10 Games Like Rust You Should Play

Looking for a different kind of misery?

Rust poker tables
Rust

Rust is a game that, despite being one of the most unforgiving experiences of its kind out there, keeps going from strength to strength, hitting a record amount of players in 2019 even though it’s been out in some form for almost a decade. In 2022, it’s in the best shape it’s ever been with the biggest streamers in the world playing it. There aren’t many games like Rust out there.

The aim of the game is simple: survive, accumulate loot, do it all over again. Rust has a tonne more depth than you might first think when people are running around and hitting each other with rocks — experienced players often say you need thousands of hours with the game before you can actually call yourself decent. Rust really isn’t a game, it’s more of a full-time job that you have little hope of escaping.

If you’re playing a lot of Rust and maybe want a bit of a break from a bad run you’re on, or just think that it might be a little too toxic an experience for you, we have some games like Rust to try out on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, and Switch as alternatives instead.

 

Games Like Rust

1. DayZ

DayZ PS4 review

Developer: Bohemia Interactive
Publisher: Bohemia Interactive

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One

Bohemia’s DayZ actually provided a lot of inspiration for Facepunch, the developers of Rust, in the game’s earliest days — not many people remember the zombies in Rust, and even fewer people will say they genuinely miss them. DayZ spawned a lot of clones, but it can be argued that none of them do it quite as well — when the game isn’t being temperamental and janky, of course.

Spun off from a mod for Arma, DayZ plops you onto Balkan land in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. It doesn’t have as much variety as Rust and the overall experience is certainly showing its age, but if you want much slower PVP as well as PVE to contend with, DayZ could be a decent option. If you can’t find water immediately, though, you may not be in for a good time.

DayZ is certainly in an interesting spot in 2021, especially following the launch of its Livonia expansion. It may not be for everyone (I personally find it to be a little too slow for my tastes), but if you can find it on a sale, it might be worth trying out. Console versions aren’t that hot, though.

 

2. SCUM

scum
SCUM

Developer: Gamepires
Publisher: Gamepires

Platform(s): PC

SCUM landed into Early Access in 2018 with a massive bang before quietly fizzling out to the steady but not gigantic playerbase it has now. Technical issues aplenty saw the game bleed a lot of its early players, but Gamepires have been updating and tweaking pretty diligently. 2021 might be a great time to experience SCUM for the first time, or maybe the second. And not just because of the customisable cocks, either.

A game that puts the “cor” into hardcore survival, SCUM tasks players with keeping on top of their nutrients and all sorts of things that we humans need to stay alive, all while staving off zombie-like enemies and other players. With base building, a rather lovely looking open world, and multiplayer moments that rival the naked nonsense of Rust, SCUM is a perhaps slightly more tranquil alternative that still has its fair share of crazy moments.

Oh, it also has giant mechs that look like they’re straight out of Robocop. Can’t believe I forgot to mention that.

 

3. Hurtworld

Hurtworld

Developer: Bankroll Studios
Publisher: Bankroll Studios

Platform(s): PC

Probably the most like-for-like game to Rust on this list, Hurtworld really doesn’t even try to hide its blatant inspiration, though it’s been well received for not being just a plain rip-off and bringing a few interesting twists to the table. Rust still doesn’t have vehicles, for instance, yet Hurtworld has enough of them to provide resources for Cars 4 and Planes 2.

The basic gist of both games is the same: survive and thrive by outsmarting and outplaying other players until you have a loot horde Smaug would lose his mind over. It’s a cheaper option than its main inspiration with many of its players claiming that it’s a decent option if your PC isn’t up to the task of running the CPU-hungry Rust.

Bear in mind, though, that it does have a few bugs and hackers. Huh, so it really is like Rust, after all.

 

4. Escape From Tarkov

Escape From Tarkov

Developer: Battlestate Games
Publisher: Battlestate Games

Platform(s): PC

There’s a reason why so many content creators are splitting their time between Rust and Battlestate’s Tarkov, and that’s because both offer similarly pulse-pounding PVP with incredibly high stakes. While Rust also boasts base building and survival elements, Tarkov is more of a straightforward PVP looter.

An admittedly rather complex affair that doesn’t do the best job of explaining itself to beginners, players drop into one of many maps on the hunt for loot with anything you discover before extraction being yours to keep. Die, however, and you lose it forever. Tarkov is a game of anxiety-inducing risk and reward that can often move at a snail’s pace, but stick with it and you may struggle to escape yourself.

Or, you could do what so many have done and die randomly after creeping through a map for 45 minutes, lose all of your loot, and then throw yourself out of the nearest window. That’s Tarkov for you.

 

5. Ark: Survival Evolved

Ark Survival Evolved

Developer: Studio Wildcard
Publisher: Studio Wildcard

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch

For a game with a UI and font scheme as aggressively ugly as what you will find in Ark: Survival Evolved, it sure has seen a lot of success over the years. As long as you can get past the early woes of dying to some random dinosaur after a chaotically awful fight with a wooden club, Ark becomes an extremely dense game with so much to see, do, and, erm, breed.

Whether you want to climb aboard a flying dinosaur and go exploring, fight other players, or build yourself a little home to have a constantly live showing of Jurassic Park, Ark offers plenty of different ways to play. It has its rough edges that may never be buffed out, but it’s certainly a unique game that clashes the prehistoric with the future.

Each new update, of which there are many, changes the Ark experience up pretty dramatically and there’s even a sequel starring Vin Diesel in the works because cash should just be straight up burned, apparently.

Just don’t play it on Switch, whatever you do.

 

6. Deep Rock Galactic

Deep Rock Galactic
Deep Rock Galactic

Developer: Ghost Ship Games
Publisher: Coffee Stain Publishing

Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One

Have you ever ventured into a cave in Rust and thought, “jeez, I sure do wish this was a whole game and also I was a dwarf and also the players were replaced by giant insects”? Then Deep Rock Galactic might be the game for you.

A looter shooter with an emphasis on co-op play, Deep Rock Galactic has been around for many years and has quietly made quite the name for itself. Boasting tense FPS action and an absolute tonne of things to harvest and mine, those that like the action and looting side of Rust will be right at home here.

Choose from many four different classes and descend into the depths of procedurally generated mines, then try and ascend through the mines as quick as you can or get left behind. Your heart will be pumping as fast as when you hide in Rust’s Lighthouse with nothing but an Eoka.

Deep Rock Galactic has the kind of bugs that you will gladly stomp out.

 

7. Hunt: Showdown

Hunt Showdown
Hunt: Showdown

Developer: Crytek
Publisher: Crytek

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One

Looking for a game that replicates the thigh-clenching tension of running to safety like a loot goblin in Rust? Hunt: Showdown should be your next port of call, a cheek-clenchingly unnerving horror FPS from the makers of Crysis.

Players are drop into gothic Bayou maps and asked to hunt down a monstrous target, with teams having to figure it all out on their own. The PVPVE nature of Hunt makes it a really nervy time, especially as you battle the game’s biggest beasts with other players almost definitely lying in wait to get the jump on you.

A supremely stressful time, Hunt: Showdown will have you reaching for your crucifix as you dive into the twisted deep south. However, as a million pieces of fiction, the real monster is your fellow man — especially where permadeath’s involved.

 

8. Deadside

Deadside game
Deadside game

Developer: Bad Pixel
Publisher: Bad Pixel

Platform(s): PC

Deadside is basically what would happen if you took DayZ, stripped away the horror elements, and then cranked up the PVP to make it feel like something close to Escape From Tarkov. That’s as fun and aggravating as it sounds.

While nowhere near perfect, this hardcore multiplayer shooter’s blend of crafting, base building, and the aforementioned PVP make it feel like a step in a new direction from Bohemia’s now quite aged experience. The 225 sq.km open world also offers plenty for you to discover, but the intriguing missions system allows large scale battles with plenty of reward for trying something new.

It’s still in Early Access as of this writing, with it still probably quite a long way from 1.0, yet developers Bad Pixel are making all the right moves. Here’s hoping its playerbase continues to rise — an all-time player peak of 9,573 isn’t bad, but it’s still a long ways off Rust.

 

9. Vigor

Vigor game
Vigor game

Developer: Bohemia Interactive
Publisher: Bohemia Interactive

Platform(s): PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X & S, Xbox One, Switch

Ignoring the very weird fact that Vigor isn’t available on PC for just a moment, Vigor represents the makers of DayZ trying to do something a little bit different, which is basically third-person Tarkov.

While there’s a big emphasis on PVP and extraction, Vigor’s main appeal is in how players can upgrade their hut in post-apocalyptic Norway to better survive the less than ideal conditions. Both Rust and Vigor are set in post-apocalypses, with both also requiring you to upgrade your bases in order to stay alive.

Vigor is definitely a fascinating game with tonnes of things to learn and discover, but as with most survival games with heavy emphasis on PVP on console, it doesn’t perform amazingly, while the action itself isn’t exactly DOOM Eternal. Still, if you’re wanting a free-to-play game like Rust, Vigor is a fascinating attempt at something new.

 

10. The Forest

The Forest game
The Forest game

Developer: Bohemia Interactive
Publisher: Bohemia Interactive

Platform(s): PC, PS4

While The Forest is probably the game least like Rust across this entire list, it’s the one that matches and perhaps exceeds Rust in two areas: crafting and base building.

The Forest is one of a few games that doesn’t make resource gathering feel like an absolute chore, and it’s also just immensely satisfying to keep adding to and expanding your base. The ziplines on their own are well worth grinding for, but using a turtle shell as a snowboard is another simple joy that you shouldn’t think too much about.

Though PVP fanatics will likely be disappointed that there’s none of that here, with you instead going up against deformed monsters on a mysterious island, The Forest’s co-op survival is still raucous fun. Just remember to go and find your son at some point, though he’s probably fine. Probably.

 

Bonus: Fortify

Rust Fortify

Developer: RTK Entertainment
Publisher: RTK Entertainment

Okay, so this isn’t an alternative to Rust as much as it is a tool to send you even further down the hole of addiction. For any of you really serious players out there, Fortify is a community-created mod for Rust that allows you to plan out your bases in advance with meticulous and even somewhat obsessive detail.

In the middle of the wipe rush to get your first base down, it can be difficult to know exactly how to lay it out, or how to maximise the space on offer. Fortify allows you almost full customisation over a blueprint for a future base, including material costs, proper placements, and even the option to plan with your teammates.

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