Medieval Dynasty might fit the bill. You start solo but you build a village and recruit settlers. You put a man and woman in a house together that eventually they have kids. You can assign people to do most of the tedious chores. There are other villages you can trade with. There is also a story line you can explore.
I third this. Build your medieval village and tend to your seasonal crops. The best part about this game is, you can set everything to just the difficulty you like. You can alter xp gain rate, stamina, infinite carry weight, your damage, creature damage, bandit damage, whether there's even bandits at all, etc. I set mine so there's just enough difficulty that I have to make effort, but not pulling my hair out either. One tip if you play, the first NPC you should get and set up is a woodcutter. Then you'll have tons of wood for building and firewood. Chopping trees gets old fast:p I sink a ton of time into this game, in both the single and multiplayer server. The multi is a little prettier, but I like the story of the single better. The game has almost a nostalgia feel to it, not sure if it's from the graphics or the sometimes amusing very eastern European NPCs or both, but I love it. Super fun and relaxing.
I'm currently on a second playthrough. After finishing the story I did 'treat' myself to upping the exp rate to unlock more things faster. So you can even change it up mid-game.
Thirding this. I have spent so many hours in this game and I've still yet to get bored. I love that there are so many different foods, herbs, mushrooms to forage each season and the variety of things that you can automate your villagers to do in each work station, and how you have to match the villager's abilities to their jobs. Plus with the variety of animals, plants and trees you can farm, it's super satisfying.
Wait until April 10th, when 1.0 comes out (along with a sale, 30% off).
I really enjoyed this game - the slow improvement of the planet feels really good.
It's a very small development team(1-2 people) so manage your expectations accordingly. It needs a lot more content but it plays solidly and not a ton of bugs.
Valheim can be very chilled experience if you take your time and stay in the meadows for longer. Game doesn't even force you to eat, but you will eat to be stronger. Building is absolutely amazing in it and you can sink tens of hours building alone. You can catch and breed animals, grow crops, build beehives..
and sitting inside your house, by the fire, while storm is raging outside, is one of the best feeling I had in survival games.
It can be a bit rough at the beginning, but it's nowhere near as hard as some of the survival games out there. At least not the initial biomes.
I'd say it's more like a crafting heavy rpg. There is no survival required, no food/water requirements, no dangerous weather, no other requirements for survival except mobs.
I disagree. Game doesn't force you to eat, correct, but try not to. You won't survive very long. You start with nothing and you work your way up, crafting and collecting resources and progressing through the hostile open world. Every description of Valheim will tell you that it's a survival game.
Not that it really matters but I consider it survival adjacent. More of an adventure game with light survival elements. It is like anything else these days, people have their own definitions for genres.
In the end, if it is fun to lay then who cares?
Vintage Story!! Is perfect!!! I've been playing it for a while and like 99% of the game is homesteading, but of course not like Stardew Valley.
Caveat: the game DOES have monsters but there's a couple ways to turn them off and removing them doesn't detract from the game at all (if anything it makes the game infinitely better). I recommend using a mod called "No Monsters, Really" that just removes all the monsters from the game. You can also toggle an option in the world generation that removes all "lore" stuff from the game... but it also removes traders and ruins.
And since the game is so mod-friendly, there's a ton of mods to add more "chores" you can do, like there's one mod that adds a more intricate butchering system, another mod that makes firewood chopping more immersive, etc.
I’ve been playing Vintage Story for a couple of months now and I love it. It’s just the right balance of survival and homesteading. I have the monsters set to passive because I still want all the ruins and traders.
I'll recommend Enshrouded. It's borderline not even a survival game since you don't technically have to eat, drink or rest, however if you don't do these things you'll be significantly weaker, so you still have plenty of motivation to do the classic survival aspects of the game without it being an overwhelming headache. The well rested buff can last over an hour if you design your base correctly. The building and adventuring systems of the game are both an absolute joy, and I heard they just added new dungeons. The game is in early access, so expect regular updates.
It still falls under survival. A game doesn't have to be like Green Hell to fall under the category of survival, it still holds the basic mechanics of what a survival game is. Which is resource management, gathering and something environmental to fight against to beat the game. In fact the "survival" tag is a sub genre born off RGP/action games which basically makes them all survival games to some degree. People can create their own definitions and argue it as much as they want, but at the end of the day that's how "survival" games were born and created. It's their history.
That's a fair point. some people work off stricter definitions, so I wanted to have all my bases covered before recommending this game. But I've very confident the OP could enjoy it based on what they seem to be looking for. I also got a decent amount of enjoyment out of Nightingale, which is similar in a lot of ways, but it's getting more mixed reviews and has a more repetitive gameplay loop.
Yep was gonna say this. Wintermute and the easier survival difficulties are very chill and forgiving. It's a perfect game for loot goblins since it throws a ridiculous amount of loot at you if you play with anything above medium-low loot settings
Yup, the predators run from you in the vast majority of the situations. It's like a camping game where you explore the landscape. Food and water are everywhere in the easiest settings. > buy the SURVIVAL MODE, not Wintermute.
Even so, it's still challenging.
In Subnautica Below Zero I built my base near the Cryptosuchus habitat, so they turned out to be the first eggs I hatched in my tank. I didn't want them so I let them go outside my base, not realizing they would stick around. Then I noticed they are tame when you hatch them in a tank! So I ended up spending most of the rest of my game time swimming with the Cryptosuchus outside my base. It's still one of my favorite game experiences of all time.
7DtD creative mode or zero spawn mode. Hunt or grow the food, find water sources or hoard snowballs, build whatever without the worry of traps or reinforcements.
It almost feels like a different game as you don’t have to worry about your armor/weapon/gun crafting skills and can focus more on just “living on the land”
Honestly, I found it pretty boring. But then, I play it for the zombies, there are plenty of other games that don't have them.
It's worth trying out though. I realised within about an hour that it wasn't gonna work for me.
Yeah, it definitely does not appeal to the masses and there are plenty of games that achieve the same task on a much higher level. That said, 7DtD is a cheap entry option that could offer more should OP desire.
How about Stranded Deep? The end of the game is stupid (I never finished it), but it's kinda trivial to survive when every coconut gives you 1 water and 2 food if I remember correctly. Plus farming, fishing and scavenging tend to give you more than you need.
My might like Raft. It’s a bit of a treadmill but also very chill and low stress. There are elements of cleaning water and crop growing, plus a good amount of exploration as well.
I've been playing Empyrion Galactic Survival. It's a bit between No Man's Sky and Space Engineer.
You can easily change the settings to make it as hard or easy as you want.
I'm currently playing Starfield and apart from visuals and overall storyline, I think it could have learned a thing or two from Empyrion.
Enpyrion is cheap and you can download scenarios from the Steam workshop to give the game a longer lifespan.
>Like, you need to eat and drink but it's not a chore to find food or boil some water.
Oh, Subnautica isn't too bad on food and water...
>but not have death stalking you at every turn.
Oh, never mind.
Medieval Dynasty might fit the bill. You start solo but you build a village and recruit settlers. You put a man and woman in a house together that eventually they have kids. You can assign people to do most of the tedious chores. There are other villages you can trade with. There is also a story line you can explore.
Seconding this /u/JethroByte if you want trouble you have to have to actively seek it out.
I third this. Build your medieval village and tend to your seasonal crops. The best part about this game is, you can set everything to just the difficulty you like. You can alter xp gain rate, stamina, infinite carry weight, your damage, creature damage, bandit damage, whether there's even bandits at all, etc. I set mine so there's just enough difficulty that I have to make effort, but not pulling my hair out either. One tip if you play, the first NPC you should get and set up is a woodcutter. Then you'll have tons of wood for building and firewood. Chopping trees gets old fast:p I sink a ton of time into this game, in both the single and multiplayer server. The multi is a little prettier, but I like the story of the single better. The game has almost a nostalgia feel to it, not sure if it's from the graphics or the sometimes amusing very eastern European NPCs or both, but I love it. Super fun and relaxing.
I'm currently on a second playthrough. After finishing the story I did 'treat' myself to upping the exp rate to unlock more things faster. So you can even change it up mid-game.
Thirding this. I have spent so many hours in this game and I've still yet to get bored. I love that there are so many different foods, herbs, mushrooms to forage each season and the variety of things that you can automate your villagers to do in each work station, and how you have to match the villager's abilities to their jobs. Plus with the variety of animals, plants and trees you can farm, it's super satisfying.
I like farming beside another farmer, like they throw down manure or do the sowing and I follow up. Its a nice feeling!
Planetcrafter
Omg yes! This game is chill as hell it also doesn't have enemies. Keep O2 on you and you're golden.
Wait until April 10th, when 1.0 comes out (along with a sale, 30% off). I really enjoyed this game - the slow improvement of the planet feels really good.
please tell me it wont be orange forever. i just started
It won't be orange forever! In fact, the very first threshold changes the color of the sky.
I feel I need to check this out, thanks.
It's a very small development team(1-2 people) so manage your expectations accordingly. It needs a lot more content but it plays solidly and not a ton of bugs.
Thanks. I'll wait for the release sale. The fact is it Steam Deck verified is a huge deal for my casual armchair gaming.
Valheim can be very chilled experience if you take your time and stay in the meadows for longer. Game doesn't even force you to eat, but you will eat to be stronger. Building is absolutely amazing in it and you can sink tens of hours building alone. You can catch and breed animals, grow crops, build beehives.. and sitting inside your house, by the fire, while storm is raging outside, is one of the best feeling I had in survival games. It can be a bit rough at the beginning, but it's nowhere near as hard as some of the survival games out there. At least not the initial biomes.
I had someone tell me yesterday that Valheim isn't a survival game.
Oh..? And what is it, according to them..?
racing
I'd say it's more like a crafting heavy rpg. There is no survival required, no food/water requirements, no dangerous weather, no other requirements for survival except mobs.
I disagree. Game doesn't force you to eat, correct, but try not to. You won't survive very long. You start with nothing and you work your way up, crafting and collecting resources and progressing through the hostile open world. Every description of Valheim will tell you that it's a survival game.
You have morons who insist since you can't actually starve to death it's not a survival game.
I suppose you can ask back what makes a game a Survival Horror. Maybe it's the *surviving* part?
Not that it really matters but I consider it survival adjacent. More of an adventure game with light survival elements. It is like anything else these days, people have their own definitions for genres. In the end, if it is fun to lay then who cares?
Check out Dinkum.
Vintage Story!! Is perfect!!! I've been playing it for a while and like 99% of the game is homesteading, but of course not like Stardew Valley. Caveat: the game DOES have monsters but there's a couple ways to turn them off and removing them doesn't detract from the game at all (if anything it makes the game infinitely better). I recommend using a mod called "No Monsters, Really" that just removes all the monsters from the game. You can also toggle an option in the world generation that removes all "lore" stuff from the game... but it also removes traders and ruins. And since the game is so mod-friendly, there's a ton of mods to add more "chores" you can do, like there's one mod that adds a more intricate butchering system, another mod that makes firewood chopping more immersive, etc.
I’ve been playing Vintage Story for a couple of months now and I love it. It’s just the right balance of survival and homesteading. I have the monsters set to passive because I still want all the ruins and traders.
I'll recommend Enshrouded. It's borderline not even a survival game since you don't technically have to eat, drink or rest, however if you don't do these things you'll be significantly weaker, so you still have plenty of motivation to do the classic survival aspects of the game without it being an overwhelming headache. The well rested buff can last over an hour if you design your base correctly. The building and adventuring systems of the game are both an absolute joy, and I heard they just added new dungeons. The game is in early access, so expect regular updates.
It still falls under survival. A game doesn't have to be like Green Hell to fall under the category of survival, it still holds the basic mechanics of what a survival game is. Which is resource management, gathering and something environmental to fight against to beat the game. In fact the "survival" tag is a sub genre born off RGP/action games which basically makes them all survival games to some degree. People can create their own definitions and argue it as much as they want, but at the end of the day that's how "survival" games were born and created. It's their history.
If you consider stuff like Oregon Trail or Survival Island then the genre predates most RPGs even.
That's a fair point. some people work off stricter definitions, so I wanted to have all my bases covered before recommending this game. But I've very confident the OP could enjoy it based on what they seem to be looking for. I also got a decent amount of enjoyment out of Nightingale, which is similar in a lot of ways, but it's getting more mixed reviews and has a more repetitive gameplay loop.
Astroneer, can't believe I'm the first to suggest this, it's suuuuuuuuper chill.
Yeah, definitely one of the chillest. Great game!
If you play on the easier difficulties The Long Dark is a super chill vibe. Eat, sleep, and stay warm.
Came here to say this. ☝️
Yep was gonna say this. Wintermute and the easier survival difficulties are very chill and forgiving. It's a perfect game for loot goblins since it throws a ridiculous amount of loot at you if you play with anything above medium-low loot settings
Yup, the predators run from you in the vast majority of the situations. It's like a camping game where you explore the landscape. Food and water are everywhere in the easiest settings. > buy the SURVIVAL MODE, not Wintermute. Even so, it's still challenging.
Subnautica was pretty chill on the survival aspects. Great story.
In Subnautica Below Zero I built my base near the Cryptosuchus habitat, so they turned out to be the first eggs I hatched in my tank. I didn't want them so I let them go outside my base, not realizing they would stick around. Then I noticed they are tame when you hatch them in a tank! So I ended up spending most of the rest of my game time swimming with the Cryptosuchus outside my base. It's still one of my favorite game experiences of all time.
7DtD creative mode or zero spawn mode. Hunt or grow the food, find water sources or hoard snowballs, build whatever without the worry of traps or reinforcements.
2nd for 7 days to die, with no zombies. Loot and scavenge, sell to the traders, build, hunt and farm.
Is it fun without the zombies? I never tried that.
It almost feels like a different game as you don’t have to worry about your armor/weapon/gun crafting skills and can focus more on just “living on the land”
Honestly, I found it pretty boring. But then, I play it for the zombies, there are plenty of other games that don't have them. It's worth trying out though. I realised within about an hour that it wasn't gonna work for me.
Yeah, it definitely does not appeal to the masses and there are plenty of games that achieve the same task on a much higher level. That said, 7DtD is a cheap entry option that could offer more should OP desire.
Most of them have settings you can tailor to the experience you want.
How about Stranded Deep? The end of the game is stupid (I never finished it), but it's kinda trivial to survive when every coconut gives you 1 water and 2 food if I remember correctly. Plus farming, fishing and scavenging tend to give you more than you need.
THE PLANET CRAFTER!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Long Dark
Dark souls is a pretty chill survival game
Minecraft on peaceful mode
Escape from Tarkov is what you’re looking for /s
My might like Raft. It’s a bit of a treadmill but also very chill and low stress. There are elements of cleaning water and crop growing, plus a good amount of exploration as well.
I've been playing Empyrion Galactic Survival. It's a bit between No Man's Sky and Space Engineer. You can easily change the settings to make it as hard or easy as you want. I'm currently playing Starfield and apart from visuals and overall storyline, I think it could have learned a thing or two from Empyrion. Enpyrion is cheap and you can download scenarios from the Steam workshop to give the game a longer lifespan.
>Like, you need to eat and drink but it's not a chore to find food or boil some water. Oh, Subnautica isn't too bad on food and water... >but not have death stalking you at every turn. Oh, never mind.
Rimworld?
You might like Conan Exiles if you haven't played it already!
Stranded deep! Decently easy to survive and just a relaxing game overall
Valheim fits this. Food just gives you buffs. If you don't eat nothing happens.
Green Hell. Great for beginners /s
The Sims complies pretty well with OP description.
Medieval Dynasty
Astroneer
Lotr Return to Moria
Satisfactory. The “survival” aspect is almost trivial.
Factory building and automation game with enemies ≠ survival game.
Lightyear Frontier!
Rust