10 Best Survival Games on Nintendo Switch (2024)

In a bid to survive, you may have to double-cross your mates. Resources are often scarce in survival games, and so it’s every man for himself. Most games will take you to the wild to fend for yourself. And while you’ll often be living from hand to mouth, these types of games push you to think outside the box. We’ve scoured the Switch catalog for all the survival games on offer and found the best survival games on Nintendo Switch for you to play.

What is a Survival Game?

A survival game is a subgenre of action games that takes you to a harsh, open-world environment. You’re only given minimal resources at the start. The rest is up to you to plan, scavenge, and manage the scarce resources in the environment. Often, you’ll be trying to beat hunger, thirst, disease, mental illness, and attack from hostile enemies.

Best Survival Games on Nintendo Switch

Let's check out the top Survival games on Nintendo Switch:

10. Dragon Quest Builders 2

As the name suggests, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a block-building game. It takes place in a fantasy world where you need to build a base to protect its people from an evil cult. So, you’ll set out exploring unlimited building combinations with your pal Malroth. You’ll battle enemies, harvest resources, and uncover the secrets of Malroth’s origin and the land, too.

9. Ark: Survival Evolved

In Ark: Survival Evolved, you wake up on a mysterious island with next to nothing. All you have is your wits and survival instincts. So, you set out to kill animals for food and tame the primaeval creatures you meet for pets. You’ll explore the secrets of the island, running into other survivors. Together, you must team up and escape.

8. Risk of Rain 2

Risk of Rain 2 is also an escape mission. You’ve been trapped on an alien planet and must survive horrific creatures. The monsters come at you in waves, forcing you to master combat skills to stay alive. However, you can enlist the help of friends and combine your skills to survive. Depending on the loot you find, you can mix and match them to grow in power that rivals the very monsters you fear.

7. This War of Mine: Complete Edition

This War of Mine draws inspiration from the siege of Sarajevo to bring to you a a unique war-themed experience. Instead of shining its spotlight on the combatants of war, the game follows the civilians paying the heavy price of conflict. You’ll control the survivors as they strive to manage the scarce beds, alcohol, stoves, and more resources at your disposal. You’ll also, at certain points, be forced to defend yourself against attacks. War may have been gamified over the past few years, but This War of Mine chooses to very literally portray the gripping effects of civil strife. And with the Complete Edition, you can get the Anniversary Edition update, The Little Ones DLC, and the This War of Mine Stories: Season Pass that has three episodes. 

6. Don’t Starve Together

Trapped in the wilderness, you and your friends must do all you can to survive. You’ll fight enemies, farm resources, build camps, and explore the harsh environment together. Soon, you’ll discover plenty of biomes with new resources and threats. You’ll comb through caves and set sail to islands. All along, you’ll encounter bosses and menace creatures threatening to kill you. But you’ll have no choice but to fight back. After all, the title Don’t Starve Together commands it.

5. Stranded Sails: Explorer of the Cursed Islands

Stranded Sails: Explorer of the Cursed Islands is the perfect game for a lazy afternoon. It thrives on cozy survival mechanics, where you cook, farm, craft, and decorate an open world at your own pace. You are a part of a crew whose ship has crashed on the island. So, you explore the world for food and resources with the least bit of worry about the curse lurking in the archipelagoes.

4. Minecraft

Minecraft is the OG of survival games, having remained prominent for decades now. Its concept is simple: explore a procedurally generated blocky world. Everything in the world is blocky, including the characters and races you’ll fight against. You can play the game at your own pace, with the freedom to craft valuable tools, build cities, or dungeon crawl for hidden treasure. There’s almost always something to keep you busy.

3. Subnautica

Most games cover survival on the surface world. But what about surviving underwater? Subnautica puts its own unique twist on aquatic life, incorporating alien species and environments. You’ll pilot your submarines to the depths of the oceans, discovering coral reeds, caves, volcanoes, and more. However, keep in mind that the ocean has its own life-threatening enemies to watch out for.

2. No Man's Sky

If you’re looking for an expansive universe to explore, you can check out No Man’s Sky. It takes you across several planets, tasking you with establishing a thriving colony in each one. The planets procedurally regenerate, so you often always face new challenges. Moreover, the environments you explore are infinite. You can cover as much ground as you want, so be careful to stock up on supplies and weapons in case you run into hostile foes. Above all, each planet reveals a unique biosystem that is a great joy to discover.

1. Terraria

Another building game with a distinct aesthetic is Terraria. It focuses on a mining colony, where you spelunk to the depths of the earth in search of resources. But you can also dungeon-crawl for hidden treasure and monsters to fight. With each quest, you’ll increase your gear and machinery. You’ll grow a more powerful community that can take on even stronger foes. Bit by bit, you’ll establish a thriving city that takes in allies and dominates all through the game’s world.

So, what's your take? Do you agree with our best survival games on Nintendo Switch? Are there more survival games we should know about? Let us know over on our socials here.