Ark Survival Evolved (referred to simply as “ARK”) is an action-adventure survival video game that was developed by Studio Wildcard and was released in 2017. Survival, crafting, and multiplayer are the core elements of this open-world game.
Players are stranded on one of a variety of maps where dinosaurs, fictional monsters, and other prehistoric creature roam. Other elements on these maps include natural hazards, as well as human players that may or may not be hostile; all factors that have made Ark Survival Evolved extremely popular.
If you’re a fan of ARK and you’re looking for other similar games to add to your lineup, you’ve come to the right place! Below, you’ll find a comprehensive list of games that are similar to Ark: Survival Evolved.
Ark Survival Evolved Game Features
 Release Date: | August 29, 2017 |
 Developer: | Studio Wildcard |
 Publisher: | Studio Wildcard |
 Platforms: | Linux Microsoft Windows macOS PlayStation 4 Xbox One Android iOS Nintendo Switch Stadia |
 Genre: | Action-Adventure, Survival |
 Setting: | Prehistoric |
 Game Modes: | Single-player, multiplayer |
1. Valheim
Developed by Iron Gate AB and published by Coffee Stain Publishing, Valheim was released in early 2021 on Windows and Linux. It’s a third-person survival-craft-adventure game that can support between one and 10 players.
It features a variety of worlds that are generated procedurally, and like other survival-craft-adventure games, you can fight, craft, hunt, farm, build shelters, and partake in various other activities and skillsets that would help you stay alive.
In Valheim, you’ll play as a Viking in worlds that are inspired by Norse mythology. The overall goal of the game is proving yourself to Odin, the Norse god, by slaying a variety of frightening foes. You can decide whether you want to strictly adhere to the storyline, loosely stick to it, or not follow it at all.
The worlds in Valheim are simply stunning, and they house valuables, as well as various other secrets around every corner and in every nook and cranny. Unique battles and treasures, which are delivered throughout the maps, encourage you to explore.
Much of the game focuses on combat. There are several moves that you can use in your combats, including dodges, blocks, and close- and long-ranged attacks in order to takedown your adversaries. The combat is stamina-based.
Finally, the game features a basic character progression tree, tech trees, and fair crafting systems. You’ll craft Viking longboats and longhouses, as well as gear, and you’ll hunt or grown your own food, which you’ll turn into nourishment. All in all, Valheim is a simple, forgiving, and refined game.
2. Atlas
Developed by Facepunch Studios, in collaboration of Double Eleven, and published by Instinct Games, Atlas was released in late 2018. Developers who worked on Ark joined forces and created a spin-off studio. They used the same engine to create a new survival title, which featured an open-world survival adventure pirate-themed MMO.
In this game, you’ll develop your own unique character and you’ll utilize your ship to explore different islands in search of treasure. You will be able to plunder the settlements of players, wage war against fleets of clans, and you can either command or you can join forces and become part of a bigger crew of pirates.
The primary attraction of Atlas is exploration on the open seas. Rather than a single island, the map features a wide open ocean with tons of smaller islands that you can explore. All areas on the map allow for PvP, and a really cool features is that you won’t lose any of your character’s progress in the event that you perish.
Also like Ark: Survival Evolved, on Atlas, you can level-up your characters, unlock skill points in order to obtain a variety of skill trees, and you will need to manage your thirst, hunger, and the weather conditions that you encounter in order to survive.
Another similar element is that combat can take place in either the first-person or in the third-person, and you can utilize a variety of weapons, such as cannons, swords, hooks, guns, and various other elements in battle.
3. Rust
Another great game in the survival-craft genre is Rust. Developed by Facepunch Studios and Double Eleven Studios, and published by Facepunch Studios, Rust was released in early 2018 for Xbox One, PS4, Windows, macOS, and Linux. This game is treacherous, brutal, and as such, it is very much like Ark: Survival Evolved. It’s an FPS survival/sandbox craft multiplayer game.
Like Ark, you start out the game naked on maps that can accommodate as many as 60 people. You can then collect resources, craft your own gear, and research blueprints in order to progress in tech trees.
Rust lacks a single-player, however; instead, you can play solo, play with other players, or you can make allies, and your allies can then form clans that will work together to safeguard and manage valuable items. Of course, you can raid the shelters of other players to acquire their loot, even when those players aren’t online.
It’s important to note, however, that if you perish when you’re attempting to raid the shelters of others, you will lose 50 percent of your whole inventory. Another downside and feature that’s dissimilar to Ark is that in Rust, characters can’t progress, and there aren’t any stats to develop, either.
In regard to the maps, you’ll play on an open-world setting that is procedurally-generated. On these maps, there are combatant NPCs and safe zones, as well as gear drop zones. Finally, you have the ability to mod the game, or you can join in on the servers that other players have made.
4. Scum
Another popular sandbox, open-world survival adventure game is Scum. It was both developed and published by Gamepires, and it was released in 2018 on Windows. You’ll play as a prisoner who is trapped on an island, who is unwittingly playing part in a brutal reality show.
Other players, who are also prisoners, reside on the island with you, and they will compete with you to acquire loot, as well as fame.
There are three groups of enemies that you’ll need to confront, protect yourself from, and defeat: other players, mutated beasts, and robotic monsters. In addition to that, you’ll need to figure out how to manage your hunger, your thirst, and your health.
When you consider your challenges, surviving Scum is a task that requires quite a bit of hard work, dedication, wit, and grit. Oh, you also have a complicated metabolic system to figure out and manage, too.
The mechanics of your metabolism keeps tabs on your health, as well as your intake and levels of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. This results in unique mechanics, such as weight gain, depleted stamina, and increasing speed. There are a lot of details that you’ll need to attend to in regard to combat, too.
To illustrate, you will play in either the first- or third-person, with a ton of guns at your disposal. All in all, Scum is a base building game, which, if we’re honest, can be quite addictive.
To add to the appeal – and to further entice you to keep on playing – the developers of Scum continue to add more and more elements to builds, as well as more and more features, performance upgrades, and weapons.
5. Grounded
If you’re a fan of Ark: Survival Evolved, and you’re looking for something that’s similar, but offers a bit of a different twist, then Grounded is an option that you should totally check out.
This game is a different take on the survival-adventure genre in that it delivers a story-driven, single-player campaign that you can play on cooperative, as opposed to in an open sandbox world. That said, however, Grounded does still retain its sandbox elements.
In this game, you’ll play as a child who has been shrunken and is trapped in his backyard (similar to the 1980s film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids). You’ll need to explore your surroundings for loot and resources, and you’ll also need to engage in combats; all while you’re no bigger than an ant.
The objective of the game is to return back to your normal sized body, and the journey to achieve that goal can be dangerous at times, and can be a bit on the lengthy side; however, it’s still engaging and entertaining.
There are several different kinds of insects that you’ll encounter. Some of these insects are helpless and will only provide food, while others, such as spiders, are dangerous and are your adversaries; however, they can provide you with a lot of loot.
There are several ways that you can advance your character: You can improve your looting abilities, get better gear, boost your skills, or unlock crafting recipes. You can also craft bases, equipment, tools, consumables, and a whole lot more. You can play with up to three friends online, which further adds to the fun.
6. Conan Exiles
Another entertaining and engaging game that’s jam-packed with action and adventure, and that’s similar to Ark: Survival Evolved is Conan Exiles. This MMO survival game was developed and published by Funcom, and it was released in 2018 on Windows, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series.
In addition to being an MMO survival game, it also features a super-complex combat system, mounted combat, mounts, and an expansive open-world, as well as sandbox mechanics.
In Conan Exiles, you’ll play as a barbarian (which isn’t surprising) who is entrapped on and needs to figure out how to navigate through – and survive – dangerous lands. In these lands, you’ll need to manage harsh conditions, such as intense heat and cold, and severe hunger and thirst.
The objective of the game is to develop the lands with your crafting system. You can use your crafting system to build everything from small shelters to intricate cities.
The lands are savage and unforgiving, and you’ll need to encounter PVP, and vicious creatures, too; however, with that said, you do have the ability to hunt and harvest crops, which you can use for food, as well as for materials that you can use to build and develop the lands with.
If you’re playing online, you can nab loot from other players, and you can develop siege units, and utilize explosives to raid the cities of combatants, as well. If you’d like, you also have the opportunity to join forces with other players and protect and combat other barbarians.
Conan Exiles can be played online, solo, or in single-player mode in an offline campaign. The offline mode concentrates on adversary NPCs and an event that is known as the Purge, which includes hordes that attack the settlements that you have developed. You also have the option to mod the game or develop your own mods, too.
7. Astroneer
Next up on our list of games that are like Ark: Survival Evolved is Astroneer. Developed and published by System Era Softworks, this game was released in the end of 2016 on PS4, Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Xbox One. It’s received loads of support from developers, and the player base is consistent, which are definite pluses.
The nature of Astroneer is quirky and quite friendly, and there are more than 2,000 daily Steam players, making it the go-to option game in the survival genre.
In addition to charming visuals, there are lots of elements in Astroneerr that makes it arguably the most unique of the thousands of tames in the survival genre. Furthermore, learning how to play – and actually playing – Astroneer is really easy, which further adds to its appeal.
In this game, you’ll play as an Astroneer who explores a far-off world that is set in the 25th century. It starts out as a sandbox adventure game in that you explore different regions, search for and collect resources, and craft vehicles, bases, and explore various other items.
Reshaping the distant world is the objective of Astroneer. You will collect a deform tool, dig, and then shape anything into any form. The options are virtually endless; the only limit is your imagination.
8. DayZ
DayZ was the inspiration for another game that we featured on this list: Rust. Developed and published by Bohemia Interactive, and released in December of 2018 on Windows, PS4, and Xbox One, many of the elements featured on DayZ were inspired by Rust.
This includes zombies, which later on, become adversary wildlife, as well as other NPCs. Other elements that you’ll encounter and contend with include crafting, building structures, offline raids, clans, and first-person shootings.
Because it was inspired by Rust, DayZ is, of course, quite similar to Ark: Survival Evolved. This open-world survival sandbox game is super hardcore and intensively punishing.
Other than staying alive, there aren’t any rules in this game; as such, you can play solo or against others, or you can join forces with other players. There aren’t any checkpoints or saves, either. When you die, you will lose everything, so you’ll need to restart, which is something that some players might find annoying.
Moreover, the game lacks character progression, so if you lose your loot, you will need to start over again from nothing.
There are three things that can kill you in DayZ: zombies, animals, and other players. You’ll need to defend yourself from these adversaries, and on top of that, you’ll have to contend with severe thirst and hunger, which means you’ll need to hunt for animals, search for water, and manage your resources.
9. Raft
Raft is a more laidback and easier survival adventure game. This title, which was developed by Redbeet Interactive and published by Axolot Games, and was released in 2018 on Linux and Windows. You can either play along or cooperatively; however, playing against others isn’t an option.
In Raft, you’re stranded on a raft out in the middle of the wide open ocean. The only tool you have at your disposal is an old plastic hook, which you can use to collect whatever debris you encounter in the water in order to improve your raft, your one and only means of travel and survival.
The gameplay loop is all about collecting resources in order to develop a multi-store raft. As you can imagine, you’ll also need to manage thirst and hunger, as well as various other difficulties, such as keeping your meat chilled, fresh, and safe to consume.
Eventually, you will be able to visit islands, where you can acquire additional resources; however, you will need to fight sharks. Other than staying alive, there really isn’t a specific objective to Raft, and you can play for as long as you’d like.
All in all, while it’s more low-key than other titles on this list, Raft is a difficult, yet it’s entertaining and even a bit addictive.
10. Satisfactory
The next title on our list of games that are similar to Ark: Survival Evolved is Satisfactory. While there are elements that are definitely similar to Ark, there are also elements and features that are quite unique.
It’s an open-world game in which you need to build factories as you play in the first person. You’ll need to explore as you play, and you’ll have to engage in combat with adversaries, as well. Additionally, you can play solo, or you can play cooperative with your buddies.
You’ll play on an alien world that is brimming with valuable natural resources. You’ll play as an employee of FICSIT, and conquering areas and building huge factories on the lands is your goal.
Throughout the game, you’ll explore different locations, fight monsters, collect valuables and you’ll return to your base. While on the base, you will be able to build factories, which will become increasingly more complex.
The factories can either be manual, or you can opt to make them fully automated. Additionally, you’ll have access to jump pads, vehicles, and other devices that you can use to explore. You’ll need to use the appropriate gear in order to protect yourself from the alien wildlife.
11. Project Zomboid
A zombie-themed sandbox game that combines survival with crafting and combat, Project Zomboid is dangerous, scary, engaging, and tons of fun. Developed and published by The Indie Stone, this game was released in 2013 on macOS, Windows, and Linux, so it’s been around for a while; nevertheless, the content remains relevant.
The graphics are simple and isometric, and they mix well with the dark sense of humor that the game presents. You’ll play as a survivor of a Muldraugh town, which was overtaken by zombies in a post-apocalyptic world.
In order to obtain resources, you’ll need to loot houses, and then use those resources to build shelters and other defenses in order to slow certain death. You’ll have to steal, run, combat, and play strategically in order to stay alive.
Project Zomboid features an online multiplayer support, which can support up to 126 people on persistent servers. You have the ability to turn options to open PvP, which will allow you to take over the loot and gear of others.
You can play solo or cooperative with others; whichever you choose, the objective is to build a city that’s strong enough to survive a collision. You’ll have to develop technologies, too, and make the buildings that you’ll need in order to stay alive.
12. Eco
Next up is a survival and base-building simulator game that was developed and published by Strange Loop Games. It was released in February of 2018 on Linux, Windows, and macOS, and in it you’re in a race against time, as the window to perp the city from the impact of a meteor is limited, and it’s rapidly narrowing.
You can play Eco solo or cooperatively with other players, but whichever way you those, the objective is to develop a city that will be able to withstand the collision of an meteor. You’ll have to develop technologies, as well as the buildings that will be needed to survive the collision.
A complex ecosystem can be found in the virtual sandbox, including thousands of animals and plants. The map utilizes voxels, similar to Minecraft, which means that you can reshape the geography and mine pretty much any resource that you see.
Conclusion
If you are a faun of Ark: Survival Evolved and you want to find a title that offers a similar experience, than you’ll definitely want to check out one of the options featured on this list. While some of the games are more similar to Ark and others are more unique, all in all, every one of them involves action, adventure, suspense, and is sure to be tons of fun and offer hours of entertainment.
If you’re looking for a game that offers an experience that’s similar to Ark: Survival Evolved, be sure to check out one of the titles on this list. You’ll be sure to find something that will suit your interests and that you will find just as entertaining and enjoyable as Ark.
