There are few things more morbidly satisfying than a post-apocalyptic game. As gamers, we love exploring a ravaged wasteland, fighting mutated creatures and attempting to survive against all odds in a world gone bad. Something is exciting about being one of the last people left alive, forging an existence in a world that doesn’t ever stop trying to decimate your very being. In this guide, we’re breaking down the best post-apocalyptic games of all time, so you can join the legions of fans who love this genre.
From nuclear annihilation to the mysterious disappearance of an entire population, these are the best games set in the apocalypse that you’ll ever play. They’re legendary, with some of them having sold tens of millions of copies over a period lasting more than two decades. If you’ve got a hunger to explore the end of the world, then read on – these are the best post-apocalyptic games you’ll ever play.
Credit: Bohemia Interactive
Bohemia Interactive’s open-world multiplayer zombie title DayZ is almost a social experiment in trust. How much faith are you willing to put in total strangers? Are you willing to die for that trust? The game began life as a mod for Arma 2, with the standalone release coming back in 2013. With frequent content updates over the years, DayZ has slowly become one of the best post-apocalypse games on the market.
Ironically, the apocalypse and its zombie inhabitants are arguably the least interesting things about DayZ. Instead, it’s the player interactions that put DayZ among the best apocalypse games around, with memorable moments guaranteed every time you play the game.
Credit: Capcom
Dead Rising can be traced back to 2006, with the first game being released and taking the world by storm. However, it’s the second game that strikes the perfect balance between the series’ zany, insane nature and the seriousness of the situation. Dead Rising 2 is an all-time great, and one of the best post-apocalypse games you can play today. It’s a little dated, sure, but it remains as fun as it was on release in 2010.
The gameplay itself takes place in an abandoned mall, where you play as Chuck Greene. As Chuck, you must ensure your daughter gets medication to survive a zombie bite, completing quests around the mall to progress the story. It even has several endings depending on how much you choose to complete! You can’t make a list of the best apocalypse games without giving a mention to Dead Rising 2.
Credit: Telltale
Telltale’s The Walking Dead popularized the adventure game genre like no game before it. Adventure games were not new, of course, but none quite resonated with the mainstream quite like Telltale’s The Walking Dead. In this story, you make your way through the apocalypse as Lee Everett, a convicted criminal who finds himself in the midst of the collapse of civilization. The choices you make have wide-ranging consequences, which is why this was regarded among the best post-apocalypse games ever made.
Horizon: Zero Dawn and the follow-up title, Forbidden West, are seen as being some of the best post-apocalyptic games ever made. They exist in a universe where a self-replicating, sentient race of robots destroys humanity and takes over the planet. Centuries later, humans reappear, living almost in tribes as they attempt to rebuild society. It’s a fantastic two-part series that boasts wide, open worlds, innovative combat, and some of the best acting in modern gaming.
State of Decay was first released in 2013 as an Xbox-exclusive game. It has since become one of the best post-apocalyptic games ever made, and in 2018, it spawned a follow-up title. There’s a third game in the works, but there’s no indication of when that’ll be released. In State of Decay, players are charged with surviving a zombie apocalypse, building up a settlement, and gathering followers. It’s a game based around resource and inventory management, and it’s one of the top cooperative zombie franchises out there today.
Credit: Valve
Released in 2009, just a year after the first game in the series, Left 4 Dead 2 represents the perfection of the co-op shooter formula. This game instantly became one of the best post-apocalypse games upon launch, and retains a strong player base to this day.
In Left 4 Dead 2, you choose from one of many campaigns. In each campaign, players move from level to level, fighting off hordes of zombies while trying to reach the next safehouse. Each campaign results in a finale – one final battle against the horde while awaiting rescue. You can even play Versus, a 4v4 game mode where you can play as the zombies to stop the humans. It’s a truly unique experience, landing it among the list of best apocalypse games.
Metro is a legend in the world of the best post-apocalyptic games. It has a legacy that stretches back decades, originating from a series of books written by a Russian author with a penchant for penning terrifying end-of-the-world stories. In Metro, players control ‘Artyom’, a survivor of the nuclear holocaust that decimated Russia and much of the world around it. It’s a game that takes place in the dank, dark metro of Moscow – hence the name.
However, over the years since the bombs fell, the metro became home to some gnarly, horrific mutants – as well as the dregs of society. It’s a place where people can survive and thrive or succumb to the darkness, but eventually, Artyom and his friends must leave the metro and go into the vast beyond of post-apocalyptic Russia. There are three games (as of 2024) in the Metro series, and they’re all fantastic.
Credit: Techland
If you’re a fan of the best post-apocalyptic games out there and you haven’t played a Dying Light game, there’s a problem. In 2015, the first Dying Light launched to an overwhelmingly positive reception, laying out a plethora of post-apocalyptic options for players to explore. It boasted innovative and unique mechanics – such as an intense parkour engine – that made the first Dying Light game a wonder to play. It was exciting, fresh, and highly entertaining.
In 2022, Techland – the developer – released Dying Light 2. This game featured more of a ‘post-apocalyptic vibe’, allowing players to truly experience a game about the end of the world. It was set years after the first game, in a world ravaged by a zombie virus. It was bleaker and more morbid than the first game, but so much more expansive, and as a live service game, it will be supported by Techland for years to come.
Read also:Is Dying Light 2 Worth Playing?
Credit: Obsidian Entertainment
Fallout: New Vegas is a staggering achievement. While you could have placed any Fallout game on this list, it’s New Vegas that takes the RPG gameplay to the next level, with sprawling choices resulting in a vast amount of endings to the game.
In this list of the best post-apocalypse games, Fallout: New Vegas is the most atmospheric. It juxtaposes Fallout’s typically zany and quirky vibe with the horrors of the wasteland. You won’t play anything quite like Fallout: New Vegas, and with mods, you can make it feel much more like a modern release, too. A must-play for those on the hunt for the best apocalypse games ever.
Read also:Is Fallout 76 Crossplay?
The Last of Us is a fantastic and heart-wrenching series rooted in a devastating post-apocalyptic setting. It’s one of the most emotional, masterfully crafted franchises in gaming history, and it has gone on to spawn a popular television series from HBO. This two-part series (as of 2024) sees players plunged into the heart of the United States amid a terrifying, overwhelming outbreak of a plague known as ‘Cordyceps’.
It’s a survival horror game that is post-apocalyptic through and through. From devastated cities to bands of raiders seeking survival at any cost, and from precious few resources to mutated freaks, The Last of Us has it all when it comes to listing it as the best post-apocalyptic game franchise ever. It’s beautiful, harrowing, and deeply satisfying, and the acting is second to none. There is no better game when it comes to the post-apocalyptic genre.
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