The Best Open-World Games If You Want To Feel The Threat Of A Zombie Outbreak

Summary

• Immersion is key in open-world zombie games, offering depth, realism, and freedom for players to survive on their own terms.
• Vein, a 3D sandbox game, aims to reimagine Project Zomboid’s core concepts in a harsh survival multiplayer zombie apocalypse setting.
• Project Zomboid and the Dying Light series offer immersive, unforgiving experiences in a post-apocalyptic world, challenging players to survive authentically.

At some point, every gamer has imagined what it would be like to survive a zombie outbreak. The idea of navigating a post-apocalyptic world—where the only thing between life and death is a relentless, flesh-hungry corpse—has always held a certain morbid allure. Video games, with their immersive worlds, offer the perfect medium to bring that nightmare to life. They allow players to tap into their creativity, strategize for survival, and truly live out the chaos of a zombie-infested world like no other form of entertainment can.

Immersion is key to truly experiencing the chaos of a zombie outbreak, and nothing delivers that better than an open-world zombie game. By removing linear constraints, the open-world genre adds depth and realism, giving players the freedom to roam, scavenge, and survive on their own terms. Every decision—where to go, when to fight, what to save—rests entirely in the player’s hands, making the apocalypse feel personal and unpredictable. While there are countless zombie games out there, this list focuses solely on the best open-world titles that offer the most authentic and thrilling survival depictions of a world overrun by the undead.

10

VEIN

A Passion Project

Remember Project Zomboid? Now imagine its core concepts reimagined in a fully 3D open-world sandbox. That’s exactly what Vein, a passion project by the developers at Ramjet Studios, aims to deliver. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Vein throws players into a harsh survival multiplayer experience with one clear goal: making them truly feel what it’s like to live through a zombie apocalypse.

Day-to-day survival includes gathering supplies, fortifying bases and helping friends in a world where society has collapsed. Though only a demo is currently available, it offers a promising glimpse into what’s to come, with an Early Access release coming soon. The game still has ways to go, but with interesting stuff like a dynamic environment that affects the gameplay, smart zombies who can see, feel, hear, and smell players, and an interactive world where nearly everything holds a surprise, Vein becomes a game that players should put on their Steam wishlist.

9

SurrounDead

Dead When Surrounded

The world has come to an end and the dead roam free, razing hell in a once peaceful world. Similar to most of the zombie games, SurrounDead starts with a similar premise. Currently in Early Access as of the time of writing, SurrounDead is an open-world zombie game created by a solo developer.

The passion of the creator is reflected in this game, as it features a huge open world where players travel and explore while fighting zombies, humans, and more. Much like the other games in this genre, SurrounDead offers similar things, from a familiar gameplay formula known to this genre to inventory, looting, and survival systems, but it shows the potential to evolve beyond the standard trappings by refining existing elements and introducing fresh ideas. The game has a long way to go, but it invites players to be a part of its journey as they enjoy their time amongst the zombies.

8

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

Survival Comes From Mastering The Odds

Coming with turn-based gameplay and an RPG-like skill progression system is Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, a 2013 open-source game with a procedurally generated world that goes on and on. The game presents a world where an apocalyptic cataclysm, wars, and riots happened all at once, shaking the world to its roots, devastating the population, and infesting the world with monsters, evil mushrooms, and, above all, zombies.

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is a roguelike that comes with a variety of features. Whether it is fighting complex and diverse enemies, building from the imagination, figuring out the detailed and immersive skill system, or challenging the limits for a rewarding experience, the game simply has it all. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is the perfect match for players who do not care much about the look of a game and want to survive in an incredibly harsh and unforgiving apocalypse.

7

Dead State: Reanimated

Keep Hopes Alive In A Hopeless World

While most of the games on this list lean into fast-paced, action-heavy zombie-slaying, Dead State: Reanimated offers a more cerebral and strategic take on the apocalypse. Taking inspiration from classics like Fallout and XCOM, it features turn-based combat where every move counts, and survival hinges not on twitch reflexes, but on smart planning. The core of the game revolves around scavenging, managing resources, and navigating tense social dynamics. Players rescue other survivors, build up and defend a shelter, scavenge for food and supplies, and deal with rival factions, all while trying to maintain stability within their group. Dead State: Reanimated doesn’t just ask players to survive the undead—it challenges them to survive humanity at its worst.

Dead State: Reanimated is merciless in every sense, as a proper zombie apocalypse game should be. Survival isn’t just about gathering food or fighting off the undead—it’s also about managing a fragile community of survivors in a world where morale can shatter just as easily as bones. The narrative-driven approach gives players a wealth of dialogue options and choices that can shape relationships, affect outcomes, and lead to wildly different experiences with each playthrough. Dead State thrives on unpredictability, forcing players to constantly adapt. It may not hold hands, but that’s exactly what makes it stand out—a brutal, thoughtful, and unforgettable take on surviving the fall of civilization.

6

7 Days To Die

Prepare For The Worst To Survive

7 Days to Die finally breaking out of Early Access after 11 years feels like watching a long-lost warrior return from the wilderness. The open world, a first-person zombie survival horror, is set in a brutally unforgiving post-apocalypse overrun by the undead where, every seventh day, a horde of zombies descends upon the world to raze hell.

From offering rich, expansive environments that give players the freedom to play however they like, to enabling deep systems of crafting, building, looting, and surviving, 7 Days to Die is a sandbox survival experience that lets players carve their own path through a lawless post-apocalyptic world. The first release of this game is infested with plenty of bugs and gameplay issues, but with the 2.0 update right around the corner at the time of writing, players who want to enjoy an apocalypse and survive in it Minecraft-style should keep an eye on this game.

5

State Of Decay 2

Survival Is Difficult When Facing The Undead

The best way to feel the threat of a zombie outbreak is when players create their own story in a world where civilization has fallen and the dead are rising, and State of Decay 2 is one of the best games to play to feel that rush. Being an open-world sandbox RPG, players have a lot of agency in what to do at any given moment. Whether it is completing quests, building bases, or going to scavenge the materials necessary for survival, players can decide what to do while they try to survive for as long as possible.

State of Decay 2 is a fun game regardless of the player’s company. Whether one goes solo or co-op with friends, the game guarantees a fun time as players work out together to survive and wipe out the blood plague. Communities are a big thing in this game, and players assume the role of a leader to ensure the survival of their community by managing resources and finding equipment to endure the apocalypse.

Players can enjoy State of Decay 2 at their own pace, ignoring the main campaign to experience its beautiful world where civilization has collapsed. The world is dynamic, dangerous and unpredictable, which makes each playthrough different and unique. Every moment spent outside carries the danger of death and each decision made by players comes with a set of risks and rewards. As such, State of Decay 2 cements itself as one of the best games to play to live through a zombie outbreak.

4

Days Gone

Drift Past The Dead

Days Gone received some harsh criticism upon its release. While borderline unplayable because of the bugs present in the game and a rather sluggish start to an otherwise great story, the initial impressions of the game were not good. But gone are those days and, underneath all this, Days Gone is nothing short of a gem of a game in the zombie survival genre.

Set two years after a devastating zombie outbreak, Days Gone follows the journey of Deacon St. John, a former outlaw biker searching for his presumed-dead wife. Drawing inspiration from real-life locations in Oregon, the game paints a hauntingly beautiful picture of a world in ruins—one where survival is tough, resources are limited, and danger lurks around every corner.

Traveling through this hostile, freaker-infested landscape on a motorcycle adds a unique layer to the experience, blending freedom with constant tension. From rescuing survivors and scavenging for gear to clearing out deadly infestations, players steadily unravel Deacon’s story while carving out their place in a world that has all but ended.

While Days Gone doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to third-person shooter mechanics, its polished combat delivers a satisfying experience, especially when popping off freakers with a headshot. The gameplay starts off slow, much like the story, but it gets better and more intriguing over time, especially when the game’s trademark freaker “Hordes” start to appear in the hundreds. With an unpredictable open world full of dangers and dynamic encounters, Days Gone masters the essence of surviving a zombie outbreak in its own style, making it a game that players should definitely check out.

3

DayZ

How Long Can You Survive?

Originally developed as a mod for ArmA 2, DayZ quickly rose to popularity, prompting its evolution into a standalone title independent of its ArmA roots. Delivering a gritty and authentic survival experience, DayZ places players in a vast, desolate open world with a singular objective: survive. DayZ is a multiplayer-focused game which means, depending on the server, players can find heavily-armed allies, or maybe not.

While other games on this list heavily focus on fighting zombies to survive, DayZ approaches the apocalypse from a different angle. Zombies in DayZ are just one piece of the puzzle; the real tension and storytelling come from the players themselves. Set in a bleak, desolate post-collapse world, DayZ thrives on unpredictability and human interaction. Whether one wants to kill another player or help them, play together with them or go solo, it is all left for the individual to decide. The game encourages role-playing and emergent storytelling. In DayZ, players can engage in a variety of activities. Be it equipping the best gear for PvP, base building and fortifying areas to maximize survivability, making a band of survivors with other players to rob straggling players, or going racing with friends in a lawless world, the possibilities are vast and unpredictable, making DayZ an unforgiving yet thrilling survival experience.

2

Dying Light

Kill, Run, Survive

While there are plenty of games where players can experience the threat of a zombie outbreak anytime, none do it in the way that Dying Light does. Innovating the gameplay and setting new standards in the first-person zombie genre, Dying Light has gone down as one of the best zombie titles to play.

While the first game of the series keeps the contamination enclosed in the city of Haran, the world it presents is massive and exploring the urban jungle on foot as players parkour through it gives unprecedented freedom and joy. If the world of Dying Light wasn’t big enough, the sequel quadruples down on it, as it presents a new world four times the size of Haran and top-notch parkour systems that are even better than before.

In a world where humanity has fallen, it takes everything to make it to the next day, and Dying Light does a great job at conveying this. The days are still rather easy in both games, but nights are both rewarding and ruthless as the infected become more ferocious. The game features a variety of zombies with different ways to tackle them, whether it is drop-kicking them, bashing their skulls open, or taking them down from a distance with guns. Players can enjoy the zombie-infested world with their friends in local co-op as well, as they explore streets overrun by the undead.

1

Project Zomboid

With Death Comes Wisdom

The concept of living through a zombie outbreak is far from new, but few games capture the experience as authentically as Project Zomboid. Released over a decade ago, it continues to deliver one of the most immersive and unforgiving takes on the genre. With deep RPG mechanics, a sprawling map, and a true sandbox approach, Project Zomboid feels like a love letter to fans of zombie survival. Every decision matters, every mistake can be fatal, and no two stories play out the same, making it a standout title for those seeking a genuine post-apocalypse experience.

Survival in Project Zomboid is as brutal and unforgiving as it should be in a true post-apocalyptic world. Zombies are far from the only threat. Contaminated water, falls, car crashes, and countless other dangers can end the journey in an instant. The game thrives on realism, offering a sandbox where players can write their own survival story amidst the chaos. With ongoing updates from dedicated developers and a thriving modding community constantly introducing new content and mechanics, Project Zomboid stands out as one of the most immersive and authentic ways to experience a zombie outbreak.