The Slant team built an AI & it’s awesome

Find the best product instantly

4.7 star rating

GamingPlaystationPS4Playstation Games

What are the best single player survival games on PS4?

8

Options
Considered

37

User
Recs.

Mar 14, 2021

Last
Updated

8 Games Considered

Best single player survival games on PS4	Price	Platforms	Genre
-- Don't Starve Together	$14.99	PS 4, Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, Switch	Roguelike, Survival, Horror
-- The Long Dark	$34.99	PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, macOS, Linux	First-Person Survival, Sandbox
-- Terraria	$19.99	Windows, Mac, Xbox 360/One, PS3, PS4, Nintendo 3DS, Switch, iOS, Android	2D platformer / Minecraft-like
-- MineCraft PS4 Edition	$19.99	-	-
-- ARK: Survival Evolved	$59.99	PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android	Action-Adventure, Survival

Don't Starve Together

Top Pro

Deep and varied crafting system

The crafting system has a lot of depth to it and there are tons of items to make. Starting with the recipe for a torch and a pickaxe. You can also make weapons, armor, and various laboratories that enable new technologies. Building new stuff and advancing is the key to surviving the coming winter. See More

Top Con

Can get repetitive

You'll have to repeatedly collect a lot of basic materials like twigs, grass, and ore. This is because most of the starting recipes share the same required materials. Even later in the game you'll be doing many repetitive tasks. Gathering enough firewood for winter is especially bad because you have to chop down dozens of trees. All of this is made worse by the limited inventory space, causing you to make the same trip multiple times. See More

Specs

Genre:Roguelike, Survival, Horror

Co-Op:2-4 Player Local

Top Pro

Great replay value

Don't Starve Together has randomly generated (customizable) levels, unlockable characters, a story mode, and you can also play it with up to 5 other friends. All of this helps keep subsequent attempts/playthroughs fresh. See More

Top Con

Steep learning curve

The first few attempts will last only a couple of in-game days. This is because the game has various punishing mechanics, which you can only learn through trial and error. One such mechanic is the darkness, which will kill you in under a minute if you don't have a light source. Followed by packs of hounds that randomly spawn to kill you. In most cases preparation is key and you can't prepare without knowledge. See More

Top Pro

Pleasantly twisted sense of humor

There's a dark sense of humor that pervades the game. There's a humanoid spider boy who can grow a beard of silk. There's a living chest called Chester who acts like a dog. There's also silly info text, werepigs, trees that retaliate when you chop them, and many other things. See More

Top Pro

The further you get, the more you will learn

Starting out you'll only be gathering twigs and grass, maybe chop a tree. You'll also gather basic food such as mushrooms and carrots. Then you'll start building your encampment, learning how the day/night cycle and the seasons work. Later on you'll start building massive farms, refridgerators, fortifications, and many other things. All of this is done for the sake of not starving. As the game progresses, you will encounter mechanics such as drought, forest fires, the rainy, season, the cold and many others. To counteract these you need to plan properly and will probably die the first time around. Once your knowledge reaches a certain level, you'll be able to survive indefinitely. See More

Top Pro

Tweak the gameplay settings to fit any skill level

The game gives you a lot of customization options. You can change the length of day, weather patterns, and spawn rates for resources and monsters. This allows you to adjust the difficulty level to suit your skill and preference. See More

Top Pro

Unique mix of 2D and 3D art offers a change of pace

Don't Starve Together has a very unique art style that places two-dimensional characters in a three-dimensional setting. Even the waves in the sea look like cardboard cutouts used in a puppet show. This look and feel to the graphics is a nice change of pace from ultra-realistic games. See More

The Long Dark

Top Pro

Complete freedom to explore the open-world

The game features a massive, open-world sandbox mode in which there are no quests to gate your progress, or artificial boundaries to exploration. The only goal is to survive as long as possible, and to do it by whatever means possible. This free-exploration, open-world design offers plenty of space to roam for those who want to enjoy a more open playstyle without the hindrances of time gates or quest mechanics. Whether you choose to salvage for supplies, hunt the local wildlife, start cooking fires, or simply just take in the view - the freedom to explore and interact with the world in your own way is endless. See More

Top Con

No tutorial

There is no tutorial or learning mode. When you start the game, you have to figure out how to survive in this harsh world on your own. Some say this adds to the experience, but for many, this can be overwhelming especially in a survival game where everything can -- and will -- kill you. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:First-Person Survival, Sandbox

Top Pro

Story mode adds a new way to play

For those who desire a story to go with their survival gaming, The Long Dark offers a fully voiced-acted, five chapter story mode called "Wintermute" complete with cutscenes. It features all the survival gameplay aspects of the sandbox version, as well as story quests and character development, making it an engaging, new way to experience all the game has to offer. In the story, you'll assume the role of a man trying to survive in the harsh Canadian wilderness after crashing his plane during a geomagnetic disaster. Rather than just a no-bones survival situation, you'll be working through an actual storyline as you head for safety. As you progress the story, you'll have the opportunity to do quests, watch voice-acted cutscenes, and interact with other characters who are fighting for their lives as well. This pulls you even deeper into the game world since you now have a real goal to work for - escaping the harsh wilderness alive. Story mode adds a deeper layer of immersion via storytelling than the sandbox mode, which is only about surviving as long as you can. Though currently not all of the chapters are available as they are released episodically over time. See More

Top Con

No multitasking

Most actions in the game have a small wait time, and you can only perform one action at time. For example, if you search an item, boil water, repair your clothes, or salvage anything, you will have to stop and wait until the action completes. See More

Top Pro

Four difficulty levels to suit all skill levels

Regardless of your skill level, you will be able to find a difficulty level that suits you and satisfies your craving for a good challenge. This game features four different difficulty levels, making it accessible to a broad range of players. The easiest mode is Pilgrim and it offers a gaming experience suitable to all players where dying is a rare occurrence. For beginning players, Voyager is recommended as it gives you a forgivable way to learn the basics. After that, the difficulty takes a strong curve upwards into the remaining two modes: Stalker, and Interloper - with the latter being considered a very challenging gaming experience only recommended for expert gamers and those who desire a true video game survival challenge. See More

Top Con

No jumping or climbing

You cannot jump or climb over fences, rocks, or other obstacles meaning sometimes you will have to take the longest route possible to reach your destination. See More

Top Pro

Realistic survival elements make you feel a part of the world

You'll feel like you're living in true survival situation, and the game does an excellent job of placing the player in the role. This game features elements of survival that are very close to the real world, creating an enriching gaming experience for those who want a realistic survival challenge. You will have to keep an eye on your calorie intake, monitor your body temperature, and even craft and wear clothing appropriate to the harsh arctic environment. Staying outside too long after dark can kill you via hypothermia. The wildlife is dangerous and can injure or kill you - as the animals are starving too. You can starve to death if you forget to eat, or run out of food. Death in this game is permanent, and will require you to start the game over. See More

Top Pro

Good balance between surviving and exploring

There is a delicate balance between exploring and surviving, and every aspect of gameplay is closely related. The amount of activity the player performs and the distance they can travel and explore, are balanced around certain metrics such as time, warmth, and calories - and all of these game systems are closely related resulting in a finely tuned experience. For example, eating food replenishes calories, but in order to find food, you have to explore and salvage which causes you to burn calories in the first place. The player must watch how many calories they burn, even when sleeping, and make sure they find or hunt enough food to keep themselves going. On top of this, the player needs to seek shelter from the cold, make sure they are wearing the appropriate clothing, and build fires to stay warm and cook food. During your explorations to salvage supplies and look for food items, you will need to explore carefully as to not get stuck without a place to sleep for the night. See More

Terraria

Top Pro

Allows for freedom of expression for all ages, all at your own pace

Terraria has all kinds of tools and materials you can use to build whatever you can imagine. From housing, to furniture, to weapons, to types of structure, the possibilities are almost endless. This is great for children who enjoy building and problem solving, and for adults who enjoy the same. It also makes for a great objective-less game, where you can do just about anything you want at your own pace. See More

Top Con

Low replay value for those who play it as an adventure game

Terraria is a sandbox platform-adventure game, so it partly hinges on beating various bosses. If you play it purely for the sake of defeating all the bosses, you might have little else to do afterwards. Restarting the game won't be as enjoyable either because you'll already know what to expect, causing continued play without a new goal feel mundane or boring. See More

Specs

Genre:2D platformer / Minecraft-like

Co-Op:8 Player Online / 8 Player LAN

Controller Support:Android (MOGA / HID), Steam (Full)

Top Pro

Fun combat

It starts out simple, with you whacking away at slow moving zombies and flying eyes, gradually shifting to more fierce and fearsome enemies such as flying demons, agile lizardmen, and many more. To survive you'll have to be always on the move, dodge enemy attacks, and be accurate when you retaliate. There are also plenty of weapons to choose from. Melee weapons such as swords, hammers, lances, and flails. Ranged weapons such as bows, crossbows, rifles, and miniguns. And various items that allow you to cast spells. Whatever you choose, it feels great to destroy hordes of enemies. See More

Top Con

Progress can feel slow

Quite often you'll have to collect tons of materials to craft the necessary tools, equipment, and boss summoning items to advance. This can take a really long time, especially if you're unlucky with the items dropped by mobs. See More

Top Pro

Intriguing world

Terraria uses a bright color palette and an upbeat chiptune soundtrack to ease you into its world. However, once you start exploring and spend time in it you'll notice it's not as cozy as it first seemed to be. Blood Moons that rouse the dead from their graves. Goblin armies trying to destroy everything in their wake. Vast and dark cave systems, filled with odd creatures and various dangers. Ancient ruins, teeming with the restless dead and evil spirits. Pockets of decaying land, thriving with misshapen monstrosities. It's really fun to explore and discover something new about the world of Terraria. See More

Top Pro

Lots of community servers, tutorials, and streams

Terraria has a large community of players on every platform including mobile, desktop, and console. Because of this, there are many servers to play on, as well as tutorials and Let's Plays. Finding content or help getting started is quite easy. See More

Top Pro

Playing with friends allows for endless scenarios

Up to 8 players can join any Terraria world. You can progress through the game normally, build a race course and compete in it, or split into factions and wage war against each other. The scenarios are endless, you just have to let loose your creativity. See More

MineCraft PS4 Edition

Top Pro

Great creativity tool

If you prefer building creative mode is the way to go. It immediately gives you unlimited blocks, the ability to fly, and immortality. This allows you to easily build anything you want without worrying about height or enemies. Things like giant castles, villages, roller coasters, and even unique builds such as the Enterprise from Star Trek. You can really let your creativity loose. See More

Top Con

Limited amount of players on a server

There can only be 8 players on a server and 16 during battle mode. This might be disappointing for players coming from the PC version where you could have thousands of players on a single server. See More

Top Pro

Randomly generated worlds and distinct locations keep the gameplay fresh

Each new world is randomly generated, making for a different experience every time. There can be plains, rivers, beaches, ravines, giant mountains, hidden villages, and a lot more. There are also 38 biomes, which includes snow, desert, forest, swamp and other biomes. Each one has its own set of unique blocks, plant life, and creatures. You won't get tired of exploring above ground or underground because every location will seem new and exciting. See More

Top Pro

Local multiplayer option for when there is no internet

Minecraft can be played by 4 players locally via splitscreen. This makes it a great way spend time with your friends and family when you don't have access to the internet. See More

ARK: Survival Evolved

Top Pro

Good character creation

When starting a new game the player is allowed to choose between a man or woman, from there is a plethora of options for making a character with a personalized look. See More

Top Con

The game can become a grind

At the higher levels, it begins to take a very, very long time to level up (unless you're playing on a custom server). This can make the game tedious to play for some people. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Action-Adventure, Survival

Top Pro

Stunningly beautiful

The landscape, creatures, structures, even other players are all gorgeous. The textures are seamless, and the character/dinosaur models are just great. The environment ranges from lush green forests, to snowcapped mountains, to incredible coastal views. When you combine all of these things, it adds up to being simply breathtaking. See More

Top Con

No more Early access, still buggy

Ark has been fully released on August 2017, but bugs are still easily found and many areas of the game lack polish. See More

Top Pro

An absolutely fantastic community

The community for Ark is simply great. Whether you're talking about custom servers, the modding community, or just the playerbase in general, there's always people around to help out with any questions you might have. See More

Top Pro

The game makes you want to explore, craft, and fight to make the most of its progressive crafting system

Ark is unlike many survival games in that you attain levels as you progress. As you level higher and higher, you gain access to more craftable items. Some are just more powerful versions of lower-tier items (such as leather armor vs. cloth armor), but most are brand new (such as firearms, scuba gear, and saddles for more powerful dinosaurs). This really drives you to explore more areas to find rarer resources and fight stronger dinosaurs. See More

Top Pro

You can tame and mount nearly every creature in the game

From the small, quick raptor to the massive, vicious giganotosaurus, you can mount nearly any dinosaur in the game. There's huge, flying dinosaurs, aquatic dinosaurs, some that are like walking fortresses, and others that can take those down. See More

Top Pro

You can share materials, dinosaurs, and structures by forming (or joining!) a tribe with your friends

Users can form a tribe with other online users to for a community. This community can now band together in order to build and grow as well as team up against other tribes. This makes for a fun experience with friends and other players as it requires teamwork in order to be successful. See More

Top Pro

Increased customization thanks to player-created servers

Ark has hundreds, if not thousands, of great custom servers. You can control things such as PvP, experience, gathering, and taming rates, set things up so there's no griefing (constantly bullying a player or group of players), and the difficulty of the creatures. See More

Conan Exiles

Top Con

The game feels unfinished and unpolished

Even though Conan Exiles is no longer in early access, there are a lot of flaws here and there that add up over time. You have plenty of freedom to roam around, but there's no real sense of progression or a focused storyline. Some areas in the open world just have a bunch of enemies to kill for the sake of killing them. You may also lag a lot, with your character warping around as you try to move. On their own, these things wouldn't be such a big deal, but they really do become a pain as the problems start to stack up. See More

Top Pro

The combat is fast-paced and brutal

In Conan Exiles you play as an exiled warrior, so it's no wonder that you know how to fight. You play in first-person and wield a large array of weapons in order to destroy your enemies. Combat often ends quickly, with decapitations, limbs flying everywhere, and blood spattered on the ground. You can even sacrifice your enemies to the gods in order to gain power if you want to. If you like brutality, Conan Exiles has it in spades. See More

Specs

Genre:Survival, Sandbox

Top Con

Not suitable for younger players

Conan Exiles contains nudity and a lot of gore. See More

Top Pro

Exploring the world is fun

There are several different biomes in Conan Exiles. Barren wastelands, harsh deserts, sparkling rivers, and haunted forests are just a few of the ones you'll encounter, but you'll want to get out there and really explore the environment. Every biome holds different secrets to discover and, more importantly, different materials so you can craft new stuff, which is always satisfying. Exploring also lets you scout out enemies that you plan to attack, find new areas you want to settle, or even make new friends to cohabit the area with. You'll have to explore whether you want to or not, but Conan Exiles makes it very enjoyable by making sure it's a rewarding experience. See More

Top Con

Joining a server for online play can be problematic

If the multiplayer servers are full, then you're out of luck. So far, there's no user-friendly functions like queues or notifications to help you out. You're stuck with spamming attempts to join a server or rejoin if you get kicked out for whatever reason. It would have been nice to have some helpful features to ease this process along. See More

Top Pro

Extensive crafting system that encourages player interaction

Crafting in Conan Exiles is essentially the name of the game. There are hundreds of items available to craft, and even though it may seem a little daunting at first, the process is very intuitive. You're able to do most things right from your inventory screen with no added help, and other things are deliberately pointed out as needing other amenities to be able to craft them. As you level up, you acquire "knowledge points," allowing you to learn how to craft new things. However, one person can't possibly know how to craft everything in the game. This system is perfect for making players either raid others for the goods they need, or team up and work with people to get further in their quest for survival. See More

Top Pro

The developers are very interactive with the community

The developers of Conan Exiles do their best to maintain regular and transparent communication with the players, actively seeking feedback, requests, and ideas in order to make the game better. See More

Top Pro

A great deal of fun to play with your friends

In Conan Exiles, you're able to team up with people and build cities, or even empires if your group is large enough to make it happen. You're also able to do things that simply couldn't happen as a solo player, like waging war on enemy cities, pooling resources to expand your territory quickly, or making group expeditions to find rare resources. As much fun as the game is by yourself, it really shines when you've got a few friends to team up with to take on the world. See More

No Man's Sky

Top Pro

Good graphics

The art style of this game is very colorful and saturated and uses hues in a way that it gives you an otherworldly feel. Graphics like these tend to remain good for a much longer time than classic 3D graphics. See More

Top Con

No clearly defined missions

The objective of the game is to ultimately reach the center of the galaxy. However, the player is completely free and unguided from the beginning. You figure it out for yourself as you start mining, crafting and upgrading your ship and gear. This game doesn't have a big story to tell. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Action-Adventure, Survival

Top Pro

Freedom to choose how you want to play

Ally with factions, trade or just be a pirate. When trading with NPC aliens, you build up a positive reputation with the faction they belong to. Alternatively you can also be hostile and attack trade ships, or even be attacked by NPC pirate spaceships. Both can be ways to get what you need, so do whatever suits your play style. See More

Top Pro

Endless procedural generation

This game procedurally generates almost everything. Your spaceships are procedurally generated, so are the planets, moons, every animal on these planets, the resource nodes, trade routes, languages, etc. When discovering new species or planets, players get to rename these and leave their mark on the galaxy. See More

Top Pro

Massive galaxy to explore

Thanks to the fact that the entire galaxy of No Man's Sky is procedurally generated, the amount of planets to explore is almost endless. The number of planets would be 18,446,744,073,709,551,616. However, the fact that 2 players managed to find each other in game on the first day, seems to make this number quite questionable. See More

Top Pro

Seamless space to planetary flight

Metal Gear Survive

Top Pro

Base-building is great for those who like to micromanage small details

As you collect resources like metals and wood from around the open world, you'll return to your base where you can improve the structures to better protect you from the zombie invasion. Building more walls and tougher enclosures will be your main focus to help make sure you have a place to escape from the harsh environments filled with zombies everywhere else. If you're diligent about collecting materials, you can build some sturdy additions to your home base to help you have a safe place to return to. It's a solid feature that makes resource collecting feel worthwhile with a payoff, especially if you like keeping track of small details. See More

Top Con

Bare-bones, tacked-on multiplayer

The multiplayer is basically the same horde mode against countless zombies, except you get to play with other people. Nothing feels new or exciting here, other than how easy it is to obtain resources here compared to the tedium of single-player mode. Other than that, it's the same gameplay with the added frustrations from the terrible matchmaking system and long load times, forcing you to wait for minutes at a time to play a single match. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Action-Adventure, Survival

Top Pro

Smooth graphics

The Fox Engine used for Metal Gear Survive looks great, with human faces and models that look believable, and great textures for environments. Characters are fine to look at during cutscenes, almost true-to-life in how realistic they seem at times. Even though the open world itself is pretty empty, it's realistic enough with smooth surfaces for the ground and bodies of water. For the most part, everything is pleasing to the eye and you might not notice anything all that jarring or out of place. See More

Top Con

Extra save slots locked behind real money purchases

It's frustrating that you can only have one save file for free. If you want to make a new save slot for another playthrough, you'll have to fork over $9.99 USD first. Gating such an integral game mechanic behind a microtransaction is unnecessary. See More

Top Pro

Only costs $39.99 USD at launch

The game is a bargain right away, costing less than most retail non-indie games at launch. If you don't want to pay the usual price to purchase other new games, then this is an option for you. See More

Top Con

Combat is bland and boring

Whether you're fighting with a spear or a bow and arrow, combat is incredibly bland, with the same repeating animations over and over. Battles with spears are the worst offenders, since your character will do the same 1-2-3 motion over and over again. Combat lacks weight and realism and will probably get on your nerves after a while from how uninspired it feels. See More

Top Con

Fights against zombies are easily exploitable

At first, you'll notice that zombies do quite a lot of damage to you, but there are a few simple ways to deal with them that cheapens the entire game. Hitting enemies while you're on higher ground from them keeps you from taking any damage whatsoever, making these battles trivial. You'll be free to whack away at them with your spear while they just run into the cliff or bridge or whatever you find yourself standing on. You can also build a gated fence when you don't have any higher ground to stand on, and the zombies will, for the most part, keep running into the gate while you hit them through the wall. These are such boring workarounds, but they're sadly the best ways to deal with enemies and avoid damage altogether. See More

Top Con

Phoned-in story presentation

Cutscenes are really boring, lacking the inventiveness that the Metal Gear series is known for. There isn't much flavor to the cutscenes or voice acting to keep you invested in the story. Important segments will show slides of dialog with the character's picture while their voice actors drone on as they oversupply you with information about operations. Everything has a staleness about it that feels dated and passionless. See More

Top Con

Hunger, thirst, and stamina reminders are a pain

As you run around the world, you'll have to manage your hunger, thirst, and stamina, with constant reminders from the game when you need to watch out for these three things. Your AI companion is in charge of telling you when you need to eat food, drink water, or slow down to conserve your stamina. Her robotic voice is monotone and uninteresting, growing annoying after listening to it over and over again. It'll more than likely drag on you after a while, possibly killing your enjoyment with the game. See More

Built By the Slant team

Find the best product instantly.

4.7 star rating

Try it now - it's free

Vetted.ai illustration