[toc] The Survival genre has always been popular in the video game industry. Due to how popular it is, survival games are being published at an all-time high. While a large number of options are always welcome, how can we tell which ones are worth our time?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you our Top 10 for Mac. That’s right, ten games all available for Mac and downloadable from the Steam store. Luckily for us, limited gaming choices are quickly becoming a thing of the past for Mac users, and we’re not taking that for granted.

So join me in our foray into our Mac survival game rankings.

Our favorites:

7 Days to Die | Dying Light | Rust | Oxygen Not Included | Project Zomboid | Darkwood | ARK: Survival Evolved | The Long Dark | Don’t Starve Together | Subnautica |

Looking for something different? We also have a list of the 100 Best Mac games in all the best categories.

Our absolute favorite Mac Survival games

10. 7 Days to Die

7 Days To Die is a zombie wave shooter with a new twist. Instead of mysteriously gaining cash and buying new weapons for the next wave, you are given seven days to prepare. Seven days to explore the world, gather weapons, upgrade your skills, and prepare your defenses. As the name suggests, after seven days, a massive horde of zombies will swarm your base and attempt to eat you. This blend of survival and horde shooter mechanics makes for a very engaging experience, which is why it earns a spot on this list.

And best of all, there are no game-breaking bugs associated with the macOS version of the game. Rest assured, you’ll have smooth sailing ahead with this alpha.

System requirements: macOS 10.13, 3.2 GHz Quad Core CPU, 12 GB RAM, 4 GB VRAM, 15 GB available space.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	7 Days to Die	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta	Good

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9. Dying Light

While 2022’s Dying Light 2 is still not available on Mac, the original Dying Light has no such restrictions. Arguably better than its sequel, Dying Light is one of the best parkour zombie survival games on Steam. Utilizing free-running mechanics, Dying Light makes open-world exploration fresh and fun. With wall climbs and grappling hooks, navigate through the apocalyptic city in free-flowing parkour while looting and fighting different kinds of zombies.

Furthermore, Dying Light is perfect for people looking for a fun and non-difficult survival experience. There are no harsh weather conditions or complex hunger systems. Just parkour, zombies, and loot.

Featuring a single-player campaign and online multiplayer, it is clear why it made it to our survival games list.

System requirements: macOS Sierra 10.12.1, Intel® Core™ i7 4.00GHz, 8 GB RAM DDR3, AMD Radeon™ R9 M395X 4GB VRAM, 40 GB available space.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	Dying Light	Shooter	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta	Good

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8. Rust

One of the most popular PvP survival games in recent years, Rust’s massive active player base is a testament to its greatness. Everything in Rust is designed to make your life difficult. The wildlife will kill you, the environment will hurt you, and other players will rob you. But that’s also everything great about Rust. The satisfaction of finally setting up a properly defended base with your allies is exhilarating.

However, if getting overpowered by experienced clans isn’t your idea of fun, then Rust might not be the game for you. But if that’s not an issue, then you’ll be happy to know Rust supports online cross-platform play. So hop on and have fun with your Windows compatriots.

System requirements: macOS X El Capitan 10.11, Intel Core i7-4790K / AMD Ryzen 5 1600.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	Rust	Survival	Yes		Metal	Rosetta	Good

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7. Oxygen Not Included

Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony management game with an extreme emphasis on resource management. Currently one of the best colony survival games, it has a pleasingly cartoonish art style with an addicting gameplay loop.

On the topic of gameplay, resources start draining immediately upon your first breath. It quickly becomes apparent that survival in this game will depend on your management skills. However, there are multiple ways to keep a colony afloat. Generate power from human hamster cages or recycle farts into fuel. The possibilities are creatively hilarious and always allow for different solutions.

Additionally, Oxygen Not Included features constant free updates, no bugs, and low system requirements.

System requirements: macOS 10.13, Dual Core 2 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Intel HD 4600 (AMD or NVIDIA), 2 GB available space.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	Oxygen Not Included	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta	Good

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6. Project Zomboid

An isometric top-down zombie survival game, Project Zomboid is the realistic counterpart to Dying Light. No jumping across buildings or drop-kicking zombies. Instead, you get cut from breaking windows and falling can sprain your ankle. Realism is the theme here, and it does a great job at reminding you constantly.

In fact, it becomes realistic to the point where you can actually semi-simulate yourself in the game. The character customizer gives you trait options and numerous visual choices, making it easy to create yourself. It’s no surprise that several people enjoy seeing how far they get in this simulated zombie apocalypse.

Furthermore, as it runs on Java, this is an extremely light game that can run on virtually any Mac out there.

System requirements: macOS 10.7.3, Intel 2.77GHz Quad-core, 8 GB RAM, 2 GB of VRAM (OpenGL 2.1 and GLSL 1.2 support), 5 GB available space.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	Project Zomboid	Survival	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta	Good

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5. Darkwood

A macabre horror-survival game, Darkwood illustrates a grim story focused on escaping a nightmarish forest. For the majority of this game, you’ll be exploring a dark forest while trying to survive the horrors of the forest. Moreover, the atmosphere in this game is incredible. From the unsettling ambiance to the disturbing environment, Darkwood is designed to create unnerving tension for its players.

Furthermore, the game does not do any hand-holding, adding to the uncertainty of the situation and challenging your survival instincts. The story is also as gripping as it is morbid, giving you the quick realization that there is no happy ending.

Nevertheless, if horror survival isn’t your style, don’t worry. There are plenty more games on this list.

System requirements: macOS 10.8, Intel i3, 6 GB RAM, GeForce GTX 660, 6 GB available space.

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4. ARK: Survival Evolved

Survival games are fun, but do you know what makes them better? Dinosaurs, lots and lots of dinosaurs. Ark Survival Evolved is exactly that: an online multiplayer survival game with dinosaurs.

From boulder-like dinosaurs to fire-breathing dragons, Ark has every kind of monster a twelve-year-old could dream of. Not only do you fight these leviathans, but you also get to tame and breed them. Raise an army of monsters and raid player settlements while defending your own in a struggle for dominance over this strange world.

Unfortunately, Ark will require a patch to run on M1 Macs. Fortunately, the process has been made easy with the help of Reddit user u/tombob51. Download link and instructions here.

System requirements: macOS 10.9, 2 GHz Equivalent CPU, 4000 MB RAM, OpenGL 3 Compatible GPU with 1GB VRAM, 20 GB available space.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	ARK: Survival Evolved	Survival	Yes		OpenGL	Rosetta	Good

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3. The Long Dark

Too many games nowadays try to enhance their survival experience by adding in otherworldly factors or extreme threats. Some people say games become too boring without those factors. However, The Long Dark disagrees.

The Long Dark is a survival game about man versus mother nature. There are no zombies or orcs, just the cold winter woodlands. But make no mistake, nature is indifferent to your suffering and is unkind to the inexperienced. It will punish every mistake you make with cold efficiency and cruelty. But this brutality is exactly what makes this a beautiful experience. Coupled with breathtaking scenery and a captivating story, The Long Dark is a rare experience.

System requirements: macOS 10.9.3, Core i7 2.7GHz+, 8 GB RAM, Dedicated standalone GPU 1GB VRAM, 7 GB available space.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	The Long Dark	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta	Good

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2. Don’t Starve Together

From the same people who made Not Enough Oxygen, Don’t Starve Together is a cartoonish survival game in a brutal landscape. If you are looking for a challenge, this one will put your survival skills to the test.

As the title implies, not starving in this game will be challenging. Unfortunately, food won’t be your only problem. DST has a unique mechanic called sanity. If your sanity drops too low, you will be hunted by shadow monsters, which are extremely dangerous. If you think this is already terrible news, I’m happy to tell you that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Also, did I mention that the dark kills you instantly?

System requirements: macOS 10.7, 2.0 GHz Intel, 4 GB RAM, NVidia or ATI graphics card, 3 GB available space.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	Don't Starve Together	Simulation	Yes		Metal	Rosetta	Good

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1. Subnautica

Currently the best and possibly the only aquatic survival game for Mac right now, Subnautica deserves all the love and praise people give it. With a perfect balance of difficulty, resource management, stunning scenery, and terrifying creatures, Subnautica is a “must experience” for any survival game fan.

For starters, Subnautica’s underwater environment opens up so many gameplay possibilities. Water makes movement three-dimensional in nature, which gives you versatility, but also added vulnerability, because enemies can attack from any direction. Additionally, oxygen levels determine how long you can swim underwater, making it a natural progression barrier.

With such unique and fun mechanics, Subnautica is truly a fantastic game, which is why we have ranked it number one on our list.

System requirements: macOS X 10.9 Mavericks, Intel Haswell 4 cores/threads 3.2Ghz, 8 GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 550 Ti 2GB VRAM, 20 GB available space.

Art	Game	Genre	64-bit?	64-bit	API	M1 Support	Performance
	Subnautica	Adventure	Yes		Metal	Rosetta	Average

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Our Criteria

Games are subjective and Top 10 lists even more so. To keep this list as fair as possible and ensure every game listed here is worth it, we made sure the following set of criteria is always met:

Native: Every game listed here natively supports macOS. This means they won’t need Wine, Parallels, Bootcamp, or any other third-party app to run. Just install any of these games on your machine and enjoy.

Performance: Obviously, we think every game on this list is solid in terms of graphics, gameplay, and stability. But performance is also a key factor to consider: we Mac users keep our computers for a long time. Mac Gamer HQ is the only place that tests and benchmarks games on several machines and shows you actual performance, not just listed system requirements.

Critical acclaim: To counter the fact that games are extremely subjective, we focus only on the games that have received good reviews by critics and average gamers. We’re not looking to please everyone, but we want to make sure these games have been generally enjoyed.

Pricing: Price tags are not the most important factor, but they still count. Sometimes a game that is only $10 will be superior to a game that costs $60. We know you’re looking for the best value for money. We are too.

Survival Genre: The term survival is widely used in the industry, to the point where the definition of “survival” is a bit vague. As such, our definition of “Survival” is where gameplay generally involves getting resources to maintain the player character/characters survival. This list tries to account for that as best as possible while factoring in enjoyability as well.

No Time Like The Present

The survival genre in video games is far from dead. In fact, I’d say we’re in the golden ages. And as time goes on, more of them will be available for the Mac platform. Gone are the days when we constantly scrounged and scavenged for working games on the macOS. Today, we have the luxury of choosing them and even ranking them in a top ten list.

But enough about our list, what about your list? Do you have a personal favorite we overlooked? Are there any survival games that you want us to cover?

Let me know in the comment section down below, we’re always on the lookout for more!

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