Tired of breezing through games too easily? Want a real adrenaline rush from overcoming tough odds using your wits and reflexes? Then my guide to the 6 best Nintendo Switch survival games is for you!
Let me explain what makes survival games so intense yet satisfying. The core gameplay loop forces you to constantly locate resources and craft tools to withstand lethal environments. These games hand you nothing – want food, medicine, weapons? Scavenge them yourself or perish! With death swift and resources scarce, you‘ll be scraping to stay alive by any means.
Survival games test skill, decision making and resourcefulness. Should you explore dangerous terrain for precious materials or play it safe? Will the food you stole let your people survive another day – or end in disaster? The genre boils down to strategic risk/reward tradeoffs.
Now let‘s jump into the 6 best survival games available now on your Switch! I‘ll overview their unique qualities and whom I‘d recommend each for.
An Introduction to Nintendo Switch Survival Games
The Nintendo Switch library isn‘t stuffed with ultra-hardcore survival sims like Rust or Ark. However, clever developers have crafted accessible, addictive takes blending the genre with adventure, action, and RPG elements.
What unifies these games is putting players in precarious situations. You start weak, under-equipped and informed. To play smart is to observe patterns in enemy patrols and wildlife, familiarizing yourself with crafting recipes, preserving resources and not wasting them. Learning to evade rather than get drawn into futile conflicts is key.
These Switch games offer infinite freedom to play how you wish. But abuse resources thoughtlessly and you may soon face starvation, infection, or a deadly foe your gear can‘t handle. Methodical planning is vital to navigating their lethal gauntlets.
Let‘s see which games await to test your survival wits on Nintendo‘s handheld!
1. This War of Mine: Complete Edition
In most war games, you play beefed-up soldiers mowing down enemies by the hundreds. This War of Mine explores how regular civilians endure the hardship of conflict zones.
Rather than elite combat units, you lead a household of battered survivors just hoping to live another day. Your duty is keeping everyone healthy and fed while defending your shelter as society crumbles during siege.
Days involve managing the hideout by building furniture, distilling moonshine, or crafting weapons. Come nightfall, you pick one survivor to sneak outside scavenging useful items from places like supermarkets and schools.
These nocturnal trips ratchet tension to a breaking point. You must dodge hostile gunmen who won‘t hesitate to kill. But returning empty-handed could mean the whole group starves. And what if the only food available requires stealing from those just as desperate?
This War of Mine‘s harrowing choices have drawn widespread acclaim. It pulls no punches showing how war‘s brutality slams innocent people just trying to endure. This Complete Edition packages the base game with all content add-ons for the definitive experience.
Best for: Mature players seeking emotional, thought-provoking survival full of impossible decisions.
2. Alien Isolation
Of all survival horror games, Alien Isolation may capture desperation against an unstoppable predator the best. This official sequel to 1979‘s Alien traps you alongside the creature that series fans and newcomers alike grew up fearing:
The Perfect Organism. The Xenomorph.
Rather than a space marine, Isolation casts you as Amanda Ripley. She‘s investigating mother Ellen Ripley‘s mysterious disappearance aboard a decrepit space station. But Amanda discovers the vessel now harbors a solitary Xenomorph freed from captivity.
Thus begins a tense game of cat-and-mouse where direct confrontation with this alien spells certain death. Instead, your best chance is evading detection, making noise to lure it away, and stealthily searching for escape routes. The Xenomorph adapts to your strategies, however, culminating in panic-inducing scenarios.
With no chance of defeating this sleek black tormentor, game progression means mastering the art of avoidance while scavenging for resources. Isolation‘s brilliant sound design and retro-future setting pile on dread exploring the abandoned station.
Perfect for: Sci-fi/horror fans seeking claustrophobic, nerve-wracking showdown against an iconic silver screen monster.
3. The Long Dark
Most survival games assault you with snarling wildlife or undeads. By contrast, The Long Dark wants tranquility and reflection about overcoming adversity to prevail. It asks: what extreme lengths would you take just to endure another sunrise?
Its name describes the quiet isolation of Canadian wilderness after an unknown cataclysm. Blizzards, frigid nights and lurking wolves pose mortal danger. You‘ll frequently teeter between hypothermia and starvation.
Yet there is serene beauty finding your next meal in foraging, perfecting snare traps, cooking rejuvenating stews. Simple tools like hatchets and fishing tackle take on profound importance. The Long Dark‘s detailed crafting system and intuitive interface makes it incredibly approachable too.
With two modes spanning story episodes or endless Winter survival, The Long Dark emphasizes thoughtful play. Its low-key art style contrasts beautifully with punishing climate where a single slip-up may quickly prove fatal trusting the land.
Perfect for: Measured, contemplative survival fans wanting a serene-looking yet savage test of endurance.
4. Flame in the Flood
Most survival games begin with a crash-landing on an unknown shore. The Flame and the Flood puts its own spin as a roguelite river journey through what was once America‘s Deep South. Its colorful, hand-drawn style masks the nightmare gauntlet ahead.
You play Scout, a young girl drifting the endless Mississippi waterways alongside her faithful hound. Traversing land by foot while riding your makeshift raft between populated islands presents twin struggles.
On land, fend off feral hogs, snakes and even deranged locals. In dangerous river waters, watch for debris, rapids and toxic algae destroying raft components. Limited inventory means deciding whether to break down junk for parts or craft medicinal teas before health diminishes.
Dynamic weather like rainfall and temperature changes keep tension high. Will that approaching storm capsize your modest watercraft? Can the threadbare blanket provide enough warmth overnight? The procedural river ensures a fresh experience whenever you set forth again in this charming bait-and-switch.
Perfect for: Roguelite enthusiasts who want more depth from randomization and across shorter session-based runs.
5. No Man‘s Sky
How many survival games let you freely traverse entire galaxies? No Man‘s Sky fulfills every sci-fi fan‘s fantasy via billions upon billions of uncharted planets. Each world overflows with bizarre alien lifeforms, environments and mysteries to uncover at your leisure.
That leisure disappears quickly, however, when resources run low on hostile planets. Danger lurks frequently in radioactive storms, aggressive beasts and hostile robots patrolling facilities. Base building allows constructing save havens when things get hairy.
Despite untold dangers, No Man‘s Sky wants you enveloped by profound curiosity. Trading commodities between factions leads to acquiring faster spaceships reaching further star systems hidden for eons. The procedural generation creates unbelievable digital nature.
No Man‘s Sky fuses survival realism with interstellar scale and freedom. You‘re often one poor decision from catastrophe light years from help. Yet every next unexplored horizon promises strange new revelations about this endless, expanding cosmos.
Perfect for: Sci-fi lovers who enjoy survival concepts but want billions more worlds to free-roam and slowly dominate.
6. The Survivalists
Other games on this list subject players to unrelenting cold, gunfire or aliens. By contrast, The Survivalists invites to a picturesque island paradise straight from adventure books. Its vibrant pixels don‘t reveal the rich survival mechanics hiding beneath.
You‘re shipwrecked on a lush archipelago with little but wits. Chop trees for shelter, hunt wild boar for succulent meat, and pluck medicinal plants to blend tinctures. Customize weapons feeling handy with limited resources.
Soon you‘ll sail between islands bargaining goods with passing ships. Risk dark monoliths filled with precious loot but savage monsters. No peaceful paradise endures without blood, sweat and tears.
The Survivalists reveals its challenge slowly, great for newcomers. Its local wireless multiplayer also enables sharing the island hardships with friends. Just when routine sets in, new calamities like blood moon attacks and ash storms arrive to further test your survival mastery.
Perfect for: First-time survivalists wanting quaint visuals but substantive mechanics, plus co-op potential.
| Game | Key Strengths | Innovations | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| This War of Mine | Mature narrative, emotional struggle | Player choice impacts story | Thoughtful players |
| Alien Isolation | Horror atmosphere, stealth mechanics | One relentless foe stalking you | Sci-fi/horror fans |
| The Long Dark | Contemplative pace, detailed survival | Realistic Canadian wilderness | Patience over action |
| Flame in the Flood | Roguelite replayability | River journey focus | Roguelite enthusiasts |
| No Man‘s Sky | Billions of worlds, spaceship freedom | Massive procedural generation | Sci-fi freedom lovers |
| The Survivalists | Accessible introduction | Recruitable animal helpers | Beginners, co-op gamers |
Whichever Switch survival game you choose, they all demand sharp decision-making under pressure. As your new gaming guide, let me share universal tips so you endure just a bit longer!
Health items – Medkits, bandages and medicines keep your hero battling. However, crafting health items burns other valuable resources. Prioritize finding food, clean water, weapons and ammo first before crafting extensive health supplies.
Stealth beats strength – Weak starters can‘t win head-on battles against wildlife and enemies. Avoid detection, retreat from fights you‘ll likely lose. Survive via your wits, not trying to brute force every obstacle.
Specialize your character – Survival games often feature multiple gameplay styles or upgrade trees. Pick a niche like melee fighter or marksman instead of dabbling loosely across different weapons and gear. Unique strengths handle challenges better.
Analyze threats – Each enemy has attack patterns, weaknesses and required responses. Failure teaches these lessons through pain and loss. Observe carefully instead and deduction keeps you breathing.
Stay alert and use these tips playing Nintendo Switch survival games! Let me know in comments if they help you overcome the deadly odds against you!
Can you play movies or video on a Nintendo Switch?
Unfortunately no. There‘s no native media player app for films and video. You can stream select services like YouTube though limited by tablet performance and smaller screens.
How many user profiles link to one Nintendo Switch?
A single Switch device supports up to eight Nintendo Account profiles registered at once. Great for multiplayer with family and friends!
Can I use one Nintendo account on multiple Switches?
You can link one Nintendo Account to multiple Switch consoles no problem. However, only one Switch can be set as your "Primary" active console for downloadable content.
What streaming platforms offer apps on Switch?
As of 2023, US Switch owners can watch video via official YouTube, Hulu, Funimation, and Crunchyroll apps. Netflix and most streaming services haven‘t launched apps natively through the Switch eShop yet.
I hope breaking down the absolute best survival games on Nintendo Switch helps you enjoy this intense, rewarding genre! Let me know in comments which games sink their hooks into you! Just try not to break your Switch in frustration…or from throwing it during jump scares!
