New Open World Survival Game on Steam Is a Hodgepodge of State of Decay, Valheim, and Project Zomboid

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As a movie reviewer, I’m always on the lookout for the next big thing, and when it comes to open-world survival-crafting games, Steam is the place to find them. We’ve seen so many hits lately – titles like Palworld, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, Enshrouded, Sons of the Forest, and Once Human have all been incredibly popular. Honestly, when a genre keeps drawing players in, more games are usually a good thing! That brings me to As One We Survive from Revelation Games, which is hitting Steam Early Access soon. It’s clearly taking inspiration from games I already love – think Valheim, State of Decay, and Project Zomboid – and it looks like it could be exactly what fans of those titles, and the genre as a whole, have been waiting for.

As One We Survive is a new top-down survival game coming to Steam. Set in a post-apocalyptic America, you play as a father desperately seeking help for his ailing daughter. It features all the core elements of an open-world survival game – exploring, gathering resources, fighting, and crafting. However, it emphasizes realistic challenges, with limited healing and the need to maintain your weapons, making it more difficult than many similar games. If you enjoy the exploration and crafting of Valheim, the community building in State of Decay, or the intense survival of Project Zomboid, As One We Survive might be for you. The game will be available in Early Access on Steam soon.

As One We Survive Takes the Best of Three Distinct Worlds

While the developers of As One We Survive haven’t explicitly stated inspiration from games like Valheim or Project Zomboid, players will notice clear similarities. Like Valheim, As One We Survive focuses on open-world exploration, crafting, and building, though it seems to emphasize community-building and resource gathering more prominently. It shares Project Zomboid‘s top-down viewpoint and stresses the importance of careful resource management and long-term planning.

As One We Survive’s Features at a Glance

  • TOP-DOWN, POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVAL EXPERIENCE set in the United States.
  • SURVIVAL CRAFTING AND EXPLORATION, including scavenging for resources across a harsh open world.
  • COMBAT WITH LIMITED HEALING MECHANICS, including bandages and other survival-style health systems.
  • COMMUNITY AND COLONY MANAGEMENT, recruiting survivors and building a functioning settlement.
  • BASE BUILDING AND FACILITY CONSTRUCTION, with renewable resource production and defensive upgrades.
  • NPC COMPANIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS, forming bonds with other survivors as part of gameplay.
  • SKILL PROGRESSION SYSTEM, enhancing survival capabilities over time.
  • TWO DISTINCT PLAY MODES, including a Story mode (narrative-focused) and Survival mode (sandbox focus).
  • RESOURCE GATHERING AND FACILITY INTERACTION, such as gardens, workshops, and water catchers.
  • RENEWABLE RESOURCE MECHANICS, letting players build infrastructures like rain catchers or gardens.

The developers of As One We Survive have openly stated that State of Decay was a major influence on their game. Revelation_jeff, the creator of As One We Survive, discussed this in a Reddit post, specifically mentioning State of Decay‘s base building as an inspiration. He also directly confirmed that State of Decay inspired the community-building aspects of As One We Survive.

Both State of Decay and As One We Survive focus on building and managing a community of survivors, not just fighting zombies. While State of Decay is well-known for its zombie-filled world, As One We Survive prioritizes the realistic challenges of long-term survival after a pandemic. Its creator says it’s less about zombies and more about creating a self-sufficient community, blending elements of games like The Long Dark (focused on survival) and The Division (focused on rebuilding).

The core of As One We Survive revolves around both staying alive and building relationships. Players will spend time gathering resources to keep their community thriving, but also getting to know and bonding with its members. The game’s creator explains that these characters will feel like genuine companions, with daily routines and the ability to be assigned important tasks around the base. They’ll continue living their lives while working. Players can also bring companions along on adventures in the game’s post-apocalyptic world, though the developers are aiming for simplicity to ensure a smooth experience.

Create and lead your community, keep its members safe, and make difficult choices that will decide its future in a challenging and dangerous world.

The main goal for players in this game is to find a cure for the protagonist’s daughter. By gathering different characters and building a safe haven, players can gain valuable information and progress the story. While it’s not yet known if every character will play a role in the main storyline, the game appears to offer a lot of freedom. Players can likely also recruit characters to help maintain and improve their base, creating a more self-sufficient community.

What to Expect From As One We Survive Steam Early Access

  • EARLY ACCESS PURPOSE: Designed to gather player feedback on core mechanics, balance, and overall experience while meaningful changes can still be made.
  • COMMUNITY COLLABORATION: Early Access will be used as a way to work closely with players, better understand the audience, and refine the game through direct feedback.
  • EARLY ACCESS LENGTH: Estimated 1–2 years, allowing time to expand features, content, and systems while maintaining stability and polish.
  • EARLY ACCESS FOCUS: The initial release centers on Survival Mode, offering a sandbox experience aimed at long-term replayability and testing core systems.
  • PLANNED ADDITIONS FOR FULL RELEASE: Additional story mode content, new mechanics, expanded gameplay systems, and further balance and polish across both story and survival modes.
  • ONGOING DEVELOPMENT: Major updates during Early Access will continue to expand systems, features, and world content over time.
  • PRICING PLANS: The price may increase as the game grows in scope and quality, with any changes reflecting significant content and feature additions.
  • VALUE FOR EARLY ADOPTERS: Players who join during Early Access will receive the best value as development progresses.
  • COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Developers plan to stay active on forums, Discord, and social channels to collect feedback, ideas, and bug reports throughout Early Access.

The highly anticipated open-world survival game will launch into Steam Early Access for a period of one to two years before its official release. Early Access for As One We Survive is planned to begin in the second quarter of 2026. Players will immediately be able to jump into Survival Mode, which the developers describe as a deep and replayable experience built around community feedback. Over the course of Early Access, the developers will continuously add new features, systems, and content to the game, refining it until it’s polished and ready for its full launch.

Buying As One We Survive during its Early Access on Steam means you’ll get it at a lower price. The developer doesn’t promise a price increase, but they do expect the game to become more expensive as they add new features and content. If you’re interested in the game and don’t mind supporting its development, now is the best time to buy it to get the most value.

While As One We Survive doesn’t necessarily break new ground in the open-world survival genre, it clearly understands what makes it so appealing. By combining community building similar to State of Decay, standard survival mechanics, and a compelling story, it appears to be a strong option for fans of survival games on Steam.

As One We Survive launches on Steam Early Access in Q2 2026.

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2026-01-11 20:35