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From the long-running TV show Lost to adventure games like The Forest, deserted islands have been used to explore different ideas and lately have even become a genre in themselves. Islands isolated from the rest of the world provide the perfect landscape setting for adventures, as survival and abandoned island landscapes go hand-in-hand.
10 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available on Nintendo Switch.
Animal Crossing: New Horzions’ basic premise is a getaway island brimming with possibilities. Players are invited onto an island by Nook Inc, owned by business tycoon Tom Nook. They begin with an empty island full of trees and rocks, tasked with cleaning it up and transforming it into a glorious dream home location.
Players get to populate the island with ten unique animal villagers, all with different personality types and quirks.
9 Fortnite
Fortnite is available to play on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC.
This famous free-to-play battle royale takes place on the iconic island. The only other inhabitants are the 99 other players dropping from the Battle Bus at the start of the round.
Far from a relaxing game, up to 100 players compete to find and loot the best weapons, build, and survive to become the number one victor. Players can be aggressive and build their way toward their enemies, or they can be passive and hide in bushes, dumpsters, and more to sneak their way into the safe zone.
8 Oxenfree
Oxenfree is available to play on Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
Narrative adventure game Oxenfree stars a teenager named Alex and her stepbrother Jonas. She goes to an overnight party on an old military island, Edwards Island, with her group of friends.
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Unbeknownst to her, this island has a dark past as the night takes a terrifying turn. They accidentally open a supernatural rift, and they must survive the horrors that escape. Every choice matters in this game, as the player’s interactions alter the plot based on every decision, big or small.
7 Path of Exile
Path of Exile is available to play on PC.
Path of Exile is a free-to-play online action RPG, similar to the Diablo franchise. Players, as Exiles, wash up on the castaway continent of Wraeclast, filled with prisoners and criminals.
Players are left to their own devices where creatures freely roam. Their end goal is to fight to become stronger and create powerful builds to exact revenge on those that have wronged them through dungeons and epic boss battles of increasing difficulty. Path of Exile has frequent updates, with rumors of a sequel coming soon.
6 Salt
Salt is available to play on PC.
Salt is an open-world exploration game. Players begin on a deserted island with basic resources to build a raft. They are then free to journey in any direction they choose, as the world is procedurally generated.
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Along the way, players may see uncharted islands, ancient ruins, and even some pirates and cultists! In Salt, players get to set the pace of their gameplay, taking it as easy as they want. There is also online co-op, so players can sail the seas with their friends and trade.
5 The Forest
The Forest is available to play on PC and PS4.
Players crash-land on a seemingly abandoned island. As the sole survivor, they try and live to see another day. In The Forest, players can chop trees to craft themselves a shelter and a fire to keep warm and scavenge food to keep from starvation.
Everything isn’t what it seems, though. By day, the island is desolate and empty. By night, cannibalistic mutated humans roam around outside, tracking the player’s movements and waiting for an opportunity to raid their camp and drag them away. Players can use stealth to evade these enemies or engage them head-on with their crudely-crafted weapons.
4 Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 is available to play on PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4.
This game is the third installment in the Far Cry franchise and is a first-person shooter with survival and role-playing elements. The player takes on the role of the main character, Jason Brody, who was on vacation on the Rook Islands, near the Indian-Pacific Ocean.
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While skydiving, they accidentally land on a pirate-infested island controlled by pirate overlord Vaas Montenegro. His friends get kidnapped, but Jason manages to escape, with his only desperate goal in mind being to rescue his friends. The player gets to explore a diverse island, from white sandy beaches to mountainous landscapes, as they seek to accomplish their rescue mission.
3 Stranded Deep
Stranded Deep is available to play on Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
After surviving a plane crash into the ocean, players wash up on an island with no means of communication or survival. They must craft using scraps left from the plane crash, like a compass and rope, to crash valuable items.
The player can explore coral reefs and investigate the bottomless ocean to find various sea creatures. Some more threatening than others (cue Jaws music). Stranded Deep features a day-night cycle, supply management, and crafting, allowing players to build a base camp on an island.
2 Dead Island
Dead Island is available to play on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
The sun and sea are not always a recipe for relaxation. Dead Island is set on the tropical resort island of Banoi, as holidaymakers have turned into mindless zombies. Players can smash and slice through hordes of zombies in incredibly visceral HD remastered graphics.
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Dead Island has a four-player co-op available, as players need to survive and escape this paradise gone wrong. They can locate other survivors and craft weapons out of scraps they find while exploring this open-world apocalyptic landscape.
1 Ark: Survival Evolved
Ark: Survival Evolved is available to play on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Ark: Survival Evolved, as the name suggests, is an adventure survival game set on a deserted island. Its only inhabitants are roaming gigantic dinosaurs, other primeval creatures, and the occasional hostile human player. Players must survive by building a base to withstand the elements, taming and training dinosaurs, and crafting weapons to defend against potential threats.
This game has character customization options, third-and first-person perspectives, inventory weight restrictions, a food/drink survival system, and a day-night cycle for a fully immersive player experience. Live out a Jurassic Park fantasy as gamers can ride on the back of a T. Rex or soar through the skies on a Pterodactyl.
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