21 Games Like H1Z1
Our assembled list of games like H1Z1 covers other games set deep within the zombie apocalypse. Scavenge, build, craft, fight and survive in these games.
H1Z1 is one of the many zombie based open world games, a genre that continues to explode in popularity and game titles. While H1Z1 does fall in this now saturated genre the game has some differentiating features including a focus PvE gameplay with teamwork to overcome zombies preferred over the typical PvP modes amongst a zombie infestation.
Additionally the game has a Battle Royale mode where players must fight until they are the last one standing on a map that gets smaller and smaller as the game goes on (which can be played with zombies on or off). This mode in particular has been of increasing focus for the developers and players as the lure of surviving against over 150 other players, leaderboards and item rewards has made it a popular aspect of the game.
Regardless of the mode players elect to play they’ll find an adventure orientated around scavenging the ruins of the game world for the supplies leftover by the inhabitants who have now been infected by the H1Z1 virus.
The games like H1Z1 found below are also set in post-apocalyptic environments which will challenge players to scavenge the environment while fighting off zombies and other players.
Life is Feudal: Your Own
Step into a massive medieval world in Life is Feudal: Your Own that blends combat, crafting, building, sandbox, realistic directional combat and many other mechanics to create an adventure set far into the past. Alternatively explore the much larger world in Life is Feudal: MMO, the MMO variant of the title with different features (see the official website for full details) but the same gameplay. Life is Feudal: Your Own supports up to 64 players on a medieval map measuring 3km x 3km. With ample...[Read Review]
Rust
Rust is a survival game that comes from the same brains that brought you Garry’s Mod. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of games and genres you’ll find plenty of depth to explore while struggling to survive. The game is best described as a mixture of Minecraft and DayZ. In Rust players will spawn with nothing (other than a rock) and must adventure through the game world to gather food and resources for crafting. This world isn’t free of threats though with other players and animals able to k...[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 set in a post-apocalyptic game world and offers it to players with a free to play MMO experience. The game is a mixture of FPS and role playing features making it akin to the later games in the Fallout series. The game is centred around the Grand Canyon area which is now a wasteland after a series of events which players will learn more about during the in depth tutorial which covers most of the games features and introduces the setting. One of the things that players will first ...[Read Review]
Don’t Starve
Don’t Starve is a single player survival game that has many unique features and a dark art direction that makes it a stand out open world survival experience. The game was released in April 2013 by Klei Entertainment with a standalone expansion pack released in 2016 under the name Don’t Starve Together which introduces multiplayer to the Don’t Starve universe. While this review here does not cover this expansion in particular the mechanics discussed below are all applicable to the ba...[Read Review]
This War of Mine
Most war games have you take on the role of a soldier in the middle of the battlefield with weapons and armour. This War of Mine, on the other hand, puts you in charge of a household of civilians trying to survive a brutal war with what minimal supplies they can scavenge. In the day, you cannot leave the house because of snipers, so instead you stay home and maintain the dilapidated hideout that you’ll slowly improve over time (if you last that long). When night comes, you get to dispatch ...[Read Review]
Killing Floor
Killing Floor is a co-operative game that matches a team of players against zombie like enemies in a series of increasingly difficult waves. Your key to success lies within leveraging the map designed choke points and complimenting each other through the class system that provides tangible in game benefits as you acquire experience in a particular class. While the game is best enjoyed with close friends players can also tackle the game solo or join a server with other players in the community wi...[Read Review]
State of Decay
State of Decay combines the open world genre with a zombie outbreak to create one of the largest and most impressive games in the genre to date. The game started out as a title on the Xbox Marketplace and eventually made its way to Windows. The game plays out in an open world environment with players taking control of their survivors in a third person perspective. State of Decay is packed full of unique elements with a crazy amount of depth for players to explore. While the game has zombies with...[Read Review]
Wurm Online
Wurm Online is a sandbox style MMORPG that has a creative focus allowing you to create your own adventure. You can play Wurm Online with a basic account for free but to remove some restrictions you will have to commit to a subscription based premium account. The game also has a stand alone version released on Steam in 2015 called Wurm Unlimited. Fans of Minecraft will be pleased to know that Markus Persson himself worked on the game so there is definitely a Minecraft influence present (Wurm Onli...[Read Review]
Infestation: The New Z
Infestation: The New Z offers another iteration of The War Z and Infestation: Survivor Stories with a free to play open world shooter made for PvP play across various game modes. Ignoring the rocky history that this franchise has had with countless development issues and decisions that have been less than well received by the community Infestation: The New Z has thus far avoided the same fate a few months into release and hopefully this trend continues for the title so that it may finally see th...[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]
Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 continues the co-operative zombie adventure with all new characters, locations, enemies and weapons to change up the popular gameplay introduced in the original Left 4 Dead. The popular AI director also makes a return with plenty of tweaks to ensure players are always challenged. Just like the original game plot elements are kept minimal with players following four survivors of an infectious disease that has turned the population into zombie like creatures. The story is portrayed t...[Read Review]
Fortnite
Starting its life as a cooperative sandbox survival experience (known as Save The World) Fortnite has since grown to also include a highly popular (and free) Battle Royale experience. Available across vast range of platforms Save The World continues to be a paid title while Battle Royale launched as a free to play experience. While Save The World has since taken a backseat to the incredible popularity of Fortnite Battle Royale although both game modes are still offered for a mix of both PvP and ...[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]
Dead Island
In Dead Island you’ll have to explore an open world environment and try to prevent being eaten by using whatever weapons you can find around the place. Dead Island is a great role playing experience for fans of survival horror and is available on Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Dead Island features a fictional island which is home to a luxury tropical resort. After a night of wild partying the player wakes up as one of the four available characters (each with their own stats and skills) an...[Read Review]
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead (L4D) is a zombie survival experience that focuses on co-operative gameplay against a varied and randomised zombie infection. Left 4 Dead separates itself from similar co-operative shooters by promising a different experience each time you load up a game map thanks to the AI director that alters aspects of the map each time it is played. The Left 4 Dead base game takes place across four varied and unique acts all with a movie design to the campaign, their own tagline and five separat...[Read Review]
Dead Island: Riptide
Dead Island: Riptide is the second game in the Dead Island series and continues on from your previous adventure but takes place on a whole new island. The game launched in 2013 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, delivering a very similar experience to the first game. The events in Dead Island: Riptide occur right after those of the first Dead Island game although they are disconnected enough that you don’t have to play the first one if this is your first experience with the franchise. Although, it defini...[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]
Grand Battle Royale
Bringing across the popular battle royale formula to the mobile Android market, Grand Battle Royale offers the same massive multiplayer online arena style of game that you’ve become accustomed to on your computer screen. Spawning into the game world in a random location Grand Battle Royale follows the format of similar titles with players acquiring melee weapons and guns littered across the landscape and using these to take out every last enemy and claim victory for yourself. The constantl...[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]