There is just something entertaining about fighting against the environment and battling monsters. So, whether you want to build the largest bases or get the strongest gear, here are some great survival multiplayer games.
ARK Survival Ascended offers survival in its purest form. You are thrown onto an Island occupied by dinosaurs of all kinds, and most of them want a piece of you. You are going to be cold at night, hot in the day, thirsty on your travels, and eat berries to calm your hunger all while staying alert for any nearby carnivorous dinosaurs.
However, when you add multiplayer to the mix, the game gets even more brutal. If you are playing in a server your enemies aren’t only the environment and dinosaurs anymore, it’s also the players. Your bases will get raided, your tamed dinosaurs killed, and you will be back to zero before you even know it.
That’s what makes it fun, though, because you can do this to other players. And even if you don’t want to play in a server, you can just invite your friends to your survival world and have a blast fighting and taming dinosaurs.
Rust is all about multiplayer, with a heavy emphasis on the PVP aspect of the game. You start from scratch with nothing but a stick and torch. You gather resources, craft tools, and progress just like you would in any other game. However, what makes Rust such a classic is the multiplayer aspect.
The world you spawn in is filled with other players who can be allies or enemies. You can form tribes by joining with other players, build massive bases, and raid other bases. Different servers have different rules; some servers allow kill-on-sight while others encourage you to form massive trade systems and markets. If you want the purest multiplayer survival game experience, there is none better than Rust.
Most of you have probably played or at least heard of Minecraft. It’s a sandbox survival game that has become a classic. I won’t go into details about what the game is about because, at this point, most gamers know about it.
The multiplayer aspect is where the game becomes even more fun. You have your simple multiplayer where you start a new world with your friends. You build bases, go mining, create farms, and maybe even poke each other with swords.
However, the core of Minecraft multiplayer lies in the servers. Many popular servers like Hypixel offer different game modes. If you enjoy the PVP in Minecraft, you will find modes like Bedwars, Skywars, and Kit PVP, but if you are more interested in the survival and base building aspect, then you have Skyblock and Factions. There are tons of different things you can do with Minecraft multiplayer, so it’s definitely worth a try.
Most people like to call Terraria a 2D version of Minecraft, which I think isn’t fair. Sure, the games might be similar in the sandbox aspect, but the progression is quite different.
Terraria has a heavy emphasis on progression through boss fights. There are so many bosses in the game, and every one you defeat you get new gear and progress further. There are different types of weapons like Ranged, Magic, Melee, and Summoner, and you can build up your character in different ways. It has some elements of RPG in it, too.
The multiplayer just adds more fun to it. Instead of fighting the bosses alone, now you have your friends to help you out. You could be the melee guy attacking the boss with your swords, whereas your friend can be a Mage, throwing spells to weaken the boss.
Don’t Starve Together takes everything about Don’t Starve, bumps it up, and adds multiplayer into the mix. There is a lot of inspiration from Tim Burton’s work when it comes to the design of this game. The environment, enemies, and overall art look quite similar to his work.
In classic survival fashion, the goal in Don’t Starve Together is to survive this eerie, dark, and mysterious world. However, with co-op, it makes it even more entertaining and scary. You and your friends try to fight monsters all while maintaining your health and sanity. Not to mention, friendly fire is enabled so you can easily kill your friends unintentionally or intentionally.
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Raft is a bit more toned down in the survival aspect. You are not going to die as much, as it’s a chill yet engaging game. You wake up on a raft in the middle of the sea. All you have is a makeshift fishing rod, which you can use in the water to collect debris, wood, and other resources to craft the basic tools. The only real threat is the shark in the sea, which attacks your raft.
The multiplayer in Raft is more or less co-op. One friend might fish for resources, while the other steers and controls the raft. As you progress, you find abandoned islands, meet NPCs, and discover new resources. It’s a basically chill survival game that you can pour hours into with your friends.
There is no PVP, so if you are looking for that, Raft might not be for you.
Imagine you are playing ARK, but the world is a bit more cartoonish, and instead of dinosaurs, there are whimsical and cute but still deadly creatures called Pals. That’s more or less what Palworld is about, Now, your goal, in classic survival fashion, is to survive the world, tame these pals, make use of them, and progress.
Pals are the core of the game, as each one has unique abilities. Some Pals are really good at fighting, while others are great at farming resources like Wood and Metal. There are also boss fights where you fight other NPCs and their Pals. There is definitely a lot of inspiration from Pokemon, as a lot of Pals are inspired by iconic Pokemon.
The multiplayer makes the game co-op, allowing you to do all of this with your pals (pun intended). There is nothing more fun than stealing a Pal your friend has been trying to catch.
Sons of The Forest throws you into this dark and mysterious world filled with cannibals and other monstrous entities. All you have is some basic tools to survive and the company of your friends if you are playing multiplayer.
If you played the prequel The Forest, imagine that everything from the graphics, the world, and horror gets cranked up to a million. It’s a must-game to play with friends, as the fun you will get out of running away from mutants and cannibals and fighting to survive together is irreplaceable.
Imagine you wake up one day and are the size of an ant stuck in someone’s backyard. The small backyard now looks like a huge forest, and everything is out to hurt you like ants and other bugs.
You gather resources like plant fibers, craft your tools, and try to survive in this environment. The multiplayer is all about co-op; there is no PVP. It’s just you and your friends against this tiny yet scary world. There is also a bit of RPG in the mix, where you upgrade your gear and get stronger.
There is some story in the play as well, as you try to figure out why you got so tiny in the first place. Overall, Grounded is a really fun game praised for its co-op.
If you are looking for classic zombie survival fun, then 7 Days to Die might be right up your alley. It mixes classic survival aspects with zombies. You gather resources, craft your tools, and build your bases all while trying to fight off rabid zombies.
The multiplayer introduces both PVP and PVE, where your threats are not only zombies anymore but other players, too. You can get raided, attacked, and get your stuff stolen quite easily.
7 Days to Die is like Minecraft and The Walking Dead had a gritty, zombie-infested baby.
