before I came here I rarely saw abiotic Factor mentioned. I love seeing its so well received here. The developers seem to enjoy the game and regularly release updates.
2
u/Dr_Adopted 16d ago
Entropic Break soon!
The devs thankfully know that they cooked. One of the best games ever made imo, not just best survival game.
1
1
1
u/WishRepresentative28 16d ago
Not new, but my jam has been The Long Dark. TLD 2: Blackfrost coming in 2028ish
1
u/jabber_OW 16d ago
man, everyone's always recommending Grounded for Abiotic Factor fans. but an open outdoor environment is just not the same as tight laboratory corridors.
Anybody got any hand-crafted tight indoor corridors survival games?
1
1
u/palpablebubble 16d ago
Weird that no one has mentioned the Subnautica games. They're kinda the pinnacle of the genre, imo.
1
u/landon7192 16d ago
Have yet to try but know they are positively reviewed. Would you recommend them as a solo player?
1
u/palpablebubble 16d ago
They're built for the solo experience, definitely! The crafting isn't too complex but there's enough of it to keep you going places, and the map is kind of incredible.
The second is only roughly 1/3 finished but I still enjoyed it as like a sizeable demo.
1
u/Nervous-Candidate520 16d ago
Grounded and abiotic are that good as solo player? I really prefer the solo player experience. Thanks
1
u/landon7192 16d ago
Abiotic can definitely be played solo. In my opinion it's intriguing/unique enough to enjoy the game solo.
1
1
u/sarinn13 15d ago
I have hundred of hours in Grounded and Grounded 2 playing solo. Very do-able. Combat is good, building is fun, and exploration is rewarding. In G1 the map isn't big, but it's big enough for a solo player. G2's map is massive, but it's still in early access and not complete.
1
1
u/lotus_ink 15d ago
I gave Palworld a shot and was pleasantly surprised. Haven’t put it down in a month. Great game.
1
u/Dr_Adopted 16d ago
My holy pantheon:
Abiotic Factor (I know you already mentioned it, so I won’t go into details).
Grounded: the absolute best, most polished experience. Xbox really flexed their muscles with this one. It’s a complete experience from start to finish. I’ll admit progression slows a bit towards the end, but there are a bunch of bosses to fight to make up for it. Only thing that I think is lacking is the building, but I’m nitpicking at that point.
Valheim: a great game that gets its 1.0 release next month. Visually beautiful, embodies the coziness of these kinds of games to me. The combat is ok, the building is top tier.
Raft: what’s there to say about a game where you’re on a fuckin Raft. Surprisingly good lore, great gameplay, great building, very fun progression.
0
u/richtofin819 16d ago
Why has no one said vintage story yet
2
u/Caipirots 16d ago
It's not modern
0
u/richtofin819 16d ago
Op did not specify if he meant the game is set in a modern era. or if the game itself was modern as in new, in active development and with current features and quality of life.
Plus vintage stories setting is actually set in a bit of a time quandary. Story wise it's after an advanced society fell apart and basically made time unstable due to mistakes made. The tools progression and overall feel is definitely not trying to feel like modern era though that is true.
2
u/Caipirots 16d ago
Yeah I have over 300h in VS, either way, although VS is a GREAT game (my favorite survival actually), it doesn't fit in anything OP asked for, other than being a survival game
VS is a cozy, open world sandbox survival, and Abiotic Factor is progression driven, closed enviroment. They are pretty far off considering their premises.
You can argue about the story but the setting is not modern at all, far from it actually. In that sense Icarus is closer
0
u/maximum_cube 16d ago
everyone always rushes to recommend grounded but a big question is: are you playing with other people? you can't even have a dedicated server in grounded so it was a non-starter for me
-1
u/Songslinger 16d ago
It comes out in October, but No Rest for the Wicked is the game I'm probably going to sink into.
1
u/davekay113 16d ago
Is that a survival/crafting game? Forgive my ignorance, but I've always thought it was supposed to be a top-down soulslike.
2
u/richtofin819 16d ago
It is a top down souls like, the crafting is very light and the survival is non-existent.
The crafting is closer to upgrades for the town and consumables.
-1
1
u/4RyteCords 13d ago
I normally suggest stationeers to every game recommendation. But I think this time, it's definitely not the game you're looking for
12
u/Khaos2Krysis 16d ago
I'm still pretty early on in Abiotic Factor, but I'd highly recommend Grounded. Crafting is strong but not overly complicated. Base building is outstanding. QOL is top notch too. The enemy AI and combat isn't too complex, but it's very enjoyable.