18 Games Like DayZ
Our collection of games like DayZ offers other zombie survival games that will leave you struggling to survive alone or with friends.
DayZ started its life as a modification for ARMA 2 and focuses on providing a realistic survival experience where players have to worry about both the infected (zombies) and other players who fight over the limited game resources. With this premise proving to be popular amongst gamers it was eventually released as a standalone game edition. DayZ takes place in a huge game world with a variety of biome landscapes where players can scavenge resources and present their own challenges.
A key component of the gameplay is your battle against both zombies and other players with permanent death requiring players to start again if they are killed and losing all of their collected gear and provisions. With opportunistic players often being a greater threat than the zombies DayZ places its emphasis on its survival realism as players scavenge and fight over everything they can find in the game world. This realism approach extends to combat with players often better off avoiding large scale zombie conflicts rather than looking for a fight given the melee focused weapons you'll collect.
The games like DayZ here offer similar zombie or survival experiences across single player and multiplayer adventures where you'll have to scavenge and be creative to ensure your survival against the odds.
Rust
Rust is a multiplayer survival game that encourages players to explore, build and survive. With threats coming from other players and the environment you’ll start with nothing as you build up your chances of survival by acquiring resources and equipment. Originally for Windows and Mac Rust has since expanded to the console realm with a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release in 2021. While Rust began it’s development cycle following the likes of DayZ over the years it has morphed and evol...[Read Review]
Stranded 2
Stranded 2 is a free to play 3D game that challenges you to survive by yourself on an island as you explore and craft to improve your chances of survival. Building on the original Standard game by offering improved graphics, larger islands, additional items and higher levels of randomisation you’ll get plenty of more hours of Stranded gameplay with this sequel. Allowing players to play either through the story mode that gives you goals and objectives to achieve over four islands or the sandbox m...[Read Review]
Contagion
Contagion offers co-operative and PvP game modes set within a number of zombie infected environments and combined with first person shooter gameplay. With a healthy dose of maps, game modes and weapons underneath the generic setting Contagion has provided a popular framework for fans of the FPS zombie sub genre to sink their teeth into while avoiding infection from the zombie horde. Contagion offers 4 different game modes at the core which are all multiplayer focused but bring something differen...[Read Review]
Fallen Earth
Fallen Earth is a MMO that combines FPS and role playing features with its post-apocalyptic game world to deliver an experience akin to the modern games in the Fallout series. Fallen Earth originally launched in 2009 as a paid MMO game before transitioning to a free to play game in 2011, it was later shut down for a temporary 2 year period between October 2019 and October 2021. Fallen Earth is centred around the Grand Canyon area which is now a wasteland after a series of devastating natural eve...[Read Review]
State of Decay
State of Decay combines the open world genre with a zombie outbreak to create a large and challenging adventure that has you leading a settlement of survivors through a number of trials. First released on the Xbox 360 in 2013 the title was quickly brought to Windows and eventually remastered in a Year-One Survival Edition version that also added Xbox One support. The fictional Trumbull Valley is the setting for this zombie adventure and feels like a small to medium sized rural area in the real w...[Read Review]
Infestation: The New Z
Infestation: The New Z offers another iteration on the open world survival genre with close ties to The War Z and Infestation: Survivor Stories games before it to offer a familiar experience in a reset game world. Like these games that predate it players will explore the free to play world as they co-operate with friends and battle through PvP to ultimately survive in the harsh game world. Ignoring the rocky history that this franchise has had with countless development issues and decisions that...[Read Review]
CastleMiner Z
CastleMiner Z is a sequel to the popular Xbox Live Indie Game of CastleMiner while also bringing the series to the computer environment via Steam. While the original CastleMiner was a creatively focused experience the sequel pushes the game into survival orientated gameplay instead aligning it with other games in the genre that offer a survival sandbox experience in a block based game world. This CastleMiner Z block based gameplay also features mechanics that are familiar to the genre with zombi...[Read Review]
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
Starting the battle royale craze in 2017 PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) quickly commanded an audience of millions and gave birth to a wider genre that would dominate the gaming industry for years to come. Subsequent to its success on Xbox One and Windows the game was released on the PlayStation 4 and on mobile devices (iOS/Android) with a free price tag to compete with other mobile free to play battle royale titles. Based on a mod created by Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene...[Read Review]
Sir, You Are Being Hunted
Sir, You Are Being Hunted is one of the more unique games to be released in recent years with its offering of stealth gameplay combined with free roaming sandbox mechanics. As the name might suggest players spend their time being hunted in a procedurally generated game world by killer robots. Unlike the zombies, mutants or humans of other games these British themed robot opponents give Sir, You Are Being Hunted a unique setting over other stealth and survival titles. Players find themselves in t...[Read Review]
Unturned
Focusing on zombie survival the free to play multiplayer game known as Unturned spent 3 years in Early Access before its final release on the Steam platform in July 2017. Since release the game has not only proved popular in its core gameplay but also the Arena mode which is similar to battle royale titles such as PUBG. In November 2020 the game was expanded to consoles with releases on PS4 and Xbox One as a paid experience. Regardless of the game mode players opt for the same basic premise rema...[Read Review]
Dead Island
In Dead Island you’ll explore an open island environment as you try to prevent being eaten by zombies by finding whatever melee weapons you can find around the place. Following the adventure of four survivors who are looking to escape the island you’ll fight alone or with friends in a melee combat orientated zombie title for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The setting for this zombie infestation is the luxury tropical resort on the island known as Banoi. After a night of wild part...[Read Review]
Dead Island: Riptide
Dead Island: Riptide is the second game in the Dead Island series and continues on with familiar lore and mechanics from your previous adventure but takes place on a whole new island which keeps it accessible to newcomers to the franchise. Launching in 2013 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 its an overall similar experience released only two years after the success of the original zombie beat down title. The events in Dead Island: Riptide occur right after those of the first Dead Island game although th...[Read Review]
Dying Light
Parkour across a massive city while also slashing zombies to pieces in Dying Light a game with plenty of open world and RPG elements. The game is available on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Centred around agent Kyle Crane whose objective is to infiltrate the quarantine zone of Harran. This city is overrun with infestation that has turned its populace into aggressive zombie inspired creatures. At the core of this adventure is parkour that takes you over the city rooftops and a day night cyc...[Read Review]
Dead Rising 3
If you want more over the top zombie killing Dead Rising 3 lets you step back into the zombie infested franchise as you seek to survive and smash any zombie that gets in your way. Elevating the series to the next insane chapter Dead Rising 3 features similar mechanics to Dead Rising 2 and the original but significantly ups the action with this 2013 release for Windows and Xbox One. If you’ve been following the series closely you’ll find that Dead Rising 3 takes place a decade after the events of...[Read Review]
Dead Rising 2
Dead Rising is back with more zombie killing goodness, in Dead Rising 2 players can expect a similar open world horror experience to the original with endless hordes of zombies just waiting to be dealt with. Dead Rising 2 takes place half a decade after the first Dead Rising and introduces a new protagonist into the game (Chuck Greene). The game setting has also changed and now takes place in a fictional town called Fortune City which feels very much inspired by the likes of Las Vegas. Chuck Gre...[Read Review]
Dead Rising
Dead Rising combines horror and open world environments to create a fun and unique survival experience for players. The game was released in 2006 and is only available on the Xbox 360 platform. In Dead Rising players take on the role of Frank West in a shopping mall that is simply packed full of zombies. In the game you’ll have to fight to stay alive as you attempt to unlock the secrets behind this strange incident. During your adventure you’ll complete a large number of main story missions alon...[Read Review]
ZombiU
ZombiU (Zombi on non Wii U platforms) brings the zombie genre onto Nintendo’s platform with an amazing and horrifying experience that shows off some unique mechanics and potential of the Wii U. On non Wii-U platforms some of these features are taken out or redesigned while still retaining the impressive fundamental design of the primary Wii U version mot notably the fantastic London setting and horror tones that are magnified by the permanent death mechanic with some graphical improvements along...[Read Review]
Escape from Tarkov
Using a realistic military shooter as its base and adding layers of deadly difficulty is Escape From Tarkov, a title under development by the Russian studio of Battlestate Games. The core premise of Escape From Tarkov has players scavenging instanced maps for resources while avoiding the threats of other players and AI which in turn can be used to improve your own gear to take on greater challenges. Starting development in 2012 Escape From Tarkov was first shown to players through a 2016 alpha a...[Read Review]