Survival games have become quite popular, with the rise of indie gaming coupled with a pressing need for players to seek out a rewarding gameplay loop that keeps things fresh yet engaging leading to the mechanics of this genre becoming as engaging as they come. While the usual loop of scrounging around for supplies and struggling to live in a harsh and hostile world can be pretty engaging, players would want something else to accompany this gameplay loop after a point.
Related 7 Great Survival Games With No Hunger Meter While hunger is a common mechanic seen in survival games, there are some titles that opted not to include one.
Thankfully, many great survival games pair this engaging gameplay with shooting mechanics that feel right at home and make for some tense scenarios that players survive by the skin of their teeth. The gunplay in these games is pretty engaging to deal with and does a great job of adding some much-needed action to a genre where the slow pace can be rather grating to deal with, after a point.
5 Unturned
Surprisingly Engaging Gunplay That Players Won’t Expect
Unturned Released July 7, 2014 Developer(s) Smartly Dressed Games
The rudimentary graphics of Unturned don’t really get in the way of this title’s gameplay, showing just how solid the core survival loop is. The community for this title may not be massive by any stretch of the imagination, but the players who are invested in this game love pumping in some hours as they try to survive for as long as possible while finding ways to protect themselves from zombies and other hostile players.
So, given how simplistic this game can feel at times, players will be more than surprised to find out that the gunplay in this title is solid and a huge part of what makes the game so enjoyable. Players should make it a priority to seek out a good ranged weapon to keep them safe when the going gets tough, which is something that gets easier the more they become adept at playing the game and accomplishing its many challenges.
4 The Long Dark
Players Need To Invest In Skills If They Want To Efficiently Use The Revolver And Hunting Rifle
The Long Dark Released August 1, 2017 Developer(s) Hinterland Studio
The Long Dark is a nerve-wracking indie survival game that has been through its fair share of ups and downs. Its systems and story content have been reworked over and over again, with the shooting mechanics in this game also seeing some tweaks in the form of skills that players can invest in to make things easier for themselves in this department. Players who get their hands on guns may find them perfect for hunting and self-defense purposes, but there are some things to keep in mind if people don’t want to be obliterated by the hostile wildlife that they can encounter.
Players who want to make the most of the gunplay in this title should increase their Rifle, Revolver, and Gunsmithing skills at all costs. Both firearms are pretty useful, with the revolver letting players repel predators while the rife is great for hunting purposes and taking out hostile creatures from afar. Aiming can be tricky, but players who understand how these weapons work in the game can take out enemies from a safe distance and increase their chances of surviving in such a harsh landscape.
3 Rust
A Combat Update Reworked How Shooting And Recoil Feels In The Game For The Better
Rust Released February 8, 2018
Rust is a game that most people know for its organic multiplayer moments as players either band their resources together to survive or fight against each other to get the best spoils. There was a time when gunplay in this game was pretty rudimentary and nowhere near the best part of the game, but all of this changed with an update that changed how shooting works in this game.
Related 5 Survival Games With The Best Cooking Systems, Ranked A great part of survival games is finding and cooking food. Some games do this mechanic better than others, with a surprising degree of depth.
Recoil has been reworked considerably to make shooting more fair instead of favoring people who’ve identified the patterns present in past versions of the game. This, coupled with various additions one would expect in any modern FPS (such as hit indicators and crosshairs), ensures that players can have a great time using weapons in the game as they engage with more modern FPS mechanics instead of the dated ones that encouraged players to find makeshift solutions instead of playing the game as intended.
2 Palworld
A Good Variety Of Guns That Can Be Used To Shoot And Incapacitate Enemies
Palworld Released January 19, 2024 Developer(s) Pocket Pair, Inc.
No one expected Palworld to become such a huge phenomenon at launch, with many players assuming that this game was just infringing on Pokemon’s brand name. Instead, the mechanics of this game were pretty sound, and it’s clear that the Early Access status of this title means that its gameplay is bound to undergo some major changes, with the shooting mechanics of this title being pretty solid as is despite there being plenty of room for improvement.
There are many weapons that players can choose from with varying degrees of rarity, ranging from handguns to rocket launchers and everything in between. These weapons come in varying rarity modes, with the shooting action trying to capture more of an arcade-y feel instead of trying to promote realism, which is what most people would expect in a title where players pump a ton of bullets into cute critters that they can capture to strengthen their base.
1 Fallout 4 (Survival Mode)
The Best Gunplay In A Fallout Game To Date
Fallout 4 Released November 10, 2015
There’s no denying that Bethesda games have wowed players with their amazing open-world design and environmental storytelling. However, there’s one aspect that these games have faltered time and time again, and that’s the combat mechanics. While Skyrim took a positive step in this regard, the lack of feedback in combat coupled with some broken builds meant that players could game the system in no time.
So, players were pleasantly surprised to see that the gunplay in Fallout 4 was pretty engaging and did a great job of making enemies feel threatening and less robotic. With Survival Mode, players can have a great time managing their well-being while engaging in tense shootouts where they only have a limited selection of weaponry and ammunition to rely on if they wish to take out these foes efficiently at range.
More Best Survival Horror Indie Games There are plenty of smaller, indie games that scratch that spooky survival horror itch. From Darkwood to Signalis, here are the best of them.