ZERO DAY (formerly Survival and Apocalypse Catch-All)

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"Living is hard. Am I doing it right? Feeling like I'm just sticking around. Hnn. Survive being alive." - Strange, a stalker in the Zone.

I love survival games for two reasons. One, they give me options I didn't have when I was a kid. I grew up dirt poor. Sometimes I would go a day and a half before I ate something. Sometimes two days. (I remember snatching this orange out of a high school garbage can when no one was looking.)

The second reason is it reminds me of the barren wasteland surrounding my childhood home. My town was parked nearby a smelting site which closed down in 1972. The site had a massive smokestack, railyards, big metal buildings and fields of black glass-like slag. There were no trees for miles and ponds and creeks were multi-coloured. All of this was accessible to impressionable children.

These were the best days of my young life. I spent whole summers wandering alone in those places. Free from bullies, an escape from poverty, it was everything to me. It was my ruin. I came up with a million stories, imagining myself a lone survivor, needing nothing and no one.

The List

Armageddon Empires
NEO Scavenger
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

#3 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

Pretty desperate people enter the exclusion zone in and around Chernobyl in search of fortune, glory or scientific discovery. They'll brave violent humans, mutated beasts, radioactive buildings and near-invisible space-time distortions.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (or Stalker as it shall be forever spelled after this point) has a great collection of aesthetics - rusty, wet, corroded and sad. The shooting and action is janky as hell - which means it's great. It gives me the this-sh*t-better-work desperation vibe.

I approve of this thread. I'm a junkie for post-apocalyptic/bleak-sci-fi settings, but I often find myself at odds with quite a few game designs laying claim to this setting for one reason:
I want a win condition. I want a way out, or at least a way to make peace with the setting. I want my survival horror to have a chance at survival.

/dons hipster glasses
I liked it better when these threads were about space games.
/spills overpriced latte concoction on crotch
Aye! It burns! What horrid wasteland have I found myself in? If only there were video games to match my feeling now!
/looks at thread again
Ah, well played.

Everyone is so excited for the Wasteland sequel.

Didn't we already get that? Wasn't it called Fallout?

But anyway, there's the new one that just came out on XBLA - I Am Alive

Reviews are mixed though a number of the negative reviews seem to come down to "man, the post-apocalypse is dirty, depressing, hard and not much fun"

Armageddon Empires is listed. My work here is done.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/gevtC.jpg)

tanstaafl wrote:

Everyone is so excited for the Wasteland sequel.

Didn't we already get that? Wasn't it called Fallout?

The Fallout universe is not the Wasteland universe. A lot of changes were made to avoid stepping on the IP that Brian Fargo didn't own at the time. Wasteland is much more gritty and dark. The history descends from a more modern setting so you won't see 1950's-era technology all over the place. Machines that are built for killing do so efficiently. They aren't the bumbling rustbuckets you'll find in Fallout. Overall I expect a very different experience.

Here's a good description of the back story. It's the first part in a "Let's Play" series:

Cool thread bro.

There's a series called Disaster Report that would fit in well here, it's basically an action game about surviving, well, disasters. There was a new one nearing completion when the tsunami hit Japan and they sadly (and understandably) canceled it.

I've always really liked the "player versus elements" idea and wish more games featured such a system. If an article of clothing can have an "armor level," why not a "water resistance level," or an "insulation level?"

I've got more I'm going to be adding to the top there. I just had to stop because it was freaking lattttteee.

Thanks for commenting. I know there is this massive under-current of apocalyptic love out there. I hope this thread brings out all the information on where to find these games.

tanstaafl wrote:

Everyone is so excited for the Wasteland sequel.

Didn't we already get that? Wasn't it called Fallout?

But anyway, there's the new one that just came out on XBLA - I Am Alive

Reviews are mixed though a number of the negative reviews seem to come down to "man, the post-apocalypse is dirty, depressing, hard and not much fun"

Dirty and depressing? Welcome little game. Welcome to the thread that loves you.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Cool thread bro.

There's a series called Disaster Report that would fit in well here, it's basically an action game about surviving, well, disasters. There was a new one nearing completion when the tsunami hit Japan and they sadly (and understandably) canceled it.

I've always really liked the "player versus elements" idea and wish more games featured such a system. If an article of clothing can have an "armor level," why not a "water resistance level," or an "insulation level?"

That's the kind of nit and grit I'm talking about. NEO Scavenger comes close to that as well as that Nordic survival game - I forget what it's called.

And Disaster Report sound nifty.

I think the recently released I Am Alive might be perfect for this thread.

One year after, a worldwide cataclysmic event that wiped most of the human race, a man struggles for survival in a desolate city as he tries to reunite with his long lost wife and daughter. In this post-apocalyptical tale, there are no supernatural threats, just an everyman who faces a decaying and hazardous world and humanity’s darkest inclinations. Will you hang on to your humanity and help strangers or are you ready to sacrifice others in order to survive?

http://iamalive-game.ubi.com/iamaliv...

Strangeblades wrote:

That's the kind of nit and grit I'm talking about. NEO Scavenger comes close to that as well as that Nordic survival game - I forget what it's called.

And Disaster Report sound nifty.

Must know name of game you are talking about.

Tigerbill wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

That's the kind of nit and grit I'm talking about. NEO Scavenger comes close to that as well as that Nordic survival game - I forget what it's called.

And Disaster Report sound nifty.

Must know name of game you are talking about.

Unreal World? Niseg is the local expert on it I believe. I haven't put much time into it.

Druidpeak wrote:
Tigerbill wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

That's the kind of nit and grit I'm talking about. NEO Scavenger comes close to that as well as that Nordic survival game - I forget what it's called.

And Disaster Report sound nifty.

Must know name of game you are talking about.

Unreal World? Niseg is the local expert on it I believe. I haven't put much time into it.

Thank you, I remember reading about that game a while ago but, couldn't remember the name.

No mention of the Stalker games? Crank up the difficulty and you're scavenging for water and food and trying to decide if you should grab a second gun or a bottle of vodka to help take care of that nasty radiation. I think I've only run out of ammo in a game maybe 3 times. Once was in the first Resident Evil (mainly because and I didn't know ammo was that scarce) and the other 2 times were in Stalker games. Because of that I now find myself playing games like Rage and all of my weapons are at near capacity because I try to take everything down in as few shots as possible.

IMAGE(http://rps.net/NE/Scavenger/scavenger.gif)
For fans of text adventures.

Itsatrap wrote:

IMAGE(http://www.unrealsoftware.de/img/game_stranded201.jpg)
Not post-apocalyptic, but Stranded 2 definitely qualifies as a survival game.

Oh survival games are what this thread is all about. Remember it's all about survival AND post-apocalyptic games.

Downloading all suggestions now. I tried Scavenger: A Night's Edge and managed to shoot Charlie with a silenced pistol in seven turns. Then I was executed.

IMAGE(http://www.unrealsoftware.de/img/game_stranded201.jpg)
Not post-apocalyptic, but Stranded 2 definitely qualifies as a survival game.

If you prefer something more zombie-oriented, there are the Rebuild and Rebuild 2 strategy games and the The Last Stand and The Last Stand 2 shooter/defense games.

Itsatrap wrote:

If you prefer something more zombie-oriented, there are the Rebuild and Rebuild 2 strategy games and the The Last Stand and The Last Stand 2 shooter/defense games.

Cool. I will be adding those titles to the intro part of the thread.

I will also be expanding the thread up top with more descriptions and experiences in playing those games.

Strangeblades wrote:

Downloading all suggestions now. I tried Scavenger: A Night's Edge and managed to shoot Charlie with a silenced pistol in seven turns. Then I was executed. :(

I got yer zombie apocalypse right here! Hoping against hope this game lives up to the teaser trailer. I also appreciate the comic-book stylings.

This will definitely get added to the top.

Holy crap. Am I just extra sensitive because I have a daughter on the way or is it dusty in here?

Stoked about the game, and excited to try out some of the games up top. I never got far in the original Wasteland for some reason. I need to go back and play it again.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R., I think definitely deserves to be considered. Bleaker than Fallout. Also Metro 2033. Having your home be the underground subway and your survival being fighting mutants, post-apocalyptic Nazis and post-apocalyptic Commies is pretty grim.

Cool thread, BTW. I'm a sucker for this kind of literature and film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IO6uBPQcLdQ#t=390s

DSGamer wrote:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R., I think definitely deserves to be considered. Bleaker than Fallout. Also Metro 2033. Having your home be the underground subway and your survival being fighting mutants, post-apocalyptic Nazis and post-apocalyptic Commies is pretty grim.

Cool thread, BTW. I'm a sucker for this kind of literature and film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IO6uBPQcLdQ#t=390s

Metro 2033 and Stalker will be getting some love that's fer sure. For my first posting I wanted to highlight some titles that were out of the spotlight. Same goes for Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Dead Island.

Itsatrap wrote:

If you prefer something more zombie-oriented, there are the Rebuild and Rebuild 2 strategy games and the The Last Stand and The Last Stand 2 shooter/defense games.

They somewhat recently came out with [url=http://armorgames.com/play/12009/the...\The Last Stand: Union City that picks up after the second one, but with a different character and genre. Instead of searching for supplies and survivors during the day and defending your fort every night, you're making your way through the city trying to find your spouse in a side-scrolling shooter.

In the vein of Project Zombiod there's Fort Zombie where you have a specific number of days (based on difficulty) to stock up your fort (difficulty is based on which fort you pick at the start), find other survivors to help you, and build defenses for a final assault by the zombies.

Does Fortnite fit into the genre?

Druidpeak wrote:

Does Fortnite fit into the genre?

I would say it does. I know I'm looking forward to it. There's need for supplies, a focus on staying safe, rather than being a mindless aggressor, etc.

Is it coming out for the PC? [size=8]say yes say yes say yes[/size]

The next game I'm gonna add up there will be World of the Living Dead.

ADDED: Apparently, I'm full of it. The next game added was I Am Alive on XBLA.

Brilliant thread. Wish someone would do this for books.

A bit old, but if you're looking for "depressing," I think Pathologic qualifies.

RPS article - Butchering Pathologic

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