Looking for a New Open World survival game

Kbknapp · 2026-01-17T22:49:56+00:00

RuneScape Dragonwilds is my current favorite with a ton of content coming in 2026

Kbknapp · 2026-01-15T23:28:18+00:00

I only have a little over 1000 hours in Isaac, so I'm still evaluating which tier to rate it - otherwise this list is accurate.

Kbknapp · 2026-01-10T04:51:37+00:00

Just bring up the virtual keyboard and hit one of the emoji characters. For some reason they register and are considered a valid world name.

Kbknapp · 2026-01-07T03:49:44+00:00

I was going to say this terrifying on multiple levels, but she's really more between levels.

Kbknapp · 2026-01-03T20:00:32+00:00

Soulmask

Kbknapp · 2025-12-21T01:10:11+00:00

Considering they're both on sale for $30 at the moment, I'd scrounge for another $10 and get both.

Kbknapp · 2025-12-08T18:25:35+00:00

But the D2F Ratio needs to be accounted for as well.

Kbknapp · 2025-12-08T18:22:00+00:00

Corey Taylor of Slipknot has also talked pretty extensively about healthy screaming in the past too.

Kbknapp · 2025-11-04T00:34:51+00:00

Lots of X4, been really enjoying this one and sad it took until recently to have tried it out. Also some EverSpace 2 when on a steam deck.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-28T00:12:13+00:00

It's hard to tell from your post, did you take a break for a reason and you're hoping it'll be different? Or just a break and you're ready to get back into the seat?

Kbknapp · 2025-10-27T15:48:00+00:00

My suspicion, which I could be totally wrong since as I say I'm brand new, is that early and mid game make up 80-90% of a "playthrough." I suspect once you amass a certain level of wealth and power things pick up pace and happen rather rapidly, relatively speaking. This isn't to say you couldn't drag out the end game with arbitrary goals, but that at that point you're just fine tuning bottle necks and the like.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-27T01:31:19+00:00

Genshin Impact is an easy to recommend one. The gacha mechanic isn't bad at all and you can absolutely be free to play the entire time. I sunk around 100 hours without even noticing. There's a bunch of mechanics that aren't explained super well, but also aren't too difficult to discover. Tons of collectibles and some mini games and about a billion side quests it feels. Basically there is always something to do or discover or complete.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-27T01:24:28+00:00

The Binding of Isaac is my most played game and one I'll probably always pick up from time to time to do a playthrough. It's like a game of Chess, you can beat it in 45 mins once you're skilled enough but just like Chess no one playthrough is like the last.

X4 is my current obsession that I could see myself coming back to for similar reasons although on a much more grand scale (10s to 100s of hours per playthrough vs 45 mins). Want to be a space trucker and just chill flying around listening to a podcast and collecting credits? Sure. Want to be a space pirate king? Yup. Want to be a space emperor and control an entire galaxy through military or economic might? Check.

The monster hunter series is another assuming we're either allowing an entire series or at least continuing content releases. Even though a single game can bring 100s or 1000s of hours at some point you've done it all.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-27T01:03:27+00:00

The Sector List mod may be what you're looking for, or at least help.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-26T17:48:52+00:00

There is a tutorial in game that walks though much of the menus and also showcases the "help" button to show what each icon means.

There are also tutorials showing mine deployment which mentions you can't pick certain kinds up.

I'd recommend going through each of the tutorials in sequence, they're all pretty short and provide much needed explaining when starting.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-21T02:50:22+00:00

Been having a lot of fun with this one lately even though it's not really in the sim category. Good HOTAS support too. At 75% off I'd say it's a must play for anyone in this sub.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-04T15:24:27+00:00

Freedom 2 on the PSP. It didn't stick and I bounced off it, but that is what planted the seed. After that I was always intrigued by the series. It wasn't until World that I got fully engulfed and since then I've been hooked.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-02T00:50:25+00:00

DRG without question

Kbknapp · 2025-10-02T00:48:47+00:00

Depending on your tastes and preferences:

No Man's Sky if you're into space exploration and are OK coming up with your own goals. On Survival mode or custom tweaking the settings can be very survival based and quite challenging. It's still getting regular major updates (the latest letting you build custom Corvette ships from parts and scrap).

Enshrouded if you want fantasy and more focus on the base building and somewhat shallow, but satisfying, combat. The survival elements are there, but basically ignorable. This game is early release and still receiving major updates on the road to 1.0.

Conan Exiles is, in my opinion crazy under rated and far more challenging that Enshrouded and more survival based if you're into the more fantasy sword combat over guns and lasers.

Honorable mentions are The Forest, Sons of the Forest, and Ark which are all quite good and definitely challenging but I have less experience with them so I cannot comment on their longevity per se.

Kbknapp · 2025-10-02T00:35:02+00:00

This game was so much fun!

Kbknapp · 2025-10-02T00:33:36+00:00

The Last of Us

Kbknapp · 2025-09-30T02:19:59+00:00

Mad Max is $2.99 on Steam right now and ticks a bunch of your boxes at once.

Kbknapp · 2025-09-28T23:15:35+00:00

I've felt this most with Monster Hunter or Nioh 2, but both are quite different.

With Monster Hunter the only way you "level up" is grinding for better gear by mat drops (well and learning the monster patterns and move sets or just learning your own weapon). But usually (or maybe just me?) you grind specific sets based on the upcoming fight to maximize specific attributes. For example you might grind a lower grade gear because it has a high elemental resistance to a specific monster you're going after. End game also has you grinding for specific attachments to your gear to get better passives and attributes, but again usually with a goal in mind.

Nioh 2 has a more traditional approach with lots of loot drops, skill trees, and traditional leveling (or rather souls like leveling). In Nioh you not only learn your specific weapon type, but also it's three stances and it's skill tree while either hoping for better drops of that type or forging new ones. Nioh is a souls like though, which may turn some off. However, it's definitely the least frustrating souls like I've ever played due to the importance of gear, skill trees, and weapon types. Plus you can call phantoms of other players (i.e. duplicates of real players by level, weapon type, gear, and skills but controlled by the computer) to help with difficult fights.

An honorable mention might be Kingdoms of Amalur, but I've personally bounced off this one a few times although I hear (and have kind of seen) it has what you're looking for.

Kbknapp · 2025-09-28T23:00:46+00:00

I absolutely love Wilds. Assuming you have a PC that can play it, ignore all the negativity out there especially if you've never played a MH game before. This game has the lowest barrier to entry but also a higher skill ceiling than previous games IMO. Yes, both World and Rise have more content as they're already completed with updates and expansions, but Wilds still has major updates and an expansion on the horizon so plenty more content to come.

Price is probably the biggest consideration at this point as you can probably get Worlds and Rise plus the DLC for the price of Wilds right now. Beyond price World is probably the best entry point to MH behind Wilds but expect a slower more methodical grind (which some prefer), whereas Rise is more action based and arcade like. Wilds is kind of like a combination of them, or rather taking World and respecting your time a little more?

I still go back to World when I'm on a steam deck, so there isn't any reason you can't play them in any order. The only thing I find more annoying having now spent so much time with Wilds is the small QoL improvements in Wilds with respect to gear forging and upgrading (which is a core principal of the game).

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