Summary

Survival gamesoftenuse weatheras a core mechanic, which can impact if players survive an in-game day or if they die an untimely death due to extreme weather conditions. However, it is more typical that the extreme weather conditions are bitterly cold instead of blisteringly hot, even though both pose equal challenges to survival and can actually cause very similar problems.

There are, however, some survival games that are set in hot climates. These can be just as hard as those set in freezing wintery climates. So, for players looking for survival games set in more tropical environments, look no further.

The player firing at a monster on an island in How To Survive

10How To Survive

Survive on an isolated island

How to Surviveis a game that puts players on a remote island filled to the brim with zombies who are all trying to kill them. Finding food and water quickly is key to survival in this game, and players must shelter at night or risk death. There is combat in this game, but sometimes it can be more effective to focus on keeping one’s needs met and avoiding dangerous enemies.

How To Surviveis a small-scale survival game that forces players to think and adapt quickly if they want to survive for very long.

The player’s arm, which has a gash in it, reaching out over a lake in the rainforest in Green Hell

Green Hellis a game that is set in the depths of the Amazon Rainforest, and players must fight both wild animals and their own minds to survive in this harshtropical environment. Players must hunt for food and weapons from the forest if they want the game to go on for a long time, as without these things, death comes fairly quickly.

Green Hellis a great survival game for players seeking an experience that offers a more grounded, realistic take on survival than other offerings in the genre.

Randomly generated planets make for great new worlds to inhabit.

No Man’s Skymay seem like an odd choice for a survival game based in a hot climate. However, some of the planets players will explore in this galaxy have wildly varying temperatures and can become so hot it depletes the player’s life-sustaining systems. Going inside or finding shelter can help protect against this, but finding shelter when exploring a planet can be difficult, and finding the necessary resources to charge a shelter’s systems can be even harder.

No Man’s Skyoffers players a variety of climates, but the hot ones are often the most dangerous, posing a threat from the moment players land on a planet.

A man aiming a bow at a deer as it prances towards the beach in Conan Exiles

Conan Exilesis another survival game that includes a variety of climates in its vast open world. However, the deserts in the South of the map prove to be the most dangerous, as there is not as much players can do to shield themselves from the temperatures and effects of the heat. Sheltering from sandstorms is just one aspect of this, as players must build their own shelters to survive the weather.

Conan Exileshas a vast open world, but the hot sections of the map are where the real survival challenge lies.

Tentacles coming out of the ocean as the player is on a raft with a weapon in Stranded Deep

Stranded Deepopens with a plane crashing into the Pacific Ocean. Obviously, the player is one of the people on this plane, and so they must first swim to safety before they can even think about surviving on dry land. The heat of the environment has adverse effects on the health of the player, as they can become dehydrated or get sunstroke, both of which must be resolved quickly.

Stranded Deepputs players in abrutal survivalsituation with no real tools to help them, but it is possible to survive with enough work.

The player fishing in a light blue ocean as the sun begins to set. A pirate ship is sailing in the background.

5Salt 2: Shores Of Gold

Set sail in this pirate survival game

Salt 2: Shores of Goldis a game about being a pirate and surviving the seas on a ship. Players can decorate their ship to make it really feel like home before they explore the procedurally-generated world. Fishing is a large part of the survival aspect of the game, as the player needs to eat to survive, but there are also enemy pirates who can engage in combat to make things a little bit less peaceful.

Salt 2: Shores of Goldis a survival game with heavy exploration aspects, making it a great fit for players who get bored of just one island or area.

Ark Survival Evolved Landscape

ARK: Survival Evolvedis another game that takes place on an island, but this island is different from others. It has the same extreme temperatures and threats to survival,plus the added complication of dinosaurs. Players must survive on this island, and can even bond with the dinosaurs rather than fight them. However, this will take time and can be a challenging process.

ARK: Survival Evolvedis set on a tropical island that has the potential to be nightmarish or a true paradise, depending on how the player approaches it.

The player fishing from their raft

Raftis simply described in the title. The game opens withplayers sailingon a small raft, and they must continue building it while not letting the man-eating sharks in the ocean destroy all of their hard work. The game can become chaotic quickly, and players must work quickly to ensure their survival while also managing needs such as hunger and keeping on top of their raft building.

Raftis a game with a simple concept, but the execution is what makes it such an enjoyable (and at times frustrating) experience.

A base made from wood with a campfire set up in front of it

2Survival: Fountain Of Youth

Experience a Caribbean island in the 16th century

Survival: Fountain of Youthis set on a Caribbean island in the 16th century. The player is shipwrecked and must explore islands to find their crewmates, which is made a lot more difficult by the wildlife inhabiting these islands. The islands are also full of poisonous plants and insects, which can give the player malaria, so everything can be dangerous. This makes survival a real challenge.

Survival: Fountain Of Youthis a unique take on the survival genre, as being stuck in the past can make things even harder than usual, not to mention all the poisonous flora and fauna around.

A monkey swinging on a branch over a body of water with a hippo in it in Ancestors The Humankind Odyssey

Finally, the best survival game set in a hot climate available today isAncestors: The Humankind Odyssey.Set in Africa 10 million yearsbefore the dawn of humanity, players must keep their clans alive and make sure they advance to the next generation of their species. This is all while battling predators and, of course, the weather itself. The climate has a huge impact on survival in this game.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odysseyis a look at all the work that went into humanity’s rise to where it is today, and how easily everything could have gone wrong.