If you feel like you’ve had your fill of battling and taming dinos in ARK, it may be time to move on to the best games like ARK: Survival Evolved.
This can be a great way to expand your horizons and discover new open-world survival crafting games that you may already know of but have never tried.
In this list, we’ll highlight the best games like ARK on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms.
Make sure to check back in the future to see new recommendations for the best games like ARK but better!
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Stars End
Platform: Windows
First up on our list of the best games like ARK is Stars End, an indie multiplayer sci-fi survival game that comes courtesy of Reverie World Studios.
Set hundreds of years in the future, it sees you colonizing a star system by seeking out resources, completing missions, and uncovering mysteries in the world.
Similar to ARK, the game places a big emphasis on building strongholds, both in space and on planets, which have the potential to be raided by other players.
It’s arguably a lot more ambitious than ARK in terms of the scope of its world and gameplay but checks many of the same boxes.
Valheim
Platforms: Windows, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Linux
Valheim is another survival game like ARK that throws Vikings and mythological beasts into the mix.
The premise sees you assuming control of one of Odin’s fallen warriors in a Norse world ripe with resources and danger.
Exploring your surroundings, you’ll learn to live off the land by collecting food and other resources to craft shelter, weapons, and tools.
Eventually, you’ll advance to making portals and vessels that allow you to travel to new biomes housing powerful bosses and rewards.
Eco
Platform: Windows
Whereas most survival games center on a single player’s quest to stay alive in the face of harsh conditions, Eco throws time constraints and human greed into the mix.
The setup is as follows: a meteor is on a collision course with your planet and to survive, you must work with other players to research and create new technology.
Further complicating things is a simulated ecosystem filled with thousands of plants and wildlife that must be utilized for your survival.
To prevent the ecosystem from dying, you’ll have to maintain balance while collaborating with friends like you would in ARK.
Grounded
Platforms: Windows, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Next up on our list of the best games like ARK is Grounded, a survival sandbox game in which your character gets shrunk down to the size of an ant.
Coming to grips with your newfound perspective, you’ll learn to live off the land while navigating the many dangers present in your own backyard.
Like ARK, most of your time is spent scavenging for food, water, and resources to use for crafting gear and shelter.
This requires you to venture into increasingly hostile portions of the map where aggressive spiders and other creepy crawlies roam around.
Minecraft
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android
Easily the most popular game on this list, Minecraft provides players with limitless creative tools to make whatever their minds can imagine.
However, beyond creation mode’s magic, it also features a dedicated survival mode that plays out like one of the best games like ARK.
Starting on an empty piece of land surrounded by resources and enemies, you’ll slowly expand and upgrade your base by exploring the world.
This can be done alone or with a few friends willing to pitch in and help you build a formidable fortress with farmland, wild stock, and more.
PixARK
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Of course, if you want to play one of the best games like ARK, Studio Wildcard and Snail Games have you covered with PixARK.
This survival game mash-up sees you embarking on a blocky adventure to uncover the secrets of a mysterious island inhabited by dinosaurs.
Additionally, the island is littered with resources throughout its forests, caves, and underwater biomes where you can also find other players.
Where PixARK differs is the ability to reshape the terrain by adding or subtracting blocks and a procedurally generated quest system.
Radiation Island
Platforms: Windows, Switch, iOS
Despite its comedic undertones, Radiation Island offers a comprehensive survival experience that makes it one of the best games like ARK.
Instead of dinosaurs or extreme temperatures, the game puts radiation at the top of players’ list of priorities by forcing you to stock up on gas masks and other supplies.
Just like ARK, the map consists of different environment types inhabited by aggressive wildlife such as wolves, bears, mountain lions, crocodiles, and even zombies.
Lastly, Radiation Island offers a full day-night cycle, the ability to craft vehicles, and hidden treasure chests to find throughout the world.
Conan Exiles
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Based on the mythology of Conan the Barbarian, Conan Exiles is an open-world survival game that shares many elements with ARK: Survival Evolved.
This includes managing your character’s health, food, and water consumption in addition to crafting and equipping them with clothing, tools, and weapons.
The game’s fantasy-inspired setting sees you facing off against not only dinosaurs but also dragons and otherworldly monsters.
There’s a close attention to detail regarding identity, with Conan Exiles featuring robust character customization, a religious belief system, and level-based progression.
The Forest
Platforms: Windows, PS4
The Forest is a survival game with a deceptively simple setup in which you play as the seemingly sole survivor of a plane crash looking for his missing child.
However, things quickly ramp up as mutated creatures, mysterious wooden structures, and other weird objects begin appearing.
From a gameplay perspective, it has a lot of similarities with ARK in that the main focus is building shelter, creating weapons, and gathering resources.
Additionally, both games let you play with friends, lightening a bit of the load when it comes to grinding for resources and exploring.
Green Hell
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Frequently brought up alongside The Forest is Green Hell, another survival game that drops you in a lush rainforest teeming with danger.
Instead of massive dinosaurs, you’ll be contesting with deadly crocodiles and equally-aggressive tribespeople.
To stay alive, you’ll craft weapons and shelter from the surrounding resources while hunting for your next meal and trying to maintain your sanity.
Much like ARK, Green Hell rewards you for taking risks and exploring your surroundings with extra materials, upgrades, and bits of lore.
Astroneer
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Don’t let Astroneer’s cute and colorful art style fool you as it’s one of the more challenging space survival games around.
In it, you play as a synthetic organism tasked with creating and exploring new worlds to squeeze every inch of natural resources you can for your corporate bosses.
This entails designing, building, and automating bases to process raw materials while generating power and oxygen for you and your stations.
Similar to ARK’s biomes, each planet you travel to introduces a new set of problems to tackle, including uneven terrain you can modify using a special tool.
No Man’s Sky
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, Mac
No Man’s Sky has come a long way since its controversial launch, largely thanks to the ongoing effort from developer Hello Games to make good on its promise.
In this space-faring survival game, you’re tasked with traveling to different planets and harvesting resources while inching your way toward the center of the galaxy.
Similar to ARK, the game focuses on crafting and base-building, with players able to construct both ground and aerial vehicles for easier navigation.
It also features online co-op with open-ended questing that lets you and your friends focus on the activities you enjoy most.
Raft
Platform: Windows
Instead of exploring a huge island overrun with dinosaurs, Raft drops you in a never-ending ocean home to powerful currents and a deadly shark.
Vessels start out small, consisting of just a few planks of wood that can be expanded by reeling in junk and other debris in the water.
The game gives you the freedom to set your own goals and combine different materials to create furniture, weapons, tools, and power sources.
This results in a satisfying loop of expanding your base, gathering resources, and striking the shark before it can damage your raft.
Subnautica
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, Mac
Another game set primarily in water, Subnautica has won several awards and garnered a passionate following for its contributions to the survival genre.
In it, you follow a survivor whose spaceship crashlands on an alien planet covered entirely in water and must try and find a way home.
After establishing a research base, you’ll get to work exploring the underwater depths for food, water, materials, and wreckage from your ship.
Similar to ARK, Subnautica’s world is inhabited by a host of menacing sea creatures that range from friendly to “avoid at all costs.”
Rust
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Mac
To wrap things up, Rust is a sandbox survival game that mirrors the hardcore elements of ARK’s gameplay with a bigger focus on PvP combat.
In it, players spawn into an unforgiving open world as vulnerable “nakeds,” with nothing but a sad rock to their name.
From there, it’s a never-ending battle to scavenge resources, rob enemy players, and hoard your wealth until a formidable opponent comes along.
Like ARK, you must monitor your hunger, thirst, and temperature while keeping an eye out for supply drops, vehicles, and more.
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