35 Best Survival Games for Mobile in 2023

Have you ever found yourself daydreaming about surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, armed with just your wits and instincts? Well, what if we told you that you can experience this thrill right on your mobile device? That’s right – survival games on mobile have taken the gaming world by storm, and we’re here to tell you all about the best ones!

In this blog post, we’ll dive into the top survival games available for mobile platforms, discussing the unique gameplay mechanics and immersive environments that keep players coming back for more. From crafting and building shelters to scavenging for food and fending off deadly creatures, these games will test your mettle and engage your strategic mind like never before.

Mobile gaming expert Jane Smith has even deemed these survival games as the “ultimate test of skill and resourcefulness for gamers on the go.”

So, are you ready to embark on an epic journey of survival and discovery? Join us as we explore the world of mobile survival games, where the stakes are high and only the most resourceful players will make it out alive. Remember, it’s survival of the fittest – and your smartphone could be your key to outlasting the competition!

Don’t Starve – Pocket Edition

Don’t starve, have a sandwich or something. Okay, in all seriousness, Don’t Starve is a fine choice if you’re after a survival game, and the mobile adaptation happens to be a very good version of the game.

You play as Wilson (is this intentional, or a happy coincidence?) and find yourself stranded in the wilderness, all alone, with little to no resources at your disposal. You need to dig deep, chop trees, hunt for food, and withstand the elements.

Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition is a charming game, it’s full of perilous situations, and many creatures that want to ruin your day – don’t let them. Embrace your inner Bear Grylls, work your way through this strange land, uncover its mysteries, and find your way home.

Angel Dust

In this free-to-play MMORPG, players can enjoy destructible environments, numerous building possibilities, and four distinct character classes. Explore various regions, battle monsters, accumulate coins, and discover treasures.

Offering both first-person and third-person viewpoints, the game uniquely blends 3D environments with 2D cartoon-style character art, creating an engaging experience. Players can also teleport between saved locations without needing to traverse the distance manually.

Angel Dust welcomes those eager to embrace their inner builder or adventurer in a true sandbox experience. Its building system bears similarities to Minecraft and Trove. Participate in daily quests and conquer world bosses.

Experience the game solo or join friends in multiplayer mode, exploring the vast world together and tackling challenges as a team.

LifeAfter

It’s a harsh world out there, and, no matter where you are – be it in the frozen mountain landscapes, a scorching desert, or luscious jungles – zombies are everywhere. One of the best things about LifeAfter is that it doesn’t force you to endure such hostility alone.

You can form friendships, each of which strengthens your chances of survival. Well, that’s assuming they don’t betray you at the first opportunity. Remember, it’s not just about avoiding becoming zombie chow, but also finding food for yourself, and building a shelter that’s capable of protecting you from everything that wants to end your life.

Epic Raft Fighting Zombies

This thrilling adventure game finds you stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean, fighting to survive. Collect items from the water to craft armor and weapons, but prioritize finding food and water to maintain your strength and vitality.

Venture to various islands to gather resources and repair your raft. As if that wasn’t challenging enough, expect to fend off adversaries such as sharks, crabs, and even zombies, making this a true survival experience.

Stay vigilant regarding the weather, as different conditions can affect you in various ways. Overall, this game is a solid choice for fans of raft survival sub-genre games.

Stormfall – Saga of Survival

Survival games don’t have to just be about post-apocalyptic worlds and zombies, you know. Sometimes it’s nice to forget about the walking dead, and return to a time where it’s a bunch of angry people casting you out into exile – I know this still isn’t a great scenario, but at least there are no zombies about.

In Stormfall, you must do what it takes to survive as you build a new life for yourself in exile. You need to fight off starvation, withstand the elements, develop weapons, craft gear, and learn what it means to truly be a survivor.

Just Survive

Just Survive is an action-packed survival game where you control a castaway trapped on an apparently deserted island in FPS mode.

Each day is a battle, and survival for even a moment longer is a small triumph. Starting with basic tools, progress through the game to access a vast array of weapons, including bows, arrows, handguns, and rifles.

Confront diverse enemies like wild boars, bears, and aggressive mutants. Enhance your shelter, tools, and weaponry to endure as long as possible.

Ark – Survival Evolved

Okay, we’re going even further back this time, to a period before humans walked the earth. Ark: Survival Evolved sends you to a place where dinosaurs roam the lands, and if you thought surviving at Scout’s camp was tough, well, you’re in for a rude awakening with this one.

Honestly, if ever there was a time to yell ‘I’m a survivor’ this is it, and the chances are you’re truly alone, so nobody is going to tell you to shut up – though a dinosaur’s way of doing this may be to eat you, so there’s that.

Ark features all the stereotypical survival game elements – you must scavenge for food, resources, and set up camp. Furthermore, you need to modify what you wear, given the cold and heat are just as likely to kill you as a dino – such fun.

Ocean is Home 2

Experience a first-person life simulation set on a scenic island. You’ll arrive in a stunning open world made up of multiple islands and archipelagos, where you’ll build a life by constructing a home, purchasing a car, socializing, and pursuing a job or career path.

Choose any occupation, from truck driver to doctor. As you navigate adulthood, explore various locations, collecting valuable items and resources to upgrade your house and belongings. Each island offers unique racecourses for you to loot and enhance your home.

You can even take ownership of an entire island, constructing bases but remaining vigilant against potential threats. Overall, this engaging game offers a vast open world full of intriguing activities, all from the comfort of your own home.

Live or Die – Zombie Survival

Here’s another game that features both a post-apocalyptic world and an obscene amount of zombies. You know the drill, gather supplies, craft your gear, and go bash a few brain munchers.

Of course, it’s all about survival of the fittest here, and that means that not only must you build a base to keep the brain loving crazies outside, but a fortress that can keep out your fellow survivors. It’s a dog eat dog world out there, so all that’s left to say is live or die. Make your choice.

LOST in Blue

This exhilarating multiplayer zombie survival RPG begins with players stranded on a zombie-infested island following a plane crash, reminiscent of the TV series Lost.

Players must gather resources, craft tools, construct buildings, cooperate with other players, interact with the environment, and utilize various weapons to defeat zombies and other deadly foes. Daily tasks include hunting for food and upgrading your shelter before venturing out to explore the island.

The ultimate goal is to survive and find a way home, possibly by constructing a raft or plane. If you enjoy top-down survival games, this unique and engaging game is highly recommended.

Alien – Isolation

Alien: Isolation offers a thrilling survival-horror experience set within the Alien universe. Players assume the role of Amanda Ripley, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, who ventures to a space station to unravel the mystery of her mother’s fate.

With limited resources and equipment, players must scavenge for items to survive while advancing the captivating storyline. A fantastic game and a faithful port of the original, Alien: Isolation is worth the investment despite its relatively steep price and lack of in-app purchases.

Shadows of Kurgansk

Shadows of Kurgansk is set in a post-apocalyptic world where players must survive in an irradiated area, collecting supplies, and building a fortress to ward off roaming zombies.

This adventure game is fraught with mysteries and dangers, with the primary objective being to fight, survive, and escape. Craft tools and weapons to combat zombies and gather artifacts to enhance your skills and abilities.

The game features day and night cycles, with daytime being relatively calm and nightfall bringing increased danger as zombies emerge. Choose from three different story modes: story, adventure, and survival.

Cataclysm – Dark Days Ahead

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is a hidden gem among survival games. This free, open-source game boasts hundreds of contributors and places players in a randomly generated world filled with monstrous foes, collectibles, and a human to protect.

Despite its retro graphics and clunky menu system, this game offers an unexpectedly engaging experience. Players can choose between two versions: the actively updated one we’ve linked or an older, unsupported version.

Project Gaia

This zombie survival game emphasizes scavenging for items and presents gameplay from a third-person perspective. Set in an open-world environment, it allows co-op gameplay with up to three other players.

Missions involve hordes of bloodthirsty zombies that must be eliminated for survival. Developed using Unreal Engine 4, Project Gaia offers impressive graphics. Overall, it’s an exciting game for fans of zombie shooters.

Crashlands

Crashlands is an innovative game that blends various elements such as RPG, survival, action, adventure, and even monster collecting. Players control an intergalactic trucker stranded on an alien planet and must battle enemies, build a base, deliver packages, and save the world from evil.

With over 500 craftable items and tameable creatures as allies, this game offers an immersive experience without the need for traditional survival mechanics like eating. Crashlands is available for a reasonable price and offers cloud-saving support and achievements.

Radiation Island

In this adventurous survival game, players craft their destiny within a vast open-world, part of the Philadelphia experiment. Trapped in a parallel universe, explore the mysterious world and its surprises.

Despite some rough edges in the crafting system, Radiation Island offers enjoyable gameplay, overshadowing its flaws with strong technical aspects and an engaging storyline.

The progression system can be slow, requiring grinding for racecourses to upgrade weapons to defeat even the simplest enemies.

Day R Survival

Day R Survival is an outstanding freemium survival game set in the USSR. With a vast map containing 2,700 locations, abundant items, and a gratifying survival experience, players must fend off hunger, zombies, and radiation.

The RPG progression system allows for skill development in areas like shelter, mechanics, and chemistry. Surprisingly deep for its price, Day R Survival promises hours of entertainment.

The Survivalist

A spin-off of Team 17’s previous release, The Escapist, this game tests survival skills after players wash ashore on a dangerous, remote island. Build a shelter, hunt animals for food, and explore the island for resources to help you endure.

Recruit and train monkeys to automate tasks like guarding the group and collecting resources. Play solo or in co-op mode with other players, engaging in joint adventures and trading items.

Doom & Destiny Worlds

Doom & Destiny Worlds combines light survival gameplay with RPG elements and nostalgic SNES-era graphics. Players guide a party suffering from amnesia, gathering resources, crafting items, leveling up, and progressing through the game.

Although the survival elements are relatively light, managing factors like drowning during exploration is crucial. Fans of the first two Doom & Destiny games may appreciate the more traditional classic combat mode.

Last Island of Survival Unknown 15 Days

This online PVP-focused multiplayer survival game for mobile devices challenges players to survive the last day on Earth using collected or stolen items. Players must manage hunger, thirst, and health to stay alive, contending not only with the island’s environmental dangers but also other players in PVP mode.

Engage in combat using firearms or handmade weapons, build a clan and play with friends to dominate the island, or take on the challenge solo.

Dysmantle

Dysmantle is a standard survival game that allows players to break almost everything in the game for materials.

Players start with nothing, gather resources, build a base, and confront or evade various threats. With excellent presentation, Dysmantle stands out as one of the best recommendations in the survival genre.

Forager

Forager is an intriguing 2D open-world survival game where players explore, gather supplies, battle enemies, and establish a base. Incorporating puzzle-solving, raid dungeons, and light RPG elements, Forager keeps the gameplay fresh.

Although the controls can be laggy at times, the game’s $7.99 price tag and lack of in-app purchases make it a solid option.

Last Day on Earth – Survival

Last Day on Earth – Survival is a popular post-apocalyptic mobile game developed by Kefir! Studios. Set in a world devastated by a deadly virus outbreak, players must navigate a harsh environment filled with zombies, scarce resources, and other hostile survivors.

The game centers around crafting, building, and upgrading one’s base while scavenging for essential items and fending off enemies. Players can also collaborate with or fight against others in a multiplayer mode.

With its engaging gameplay, immersive graphics, and continuous updates, “Last Day on Earth – Survival” has garnered a loyal following among fans of the survival game genre.

Minecraft

Minecraft is a wildly popular survival game available on numerous platforms. In Survival Mode, players are placed in a randomly generated world where they can build, mine, and explore freely. With cross-platform play available between mobile, PC, and Xbox One, Minecraft is an enduring favorite among survival game enthusiasts.

Prospector – Survival Rush

Prospector: Survival Rush is an engaging survival game featuring low-poly graphics. Players must locate water and resources, develop a base, and defend against attacks in this life management-style game.

With PvP elements, crafting, and an in-game economy, Prospector: Survival Rush offers a balanced experience for players seeking a challenge.

Rebel Inc

Rebel Inc may not be a traditional survival game, but it certainly feels like one. As a leader, players must stabilize a war-torn region, rebuild society, and manage various challenges such as corruption and insurgent attacks.

The game requires balancing resources and addressing the needs of the local population while maintaining security. Although officially a strategy-simulation game, Rebel Inc delivers an intense survival experience that will keep players on their toes.

The game is free, with a $3.99 pro version and optional in-game extras. All purchased content is permanent, not consumable power-ups, ensuring a fair gaming experience.

As you progress to higher levels, the game becomes increasingly challenging, making it an exciting and rewarding adventure. Good luck!

The Wanderer

The Wanderer is a uniquely engaging mobile survival game that doesn’t rely on complex controls or graphics. Instead, you’ll make choices that influence the game’s progression and watch the story unfold.

You can adopt a wild dog to help you find supplies, but remember that it also requires food and water, creating a delicate balance.

The game’s difficulty increases naturally over time, providing a satisfying challenge. With a variety of activities, such as lock-picking and completing quests to defeat bandits, The Wanderer offers a rich gaming experience. It’s a hidden gem on this list and definitely worth checking out.

The Bonfire – Forsaken Lands

The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands offers a casual survival game experience perfect for those who enjoy a slower pace. Although dangers and the threat of starvation are ever-present, the game allows you to tackle challenges at your leisure.

It’s essential to plan well to survive, but you’ll quickly grasp the game mechanics. Keep in mind that although the game is free to download, you’ll need to make an in-app purchase of $3.99 to progress beyond Day 6.

This War of Mine

This War of Mine provides a hauntingly realistic gaming experience that forces players to confront the harsh realities of war. You’ll manage a group of civilians hiding in a war-ravaged city, dodging snipers and hostile scavengers while gathering resources.

The game is challenging, but the knowledge that you’re dealing with real-life situations brings a somber recognition of people’s struggles.

This War of Mine follows a day/night cycle, requiring you to manage your shelter during daylight hours and venture out under the cover of darkness to gather resources. Every decision has consequences, so plan your moves carefully to avoid catastrophe.

Terraria

Terraria is a sandbox game that prioritizes exploration. Death is a minor setback, as the game encourages you to take your time and discover the world. With numerous challenging bosses and an abundance of weapons, Terraria is perfect for those who enjoy uncovering new surprises during each playthrough.

Although you can increase the difficulty, it’s worth starting at an easier setting to fully experience the game. If you feel Minecraft lacks content, Terraria is an excellent alternative, offering a world with no pressing missions to complete, allowing you to leisurely craft weapons, construct incredible structures, and trade with NPCs for valuable items.

Survive

Survive offers a fresh take on classic text-based adventure games. Instead of maneuvering a character through the game world, you’ll navigate menus and tap buttons. This stripped-down survival experience is perfect for those who enjoy a tough mental challenge.

One wrong decision can lead to death, but the high difficulty level and multiple endings will keep you coming back for more. While the game may sometimes seem lacking in content, its challenging nature and varied outcomes will keep you engaged.

Out There: Ω Edition

Out There challenges you and your spaceship against the elements of the cosmos. With no enemies or monsters to battle, you’ll instead face the unpredictable nature of alien worlds.

As a roguelike, the game ends when you die, but a wealth of content ensures that each playthrough is unique. Out There offers an immersive experience that brings the galaxy to life through extensive lore and diverse environments.

This game is an excellent choice for those seeking a survival game that isn’t focused on combat and who enjoy the thrill of narrowly escaping death.

Mini DAYZ

Mini DAYZ brings the iconic PC survival game DAYZ to mobile devices with a top-down pixel-art approach. In this game, you’ll be dropped into a zombie-infested wasteland alongside AI survivors.

To stay alive, you’ll need to manage hunger and thirst, scavenge for supplies, and construct a secure base. Although it’s offline, Mini DAYZ captures the essence of the original game.

Survival is the only objective, but lasting longer in the game unlocks additional perks, upgrades, and achievements. While there is a sequel, we advise against it due to numerous bugs and gameplay issues.

Tinker Island

Tinker Island features relatively simple gameplay mechanics, reminiscent of Survive and other text-based games. Its user-friendly UI makes it easy to understand the consequences of your actions. Tinker Island places great emphasis on storytelling and incorporates many RPG elements.

You’ll upgrade and manage a consistent group of survivors throughout the game. Discover a world filled with monsters, puzzles, treasure, and more.

Plague Inc.

You might be wondering, isn’t Plague Inc. the exact opposite of a survival game? Well, for those who haven’t tried it yet, your survival actually depends on eliminating the world’s population. It’s a race against the clock as humans work on a cure that could spell your end.

But there’s also The Cure mode, which offers a fresh perspective. In this mode, you’ll be on the human side, striving to develop the cure that can eradicate the spreading disease. This mode presents a delightful contrast to playing as the virus, while still featuring similar challenges to conquer.