13 best Android survival games
Survival games bring out the caveman in all of us. The near constant tension that you could fail and perish at any second puts you on the edge of your seat and the constant danger helps keep you there. Survival games can cover a wide range of perspectives and many of them are very popular. In this roundup, we’ll look at the best Android survival games.
Dead Trigger 2
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Let’s start with a classic! Dead Trigger 2 is a first person survival shooter game where you must fend off hoards of zombies while you complete missions and attempt to survive. The development on this game has been consistent even if the IAPs are a little bit steep. The Dead Trigger series was one of the first really good first person shooters available on Android and it turns out that it’s a good survival game as well.
Duet
[Price: Free / $2.99]
Duet is an interesting and difficult puzzle game where you play as two orbs that revolve around a center axis. Your goal is to navigate them through a series of obstacles. This is far more difficult than it sounds, especially later in the game when the obstacles start to do things like disappear. Levels aren’t very long but nearly every one will have to tapping your screen like a mad man trying to get through and really, isn’t that what survival games are all about?
Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 and 2
[Price: $2.99 each]
Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 and 2 are survival horror games where you play as a security guard who is keeping watch over possessed animatronics. You have to keep your eye on them to keep them from moving and if they make it to the security office, you’re a dead person. Both versions feature roughly the same graphics and game play style so you can’t go wrong either way. It’s extremely creepy and highly rated.
Gears and Guts
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Gears and Guts is kind of a hybrid between a Twizted Metal game and a survival zombie game. You drive a four-wheeled death machine as you mow down zombies and try to save the city without being destroyed and eaten. There are three kinds of zombies, various types of vehicles and weapons to choose from, and all the blood and gore you could ever want in a zombie survival game. It’s also free to play which is nice.
Gun Bros 2
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Gun Bros 2 is sort of a top-down style shooter similar in game play to the old Contra games. Your goal is to mow down hoards of bad guys while surviving long enough to make it to the next level. This one is unique because it allows you to play online co-op so you and a friend can share in the survival experience. The graphics are colorful and effective and the game play is easy enough to learn. There are also multiple online modes, tanks, and boss battles.
Minecraft Pocket Edition
[Price: $6.99]
With all the fun mods, texture packs, and ridiculous creations you see in Minecraft, it’s really easy to forget that this is, in fact, a survival game! It’s true that you can craft, mine, and build things but you do have to defend yourself from bad guys as they come to spoil your good time. In fact, that’s why you build things, to hide from bad guys. Minecraft is a cultural phenomenon and tens of millions of people play it already. Why not you too?
Organ Trail: Director’s Cut
[Price: $2.99 with in app purchases]
The Oregon Trail was an amazingly cruel survival game where you had to watch family members die but continue to trudge on anyway. Since that’s not available on Android, Organ Trail is a great substitute. It contains the same basic game play elements and graphics as Oregon Trail but sets it in a post apocalyptic zombie world instead of colonial times. That means you still have to scrounge for supplies, fix issues with your station wagon, and yes, even kill your own family members if they get bitten.
Osmos HD
[Price: $2.99]
Osmos HD is an atmospheric puzzle game that won our best designed Android game award for 2013. In this game, you play as a little mote and you must absorb other, smaller motes in order to increase in size and become the biggest. Of course, that means larger motes can just as easily swallow you whole if you’re not paying attention and there are special motes that try to do that specifically. It’s a tough, but oddly relaxing game that is also extremely well executed.
Out There
[Price: $3.99]
Out There is one of the most interesting survival games on the list. You are an astronaut stuck out in the middle of space with nary a clue as to where you are or how you’re going to survive. You’ll have to befriend alien species and learn their language, make frequent pit stops for supplies and air, and generally just try to make it all work. It’s also one of the few games on the list without any in app purchases and you’re pretty much guaranteed to get your $3.99 worth out of this one.
Plants vs Zombies
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Plants vs Zombies is part tower defense, part survival game as you grow various mutant plants to defend yourself from the zombie onslaught. There are various kinds of plants that do various kinds of things like acting as a wall, firing at the zombies, and helping you obtain more sun power to grow more plants. It’s difficult but slow paced so you can take your time and plan things and it’s a great mainstream game.
Survivalcraft
[Price: Free demo / $3.99]
Survivalcraft is one of Minecraft’s most competent competitors. As the name implies, there are more survival elements in this title including the ability to freeze or roast yourself to death and plenty of enemies. Your animals may also be eaten by other animals instead of you. You can still build, mine, and craft just like in Minecraft so that element remains more or less the same. It’s a good alternative to Minecraft.
The Walking Dead: Season One and Season Two
[Price: Varies]
The Walking Dead series of games from Telltale games were a huge hit in 2014 and are among the best zombie survival games of all time. The graphics are far better than most and story line decisions carry over to later story line events and even into the next series of games. The only caveat is that each season is five episodes and you have to buy each episode individually which can get expensive over time. Otherwise, this is a must have game.
Zombieville, USA
[Price: $0.99]
Zombieville USA is an older game but one that many, many people enjoyed. It featured colorful, but simple graphics and an even more simple premise. As you play, you scrounge for cash an ammo which is then used to mow down more zombies. It’s a fun, goofy, and simple game with a cheap price tag. Do beware that the last update was in 2013 which means this may not work on some newer devices or on ART. Because of that, this game will likely be removed in future updates of this list, so get it while it’s still relevant!
Wrap up
If we missed any great Android survival games, let us know in the comments!
To see our complete list of Android apps and games lists, click here!
AIVAnet 