Best Games Like ARK: Survival Evolved

If you think you’ve had enough of fighting and taming dinosaurs in ARK, it might be time to try out the top games similar to ARK: Survival Evolved.

This can be a great way to expand your horizons and discover new open-world survival crafting games that you may already know of but have never tried.

In this list, we’ll highlight the best games like ARK on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms.

Make sure to check back in the future to see fresh recommendations for the best games like ARK but superior!

Related:Best Base Building Games 2025Best Dinosaur Games 2025

First up on our list of the best games like ARK is Stars End, an indie multiplayer sci-fi survival game that comes courtesy of Reverie World Studios.

Set hundreds of years in the future, it sees you colonizing a star system by seeking out resources, completing missions, and uncovering mysteries in the world.

Similar to ARK, the game places a big emphasis on building strongholds, both in space and on planets, which have the potential to be raided by other players.

It’s arguably a lot more ambitious than ARK in terms of the scope of its world and gameplay but checks many of the same boxes.

Valheim is another survival game like ARK that throws Vikings and mythological beasts into the mix.

The premise sees you assuming control of one of Odin’s fallen warriors in a Norse world ripe with resources and danger.

Exploring your surroundings, you’ll learn to live off the land by collecting food and other resources to craft shelter, weapons, and tools.

Eventually, you’ll advance to making portals and vessels that allow you to travel to new biomes housing powerful bosses and rewards.

Whereas most survival games center on a single player’s quest to stay alive in the face of harsh conditions, Eco throws time constraints and human greed into the mix.

The setup is as follows: a meteor is on a collision course with your planet and to survive, you must work with other players to research and create new technology.

Further complicating matters is a simulated ecosystem filled with thousands of plants and wildlife that must be utilized for your survival.

To prevent the ecosystem from dying, you’ll have to maintain balance while collaborating with friends like you would in ARK.

Next up on our list of the finest games like ARK is Grounded, a survival sandbox game in which your character gets shrunk down to the size of an ant.

Coming to grips with your newfound outlook, you’ll learn to live off the land while navigating the numerous dangers present in your own backyard.

Like ARK, most of your time is spent searching for food, water, and resources to use for crafting gear and shelter.

This requires you to venture into increasingly unfriendly portions of the map where aggressive spiders and other eerie crawlies roam around.

Easily the most well-known game on this list, Minecraft provides players with boundless creative tools to make whatever their minds can imagine.

However, beyond creation mode’s magic, it also features a dedicated survival mode that plays out like one of the best games like ARK.

Starting on an empty piece of land surrounded by resources and enemies, you’ll slowly expand and upgrade your base by exploring the world.

This can be done alone or with a few associates willing to pitch in and help you build a robust stronghold with farmland, wild stock, and more.

Of course, if you want to play one of the greatest games like ARK, Studio Wildcard and Snail Games have you covered with PixARK.

This survival game mash-up sees you embarking on a blocky adventure to uncover the secrets of a mysterious island inhabited by dinosaurs.

Additionally, the island is scattered with resources throughout its forests, caves, and underwater biomes where you can also find other players.

Where PixARK differs is the ability to reshape the terrain by adding or subtracting blocks and a procedurally generated quest system.

Despite its comedic undertones, Radiation Island offers a comprehensive survival experience that makes it one of the best games like ARK.

Instead of dinosaurs or intense temperatures, the game puts radiation at the top of players’ list of priorities by forcing you to stock up on gas masks and other supplies.

Just like ARK, the map consists of different environment types inhabited by aggressive wildlife such as wolves, bears, mountain lions, crocodiles, and even zombies.

Lastly, Radiation Island provides a complete day-night cycle, the option to create vehicles, and concealed treasure chests to discover all across the globe.

Based on the mythology of Conan the Barbarian, Conan Exiles is an open-world survival game that shares many elements with ARK: Survival Evolved.

This includes managing your character’s health, food, and water consumption in addition to crafting and equipping them with clothing, tools, and weapons.

The game’s fantasy-inspired setting sees you facing off against not only dinosaurs but also dragons and otherworldly monsters.

There’s a meticulous attention to detail regarding identity, with Conan Exiles featuring sturdy character customization, a religious belief system, and level-based progression.

The Forest is a survival game with a deceptively simple setup in which you play as the seemingly sole survivor of a plane crash looking for his missing child.

However, things quickly ramp up as mutated creatures, mysterious wooden structures, and other weird objects begin appearing.

From a gameplay perspective, it has a lot of similarities with ARK in that the primary focus is building shelter, creating weapons, and collecting resources.

Additionally, both games let you play with companions, easing a bit of the load when it comes to grinding for resources and exploring.

Frequently brought up alongside The Forest is Green Hell, another survival game that drops you in a lush rainforest teeming with danger.

Instead of massive dinosaurs, you’ll be contesting with lethal crocodiles and equally-aggressive tribespeople.

You need to survive by making tools and a shelter from the things around you. At the same time, you have to find food and keep your mind sound.

Much like ARK, Green Hell rewards you for taking risks and exploring your surroundings with extra materials, upgrades, and bits of lore.

Don’t let Astroneer’s cute and colorful art style fool you as it’s one of the more challenging space survival games around.

In it, you play as a synthetic organism tasked with creating and exploring new worlds to squeeze every inch of natural resources you can for your corporate bosses.

This involves designing, constructing, and automating bases to process raw materials while generating power and oxygen for you and your facilities.

Similar to ARK’s biomes, each planet you travel to introduces a new set of problems to tackle, including uneven terrain you can modify using a special tool.

No Man’s Sky has come a long way since its contentious launch, largely thanks to the continuous effort from developer Hello Games to make good on its promise.

In this space-exploring survival game, you’re tasked with journeying to diverse planets and harvesting resources while inching your way toward the center of the galaxy.

Similar to ARK, the game centers on crafting and base-building, with players able to construct both ground and aerial vehicles for easier navigation.

It also features online co-op with open-ended questing that lets you and your comrades focus on the endeavors you savor most.

Instead of exploring a huge island overrun with dinosaurs, Raft drops you in a never-ending ocean home to powerful currents and a deadly shark.

Vessels start out tiny, consisting of just a few planks of wood that can be expanded by reeling in junk and other flotsam in the water.

The game gives you the freedom to set your own goals and combine different materials to create furniture, weapons, tools, and power sources.

This results in a satisfying loop of expanding your base, gathering resources, and striking the shark before it can damage your raft.

Another game set primarily in water, Subnautica has won several awards and garnered a passionate following for its contributions to the survival genre.

In it, you follow a survivor whose spaceship crashlands on an alien planet covered entirely in water and must try and find a way home.

After establishing a research base, you’ll get to work exploring the underwater depths for food, water, materials, and wreckage from your ship.

Similar to ARK, Subnautica’s world is inhabited by a host of menacing sea creatures that range from friendly to “avoid at all costs.”

To wrap things up, Rust is a sandbox survival game that reflects the unforgiving elements of ARK’s gameplay with a greater focus on PvP combat.

In it, players spawn into an unforgiving open world as vulnerable “nakeds,” with nothing but a sad rock to their name.

From there, it’s a never-ending battle to scavenge resources, rob enemy players, and hoard your wealth until a formidable opponent comes along.

Like ARK, you must monitor your hunger, thirst, and temperature while keeping an eye out for supply drops, vehicles, and more.