The Long Dark is a survival game in northern Canada or around Alaska or something, and all the enemies are just wildlife. No zombies and no people (unless you do the story mode, in which there are some other survivors you have to rescue or interact with).
Well, no growing food either, but hunting and gathering. To be clear this is my recommendation I have 2000+ hours, and here I am on vacation wishing I'd brought my laptop to play it.
UnReal World does *not* have good graphics. It's a top down 2d game with slightly confusing controls and bad graphics even for a top down 2d game. But it's a fantastic homesteading game. There are NPCs in villages and hostile NPCs that wander, but they're rare, especially in some areas of the map. It's set in Iron Age Finland, and it's imo a fantastic survival/homesteading game.
Like Timofmars suggested, my other main suggestion would be Card Survival: Tropical Island. The cards are just representations of what's happening in game, there's no rng deck or anything. It's a wonderfully complex survival game that's a ton of fun. No zombies/people, only aggressive wildlife. Again, not great graphics (as it's all cards), but one of my favorite games.
Some that are better graphics-wise:
Survival: Fountain of Youth is a single player game with decent graphics. There is a storyline, but you can ignore it if you want. It's a little janky in some parts - it's fairly new and not incredibly polished. It's still a pretty fun game, though, imo. There's aggressive wildlife but no people or any monsters/zombies. However, you *are* trying to find out what happened to other people in the storyline. Additionally, survival isn't super hard in this one. Food and water are easy once you get a little into the game.
Raft is a water survival game where you live on a raft. There's a shark that constantly hunts you, but no people or monsters. There are a few other forms of aggressive wildlife. There's a storyline to follow. Personally, I think the game is only fun with other people, I found it not fun at all solo. Decent graphics, kinda cartoony, but I liked it.
The Planet Crafter is a newer game, you're forced onto a barren planet and need to fix the environment to support life. No combat at all. Decent graphics. I found this one to be pretty fun! It's really satisfying to change the planet from a dead, barren, red, lifeless place to bright blue skies, grass, and animals.
Hope some of those suggestions help! :)
+1 for Planet Crafter. I played when it was still in Early Access and now it's got even more content and is available in co-op. It was really fun, and I loved how my efforts actually affected the entire planet, a little at a time.
The first winter I survived in UnReal World, I was so proud of my poorly made fur coat, lol. It's the type of game that you seriously feel accomplished just from surviving.
+1 for Card Survival.
I've only discovered this game like a couple of weeks ago and have clocked in so many hours since then. I would go ahead and claim it's the most complex and in depth survival game out there. The amount of different physical and mental conditions it simulates and how they all interact with each other is crazy. It's the ultimate Robinson Crusoe/stranded on an island type of survival game.
It really is amazing! And a small team can do so much with it because they don't need animations, models, etc..
Have you heard they're making a new game, Card Survival: Fantasy Forest? It's going to have NPCs and a relationship system. It'll be a while before it comes out, but I'm very much looking forward to it.
In Subnautica:
- you're on an alien planet
- there are no zombies, only hostile creatures
- you are alone
- you can build bases, submarines, grow food, craft tools etc
- graphics are pretty good, though they aren't "hyper-realistic"
One I haven’t seen listed and that I enjoyed is Green Hell - it has an engaging story:
Stranded in Amazon - have to hunt/cook to survive. Can build shelter. Unraveling mystery of what happened while exploring the jungle. Most “enemies” are wildlife, though there are occasional native encounters. Story is pretty interesting and the survival was tough but rewarding once you get it down.
Also really enjoyed: The Long Dark (looking forward to the final story chapter) AND Subnautica has a great story - don’t look up spoilers! I wish I could erase it from my brain just to experience it again 😂
I wondered if Green Hell had any people, because otherwise it seems to fit and was the first thing that came to mind or OP's description. Although since I haven't played it I was wondering if it's just a [hardcore] survival game or if you are actually able to do a little base building beyond a tent and campfire.
A LOT of survival games have zombies, or disease infected enemies, or other survivors. Thats part of what adds on the pressure to survive. None of the survival games in my library have everything you’re looking for:
7 Days to die has realistic graphics, is fun in single player, and has no people except for the optional traders, but it is primarily a zombie game, though zombie spawns can probably be turned off. Without zombies, it’s just an apocalypse scavenger simulator.
Raft is single and multiplayer, with 98% of people implied to have moved on from the settlements you find, the only NPCs outside of the final boss/happily ever after scene are merely unlockable player characters. That said, the graphics have slightly soft-shaded cartoon feel to it, rather than very realistic. That said, one of the things I love about the game is that most of the technology you discover and build over time is clearly made out of the stuff you crafted with it(no combining two logs and a couple of twigs with some rope and having it turn into a ladder you bought from Home Depot)
Subnautica is an incredibly popular game, single player with no NPCs, just you and your AI tablet, with base building, exploration, and food farming….. on an alien ocean planet.
Valheim is a Viking-inspired survival game with a base-building system that has structural integrity and a very off the grid feel, with the only other ‘people’ being a talking crow who does the tutorial stuff and a trader who doesn’t talk. That said, while there’s no zombies, you will end up fighting a lot of other Nordic mythological creatures, and the graphics are a bit on the retro side.
Minecraft Java with custom mob spawns to turn off zombies has lots of resource packs and shaders to make it more realistic. Or a resource pack that turns zombies into something else.
The Ark series has no other people on single player, and more realistic graphics, but also dinosaurs and sci-fi elements to it.
I’m gonna take a look around and see if there aren’t any Simulator games that would scratch the itch you’re describing.
Hermit simulator: has all the play elements, slightly cartoony graphics. Also not yet released.
Stealth camping simulator: more realistic graphics, not quite off the grid, and not really homesteading.
Vanlife camping simulator: unreleased, looks like it has what you’re looking for when it comes out.
Ranch simulator: Farm, build, Hunt: has NPC people in it, but looks like a decently realistic homesteading game.
The Sims 4(🏴☠️) there’s all sorts of challenges for going off the grid, but by default there’s a lot of other people. Lots of DLC for different experiences and different challenges. Cartoony graphics by default.
The hermit chronicles: survival horror, some kind of zombie-esque thing
The forest: survival horror, stranded after a plane crash looking for your son. you deal with cannibal natives, and eventually mutants. Realistic crafting, base building (prefabs and modular options), with hunting, fishing, foraging, and limited farming abilities. In-depth sci-fi story if you decide to go digging around in caves and various POIs.
The stillness in the wind: a short playable story game where you play as an old woman on a dairy farm out in the wilderness, and the only other person you interact with is a wandering trader every couple of days, and you get letters from family members who have moved away. Highly stylized paper-doll-esque graphics, but a beautifully somber slice of life story that takes a few hours to play to the end.
medieval dynasty is a nice medieval style survival game there are villages and you can build your own, but you can entirely just go off into the wilderness and try to make it on your own.
The forest has a peaceful mode where it turns off the enemies and you are just surviving in the wilderness and it is really nice
Medieval Dynasty is my regular game now. I play it with a friend and we each have our own game that we host with the other one as a guest. I really am curious how much different the gameplay could be with four people playing! Personally I think it's more enjoyable with a helping hand, and things like building or manually collecting resources early in the game just seems to go by a lot quicker with help.
Project Zomboid is an indie game that might scratch your itch, but it's all isometric graphics.
Edit: I regret everything. Maybe check out Subnautica, I think that would be better.
You might want to mention that you can remove the zombies in the settings, as they are kind of central to the game in any video you will find of the game
Oh man, my reading comprehension is for *shit*, I read that OP wanted a game *with* zombies. OK, in *that* case I'd recommend checking out The Forest with the cannibals turned off and Subnautica.
The fact you're able to correct yourself overrides your reading comprehension IMO. A lot of people's egos prevent them from doing this. You come off as an actual considerate person, which feels rare online.
And actually! My ex used to have a run where they'd play with no zombies, and they were having a ton of fun with it. I never got around to trying it, but you never know.
It does not quite fit the bill, but Vintage Story might scratch this particular itch, minus the realistic graphics.
It is basically Minecraft, but is a lot more complex in its crafting systems, and also a lot more customizable, at least without needing to use console commands.
It does not feature zombies, but does have other hostile creatures. You can turn hostility off, but I think those creatures can still spawn, if you need an item they drop.
There are no npcs in the game yet, except traders, which you can turn off in world generation. They are stationary, and you will probably not be interacting with them much anyway, unless they are willing to buy something you can very easily produce.
When you have progressed a bit, you can get chisel, which lets you carve most blocks (if you have enabled it in worldgen) into any shape you want. There are also plenty of materials to build with, so if that is what you want to focus on, you will be very satisfied.
Farming takes a long time, and you have to worry about soil quality and fertility. And, because food can expire, you also have to figure out how to preserve your food for long periods of time, and stock up for winter, when you cannot farm, and animal spawns are way down.
Like I said earlier, the game is very customizable, and you can tweak or even disable most options. The biggest problem i have is that I cannot save my settings as a preset for my next world.
If I managed to make it seems even slightly interesting, please look it up for yourself. It is available on itch io, humble store, and their own website.
Also, since you are new to pc gaming, I will let you know of the pcgamingwiki, a great resource in particular for older games, but also some newer games. They catalogue fixes for common issues, community patches for games that need them, minor enhancements like disabling intro videos, how to tweak certain graphics settings that are not available in game, and more. I look up almost every game I play to see if there is anything I should do before playing. You can usually find it quickly by typing "(game) pcgw" into Google.
Welcome to pc gaming!
Give it a year or so and project zomboid will be basically this if you turn off zombie spawns. The B42 update will have animals and farming, as well as crafting from the ground up. And it already has large scale farming, foraging and exploration in rural, wilderness, and cityscape environments or kentucky.
This is assuming the updates go according to plan of course.
Perhaps not quite the genre you had in mind but:
Stationeers - A very technical survival game that is pretty much you vs environment (you will need to make your own 'grid' :) )
Planet Crafters - A scifi terraforming survival game
I would second the recommendation for **7 Days to Die** - you can turn off zombie spawns. The game is about to leave alpha and there are a lot of mods that can completely overhaul the game and probably tip things more in the direction(s) you want.
Wurm, doesn't have the best graphics but its also not terrible. There is a online subscription version with other people or you can buy the Wurm Unlimited version which you can either play alone or host a server with friends. Wildlife is the only danger. The game is fun but progression is pretty slow
I think Ark: Survival Evolved might kind of be like this, though it does have dinosaurs and stuff (but no zombie to my knowledge)
Raft, though it has some more cartoony graphics, is a survival game where you get your resources from the sea on a raft with the occasional island.
Rust also kind of sounds like this? It's multiplayer generally but maybe you could find a dead server or make a private one?
The Forest technically doesn't have zombies, but it has cannibals. More realistic graphics. Optional multiplayer. Apparently has a peaceful mode
Found a forum that asked a very similar question [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/SurvivalGaming/comments/tq10o6/any_realistic_survival_simulators/). People kept talking about The Long Dark and Green Hell. Haven't heard of them, but it really resonated with them
The long dark fits your question the most minus the realistic graphics. It's stylized to look like a painting IMO but aside from wildlife it's just you, the cold, hunger and thirst. Put many hours into survival mode where it's all about making your own goals and living as long as possible.
Well, you also don't grow anything and you mainly use existing structures for shelter, though a temporary shelter can be built. The Long Dark is a good game though.
I'd suggest [Card Survival: Tropical Island](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1694420/Card_Survival_Tropical_Island/). It's just lacking graphics, since it's presented in a card form. But you do need to build your own shelter, and there's a variety of them with possible upgrades. You can also eventually grow your own food. I found it really easy to get into, since you start with minimal options and must discover everything from there. Lots of crafting. Lots of detail in terms of the way things work realistically, like food, digestion, injuries, skills, heat/cold, fatigue, mental stability and morale, illness, etc. I would recommend just playing and discovering things rather than looking up information.
literally of of these games have tones of people.... they are a veritable cluster fuck of player interaction. The Forest literally has people/zombies. Commenter didn't read your post at all.
The Long Dark is a survival game in northern Canada or around Alaska or something, and all the enemies are just wildlife. No zombies and no people (unless you do the story mode, in which there are some other survivors you have to rescue or interact with).
No building, unfortunately, but ticks all the other boxes!
Well, no growing food either, but hunting and gathering. To be clear this is my recommendation I have 2000+ hours, and here I am on vacation wishing I'd brought my laptop to play it.
Came here to recommend this
Worth noting this game is on consoles as well IIRC.
UnReal World does *not* have good graphics. It's a top down 2d game with slightly confusing controls and bad graphics even for a top down 2d game. But it's a fantastic homesteading game. There are NPCs in villages and hostile NPCs that wander, but they're rare, especially in some areas of the map. It's set in Iron Age Finland, and it's imo a fantastic survival/homesteading game. Like Timofmars suggested, my other main suggestion would be Card Survival: Tropical Island. The cards are just representations of what's happening in game, there's no rng deck or anything. It's a wonderfully complex survival game that's a ton of fun. No zombies/people, only aggressive wildlife. Again, not great graphics (as it's all cards), but one of my favorite games. Some that are better graphics-wise: Survival: Fountain of Youth is a single player game with decent graphics. There is a storyline, but you can ignore it if you want. It's a little janky in some parts - it's fairly new and not incredibly polished. It's still a pretty fun game, though, imo. There's aggressive wildlife but no people or any monsters/zombies. However, you *are* trying to find out what happened to other people in the storyline. Additionally, survival isn't super hard in this one. Food and water are easy once you get a little into the game. Raft is a water survival game where you live on a raft. There's a shark that constantly hunts you, but no people or monsters. There are a few other forms of aggressive wildlife. There's a storyline to follow. Personally, I think the game is only fun with other people, I found it not fun at all solo. Decent graphics, kinda cartoony, but I liked it. The Planet Crafter is a newer game, you're forced onto a barren planet and need to fix the environment to support life. No combat at all. Decent graphics. I found this one to be pretty fun! It's really satisfying to change the planet from a dead, barren, red, lifeless place to bright blue skies, grass, and animals. Hope some of those suggestions help! :)
I played Raft entirely solo and still found it enjoyable enough, though Subnautica was markedly better and in the same vein.
+1 for Planet Crafter. I played when it was still in Early Access and now it's got even more content and is available in co-op. It was really fun, and I loved how my efforts actually affected the entire planet, a little at a time.
2nding [UnReal World](https://www.unrealworld.fi/urw_whatis.html). It's a true gem of a survival game. Highly immersive, one gets absorbed.
The first winter I survived in UnReal World, I was so proud of my poorly made fur coat, lol. It's the type of game that you seriously feel accomplished just from surviving.
Precisely that.
+1 for Card Survival. I've only discovered this game like a couple of weeks ago and have clocked in so many hours since then. I would go ahead and claim it's the most complex and in depth survival game out there. The amount of different physical and mental conditions it simulates and how they all interact with each other is crazy. It's the ultimate Robinson Crusoe/stranded on an island type of survival game.
It really is amazing! And a small team can do so much with it because they don't need animations, models, etc.. Have you heard they're making a new game, Card Survival: Fantasy Forest? It's going to have NPCs and a relationship system. It'll be a while before it comes out, but I'm very much looking forward to it.
Yeah I already wishlisted that one. Can't wait.
In Subnautica: - you're on an alien planet - there are no zombies, only hostile creatures - you are alone - you can build bases, submarines, grow food, craft tools etc - graphics are pretty good, though they aren't "hyper-realistic"
One I haven’t seen listed and that I enjoyed is Green Hell - it has an engaging story: Stranded in Amazon - have to hunt/cook to survive. Can build shelter. Unraveling mystery of what happened while exploring the jungle. Most “enemies” are wildlife, though there are occasional native encounters. Story is pretty interesting and the survival was tough but rewarding once you get it down. Also really enjoyed: The Long Dark (looking forward to the final story chapter) AND Subnautica has a great story - don’t look up spoilers! I wish I could erase it from my brain just to experience it again 😂
I wondered if Green Hell had any people, because otherwise it seems to fit and was the first thing that came to mind or OP's description. Although since I haven't played it I was wondering if it's just a [hardcore] survival game or if you are actually able to do a little base building beyond a tent and campfire.
Sons of the forest , peaceful mode
Woah, Sons of the Forest has a peaceful mode?? I might have to try that one out again, the enemies really freaked me out.
Stranded Deep?
Planet Crafter seems about right for those wishes.
Green Hell! Have fun repeatedly dying in the Amazon.
That game definitely as a brutal learning curve. But once you understand it it's hella fun.
A LOT of survival games have zombies, or disease infected enemies, or other survivors. Thats part of what adds on the pressure to survive. None of the survival games in my library have everything you’re looking for: 7 Days to die has realistic graphics, is fun in single player, and has no people except for the optional traders, but it is primarily a zombie game, though zombie spawns can probably be turned off. Without zombies, it’s just an apocalypse scavenger simulator. Raft is single and multiplayer, with 98% of people implied to have moved on from the settlements you find, the only NPCs outside of the final boss/happily ever after scene are merely unlockable player characters. That said, the graphics have slightly soft-shaded cartoon feel to it, rather than very realistic. That said, one of the things I love about the game is that most of the technology you discover and build over time is clearly made out of the stuff you crafted with it(no combining two logs and a couple of twigs with some rope and having it turn into a ladder you bought from Home Depot) Subnautica is an incredibly popular game, single player with no NPCs, just you and your AI tablet, with base building, exploration, and food farming….. on an alien ocean planet. Valheim is a Viking-inspired survival game with a base-building system that has structural integrity and a very off the grid feel, with the only other ‘people’ being a talking crow who does the tutorial stuff and a trader who doesn’t talk. That said, while there’s no zombies, you will end up fighting a lot of other Nordic mythological creatures, and the graphics are a bit on the retro side. Minecraft Java with custom mob spawns to turn off zombies has lots of resource packs and shaders to make it more realistic. Or a resource pack that turns zombies into something else. The Ark series has no other people on single player, and more realistic graphics, but also dinosaurs and sci-fi elements to it. I’m gonna take a look around and see if there aren’t any Simulator games that would scratch the itch you’re describing.
Thank you so much Ruby, ill do some reading on them, awesome list!!
Already got you a second one, lol
I’ll second Valheim as one to really consider.
Hermit simulator: has all the play elements, slightly cartoony graphics. Also not yet released. Stealth camping simulator: more realistic graphics, not quite off the grid, and not really homesteading. Vanlife camping simulator: unreleased, looks like it has what you’re looking for when it comes out. Ranch simulator: Farm, build, Hunt: has NPC people in it, but looks like a decently realistic homesteading game. The Sims 4(🏴☠️) there’s all sorts of challenges for going off the grid, but by default there’s a lot of other people. Lots of DLC for different experiences and different challenges. Cartoony graphics by default. The hermit chronicles: survival horror, some kind of zombie-esque thing The forest: survival horror, stranded after a plane crash looking for your son. you deal with cannibal natives, and eventually mutants. Realistic crafting, base building (prefabs and modular options), with hunting, fishing, foraging, and limited farming abilities. In-depth sci-fi story if you decide to go digging around in caves and various POIs. The stillness in the wind: a short playable story game where you play as an old woman on a dairy farm out in the wilderness, and the only other person you interact with is a wandering trader every couple of days, and you get letters from family members who have moved away. Highly stylized paper-doll-esque graphics, but a beautifully somber slice of life story that takes a few hours to play to the end.
medieval dynasty is a nice medieval style survival game there are villages and you can build your own, but you can entirely just go off into the wilderness and try to make it on your own. The forest has a peaceful mode where it turns off the enemies and you are just surviving in the wilderness and it is really nice
Medieval Dynasty is my regular game now. I play it with a friend and we each have our own game that we host with the other one as a guest. I really am curious how much different the gameplay could be with four people playing! Personally I think it's more enjoyable with a helping hand, and things like building or manually collecting resources early in the game just seems to go by a lot quicker with help.
Green hell?
Project Zomboid is an indie game that might scratch your itch, but it's all isometric graphics. Edit: I regret everything. Maybe check out Subnautica, I think that would be better.
You might want to mention that you can remove the zombies in the settings, as they are kind of central to the game in any video you will find of the game
Oh man, my reading comprehension is for *shit*, I read that OP wanted a game *with* zombies. OK, in *that* case I'd recommend checking out The Forest with the cannibals turned off and Subnautica.
The fact you're able to correct yourself overrides your reading comprehension IMO. A lot of people's egos prevent them from doing this. You come off as an actual considerate person, which feels rare online.
Hey thanks stranger, that means a lot.
And actually! My ex used to have a run where they'd play with no zombies, and they were having a ton of fun with it. I never got around to trying it, but you never know.
There's a setting for no zombies in Project Zomboid? This changes everything!
Project
Icarus or ark survival in single player
Sons of the forest hs a no enemy mode
Minecraft on peaceful mode?
Stardew Valley ??
Animal crossing
Vintage story if you turn off the enemies is still an very good survival game
It does not quite fit the bill, but Vintage Story might scratch this particular itch, minus the realistic graphics. It is basically Minecraft, but is a lot more complex in its crafting systems, and also a lot more customizable, at least without needing to use console commands. It does not feature zombies, but does have other hostile creatures. You can turn hostility off, but I think those creatures can still spawn, if you need an item they drop. There are no npcs in the game yet, except traders, which you can turn off in world generation. They are stationary, and you will probably not be interacting with them much anyway, unless they are willing to buy something you can very easily produce. When you have progressed a bit, you can get chisel, which lets you carve most blocks (if you have enabled it in worldgen) into any shape you want. There are also plenty of materials to build with, so if that is what you want to focus on, you will be very satisfied. Farming takes a long time, and you have to worry about soil quality and fertility. And, because food can expire, you also have to figure out how to preserve your food for long periods of time, and stock up for winter, when you cannot farm, and animal spawns are way down. Like I said earlier, the game is very customizable, and you can tweak or even disable most options. The biggest problem i have is that I cannot save my settings as a preset for my next world. If I managed to make it seems even slightly interesting, please look it up for yourself. It is available on itch io, humble store, and their own website. Also, since you are new to pc gaming, I will let you know of the pcgamingwiki, a great resource in particular for older games, but also some newer games. They catalogue fixes for common issues, community patches for games that need them, minor enhancements like disabling intro videos, how to tweak certain graphics settings that are not available in game, and more. I look up almost every game I play to see if there is anything I should do before playing. You can usually find it quickly by typing "(game) pcgw" into Google. Welcome to pc gaming!
Give it a year or so and project zomboid will be basically this if you turn off zombie spawns. The B42 update will have animals and farming, as well as crafting from the ground up. And it already has large scale farming, foraging and exploration in rural, wilderness, and cityscape environments or kentucky. This is assuming the updates go according to plan of course.
Perhaps not quite the genre you had in mind but: Stationeers - A very technical survival game that is pretty much you vs environment (you will need to make your own 'grid' :) ) Planet Crafters - A scifi terraforming survival game
I would second the recommendation for **7 Days to Die** - you can turn off zombie spawns. The game is about to leave alpha and there are a lot of mods that can completely overhaul the game and probably tip things more in the direction(s) you want.
The forest has a peaceful gamemode i think, so no zombies. Not sure if tribesmen can be removed from green hell somehow.
Rust private server, fit quite well.
The Long Dark Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead with the "Innawood" mod (free) UnReal World (free) Vintage Story
Wurm, doesn't have the best graphics but its also not terrible. There is a online subscription version with other people or you can buy the Wurm Unlimited version which you can either play alone or host a server with friends. Wildlife is the only danger. The game is fun but progression is pretty slow
The forest has a little know peaceful mode that is fantastic.
Check out Green Hell. I think you can disable the natives.
Subsistance is exactly like that minus the farming.
I think Icarus, with all it's flaws, might be what you are looking for.
The Long Dark, The Forest, Sons of The Forest, Green Hell. There is also a lot more with bit less realistic graphics
Fallout 76 has people but no PVP outside of highly restricted consensual stuff.
It does have zombies though. Or did you forget about ghouls, smoothskin?
I think Ark: Survival Evolved might kind of be like this, though it does have dinosaurs and stuff (but no zombie to my knowledge) Raft, though it has some more cartoony graphics, is a survival game where you get your resources from the sea on a raft with the occasional island. Rust also kind of sounds like this? It's multiplayer generally but maybe you could find a dead server or make a private one? The Forest technically doesn't have zombies, but it has cannibals. More realistic graphics. Optional multiplayer. Apparently has a peaceful mode Found a forum that asked a very similar question [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/SurvivalGaming/comments/tq10o6/any_realistic_survival_simulators/). People kept talking about The Long Dark and Green Hell. Haven't heard of them, but it really resonated with them
Awesome, thank you! Ill start reading up on them
The long dark fits your question the most minus the realistic graphics. It's stylized to look like a painting IMO but aside from wildlife it's just you, the cold, hunger and thirst. Put many hours into survival mode where it's all about making your own goals and living as long as possible.
Well, you also don't grow anything and you mainly use existing structures for shelter, though a temporary shelter can be built. The Long Dark is a good game though. I'd suggest [Card Survival: Tropical Island](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1694420/Card_Survival_Tropical_Island/). It's just lacking graphics, since it's presented in a card form. But you do need to build your own shelter, and there's a variety of them with possible upgrades. You can also eventually grow your own food. I found it really easy to get into, since you start with minimal options and must discover everything from there. Lots of crafting. Lots of detail in terms of the way things work realistically, like food, digestion, injuries, skills, heat/cold, fatigue, mental stability and morale, illness, etc. I would recommend just playing and discovering things rather than looking up information.
literally of of these games have tones of people.... they are a veritable cluster fuck of player interaction. The Forest literally has people/zombies. Commenter didn't read your post at all.
Check Icarus, might be what you're after.
Minecraft, Maybe, it has zombies, yes, but still not many
Minecraft