6 Best PS3 Survival Games, Ranked

Survival games are first and foremost designed to be challenging, but they still need to feature an engaging gameplay loop that doesn’t end up feeling unfair or impossible to play. These types of games will always feature a range of systems that will keep the player on their toes from start to finish, forcing them to prioritize their health and hunger by collecting resources to help them see it through to the next day.

RELATED: Most Brutal Survival Games

While the PlayStation 3 didn’t have too many games that fit into this genre, there were still a handful that really made an impression on players for how well they managed to create an immersive experience that pushed them to the limit. Without proper resource management and quick thinking, these games could easily overwhelm anyone who takes them too lightly, but with that being said, they’re still a must-try for those who are big fans of this demanding genre.

6 Man VS Wild

On the surface, a game based around the many adventures of celebrity explorer Bear Grylls may not sound like the most exciting experience ever, but it actually provides a very enjoyable and pretty intense experience thanks to its difficulty. Once players pick one of the five expeditions to jump into, they’ll need to use their survival instincts to gather resources and craft tools to make it to the next day in one piece.

Each expedition provides a fairly open area that players can explore at their own pace, with plenty of small puzzles and hidden areas that will offer extra supplies and food. The movement is by far the biggest drawback to the game since it can feel a little unresponsive and difficult to grasp at first, and the length of the game is unfortunately pretty short, but for what it is, it still provides a great survival experience which is surprisingly challenging.

5 The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

Rather than focusing on fast-paced and trigger-happy gameplay, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is much more strategic in how it plays, with each and every action having a reward and consequence that makes it a genuinely engaging survival game. Players take control of fan-favorite character Daryl Dixon who, along with his half-uncle, must do all they can to survive life on the road in the middle of a terrifying zombie apocalypse.

RELATED: The Best Open-World Zombie Games Ever Made

While traveling between points, Daryl will run into survivors whom he can choose to help or leave behind. However, bringing them along will also mean more mouths to feed, and there are only so many supplies and resources within each pit stop. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Walking Dead game without hordes of Walkers also making an appearance, but it’s heavily advised that the player uses stealth during these encounters to save ammunition for when it’s most needed. The game hasn’t aged very well in the visuals department, or the story for that matter, but in terms of gameplay, Survival Instinct is one of the most methodical and immersive survival games on the PS3 that even those who aren’t very familiar with The Walking Dead should still at least give a fair shot.

4 Lone Survivor

Anyone who loves the resource-management side of survival games needs to check out Lone Survivor, a game where a nameless protagonist must try to keep both their physical and mental health in check while traversing a world that has been ruined by a deadly infection. For most of their playthrough, players will be tasked with venturing into the vast open world to solve puzzles and collect food, but they can’t stray too far as they must always return to their apartment to eat and sleep at the end of the day.

Sleeping is actually very important in Lone Survivor as not only is it the only way to save progress, but it also prevents the character from going mad and being attacked by hallucinations. There is a way to negate this issue by using pills to keep the character up longer so that he can explore a little more, but these will only end up making the visions even worse when they appear, so there’s a lot of strategy involved which makes it a great choice for any true survivalists out there.

3 I Am Alive

When it comes to tone and atmosphere, I Am Alive absolutely nails the feeling of being one of the few lasting survivors in a desolate world that is almost completely empty, but still dangerous. Resources are incredibly scarce in I Am Alive, but things like water, food, and medicine are essential for staying alive, especially since there are many interactions with enemy groups which can get out of hand very quickly.

RELATED: Most Realistic Survival Games

Darkworks made it clear when developing I Am Alive that they wanted to pay close attention to the moral dilemmas that would arise between humans living in a world with such few resources, and they executed this perfectly in the encounters which can be resolved in several ways. While starting a full-blown gunfight is definitely an option, this usually isn’t the best way to go since ammo is so hard to come by, but the player can still intimidate a group by either pulling out a melee weapon or their sidearm. Identifying and taking down the leader of a group is the fastest way to make all the enemies surrender and drop all the loot they have for the player to pick up for themselves. The story is, unfortunately, pretty bland and very predictable, but in every other department, I Am Alive is among one of the best games in its respective genre.

2 Minecraft

Anyone who hasn’t played Minecraft before may see it as nothing more than a fun and colorful building game at first glance, but it can actually be incredibly challenging and even scary at times when choosing to play the Survival Mode. What really makes the survival gameplay of Minecraft unique is that it’s incredibly straightforward to understand, but as the days go on, and the player picks up all the food and resources around them, they will be forced to go out of their comfort zone to find new ways to survive.

This encourages people to get creative with their methods, whether this is by making mini-holes in the ground to survive the night when a house isn’t available, or cooking up some rather unsatisfying Rotten Flesh just to stay alive, the amount of freedom the game offers really elevates the enjoyment of the survival aspect a lot. Players will also need to keep an eye out for the many mobs that stalk the world after the sun goes down; therefore, while it’s easy to get to grips with, Survival Mode in Minecraft can take a while to master truly.

1 Fallout New Vegas (Hardcore Mode)

After creating their character and picking their perks in Fallout New Vegas, players will be given the option to choose Hardcore Mode upon leaving Doc. Mitchell’s house, and while it’s not advised for first-time players, it’s still one hell of an experience. Not only does this mode make resource management a much bigger deal since going over the weight limit can quickly lead to some physical injuries, but it also introduces food, water, and sleep meters which all need to be managed throughout the course of a playthrough

The only problem is that Mojave Wasteland is a pretty harsh and oppressive area full of bandits and horrifying creatures, so the player will need to act like a true survivor and do whatever it takes to gain supplies. There really is no better match for this type of mode than Fallout, especially New Vegas where the role-playing elements feel much more important since every skill in the game will have multiple uses that can make it easier to explore the world. The game is also full of extremely different and unique factions who are well worth joining up with to stay alive, but turning on them later on is still very much a viable option. While Fallout New Vegas might be described as more of an action-adventure game normally, the Hardcore Mode turns it into the most immersive and challenging survival experience available on the PlayStation 3.

MORE: Survival Games With The Best Narratives