DayZ similar games & best alternatives

DayZ - Trailer
DayZ - dayz_1.avif
DayZ - dayz_2.avif
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DayZ - dayz_6.avif

DayZ

Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One • 2018

Should you play it?

How long can you survive a post-apocalyptic world? A land overrun with an infected "zombie" population, where you compete with other survivors for limited resources. Will you team up with strangers and stay strong together? Or play as a lone wolf to avoid betrayal? This is DayZ – this is your story.

What works

  • Immersive survival experience
  • Large open world with exploration
  • Meaningful player interactions
  • Deep crafting and base building
  • High replayability and emotional impact

Things to keep in mind

  • Numerous bugs and glitches
  • Steep learning curve for new players
  • Toxic and hostile player community
  • Performance and optimization issues
  • Frustration from frequent deaths and loss

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Rust

  • Strayed

  • SCUM

  • Arena Breakout: Infinite

  • Insurgency: Sandstorm

  • Deadside

Less dominating

Games that feels like DayZ but with less domination over others

  • Human Host

  • State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition

  • Cepheus Protocol

  • Sons Of The Forest

  • Into the Radius 2

  • ICARUS

More fantastical

Games that feels like DayZ but with more imaginative fiction

  • Warhammer: Vermintide 2

  • STALZONE

  • Chivalry 2

  • Red Dead Online

  • Paunch

  • Contractors

More story-driven

Games that feels like DayZ but with deeper narrative immersion

  • The Forest

  • Days Gone

  • Hell Let Loose

  • Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm

  • ARC Raiders

  • Survivalist: Invisible Strain

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with DayZ. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with DayZ. These titles are not in What to play next.

DayZ: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Exploration. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fantasy, Story.

Last update: 21/08/2026