DayZ’s mechanics and social value made it one of the most popular survival/multiplayer shooter titles available in the market.
However, it’s not the only game that picked up the theme of surviving in a hostile environment, facing hordes of zombies and other survivors. Check out our list of games like DayZ.
| Game | Release | Genre | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Project Zomboid | 2013-11-08 | Indie | The Indie Stone |
 | State Of Decay Yose Day One Edition | 2015-04-27 | Horror | Undead Labs |
 | State Of Decay 2 Juggernaut Edition | 2018-05-22 | Action & Shooter | Undead Labs |
 | 7 Days To Die | 2013-12-13 | Adventure | The Fun Pimps |
 | Miscreated | 2014-10-30 | Adventure | Entrada Interactive LLC |
 | Stalker Shadow Of Chernobyl | 2007-03-20 | RPG | GSC Game World |
 | Escape From Tarkov | 2017-07-27 | Shooter | Battlestate Games |
 | Metro 2033 Redux | 2014-08-27 | Horror | 4A GAMES |
 | H1z1 Premium | 2016-02-17 | Adventure | Daybreak Game Company |
 | Metro Last Light Redux | 2014-08-27 | Adventure | 4A GAMES |
Project Zomboid
| Release date: | 2013-11-08 |
| Genre: | Indie |
| Developer: | The Indie Stone |
| Game modes: | single player, multiplayer |
Project Zomboid, available as an Early Access title on Steam, proves that games don’t have to be very detailed to be good. The graphics are reminiscent of titles such as Hotline Miami or Hatred – the player observes the action from the isometric view while exploring the neighborhood infested with the undead plague.
In PZ, the player’s job is to survive, either solo or with a group of friends online. The game’s features similar to DayZ include managing the player’s stats, building shelter, and exploring the open-world environment on foot or in a vehicle. The realistic representation of lighting is an interesting feature – the player can use it to their advantage to hide in the shadows to avoid being noticed. Project Zomboid was praised for its realistic approach to survival and continuous updates provided by the developers.
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Unturned
| Release date: | 2020-11-12 |
| Genre: | survival, sandbox |
| Developer: | Smartly Dressed Games |
| Game modes: | single player, multiplayer |
Unturned is another game that emphasizes gameplay over visuals. The player is thrown into a world overrun by the undead, and they must work their way to survival by cooperating with other “Unturned” or going solo versus everyone.
Don’t be deceived by Unturned’s simplistic graphics – the titles gameplay mechanics leave nothing to be desired. The player is given plenty of freedom in how to survive in the zombie-infested environment. Working alone or forming groups with other players are both valid options. The latter especially allows the player to play the sheriff of the wasteland, arresting criminals and raiding enemy bases. The rest of the mechanics are a standard survivor game fare, but these few interesting solutions more than make up for it. Unturned’s reception by the Steam community was highly positive.
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State Of Decay
| Release date: | 2015-04-27 |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Developer: | Undead Labs |
| Game modes: | single player |
State of Decay is the first game on our list not to feature the multiplayer mode. But worry not, intrepid explorers of post-apocalyptic wastelands will still find plenty of stuff to do here. From surviving the undead hordes to building shelter with a group of other survivors, SoD offers a lot in terms of interesting gameplay.
The main features of State of Decay concentrate on the player’s road to survival. The game focuses on building bases, fending off the undead, and looking after the player’s people. The job won’t be easy because the zombies are even more vicious than in the previous titles on our list. They are attracted to noise and will converge on the player’s location infinitely until they build a base or an outpost. The game was met with a positive critical reception.
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7 Days to Die
| Release date: | 2013-12-13 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | The Fun Pimps |
| Game modes: | single-player, multiplayer |
7 Days to Die is one of these games where the gameplay fits the title perfectly. In a world overrun by zombies, the players must survive day after day, strengthening their base, locating supplies, etc. After 7 days of in-game time has passed, the player will be assaulted by literally everything – from wildlife to infected hordes.
The game’s similarities to DayZ lay in how the player can work through the environment. Looting various locations, fighting with or against other players online, fending off hordes of whatever crosses the player’s path at a given time – all these features are found in Bohemia Interactive’s production. What 7DtD adds to the mix is the day and night cycle, which makes certain enemies strong er and more aggressive, as well as the 7th-day onslaught, which cannot be broken unless the player dies or leaves the area. 7 Days to Die was met with a solid reception from the Steam community.
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Miscreated
| Release date: | 2014-10-30 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Entrada Interactive LLC |
| Game modes: | Multiplayer |
Despite its discouraging title, Miscreated is a pretty solid multiplayer first-person shooter with plenty of additional mechanics that guarantee good time spent with the title.
Miscreated is set in yet another post-apocalyptic world, her dwindling human pockets of humanity fight against each other for limited resources. The player’s task is to survive in this hostile environment, defending themselves against both humans and mutants. The player can use various weapons and build shelters from many available materials, making the survival horror multiplayer experience complete. The reviews of Miscreated were mostly positive.
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S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
| Release date: | 2007-03-20 |
| Genre: | RPG |
| Developer: | GSC Game World |
| Game modes: | single player, multiplayer |
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl might not be one of the most similar games similar to DayZ, but its one of the first representatives of modern survival horror titles. Based on the general premise of the movie of the same name, Shadow of Chernobyl has become a cult classic among the fans of the genre.
The game’s mechanics feature several solutions that could interest the fans of DayZ. The player is put in the shoes of the titular Stalker, a wandering mercenary exploring the irradiated areas of the Zone. The player will encounter other survivors of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant and hostile mutants, known as Anomalies, as well as highly contaminated areas that cannot be traversed without proper equipment. The game features elements of RPG, with a variety of collectible items and pieces of equipment that can be used to improve the player’s chances in the Zone. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl received highly positive reviews from the critics and, like its literary and cinematic predecessors, became a cult classic.
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Rust
| Release date: | 2013-11-11 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Facepunch Studios |
| Game modes: | multiplayer |
Similarly to DayZ, Rust throws an unprepared player into a world where being ready for everything is a key to survival. The player starts the game with barely any resources and has to face other players and the wildlife in the open-world game environment to survive.
Much like in DayZ, survival in the world of Rust is based around collecting materials, building shelter, and working with other players to survive as long as possible. Certain materials and equipment, including high-power weapons and vehicles, are acquired through periodical air-drops. Managing the player character’s stats is another feature shared by both games. The player has to keep their survivor fed and hydrated to keep them alive. Rust received mostly positive reviews from the critics.
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Z1 Battle Royale
| Release date: | 2018-02-28 |
| Genre: | battle royale |
| Developer: | Daybreak Game Company |
| Game modes: | multiplayer |
While the battle royale aspect of DayZ is not the forefront of the game, it’s hard to deny that players fighting amongst each other for resources is one of the key features of the title. In that respect, the game shares a lot in common in Z1 Battle Royale, formerly known under the title H1Z1.
The main goal of Z1 is winning – as simple as that. The players are parachuted into the battlefield, and their goals are to remain the last man standing. The game can be played solo or in multiplayer, as groups of two or five players. Scouring the map for supplies and weapons will be the key to victory, which the player should achieve as fast as possible; a cloud of toxic gas surrounding the map closes in with each minute, and getting caught in its fumes means a quick death. The free-to-play title was received positively by the players.
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Escape From Tarkov
| Release date: | 2017-07-27 |
| Genre: | Shooter |
| Developer: | Battlestate Games |
| Game modes: | multiplayer |
Escape From Tarkov might lack the post-apocalyptic, zombie-outbreak feel, but it’s still an excellent FPS with some interesting gameplay mechanics.
The game is set in the Russian city of Tarkov, where the economic decline caused it to be overrun by bandits. The player’s task in the game is to reach the extraction point while fighting against both NPCs and live players. Like in DayZ, combat mechanics simulate real battle scenarios and include manual ammo checks, different types of medkits for specific wounds, and more. Reviews of Escape From Tarkov were mostly positive, with the critics praising the intensity of the gameplay.
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Metro 2033
| Release date: | 2014-08-27 |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Developer: | 4A GAMES |
| Game modes: | single player |
Based on a popular novel by Dimitry Glukhovsky, Metro 2033 takes the player into the underground tunnels of the titular Moscow metro, where the last remnants of the city’s population fight for their lives against dangerous mutants and enemy factions.
Metro and DayZ share the eastern-European setting and survival horror theme, but gameplay-wise, the similarities are scarce. While DayZ focused on survival in an open world environment, Metro 2033 focuses on providing the player with plenty of frights with linear storytelling. Despite these discrepancies, Metro 2033 is still an excellent title, which fans of claustrophobic horror and FPS gameplay will surely enjoy. Metro 2033 was met with universally positive critical reception.
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Initially, DayZ was considered nothing but an interesting experiment. A mod for popular multiplayer shooter game Arma 3 threw the player into a post-zombie apocalypse world, tasked them with surviving against the infected undead and other players. With no specific endgame in sight, DayZ could be played ad infinitum, as long as the player base was there to support it.
Our list presented only some of the games that shared the same or similar features as DayZ. Some were similarly survival-oriented, some were set in a vast, open world, and others threw the players against hordes of the undead or otherwise monstrous enemies. Hopefully, we helped you make up your mind about what to play next if you fancy games where your life depends on gathering resources, fighting zombies, and competing with other players in post-apocalyptic wastelands.