Best Medieval Survival Games

Highlights

• A good survival game set in the Medieval Ages will see you surviving sieges, micromanaging resources, and protecting your castles (if you have one).
• Certain games will not simply have you battling foes, but you’ll have to work toward navigating political intrigue and increasing your social standing as well.
• Survival experiences set in a medieval-like time period will have you experiencing the brutality of that era and building up the power to thrive.

There was a time of knights and swords, kingdoms and thrones, and crusades against legions of foes while the common folk struggled against disease. This is the Medieval period in European history. It was a dramatic time, set after the fall of Rome and has been the dramatic setting for many video games that are either fantasy or historical.

Playing as a noble knight in the Medieval Times can be a fun fantasy of the Dragon Slaying epics, but surviving them can be difficult. If there isn’t a witch hunt or a horrible plague, the setting alone can take place for a terrifying Dark Fantasy plot full of angry Gods and savage monsters.

You may notice we’ve stretched the definition of both the words “medieval” and “survival” while compiling this list. We make a case for each entry below for fitting within this era and this genre’s respective styles!

10 Siege Survival: Gloria Victis

A castle is under siege, and your king and knights are on the losing side of an invasion. As the invaders come knocking on the walls of your beaten castle, you and a handful of civilian survivors are left to protect it at all costs. No matter what they throw at you, the walls cannot fall. While surviving the siege, you will micromanage resources for supplies and gear.

During the daytime segments, you’ll be focusing on keeping the defenses against the siege from flaming arrows to smashing boulders. If you manage to survive til nightfall, the second gameplay style is stealthily scavenging in the ruins of the occupied city, rescuing any survivors, and avoiding enemies along the way.

9 Heads Will Roll: Reforged

Set during the dramatic period of a hundred-year war, you are a lone warrior drawn to the battles, intrigue, and political upheaval of Medieval France. There are unique RPG elements that are reminiscent of old Flash games that were popular years ago. They brought back this RPG setup with an impressive overhaul of the old system.

Every battle your personalized character takes part in increases their strengths, skills, and social standing in the hierarchy of the kingdoms. However, injuries sustained in a conflict carry through and take time to heal. Suffer enough injuries and battle may no longer be an option for your warrior.

Outside of fighting foes and gaining prestige, relations within the court are important as well. Marriage partners, political allies, and maintaining trust in your factions can be the tipping point of either becoming a legend of the war or another corpse in the battlefield. Beware of courtly conspiracy as well.

8 Valhall: Harbinger

Welcome to the brutality of the Viking world in Valhall: Harbinger. Survive with the power of Thor as an einherjar warrior. Valhall: Harbinger is a mixture of sword combat similar to the Elder Scrolls series of games that mixes survival mechanics, such as finding materials for crafting and food to recover hunger.

The game is in Beta Access, meaning more features, options, and updates on what comes next for the game. The roadmap of the game’s development shows all the content that’s been added while also giving you an idea of what’s coming next. So far, death matches are a great way to get accustomed to the directional comabet style of the Valhall.

7 Yes, Your Grace

In this strategy simulator, you play as Eryk, King of the Medieval Kingdom Davern, managing resources, civil relations, and keeping the kingdom safe from terrifying threats while making sure they’re content with you as a ruler. There is a ton of effort to make the map and nature of Davern as historically accurate to the Medieval era as possible.

As the hard working king of this frail kingdom, you need to find a healthy balance between satisfying the needs and demands of your petitioners, hiring warriors to aid your battles, and forging allegiances with potential allies. You will be challenged by how safe and happy your citizens might be and the survival of your people depends on your wise judgment.

6 Kingdom Two Crowns

Embark to empty lands of nature and build up your kingdom. Kingdom Two Crowns is a side-scrolling strategy survival venture where you can play as a humble king establishing new land for your people. Monstrous beings known as Greed will stop at nothing to ravage your newly established until they take your crown and leave you with nothing.

As king, you can find noble beasts to be your mounts as you stride from each side of the map. There are a multitude of mounts discovered in the game, from gallant horses to bears, deer, and even griffins.

The gameplay loop of Kingdom Two Crowns consists of cutting down trees and collecting coins for buildings. Coins can also be used for upgrading homes for better support and defense, gaining better supplies faster for your residence, and weapons to help them face the Greed. This cycle continues until you reach the end of the map and destroy the Greed portals or manage to build a boat to leave on the next map.

5 Wartales

Wartales is a survival strategy game with RPG mechanics that places you and a group of mercenaries you assemble over time as you explore a world that was hit by an infectious plague. Your group must survive in an open-world sandbox where specific regions of the game are more dangerous than others.

The survival focus of Wartales is on maintaining your group. Ensure they’re well-rested, secure in encampments, and sustained with enough food. As they grow in strength, you can fight for better resources in tougher areas. There are real stakes during your playthrough, because every action has a consequence, and party members who die are permanent losses. You are bound to be emotionally invested in your ragtag team and mourn those lost along the journey.

4 Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Set in Bohemia, the story follows Henry, the son of a blacksmith in a small village community, who survived a violent attack from a group of mercenaries that killed his parents and most of the people he knew. Now, with nothing left to hold on to, he goes on a quest to seek revenge against the bandits responsible for the massacre.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is centered around giving a grounded, realistic experience of being in the Middle Ages. From the requirements of food and maintaining equipment to traveling via horseback and the realistic feel/weight of swords, spears, and bows. You are also offered complete freedom in exploration, quest lines, and the type of skills to specialize in.

3 Valheim

Explore the 10th World of Valheim, a procedurally-generated land inspired by the old myths and cultures of the Viking age. Valheim is one of the big survival games in early access, bringing new challenges, landmarks, and mythical monsters for you and 10 other players to band together in epic battles. The world is perilous, but with a strong team, you can turn from a survivor into a warrior worthy of Odin.

Valheim has a robust food system that rewards you for being a top-tier chef, helping you face the horrors of the 10th world where stamina determines the victor in battle. You can also construct buildings into a multitude of configurations that suit you. As you band with other warriors, your buildings will become the foundations of a great stronghold for expanding your rule over the world.

2 Medieval Dynasty

Whether you’re on your own, or with a group of friends, Medieval Dynasty allows you to build up your humble town into a glorious kingdom in the Medieval Ages. Once your realm grows big and strong enough, you can bring in NPC characters to interact and connect with. Eventually, you will also take on a spouse and produce young heirs who will inherit your dynasty.

There is so much freedom to develop skills for developing your character’s abilities. You can either be an expert artisan or a skilled hunter, tackling a living ecosystem full of deer, wolves, and bears for materials and food. Even if you start getting settled into a pattern of work and peace, dynamic events could happen that add more quests and struggles to overcome.

1 A Plague Tale: Innocence

An intensive story of survival against all brutal odds, Plague Tale: Innocence takes narrative elements from The Last of Us and puts it in a Medieval setting during the events of the Hundred-Year War. The story focuses on the siblings, Amicia and Hugo, as they escape the brutal Inquisition with hordes of rats consuming everything in their path.

Much of the game is navigating puzzles and evading the ever-present threat of the rats. As much as you need to keep yourself safe from the knights, maddened peasants, and even the clergy, you also need to look out for Hugo, adding to the stress and investment you have in the character and the events transpiring around them.

Survival Week

Welcome to the home of TheGamer’s Survival Week, a celebration of all things, well, survival. Here you’ll find features, interviews, and more dedicated to this popular genre, brought to you by Inflexion Games’ upcoming open-world survival crafter, Nightingale.