With so many survival titles out there, it’s no wonder I couldn’t contain my full list of new year goals in a single Survivalist! It makes sense, seeing as we can’t even fit all the games in a single guide; the genre is so robust that we have three separate survival game guides — and we’re due for another! On top of those, we’ve even got additional where-are-they-now versions. So no, there was no way they could be crammed into one small space. I suppose I could have enabled PvP and let them fight it out and see which ones survived… but nah. Better to split them up.
So far my first 10 goals focused on exploring, building, pets, and fire. Surprise! The next and final 10 follow along in the same themes. Sit back, relax, and see what other trouble I am getting myself into this year with numbers 11 through 20 of my 20 survival game goals for 2020.
11. A crazy cat lady
Do I like pets? Do people need to breathe?! If there are pets in a game, you can be assured I want them. And the desire is even greater if they are cats. That brings me to my next project in Conan Exiles. You see, I’ve lost my kittens. With a hunger episode, many of my grown pets had vanished. I really want to build up another herd of cats! I need to raise some greater panthers and greater jaguars, as well as some lions, tigers, and sabretooths (I already have bears). I’ll happily sprinkle some regulars in with my greater kitties. I may not get to take them all out to play together, but so help me I will be a crazy cat lady and be darn proud of it! And they shall guard my home well and eat your face off if you don’t offer scritches.
12. Build a better base
OK, so this goal actually is true for a number of games (All. The. Games.), but this specific one is for Astroneer. Yes, I know I already said last time that I need to explore more and wanted to travel to all the planets. But I am also annoyed with my hodgepodge, thrown-together mess of a base. So I have already started working on making an organized, convenient base right at the North Pole. No, don’t call me Santa. Or Rudolph. This actually helps me meet my other goal as well as from this point; it will be easier to jump to other planets for exploring. Unfortunately, I have hit some snags I need to solve, grrr.
13. Paving the way
Astroneer is certainly getting some super love today. And that’s OK! Can you blame me? It is the most adorable survival game out there, and just logging in brings on the happies. My next goal is for paving the way to have even better experiences… by paving. I am going to make roads so that friends can join me and transporting all my found treasures will be easier. After I explore, promise.
14. Boundless
There is no way I am ever going to be able to upkeep a property in Boundless no matter how adorable I think the game is or how much I want to advance a bit more in it. This is one where you have to invest a consistent amount of time – time that I just can’t muster. So my goal is to try to find a little community that will let me have a tiny corner to myself where I can experience the game in the small spurts I can manage. Also, let’s tack on getting to another planet to tour some incredible builds on OPTV!
15. Talk myself into playing the next DLC
I have one goal that may be the hardest one of all for me: to convince myself to play ARK’s new DLC. It will be hard for two reasons. One, I am not interested in giving money to the terrible folks who lied, broke laws, took advantage of gamers, and treated others horrifically. However, those folks have since abandoned ARK to milk players another way. I am slightly more agreeable to help those that stayed behind if they follow through on the promise of the new DLC that was due end of last year. And that is the second reason it might be too hard: The DLC may never actually release. WildCard has always been notoriously bad at keeping to deadlines, and we’re not even sure if enough dev resources were left in that studio to produce more content.
16. Escape from the watery grave
I am having the hardest time advancing through Subnautica because there are just so many tangents I can go on, especially when it comes to building bases. Just exploring alone can eat up all available time. But there is an end to the story, and I want to get to the point I can experience that. I’ve got an entire year, so maybe I can manage. If I do, then I can move on to Subnautica: Below Zero.
17. Run the tabletop/in-game hybrid game
I have a really fun project that has been on the back burner searing a hole in my mind for quite a while now. And this is the year I am going to make it work. I am going to run my tabletop-in-a-survival game! I am pretty excited for it, but know that it will be mounds of work. I hope to have my test group checking it out in the next couple of months. I am fairly confident that this project will take place in Conan Exiles, but I had originally also contemplated ARK: Survival Evolved. Another game could ultimately be a contender someday, but we’ll deal with that possibility when it happens.
18. When there’s a will, there’s a way
Will to Live Online is another title that doesn’t get attention, not because of anything about it but because there’s too much to play. It is the only game where Kill 10 Rats is a scary endeavor! I definitely want to see what else I can discover in this post-apocalyptic scene. What would a glass cannon manifest as here?
19. Wait! What about…
Oh my! There are a number of my survival games that haven’t even made this list yet! So maybe I will have an encompassing goal to touch base with those games and see if there is anything fun we can do in them. You know, in all that spare time I will surely have! Here’s looking at — and hopefully playing — you, Valnir Rok, Planet Nomads, Life is Feudal, The Black Death, Xsyon, and Space Engineers. Maybe we can even peek in on Fragmented and The Skies, or do you think that is a bit too much?
20. Try two more survival games this year
The survival genre is definitely robust, and there are always more on the way. There’s no way one person can play them all — but that hasn’t stopped me from trying! After all, discovering new ones has allowed me to find some games I truly love, so I am sure there could be more out there I jibe with. Do you have a favorite survival game that I haven’t dipped into yet? I’d like to try out at least a couple more this year, so let me know which ones you think I should give a spin. Add your recommendations in the comments below, And while you are there, let me know what goals you have in your survival games.
In the survival genre, there are at least 1001 ways to die, and MJ Guthrie is bound to experience them all — in the interests of sharing them with you! The Survivalist chronicles life and death struggles against all forms of apocalypse, outbreak, mutation, weather, and prehistoric wildlife. And let’s not forget the two-legged enemies! Tune in here and on OPTV to see who feeds better: MJ or the Death Counter.
