Top 17: Best Survival games on mobile | Selection on Android and iOS

We're back together today for the top 17 best survival games on mobile. Do you like crafting, danger, basic management and the pressure to avoid death? Then you've come to the right place! We haven't been able to cover all the survival games on Android and iOS in this top list, but we've selected those that offer interesting, well-balanced gameplay in a unique atmosphere.

LEGO Fortnite Odyssey, the best mobile survival game

• LEGO games, a sure bet
• Immense freedom
• Co-op with up to 8 players
• A varied open world

Play on PC

At the top of this list of the best mobile survival games is LEGO Fortnite Odyssey, on which I spent some of my best mobile survival and crafting moments with friends. LEGO games are already a sure thing, but when they're available for free within the Epic ecosystem, with stylish graphics and immense freedom to play, the result is a truly refreshing product. Bricks meet solid base building.

In co-op for up to 8 players, explore a verdant world and gather materials while keeping an eye on your vital needs gauges. The open world awaits you, with a variety of biomes, jungle, desert and nasty monsters in ruins to surprise you in the middle of the night. But in the face of adversity, you'll be able to build your own base, as well as weapons and machines with truly improbable physics.

To increase your power, you won't be alone, as you can rescue and recruit villagers to do tasks for you and farm for you. As one of the best survival games on mobile, it's hard for me to give you a more all-encompassing review that will appeal to your kids, your mates and your colleagues. The LEGO Fortnite Odyssey mode is available for free on Android and iOS after downloading the Epic Games Store and Fortnite.

⚡Mobi.gg's bonus: among the survival games currently being tested is the famous Rust Mobile. On a desert island, you gather resources, build your shelter, upgrade your weapons and equipment, fend off wild creatures and enjoy dynamic sandbox gameplay in PvE and PvP. Rust mobile will soon be arriving on our devices, alongside CrisisX, which will offer survival in a zombie environment, with a full base-building atmosphere and molotov cocktails.

Once Human

• A very successful dark atmosphere
• The mobs with their bizarre and terrifying DA
• Rich content
• The ability to build a mobile base

Play on PC

In second place on the podium of best mobile survival games is Once Human, a survival game set in a post-apo, open-world universe. In fact, the game was named best mobile MMO at the Mobi Awards 2025!

On water, in the air and on land, you explore the continent of Nalcott according to your own rules, as a human meta. But this continent is not free. It also belongs to the anomalies and monsters that you'll have to take down with your ever-evolving arsenal.

And even though you're a meta-human, you're going to have to take care of your vital needs like hunger and thirst to keep you going. In between barbecuing monsters, defend your base against all manner of enemies.

Your camp can even take in other survivors, and Once Human isn't an mobile MMO for nothing. Alone or with others, you can engage in harvesting, crafting, base management and PvE battles against aberrations.

But meta-humans can also attack each other and try their hand at PvP competition. The more architecturally inclined among you might be motivated to build a crazy base and set it in motion for your entire guild. Once Human is available for free on Android and iOS right now.

Subnautica Mobile

• A uniquely horrific atmosphere
• A highly enjoyable controller experience
• A benchmark in survival games

Play on PC

We're giving the bronze medal to the third game in this list of the best mobile survival games: Subnautica mobile. Very dear to Yaya's heart, the mobile port of Unknown Worlds' original creation has it all: leviathans, crafting galore, a balanced farm loop and just the right amount of horror . Subnautica mobile is also one of our top mobile games with controller!

The mix of survival and storytelling is what makes Subnautica a must-have masterclass. You play a space traveller for the sprawling Alterra corporation. On the way to your destination, your ship suffers an explosion from an unknown source and you crash-land with the rest of the crew on the mysterious planet 4546B.

And this planet is above all a huge puddle of water. To survive, you'll need to understand its entire ecosystem. Use the lungs of fish to make water drinkable, make lubricant from algae seeds, and even create submarines to go deeper and deeper beneath the surface of 4546B.

But you won't just be observing the wildlife and the food pyramid. You're going to be part of it. At least long enough to repair your ship and return home, if you're even able to do that. Subnautica mobile, one of the best survival games on Android and iOS, is available for $10 on Android and iOS. So there's no excuse not to take this nugget with you on the move.

⚡Good to know: Subnautica Below Zero on mobile, the second opus in the series, has been announced!

Minecraft

• A must-have game
• Freedom to survive in single-player mode
• The ability to play according to your own style
• Endless possibilities

Play on PC

In 4th place among the best survival games on mobile, take your place on a voxel-filled journey with Minecraft. The freedom of survival in single-player mode has rarely been equalled since the golden age of Mojang's game. It almost feels strange to introduce it, but it's still a must-have on the videogame landscape.

Welcome to a world of voxels where everything can be done with blocks. Everyone can play Minecraft in a different way. Explore biomes, hunt creatures, craft until the wee hours of the night, go on adventures or build a base or a crazy mini-game.But the basic experience is survival, resourcefulness, mining and lots of crafting.

You can do almost anything with a little effort and ingenuity. The game also offers a number of expansions with varied content. You can try out the Minecraft demo for free at Try Minecraft, or pay a few dollars for access to the full original game.

Earth:Revival

• Different fighting styles
• A variety of challenges
• A modern take on survival games

Play on PC

Earth Revival, which we've been following from Gamescom 2022 right through to its arrival on phones, comes in 5th place among the best mobile survival games. Although there' s no French version of the game, you don't really need to be bilingual to master its crafting system, exploration and combat techniques.

This suvival shooter takes you step by step through the rebuilding of civilisation after the alien invasion of Earth, with versatile combat on the ground and in the air, a variety of challenges and creepy-crawlies that you really don't want to come across under your bed at night.

To survive in this hostile environment, you need to manage your resources properly, crack equipment and confront various threats in the multiple game modes. Earth revival offers a modern take on the ruins of an ancient civilisation, and it's a pretty good one. So try out one of the best survival games on Android for free!

Terraria

• A vast open world
• A wealth of activities available
• Perfect for mobile use
• Easy to learn

Play on PC

In 6th place among the best mobile survival games is Terraria , with its thousands of pixels. The devs aren't about to give up on it after all, so you might as well take advantage of the updates to one of the most complete survival games in its category.

The initial port dates back to 2020, but Terraria's open world and its procedural generation full of deadly challenges has not aged a bit. All pixel art in side view, you can fight, explore, craft and build in complete freedom.

From deep caverns, ruins, snowy plains, forests and thousands of unique environments, you'll traverse everything horizontally and vertically. You'll discover how to manage your needs and the evolution of your stuff in sandbox mode to face some really tough bosses, and you're going to love it.

Terraria is perfectly suited to the mobile format, with its easy-to-grip side view and simplified visuals, so give it a go for $5.49 on Google Play and Appstore.

Tomorrow

• Sandbox experience
• A successful open world
• An immersive experience

Play on PC

Grab your survival rucksack and head for the Wastelands with the 7th best survival game on mobile: Tomorrow: MMO Nuclear Quest. This mobile survival MMORPG takes you to the year 2060, to the midst of zombies, monsters and vengeful factions. Explore, go on quests in the four corners of the map, grab weapons and stuff and build your survival shelter. As with Terraria, the sandbox is in the spotlight.

For such a cool open-world game, the energy system limits play time, but Tomorrow is still a good format to carry around in your pocket, whether you' re playing solo PvE, co-op or PvP. Customise your survivor and put all your resources to the test in Tomorrow, free-to-play on Android and iOS.

LifeAfter

• Choice of playing as a human or a ghost
• A wide range of possibilities
• Built-in translator for chatting with other players

Play on PC

In 8th place among the best survival games on Android and iOS, it's the zombie game Life After that comes out on top. In the midst of the zombie infection ravaging the world, you join the world of the living or the semi-dead. You can choose to play as a Human or a Revenant who has already been bitten.

Whichever you choose, the possibilities for exploration, crafting and development are extremely varied. The game's landscapes and regions multiply, taking you from snow-capped mountain peaks to sandy beaches, teeming swamps and even oceans.

But even the most beautiful of paradises is now infested with zombies, as are the five mutated seas to be conquered. To survive, you'll need to use the classic survival mechanics of harvesting, crafting and building, without stopping to fight the hungry zombies.

However, you can gain in power by joining forces with other surviving players and chat with them in any language, thanks to the built-in translator. With millions of downloads to its credit, LifeAfter is an apocalyptic survival game not to be missed, available for free on Android and iOS.

Don't Starve: Pocket Edition

• A very successful creepy AD
• A benchmark in survival games
• Increasingly tough difficulty

Play on PC

Survival is all about not going broke. And keeping your wits about you, if we're to believe number 9 on this list of the best mobile survival games. Here, it's harder in Don't Starve because Night is a monster called Charlie who will drive you mad... unless you eat flower petals and pay a little attention to your brain, which is shrinking a little more every minute. So you have to explore this stylized cartoon world on foot, just like on PC, with one of the cast's slightly weird characters.

Explore by day, build your base, build campfires without burning down the whole forest, harvest beefalos for wool, hunt and gather to survive... but always have a flame to hand when night comes if you don't want Charlie to take your soul.

The world is full of vicious, venomous bugs, and the challenge of Don't Starve gets tougher every season. But you'll love discovering every secret in these strange, randomly-generated lands. Don't Starve Pocket Edition is one of the best mobile survival games on the market. It costs $5 to get it on Android or iOS!

ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition

• Play alone or solo
• 80 types of dinosaurs to discover
• A huge amount of content

Play on PC

Tenth on the list of the best mobile survival games is the popular survival game ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition. Set in the Jurassic era, you land on an island in a primitive universe, unarmed and without resources. To survive in this hostile world, you can choose to play the adventure alone in Solo mode or with hundreds of other players on a persistent server. The challenge is not the same.

As for the big-toothed roster, ARK has over 80 types of dinosaurs and other creatures to discover, capture, breed and train. These critters will enable you to accomplish tasks or travel faster by using them as mounts.

So, like a highly motivated hunter-gatherer, you'll have to farm natural resources in dynamic ecosystems to make tools and evolve while developing your makeshift shelter. In multiplayer, you can also form tribes. Ark Survival Evolved has come a long way over the years, and is packed with content to keep you going for dozens of hours in the midst of its dinos, free-to-play on the stores.

This War of Mine

• A dark atmosphere
• Inspired by real events
• A moving game

Play on PC

The mood gets even darker with our choice of the 11th game in this top list of the best mobile survival games. In This War of Mine, you take on the role of a group of civilians during the siege of their town. All the resources essential to life are becoming hard to find.

You have to be careful not to expose yourself to snipers during the day and sneak in at night to grab what you can to survive. You won't be able to protect or manage everyone, so life and death are in your hands, against the almost monochrome cinematic backdrop of this canvas.

Inspired by real events, the game incorporates an element of randomness that allows you to play several games with different outcomes. And survival has never been so heartbreaking as in This War of Mine. They've even made a DLC with children. It's almost cruel, but it's so well done. Available for $12 on stores, This War of Mine is a cutting-edge experience that risks disturbing sensitive souls with its profound choices.

Last Day on Earth

• Multiplayer zombie survival
• Immersive 3D AD
• A wide variety of gameplay

Play on PC

In 12th place in this list of the best survival games on Android and iOS is Last Day on Earth. It's a mobile UFO with hundreds of millions of downloads on all the stores. You'll soon realise why, once you get your hands on it. In this multiplayer zombie survival experience, it's clear that base building and zombie shooting are on the agenda.

Last Day on Earth stands out for its content , which has grown over the years, its immersive 3D AD and its variety of gameplay. Survive raids by any means necessary, join a clan, engage in PvP for your resources in addition to the challenge posed by PvE. Every excuse is good to explore, loot and even craft tools, then weapons, medical equipment and defences.

The higher the risk, the higher the rewards. And if you're clever, you might even get some pets or a stylish speedboat to enjoy the full scope of Last Day on Earth: Survival free-to-play on Android and iOS.

Dysmantle

• Objective: break everything
• A customisable survival experience
• Co-op gameplay

Play on PC

We're off to the races with number 13 on this list of the best mobile survival games: Dysmantle. The equivalent of a virtual rage room or a modern Minecraft, Dysmantle has everything in its name. It's a title that invites you to blow things up. Available on Android and iOS for $10, Dysmantle is one of the best mobile survival games in an apocalyptic world, with an instinct for mass destruction, provided you have the right tools.

In-game, you are placed on a frightening island where you must collect resources, cook, fish, farm, hunt enemies and craft as much as possible to escape death. In this game, almost everything is at your fingertips. You can reorganise all the resources from destroyed objects to craft whatever you like, and totally customise your survival experience.

The developers have even released an update that now lets you play co-op on a single phone. Grab your favourite mate and head out to dismantle environments in Dysmantle.

Darkest Days

• A wide range of vehicles available
• A vast open world to explore
• Mainly single-player, with some multiplayer modes

Play on PC

Number 14 on our list of the best survival games on mobile: the famous Darkest Days. Embark on this version of the future where the world is a vast wasteland populated by man-eating hordes. On foot or in one of the many vehicles available, explore the open-world by driving over aggressive zombies.

They all have different attack patterns and an insatiable hunger, but a good grenade in the face won't really matter.

As you make your way through the wasteland, you'll get to know your environment on your own and be able to build up your base and recruit other survivors. They can help you in combat or in the refuge, with different abilities.

But Darkest Days also offers more combat-oriented multiplayer experiences, so you can survive waves of zombies, for example. Darkest Days is survival in all its guises in a resolutely realistic universe, and it's totally free on Android and iOS !

Zombie Forest 3: Underground

• Gameplay centred around your base
• Numerous build options
• A strong strategic aspect

Play on PC

Next up is the 15th best survival game on Android and iOS, Zombie Forest 3: Underground. Here, you run to escape the zombies and come across an abandoned hut that has everything you need to start a good but short survival adventure.

So you'll need to dash outside during the day, gather more resources, kill brain-eaters and build more defences to hopefully extend your lifespan. The bunker is your safe zone, and it needs energy to power it, with solar panels or wind turbines for example.

Your base may need vehicles to explore the forest more quickly, there are more rooms to build in your bunker and plenty of items to craft. But your only ultimate resource is your time. Each action costs you precious time, which you must invest wisely.

With its minimalist visuals, Zombie Forest 3: Underground features 200 craftable items, a wide variety of build options, random events, an arena, a skill tree and the ability to equip up to 2 weapons. It's free on Android and iOS.

Townsfolk

• Focus on strategy
• Play as the manager of a colony
• A complete campaign to discover

Play on PC

For the 16th best survival game on mobile, we're taking an original turn with a focus on strategy. Townsfolk features a dark roguelite atmosphere and decisive choices for the survival of your civilisation.

You're going to have to find the sweet spot between gold, faith, food and production so as not to let anyone die, while you expand the development of your town. In Townsfolk, your choices won't always be clear as you discover a map covered in the fog of war, with impromptu random events and repeated dilemmas.

And since you play the manager of a colony, your main task is to satisfy your sovereign's demands from a distance, from your kingdom of origin. All in pixel art, Townsfolk has just the right amount of tension to sweep you away into its dark world and rank as one of the best survival games on mobile.

Enjoy the full campaign, with 5 factions to discover, skirmish mode and the addictive roguelite loop. Townsfolk is available as a free trial, with the campaign available for purchase at $7.

⚡ Going further : I'd also recommend The Bonfire 2, in which you develop your town while protecting yourself from night-time invasions. Explore the world in search of treasure and last as long as possible. The Bonfire 2 is available free with ads, but it's worth paying the 5 euros to enjoy the game in French without the ads.

Survival on Raft: Multiplayer

• The mobile equivalent of Rafting
• Kayak between islands
• Multiplayer

Play on PC

Last place in our top of the best survival games on mobile, with a bit of survival on the high seas. Amid a sea of adverts for titles that have all copied Raft, Survival on Raft: Multiplayer still stands out. In the face of the sea's elements and sharks, collect resources as you drift, underwater or on the islands you approach to expand your crafting potential and perhaps return to civilisation one day.

Here your base doesn't totally drift with you, as you'll need a kayak to get to the islands. But you'll still have all the fun of building it with everything: your fishing tools, a farm, your lovely little trophies and all your trinkets. The game is free on Android and iOS, it's called Survival & Craft on the Appstore, and you can remove the ads for $5.

That's the end of our list of the best mobile survival games! Whatever your preferences and gamer profile, you're bound to find a title to suit you. To compile this ranking, we've taken into account our personal experiences of each game, as well as feedback from testers. So don't wait any longer to embark on one of these mobile survival adventures! And if you're looking for a less survival-focused experience, check out our top mobile RPGs!