Image: Endnight Games Ltd, Newnight via HGG
My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
One of the most popular multiplayer survival games out there right now is none other than Rust. Rust is a fairly well-known game, beloved by many for its survival gameplay, base building, and a big emphasis on multiplayer and cooperating with other players. Whether you’re a veteran who has gotten bored of the game or are someone who wants to play it but hasn’t due to its steep learning curve, you’ve come to the right place. Here in this article, we are going to be going over the 10 best games like Rust, ranking them in order from good to best.
Top 10 Games like Rust, Ranked from Good to Best
So what are we waiting for? Let’s get right into the article!
Escape from Tarkov
Escape from Tarkov is a realistic first-person shooter game. In it, you will fight in a war-torn city set in northwestern Russia. There are two rival factions battling for control of the city, and you will need to fight against other players in order to get valuable loot and make it out alive. The game was first released back in 2017, and since it has gained quite a following online.
Escape from Tarkov is not a survival game like Rust is, and is best described as a tactical first-person shooter. Despite this, the game still feels similar to Rust in some ways. There is an emphasis on PVP and fighting with other players over valuable resources. There is also a lot of fighting done in abandoned, overrun environments.
DayZ
DayZ is one of the most iconic games in the industry. What started out as a mod for Arma 3 has since evolved into its very own standalone survival game. Set in a zombie apocalypse, you will need to survive in an eastern-European environment, gathering food, weapons, medical supplies, and other valuable resources. While you do this, you will need to fight off zombies and unfriendly players alike…
The game features a big emphasis on survival and resource gathering, just like in Rust. You’ll be exploring a lot of abandoned towns and cities to try and gather what you need to survive. Also like Rust, you will have encounters with other random players that are common enough that you’ll need to be constantly looking over your shoulder. I’ve had some pretty cool interactions with other players in this game, but don’t take that to mean you should trust everyone you see…
ARK: Survival Evolved
ARK: Survival Evolved is a game that many people consider to be one of the best open-world survival games. It’s set on a strange island inhabited by dinosaurs! You will need to tame these creatures and use them to your advantage in order to help you survive in a hostile and unfamiliar world. All the while you do that, you will need to piece together just where exactly you are and how you can escape…
The game features base-building, just like Rust has. You can also research technologies in the game that will help you unlock new things to craft and use when exploring and fighting enemies. The game is multiplayer and is a lot of fun with friends. This game is very similar to Rust, but with more of a focus on PVE than PVP.
Don’t Starve Together
Don’t Starve Together is probably my personal favorite game out of all the other ones on this ranking. At first glance, it may not seem very similar to Rust, but after you get your hands on it, you’ll see it made our top 10 list. This is a game in which you play as one of several different characters with unique abilities. You’ll be thrust into a strange, supernatural world where you must gather resources and survive.
The fact that this is a survival game is the most obvious similarity to Rust. Don’t Starve Together also features multiplayer, another feature found in Rust. One notable difference between the two games is that Rust is first-person while Don’t Starve Together is an isometric game. Some may not like this, but personally, I love the isometric view.
Scrap Mechanic
Scrap Mechanic is another great game that you’ll love if you enjoyed Rust. In this game, you play as a mechanic who is trapped on an agricultural world overrun with hostile farm bots. You’ll have to defend yourself by using your engineering skills to build all sorts of contraptions for keeping them at bay.
Base building is a big part of Scrap Mechanic, just like Rust. This game allows you to get creative with the things you build, as you can make not just structures, but machines and other really interesting gizmos. The game features co-op multiplayer, allowing you to survive with your friends in an open world. If you are looking for a game that will test your survival skills while also making you think like an engineer, then pick up Scrap Mechanic today!
Sons of the Forest
The sequel to the 2014 survival horror game The Forest, Sons of the Forest takes everything that we enjoyed about the first game and improves upon it in several ways. This time around, you are stranded on a creepy forested island, where you must build a shelter and survive against terrifying cannibal tribals while trying to manage your hunger and thirst.
The game features similar survival elements to Rust, so if you are a big fan of survival games, this is a great one for you to try out. There is a multiplayer mode, but it is for co-op, so don’t expect to run into hostile players out in the world randomly like you would in Rust. Additionally, the game’s base-building reminds me a lot of Rust. So if you enjoy gathering natural resources and using them to build things, then this is a great game to try out.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a game all about surviving in the Ukraine following a second disaster at Chernobyl. This is a cult classic that many fans of the series love for its great RPG elements, fantastic world-building, and factions, as well as its tough difficulty and survival elements. With a new entry in the series already confirmed to be released sometime in the future, there’s never been a better time than now to check out the first game if you have not already.
This game is different from Rust in a few ways. First, it’s a single-player game. Second, it features a lot of RPG elements. Third, it’s more story-focused, and features many factions for you to join up with. Despite these differences, it still features many of the familiar elements you love from Rust. It’s a difficult survival game where making it to the next day isn’t a guarantee. The atmosphere is similar to rust, albeit darker and brooding.
No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky is a sci-fi space exploration game that is set across a massive, procedurally generated galaxy. Players are given their very own spaceship, which they will use to hop from planet to planet. While on each planet, they will gather resources and craft new gadgets that they can use to help with exploration and combat. Eventually, they will be able to upgrade from a small starship to a massive frigate, maintained by its own private crew!
This game features a lot of the best aspects of Rust. Exploration, base building, and resource gathering. The game is sci-fi, so you have a lot more stuff that you can do when it comes to building bases and crafting equipment. Also like Rust, the game is multiplayer. The world is so huge you are very unlikely to encounter any other players naturally, but you can play cooperatively with your friends.
Grounded
Made by Obsidian Entertainment, Grounded is a new open-world survival game. In Grounded, you play as a little kid who has found themself shrunk down to the size of an ant! Now, you are trapped inside of your backyard and must gather resources and survive against hostile insects, all the while trying to return to your normal size.
The game features resource gathering and base-building, just like Rust does. You can play with your friends, but it is more of a co-op experience than a PVP one. If you are looking for a new survival game to play with a unique premise, then this might be the game for you. There are a few other games out there that turn your own backyard into a dangerous jungle!
Subnautica
Subnautica is one of my all-time favorite games, so it’s no surprise that I added it to this ranking of the 10 best games like Rust. This is a science-fiction game where your ship crashes over a hostile alien planet. Now you must explore the ocean blue, gathering rare resources and crafting new tools to help you survive. Eventually, you will need to explore the more dangerous parts of the ocean, so make sure you prepare ahead of time.
This game’s strongest selling point in my opinion is the base building. It’s incredibly cool being able to build your very own underwater outpost. If you loved building bases in Rust, then you’ll certainly enjoy it here. The survival elements are also similar, though it takes place underwater instead of above land. One thing that this game lacks is a multiplayer mode, but there is a mod that you can use to fix that.
Join the High Ground!
We hope you enjoyed this ranking of the 10 best games like Rust! What are your thoughts on our top picks? Did we leave out your favorite? Be sure to let us know down in the comments if we did, and please subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more rankings and features like this one.
Happy gaming!
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