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What are the best first person survival games on Steam with a focus on exploration?

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May 11, 2018

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3 Games Considered

Best first person survival games on Steam with a focus on exploration	Price	Steam Rating	Platforms
-- The Long Dark	$31.99	Very Positive	PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, macOS, Linux
-- Miasmata	-	Mostly Positive	Mostly Positive
-- Die Young	$14.99	Very Positive	Very Positive

The Long Dark

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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 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

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

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

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 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

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 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

Miasmata

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Top Pro

Mysterious story

Clues are hidden all around the island of Eden. No one is here to lay out exposition so you must find them all to unravel the mystery! See More

Top Con

Mixed quality on visuals

This game’s scope is very impressive especially since it was created by two brothers but it does show in the graphical quality of the game at times with muddy textures and odd animations at times. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Top Pro

Scavenging

Use your scientific skills and clues from your journal to find the three ingredients to cure you from your plague. See More

Top Pro

No HUD

Miasmata gives you a clear view into the world to see the beautiful island around you. You interact with paper maps, compasses, and journals along your journey to discover the cure to your illness. See More

Top Pro

No Combat

You are weak from your sickness and cannot combat against the fierce predator hunting for you throughout the island. The only thing you can do is try to get away when the predator is near. See More

Die Young

Top Pro

Great Mediterranean setting

The game is set in a gorgeous Mediterranean island filled with rich history waiting to be explored and pieced together by gathering various information from NPCs or items scattered around. See More

Top Con

You have to re-craft tools annoyingly often

The tools you need to fight and craft other tools have limited durability and you need to craft them often. This wouldn't really be an issue since the crafting system is well-done except for the fact that items usually have very little durability and you will often find yourself re-crafting tools which can become annoying in the long run. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Realistic game mechanics

Developers of Die Young tried to make the protagonist of the game as human as possible. Not only do you have limited health, running and jumping diminishes your stamina, shoes improve your moving speed and weapons immensly increase your chances to survive confrontations. See More

Top Pro

Lots of side missions

Besides the main storyline, there are quite a lot of fun side missions that can be found while exploring around the island. See More

Top Pro

Interesting story premise

The player plays as a young womand who has been kidnapped and is stranded on this Mediterranean island without knowing how or why. You need to find a way to survive and escape. Curiosity to know more about what happened or what this island is drives the player to explore the island and find more about it and the story of why you were kidnapped. See More

Top Pro

Enjoyable parkour gameplay

Die Young has lots of parkour that you get to do while exploring the island. The parkour mechanics are really well-done -- the controls are fluid and it's easy to master. The parts of the map that you can grab are easy to notice since they have white paint on them. Timing is of essence when doing parkour. There are some long-distance jumps where you have to calculate your timing in order to avoid falling to your death. See More

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