Games like Project Zomboid: 9 zombie survival games to try

If you like Project Zomboid, look for games where loot is scarce, wounds matter, and one mistake can end a long run. The nine games below give you that pressure in different forms. Each entry tells you what you do, what is the same as Project Zomboid, and what is different.

What makes a game feel like Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid by The Indie Stone is a sandbox where you loot houses, barricade a base, and manage hunger, boredom, and illness. With the default settings, one bite infects you. Smaller wounds need clean bandages, or they can become infected. So careful play is more important than fast reflexes.

We looked for games with most of these four parts:

• Scarce loot that you must search for in houses, shops, and other buildings.
• Health, wounds, or needs that you must manage over time.
• A long-term goal, such as a base, a group, or a vehicle to keep alive.
• Danger that comes from noise, light, or bad decisions, not only from bad aim.

If you want to know how these systems work in general, read our guide to survival game mechanics.

Route 48 (our game)

Full disclosure: we made Route 48, so we put it first.

Route 48 is a first-person driving survival game by HOLY STUDIOS, in Early Access on Steam. Like Project Zomboid, it sends you into abandoned buildings for food, weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, and fuel. The big difference is the road: you manage your fuel and repair damaged parts, because a broken vehicle can end your journey. Every new game generates a new world with different roads, towns, forests, and loot locations.

State of Decay 2

Developer: Undead Labs. Released: 2018 (Juggernaut Edition on Steam: 2020). Players: Single-player or online co-op for up to 4 players.

You lead a small community of survivors, not one hero. You decide who goes out on a supply run, how you fortify the base, and when the group moves to a new town.

Why it fits: a survivor who dies stays dead. So every trip outside the base has a real cost, the same as a lost character in Project Zomboid. Vehicles need fuel and repairs, and their trunks carry your loot home.

How it differs: the combat is faster, and each survivor has their own skills and traits. It suits players who care more about the group than about one character.

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

Developer: CleverRaven. Released: 2023 on Steam. Players: Single-player.

This is a turn-based roguelike with very deep systems. You find or craft tools, build a home base, grow crops, and find a vehicle to explore New England. The vehicle system lets you build and modify cars, and you can also use boats.

Why it fits: like Project Zomboid, the game rewards slow and careful play. A bad decision can kill a character that you kept alive for a long time.

How it differs: zombies are only one threat. Giant insects, mutants, and other strange monsters also appear. Choose it if you want more depth than Project Zomboid and you do not need real-time action.

VEIN

Developer: Ramjet Studios. Released: Early Access since 2025. Players: Single-player or online co-op.

VEIN is a first-person zombie survival sandbox. You search abandoned buildings, fight zombies and bandits, fortify a safehouse, and grow your own food when the canned goods run out.

Why it fits: the zombies can see, hear, feel, and smell you, so noise and light matter. You can interact with almost every object, from mailboxes to water taps. This attention to detail is close to the Project Zomboid style.

How it differs: you see the world in 3D from the eyes of your character. Cars and trucks are important too. You refuel them, maintain them, and upgrade their parts. The game is in Early Access, so expect changes and rough edges.

Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days

Developer: PikPok. Released: Early Access since 2025. Players: Single-player.

This is a side-scrolling shelter survival game set in a Texas city in 1980. You guide a group of survivors from shelter to shelter, and zombies attack your barricades each night.

Why it fits: the needs and injury systems are detailed. Survivors get hungry and tired, they can lose hope, and they can get injuries such as broken ribs. You must treat each problem, or you lose people.

How it differs: you control a group, and the view is 2D from the side. You cannot stay in one place for long, so the game feels like a slow escape, not a long siege.

Survivalist: Invisible Strain

Developer: Bob (as listed on Steam). Released: 2025. Players: Single-player or online co-op.

This is an open-world colony-building game set in a zombie apocalypse. You start as one refugee. Then you recruit other survivors and build a settlement with food, fires, and walls.

Why it fits: every person in the world has a name, a personality, and a memory of what you did to them. Project Zomboid still lists deep NPC encounters as a planned feature on its Steam page. This game gives you that social side now.

How it differs: you switch between third-person action and an overhead view where you give orders. You also give jobs to your people, such as farmer or chef.

The Last Stand: Aftermath

Developer: Con Artist Games. Released: 2021. Players: Single-player.

Your survivor is already infected when the run starts. You explore the ruins, craft weapons from materials that you find, and collect fuel so that you can travel to new locations.

Why it fits: death is part of the plan. When a survivor dies, you continue as a new survivor, with perks and upgrades from your earlier progress.

How it differs: the runs are shorter, and the game has a clear direction. Choose it if you like the tension of Project Zomboid but want a structure and a goal.

7 Days to Die

Developer: The Fun Pimps. Released: 2024 (version 1.0), after Early Access from 2013. Players: Single-player or online co-op and PvP.

This is a first-person open-world survival game with RPG skills. You loot towns, mine resources, build a fort, and craft vehicles from parts that you find.

Why it fits: the day-to-day loop is close to Project Zomboid. You collect resources, improve your base, and grow your skills over many in-game days.

How it differs: with the default settings, a Blood Moon horde attacks every seventh night. Most zombies walk in the day and run at night. So the game is more about base defense than about quiet survival. Read our list of games like 7 Days to Die for more games of this type.

Unturned

Developer: Smartly Dressed Games. Released: 2017. Free to play. Players: Single-player or online multiplayer.

You scavenge for supplies, hunt for food, and build a shelter in a world full of zombies. You can travel by land, by sea, and by air.

Why it fits: the loop of loot, base, and survival is close to Project Zomboid, and you can try it for free.

How it differs: the game also has PvP servers and custom maps from the Steam Workshop. Choose it if you want a free start or a game to play with friends on a server.

Quick comparison

How we picked these games

We looked for zombie games where loot is limited, health matters, and a long run can end in one moment. We checked each game on its Steam page for the developer, the release date, and the player modes. We left out games that you can only play online. For those games, read our list of games like DayZ.

Which one should you play first?

• Play Route 48 if you want a car to keep alive and a new open world in each game.
• Play State of Decay 2 or Survivalist: Invisible Strain if you want to lead a group.
• Play Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead if you want even more depth than Project Zomboid.
• Play VEIN if you want the Project Zomboid style in first person.
• Play The Last Stand: Aftermath if you want short runs with a clear goal.
• Play 7 Days to Die if you want to build a fort and defend it.
• Play Unturned if you want to start for free.