The 20 Best Survival Games On PlayStation 5, Ranked

Metacritic Score: 82
Unique Survival Mechanics: Redstone Mechanics, Crafting and Smelting, Shelter Building, Tool Durability
Why Minecraft is one of the Best PS5 Survival Games: For many fans of the survival genre, Minecraft is their OG sandbox game, letting players unleash their creativity while testing their survival skills. Start with nothing but your fists and slowly build up to crafting epic structures and exploring intricate cave systems, chances are if you've been in the gaming world at all over the last decade, you know exactly what you are getting with this adored classic. With virtually limitless possibilities, consistent updates, and a long and stories history behind it, Minecraft remains the single biggest survival game in the gaming world to this day.

Metacritic Score: 87
Unique Survival Mechanics: Oxygen Management, Base Building, Predator Avoidance and Defense
Why Subnautica is one of the Best PS5 Survival Games: If the ocean depths fascinate and terrify you in equal measure, Subnautica is your dream (or nightmare) survival game. Stranded on an alien water world, you quite literally dive into stunning, bioluminescent marine environments to scavenge materials and uncover the planet’s hidden secrets. Resource management is crucial as you craft advanced gear and build underwater bases, but be weary, the deeper you explore, the more wonders, and horrors, of the deep will rear their ugly heads.

Metacritic Score: 83
Unique Survival Mechanics: Stealth and Evasion, Base Fortification, Sanity Management
Why The Forest is one of the Best PS5 Survival Games: Disgusting, horrifying, and beautifully grotesque, The Forest is a game that emphasizes the horror in survival-horror, as this cannibalistic nightmare is one that will keep you looking over your shoulder with every bizarre sound you hear. Stranded in a mysterious forest inhabited by cannibalistic mutants, you must gather resources, build shelters, and craft weapons to survive, and the game's environmental design is stunningly eerie, making every exploration trip both beautiful and terrifying. Its intelligent enemy AI adapts to your actions, creating unpredictable and tense encounters so real, after a few you are probably going to need a moment to capture your breathe and remind yourself, it's just a game.

Metacritic Score: 83
Unique Survival Mechanics: Life Support and Hazard Protection, Base Building and Habitat Creation, Economy and Trading
Why No Man's Sky is one of the Best PS5 Survival Games: Sure, it had a rocky start, but no game bounced back bigger and better than No Man's Sky. With its endless universe filled with procedurally generated planets, every journey feels like a new, one of a kind adventure. The game seamlessly combines exploration and survival, requiring you to gather resources, build bases, and upgrade your spaceship in order to not just survive, but thrive in this never-ending universe. For anyone who has ever looked up at the stars and wondered what is out there, prepare to have all your questions answered.

Metacritic Score: 70
Unique Survival Mechanics: Temperature and Weather Effects, Taming and Breeding Dinosaurs, Tribes and Alliances
Why Ark: Survival Evolved is one of the Best PS5 Survival Games: Every survival game has their unique schtick to help them stand out in the growing sea of open sandbox worlds, and no schtick took just about everyone by surprise more than Ark: Survival Evolved. Throwing you into a prehistoric world filled with dinosaurs and mythical creatures, players get to live out their greatest caveman-meets cybernetic future fantasy in a game that on paper seems a bit ridiculous, but in reality is endlessly enjoyable. You start off with absolutely nothing and must gather resources, craft tools, and eventually tame these massive beasts to build an empire.

Metacritic Score: 81
Unique Survival Mechanics: Mining and Terrain Modification, Fishing and Farming, NPC Management
Why Terraria is one of the Best PS5 Survival Games: While Minecraft may have gotten all the survival game attention throughout the 2010s, there was always one other game that stayed in the background, building a massive cult following and quickly and quietly solidifying itself as maybe the best survival game of all time, and that is Terraria. With a 2D sandbox adventure that’s both charming and challenging, you start with your basic tools,; you dig, build, and fight your way through a world teeming with monsters and hidden treasures, and uncover an exciting and seemingly never-ending adventure. The game’s pixelated art style gives it a timeless appeal, the challenging bosses and diverse biomes keep you constantly engaged, and the multiplayer support lets you team up with friends to build grand structures or take on formidable foes, making every session a new adventure.