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NHN · 2025 · Windows

Steam: 49 % positive of 5,253 reviews, as of Oct 28

DARKEST DAYS is a zombie shooting RPG set in a post-apocalyptic world devastated by a sudden zombie outbreak. Explore a dark yet captivating open world, build a sanctuary with fellow survivors, grow stronger, and fight for survival.

24 games that play like DARKEST DAYS and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: SurrounDead, Dying Light and Unturned.

Player tags

  • Free to Play
  • Open World
  • Multiplayer
  • Zombies
  • Survival
  • RPG
  • Post-apocalyptic
  • Shooter
Map region: Zombie Survival
Open on Steam ↗

Steam reviews

What players say

Mixed reception: players who like State of Decay-style zombie survival find it free and fun, but many call it janky, grindy and pay-heavy.

Many players compare Darkest Days to State of Decay: scavenging, base building, assigning survivors to areas and upgrading weapons and vehicles, with a free-to-play price that some find fair for a casual session. Some players enjoy the open-world exploration, the loot and the co-op modes, and a few say the game is easy and relaxing. Complaints are more common: clunky movement and gunplay, weak combat impact, dated visuals, bugs that block quests, and a heavy microtransaction shop with expensive passes and paid recovery of lost gear. Many players say the developer has stopped adding content, and recent reviews are more negative than Steam's overall mixed score, citing this abandonment and a shutdown of servers as reasons to avoid spending money.

Praised

  • State of Decay-like loop

    Players like the scavenging, base building and survivor management, which many describe as similar to State of Decay.

    Many players
  • Free-to-play value

    Players think the game is good for free and fun to try without spending money.

    Many players
  • Loot and exploration

    Players enjoy the open world, the loot and finding better gear, and the sense that they can take their time.

    Some players
  • Co-op and multiplayer

    Players say co-op is easy to join with friends and that the multiplayer missions add to the fun.

    Some players

Criticised

  • Clunky movement and combat

    Players call the movement, recoil, hit feedback and gunplay stiff, unresponsive or without impact.

    Many players
  • Microtransactions and paid progression

    Players say the shop is expensive, progression slows without payment, and lost gear can only be recovered for real money.

    Many players
  • Bugs that block progress

    Players report quest markers missing, empty mission areas, stuck screens and NPC bugs that stop them from progressing.

    Some players
  • Abandoned by developer

    Many recent reviews say no new content or fixes are coming, and some mention server shutdowns that make paid purchases feel lost.

    Some players
Who it suits
Players who like relaxed, loot-driven zombie survival with a State of Decay feel, and who are happy to play free without spending much.
Who should skip it
Players who want a polished, challenging survival game, or who do not want to face paid progression and a developer that has stopped updating.

Short vs. long playtime: Players with more hours describe the progression grind and the late-game paywall more often, while newer players praise the early loop and the relaxed pace.

Summarised by AI from 80 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 28, 2026.

Best matches

Plays and looks like DARKEST DAYS

These games are close to it by gameplay and by look, so they appear in both lists below.

By gameplay

Plays like DARKEST DAYS

Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.

More matches

  1. Just Survive59 % positive of 76,700Shared: Open World · Zombies · Survival
  2. Dead Frontier 268 % positive of 28,528Shared: Zombies · Survival · RPG
  3. VEIN86 % positive of 12,198
  4. Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition79 % positive of 166,149Shared: Open World · Zombies · Survival
  5. HumanitZ73 % positive of 11,473Shared: Open World · Zombies · Survival
  6. Undawn52 % positive of 6,619Shared: Open World · Zombies · Survival
  7. DeadPoly77 % positive of 5,572Shared: Open World · Zombies · Survival
  8. Dead Rising 3 Apocalypse Edition76 % positive of 13,930Shared: Open World · Zombies · Survival
  9. Taora : Beginning86 % positive of 2,238Shared: Open World · Zombies · Survival
  10. Remnant: From the Ashes84 % positive of 47,576Shared: Survival · RPG · Post-apocalyptic
  11. Not Quite Dead: Open World Survival58 % positive of 251Shared: Open World · Zombies · RPG
  12. DYSMANTLE90 % positive of 11,073Shared: Open World · Zombies · Survival

By look

Looks like DARKEST DAYS

Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.

More matches

  1. World War Z81 % positive of 25,382
  2. Back 4 Blood69 % positive of 55,372
  3. State of Decay: YOSE82 % positive of 10,568
  4. The Outlast Trials91 % positive of 100,208
  5. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden88 % positive of 13,360
  6. Undawn52 % positive of 6,619
  7. Arizona Sunshine® VR Remake87 % positive of 1,255
  8. Dead Island 277 % positive of 23,922
  9. Lost Light55 % positive of 28,245
  10. Contraband Police94 % positive of 25,116
  11. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl80 % positive of 108,321
  12. Miscreated66 % positive of 23,039

At a glance

What games like DARKEST DAYS have in common

  • The tags they share most often with DARKEST DAYS: Zombies (22 of 24), Survival (22) and Open World (21).
  • They came out between 2013 and 2026, 2 of them after DARKEST DAYS (2025).
  • Best rated by Steam players: Dying Light (94 % positive of 375,759).

How these matches work

Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.

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