DayZ is a survival video game developed and published by Bohemia Interactive. This game is the spiritual successor of a certain mod for the game ARMA 2, which was also named DayZ. After a lengthy five-year early access period, the game was officially released in December 2018, followed by Xbox and PlayStation launches in 2019.
In DayZ, you play a survivor in a fictional post-Soviet Republic of Chernarus, trying to escape a mysterious plague that ravaged the entirety of this world. The plague ends up killing the people it infects, turning them into violent zombies that you will have to fend off or risk turning into one yourself. You can choose to play alone or cooperate with other players to survive together.
The multiplayer and survival elements of this game were what propelled it into a fan-favorite game shortly after launch. But not every game lasts forever. Once you finish DayZ, what next you ask? Well, we have curated a list of seven games that are similar to DayZ in terms of their survival and multiplayer aspects.
ARK: Survival Evolved
ARK: Survival Evolved is a game that focuses on the survival aspects of being thrown onto an island stranded and without resources. You will have to survive all of the dangers of the land including natural hazards, several massive predators, ancient creatures from a bygone epoch, and of course, other human players. The game’s difficulty can be quite punishing for newer players.
The multiplayer aspect of this game sees players being pitted against one another for resources and glory or cooperating with each other to brave the dangers of this world together. Regardless of the approach you take, eventually, it just makes more sense to find your own tribe, tame yourself a powerful beast and take on the world together.
Don’t Starve Together
Don’t Starve Together is the follow-up game to the critically acclaimed single-player edition game Don’t Starve. Developed by Canadian studio Klei Entertainment, this multiplayer expansion to the original game features co-op play, making it easier to survive the harsh wilderness of the game. You will have to maintain your health, hunger, and sanity levels to make sure you don’t succumb early.
Initially, Klei Entertainment did not want to implement multiplayer for their original game. But due to popular demand, it decided to do it and the game became even more popular than the original. You can play in a party of up to six players while all of you team up to survive for as many days as possible. There is no end goal as the game is one massive sandbox survival experience.
Dread Hunger
Dread Hunger is a multiplayer survival game that stands out from the rest of the games on this list. Developed by Digital Confectioners, this game blends together survival aspects from other games in the genre with a social aspect to it. You can choose to stick with your crew and survive together or backstab them for better gain in the long run if you see fit.
The game puts together eight players stranded in the unforgiving Arctic region. There are two traitors in every party that can choose to betray in crew in various ways. The game lets you captain a ship as well while you search for resources in the most unexpected of places. Magic is an acceptable way to survive as well since the dangers include your environment as well as your own crew.
Dying Light
Dying Light is a survival game set in the zombie-infested city of Harran. You play the undercover agent Kyle Crane as you look to find out the cause behind the infestation, and a possible cure. You will have to navigate the city while evading zombies and other human threats while you accomplish your mission.
The game allows for co-op multiplayer as well, where you can team up with four other players to accomplish these goals together. Multiplayer does reduce the difficulty curve of the game significantly but it is a much more enjoyable experience when you destroy hordes of zombies with other players. The game also features a dynamic day-night cycle that you can use to plan your course of action.
Project Zomboid
Project Zomboid is an open-world isometric multiplayer survival game where you are tasked to fight off hordes of zombies. This continues until your eventual death since the game has no endpoint and the goal is to figure out how best to survive for as long as possible. This is made easier via multiplayer but eventually, the zombies do end up winning.
The setting of the game is much more dire than the previous entries, where the game effectively locks you in a quarantined city to starve off all the zombies, preventing them from escaping into the wider world. Project Zomboid features a variety of realistic aspects such as hunger, stress, and fatigue to make the game more engaging and challenging while maintaining a dread-filled team experience.
Rust
Quite possibly the most recognizable entry on this list, Rust was often referred to as a clone of DayZ during its early days. While that comparison doesn’t seem very fair these days, when the game first came out, a lot of features resembled that of DayZ. It is a multiplayer-only survival game where you will have to manage your stats and fend off other players to survive in the harsh wilderness.
The environment is just as dangerous in Rust, with the game periodically spawning NPC-controlled vehicles to attack players while they pass by. To make things easier, the game features a crafting system similar to games like Minecraft, where they use components found around the world to make better items. Effectively managing your resources and making appropriate items is the key to survival.
State of Decay
State of Decay and its sequel are multiplayer survival games with an additional element of base-building thrown in. Managing resources is key in these games as well, with any gathered loot available to be taken back to the base for further crafting. You will have to fend off a variety of zombies, from smaller horde creatures to massive juggernauts.
The original game plays using a third-person perspective and you could only play solo, with co-op multiplayer being added in State of Decay 2. Base management is a crucial aspect of the game, with an emphasis on building base defenses and facilities to make life easier for your community. If you run out of a particular resource, you can always choose to trade your excess resources for it.
