I'll push for Soulmask. I play the same way. Single player, just locally, not on a server. There are a number of sliders in the game to adjust settings. I would recommend adjusting at least XP gain; the XP gain is too slow right now. Once I turned my XP gain up, I was progressing more quickly and enjoying it much more. The other thing I would turn up is crafting speed. Especially once you get into smelting, it just takes too long at default settings. There are numerous other build in sliders to adjust a variety of other things too. That being said, the game is newly in Early Access. So far, the devs have been active and responsive to community feedback.
is there any other aspect of the game that forces "co-op"? like mobs who are damage sponges, or grindy building? im very dissapointed in valheim, finding out that the scale of the game kinda forces you to play co-op if you are looking to reach end game this century. Enemies are too strong, resources too far away, too many islands. game is just too much
Embrace the automation that your "recruited" tribemates provide. They can do the harvesting and all the crafting. Need a hundred wooden walls? Set it to be crafted in the workbench (as long as you've assigned a tribemate to it) and walk away and go do something else; maybe set another tribemate to go out and harvest a bunch of wood. The automation in the game is pretty in-depth and very impressive. You definitely have bosses that are more difficult, but the average enemy; as long as you're going after appropriately leveled stuff; shouldn't be too challenging.
EDIT: The game world is large (i feel like all survival/crafting games go for giant worlds now). You will need a mount to travel. There's minimal fast travel in the game. Again, it is Early Access, so hopefully, that is something they will look at.
No, it is a wholly survival/crafting game. How familiar are you with the game? Are you aware that you are the mask, not the first character that you create? This is the biggest thing about the game. If you like survival/crafting I think this'll work for you as long as you're ok with that mechanic. I love it, to me it's fresh and new and a reason to keep "recruiting" new tribemates. However, I have run in to other people that that mechanic was a turn off for them.
im aware the mask takes hold of npc's and you can control several ones, to automate tasks, as if they were drones of sort. you need to control stronger npc's to get more stuff unlocked, and need to craft stuff in order to be able to do this.
but other than that, not a lot, cause i thought it was going to be like enshrouded, where the game is co-op, with the option to go single-player, but it takes longer/more difficult
The main thing to point out to potential players is that the first character you create is the poor soul that found and got possessed by the mask. As a result, they can respawn if they die. However, their skills (14 different crafting, 8 different weapon ones) are capped at 50. All the NPCs you recruit will have varying caps on their skills. Ideal you want a cap of 120 because that's what the highest bonus is tied too. You will end up leaving your starter character and possessing and fully playing as other characters. Aside from a late game mechanic where you can save one tribemate for respawning, if these other characters die, they're gone.
Once I went in and adjusted sliders to up the XP gain, it doesn't feel unnecessarily grind any longer.
Yeah, I dig on SoulMask as well. Not all of my crew did, so I wound up playing a bit solo.
An aspect that I didn't like however is that a fort will respawn while you're whittling down the enemies. It does make solo player more difficult since you've now got a time limit. I much prefer to setup camp outside an enemy location and just slowly drain the life out of them.
I loved and hated the automation TBH. The parts that work are so good... but a few bits really fall down. Like not being able to hand a bunch of junk to one tribesman and have them just put it all away. You have to micromanage a bit too much for my tastes.
Fun game so far though.
Zomboid tutorial can be safely ignored as it really just walks you through some basic controls. Don't feel the need to finish it, you can start dying on your own terms and learn as you go.
I will always recommend Enshrouded. I have only played it by myself and working my way through without issues. I haven't done Hollowed Halls, so that might be an issue, but I absolutely LOVE the game.
it was described to me as "you can make it single player with enough time/effort", which is not something i want from a game. I obviously know what the survival/base building genre gets me, you grind for resources, and i like it, but i feel like some games (valheim) put this grinding aspect on a pedestal, where you need a good working team of players to get to said objectives in a reasonable about of time.
this description was given to me on the game discord channel, so im heavily reticent on buying the game
I got 67 hours out of 'launch' content. Haven't tried any of the big patches yet.
The only grindy part i found was making arrows for my ranger class. If you want to make a big base from scratch, getting enough materials together is definately a grind. The beauty of this game is that you can clear a town of mobs, slap an altar down and bam - instant base. Just move in your crafting tables, mats and npc's.
Once you unlock the glider and some towers, getting around the map quickly is easy enough.
This one is less 'survival' and more 'exploration and combat'. There were no base attack/defend mechanics when i last played. Had a blast playing though and excited to see where it goes.
Finally, the game is gorgeous and very atmospheric. Has a very LOTR feel about it.
I'm a solo playing survival enthusiast - currently enjoying Fountain of Youth ;) I think the only game you didn't mention in your list that I've tried is Forever Skies. However, it is still early access but the devs are always adding content. Good luck in your search!
its a blast, but my only complaint about that game, is that most of the leg work is done early game. Late game, even though things should in theory be more complicated, they felt easier.
the "skillbook" skill expansion was brilliant! certain bonuses were actually worth it, rather than the standard "you do X 20% faster now"
wished i could play the game from fresh again. really well made
The Planet Crafter struck a nice tone for me. It CAN be played multiplayer but this was added later by request from players so the game is made for a single player experience.
Wildmender is fun and really very pretty imo. Another single player survival story experience.
Little different tone to all of those but "Dead in Vinland" is a fun diversion I play from time to time that is management survival as opposed to direct control survival.
Living Wildmender and bought it after playing the beta. It's very chill and solo friendly. It's basically a "druid simulator." You need to learn and think about biology and plant succession for developing the biomes. And bases are much more organic than in the standard crafting games where you're futzing with aligning squares and triangles and wasting hours trying to build a shitty roof.
Icarus. I don’t see that on your list and it definitely should be. It’s amazing and they come out with weekly updates and expansions. It can be both solo or co-op, up to you. Open world with focus on base building, missions, survival. Seems like this is what you’re looking for. Highly recommend.
I disagree with that. I have played Icarus solo for about 30 hours with absolutely no issue. You have to approach certain aspects of the game with care and planning to tackle obstacles, regardless of whether you're playing solo or co-op.
Have you tried vintage story? It's very easily played solo and you can turn enemies off so there is nothing raiding you or your base. Except bears and wolves will try to eat your chickens, sheep and pigs. Rabbits will try to eat your crops. Raccoons will try to eat your bee hives. It's a really great game even though it's not "finished" the dev has said he has enough ideas to keep going for another decade or so.
Card Survival: Tropical Island! It’s a hardcore bushcraft esq survival game. Totally single player and is finished! They’re actually working on a second game right now.
Without a doubt Grounded and V-rising. Both superb games. FoY is one of the best games I've played in ages. I just finished my second play through.
Off the wall choice, Empyrion. It's not for everyone, but is fantastic detailed space world. The overhaul mods like reforged Eden take it to another level.
Soulmask is pretty good for EA. I would definitely recommend it. You can adjust the game settings enough to make it solo playable and fun as I have.
Another one you may enjoy is Raft. Had fun with that.
Abiotic Factor might be up your street, crafting, base building, exploring a large research complex. It's like if Half Life was a survival game. It's still in early access but I've really been enjoying it so far.
Enshrouded. :)
I've played both co-op and solo and love the game. Some of the bosses seem overly challenging solo till you learn their "secret". The mini-bosses and quest progression felt pretty spot on however.
I too loved not having to defend my base. Home is home.
For Valheim... have you tried or considered the new server settings? I hate the grind, so upping the resource drop multiplier is fantastic. There's a few settings in there that really let you tune the game.
Soul Mask. I commented elsewhere. I love it and hate it. The "Material Management Minigame" is way too grindy in and of itself. It's a tribe, you shouldn't need to spend 80% of your time setting up all the "automation". I love the concept, but I found the execution to be a huge PITA.
I added it to my wishlist the last time someone mentioned it, but how balanced is it for solo play? Games starting their description with "Multiplayer" always tend to worry me.
Don’t worry at all. The game is fully enjoyable even in Single player. Because the game was designed with idea of “autonomous world living without a player”, which means you can enjoy it alone or with friends, it’s up to you :-)
I am loving [Grounded](https://store.steampowered.com/app/962130/Grounded/?https://store.steampowered.com/app/2492410/Bootleg_Steamer/&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC8iJYCn1wW-ZGUbwzzNkkG4j3vG9) solo, while bosses and big game events would be easier in co-op, I’ve played through it twice solo without issue
Yeah, I'm honestly surprised Grounded isn't on this list more.
I recall avoiding it for a long time cause it feels like it's gunna to be childish or something, but honestly, it is a solid survival game. I've played through multiple solo runs now and immensely enjoyed it.
I finished ARK and all the expansions in single player, you need to mess with the breeding timers or it'll literally take months of sitting around though (you can change them in the settings whenever you load the game), but pretty much everything can be finished solo
The Planet Crafter is amazing. Very chill and relax. It's very "RPG" but there's still kind of a story behind it. I tried the ASKA demo this weekend and it has a lot of potential too. Have you ever tried Medieval Dynasty ? It's a different kind of survival game, it's more city management but with survival elements.
Go back to project zomboid, ignore the tutorial if you have to and learn the ropes the hard way. If you find it too difficult try changing the setting with a sandbox start.
Project zomboid is what you are looking for the vanilla experience is good and with the modding community being one of the largest I've seen you can literally play any game you want lol
Try uninstalling and reinstalling Project Zomboid. That fixed the same issue I had (stuck in tutorial).
Grounded is a great game as well which immerses you in it's scenery. I love how deep Grounded is. I know you said you don't want to worry about things destroying your base so I will just preface with there is an aspect of base defense that can be turned off in settings.
You’re wrong about soul mask I’ve been playing since release solo just last week a girl joined my tribe she’s been just base building upgrading while I’ve pretty much soloed everything. your tribe mates take the grind out of resources I’m a explore type of person so that’s what I do.
You didn’t mention Don’t Starve or 7 Days To Die and they are my favorite. Ark and Conan: Exiles might work for you, I much preferred the later for what it’s worth. Less survival on the survival/management scale but I’ve been completely hooked on Medieval Dynasty for weeks now.
I'll push for Soulmask. I play the same way. Single player, just locally, not on a server. There are a number of sliders in the game to adjust settings. I would recommend adjusting at least XP gain; the XP gain is too slow right now. Once I turned my XP gain up, I was progressing more quickly and enjoying it much more. The other thing I would turn up is crafting speed. Especially once you get into smelting, it just takes too long at default settings. There are numerous other build in sliders to adjust a variety of other things too. That being said, the game is newly in Early Access. So far, the devs have been active and responsive to community feedback.
is there any other aspect of the game that forces "co-op"? like mobs who are damage sponges, or grindy building? im very dissapointed in valheim, finding out that the scale of the game kinda forces you to play co-op if you are looking to reach end game this century. Enemies are too strong, resources too far away, too many islands. game is just too much
Embrace the automation that your "recruited" tribemates provide. They can do the harvesting and all the crafting. Need a hundred wooden walls? Set it to be crafted in the workbench (as long as you've assigned a tribemate to it) and walk away and go do something else; maybe set another tribemate to go out and harvest a bunch of wood. The automation in the game is pretty in-depth and very impressive. You definitely have bosses that are more difficult, but the average enemy; as long as you're going after appropriately leveled stuff; shouldn't be too challenging. EDIT: The game world is large (i feel like all survival/crafting games go for giant worlds now). You will need a mount to travel. There's minimal fast travel in the game. Again, it is Early Access, so hopefully, that is something they will look at.
so does it play like satisfactory? game seems to jumble a few different concepts. Not to say that its pushing me away, as long as described
No, it is a wholly survival/crafting game. How familiar are you with the game? Are you aware that you are the mask, not the first character that you create? This is the biggest thing about the game. If you like survival/crafting I think this'll work for you as long as you're ok with that mechanic. I love it, to me it's fresh and new and a reason to keep "recruiting" new tribemates. However, I have run in to other people that that mechanic was a turn off for them.
im aware the mask takes hold of npc's and you can control several ones, to automate tasks, as if they were drones of sort. you need to control stronger npc's to get more stuff unlocked, and need to craft stuff in order to be able to do this. but other than that, not a lot, cause i thought it was going to be like enshrouded, where the game is co-op, with the option to go single-player, but it takes longer/more difficult
The main thing to point out to potential players is that the first character you create is the poor soul that found and got possessed by the mask. As a result, they can respawn if they die. However, their skills (14 different crafting, 8 different weapon ones) are capped at 50. All the NPCs you recruit will have varying caps on their skills. Ideal you want a cap of 120 because that's what the highest bonus is tied too. You will end up leaving your starter character and possessing and fully playing as other characters. Aside from a late game mechanic where you can save one tribemate for respawning, if these other characters die, they're gone. Once I went in and adjusted sliders to up the XP gain, it doesn't feel unnecessarily grind any longer.
will give it a try later on today! cheers!
Yeah, I dig on SoulMask as well. Not all of my crew did, so I wound up playing a bit solo. An aspect that I didn't like however is that a fort will respawn while you're whittling down the enemies. It does make solo player more difficult since you've now got a time limit. I much prefer to setup camp outside an enemy location and just slowly drain the life out of them. I loved and hated the automation TBH. The parts that work are so good... but a few bits really fall down. Like not being able to hand a bunch of junk to one tribesman and have them just put it all away. You have to micromanage a bit too much for my tastes. Fun game so far though.
Zomboid tutorial can be safely ignored as it really just walks you through some basic controls. Don't feel the need to finish it, you can start dying on your own terms and learn as you go.
Is Fountain of Youth full release now?
Yes
Dysmantle
I will always recommend Enshrouded. I have only played it by myself and working my way through without issues. I haven't done Hollowed Halls, so that might be an issue, but I absolutely LOVE the game.
I did the first part of hollow halls solo and while it required some cheese and some tactical retreats, it was doable.
it was described to me as "you can make it single player with enough time/effort", which is not something i want from a game. I obviously know what the survival/base building genre gets me, you grind for resources, and i like it, but i feel like some games (valheim) put this grinding aspect on a pedestal, where you need a good working team of players to get to said objectives in a reasonable about of time. this description was given to me on the game discord channel, so im heavily reticent on buying the game
I got 67 hours out of 'launch' content. Haven't tried any of the big patches yet. The only grindy part i found was making arrows for my ranger class. If you want to make a big base from scratch, getting enough materials together is definately a grind. The beauty of this game is that you can clear a town of mobs, slap an altar down and bam - instant base. Just move in your crafting tables, mats and npc's. Once you unlock the glider and some towers, getting around the map quickly is easy enough. This one is less 'survival' and more 'exploration and combat'. There were no base attack/defend mechanics when i last played. Had a blast playing though and excited to see where it goes. Finally, the game is gorgeous and very atmospheric. Has a very LOTR feel about it.
I'm a solo playing survival enthusiast - currently enjoying Fountain of Youth ;) I think the only game you didn't mention in your list that I've tried is Forever Skies. However, it is still early access but the devs are always adding content. Good luck in your search!
its a blast, but my only complaint about that game, is that most of the leg work is done early game. Late game, even though things should in theory be more complicated, they felt easier. the "skillbook" skill expansion was brilliant! certain bonuses were actually worth it, rather than the standard "you do X 20% faster now" wished i could play the game from fresh again. really well made
The Planet Crafter struck a nice tone for me. It CAN be played multiplayer but this was added later by request from players so the game is made for a single player experience. Wildmender is fun and really very pretty imo. Another single player survival story experience. Little different tone to all of those but "Dead in Vinland" is a fun diversion I play from time to time that is management survival as opposed to direct control survival.
Living Wildmender and bought it after playing the beta. It's very chill and solo friendly. It's basically a "druid simulator." You need to learn and think about biology and plant succession for developing the biomes. And bases are much more organic than in the standard crafting games where you're futzing with aligning squares and triangles and wasting hours trying to build a shitty roof.
I should say, Wildmender CAN be a coop experience, but I enjoyed it just fine playing solo.
Sunkenland. You can turn off base-raiding. It's consistently being updated with new things.
Icarus. I don’t see that on your list and it definitely should be. It’s amazing and they come out with weekly updates and expansions. It can be both solo or co-op, up to you. Open world with focus on base building, missions, survival. Seems like this is what you’re looking for. Highly recommend.
it falls under the "co-op" optmized games. bear in mind, this is not a informed opinion, its just what people in their subs have described it to me
I disagree with that. I have played Icarus solo for about 30 hours with absolutely no issue. You have to approach certain aspects of the game with care and planning to tackle obstacles, regardless of whether you're playing solo or co-op.
I've never had trouble playing Icarus solo.
Have you tried vintage story? It's very easily played solo and you can turn enemies off so there is nothing raiding you or your base. Except bears and wolves will try to eat your chickens, sheep and pigs. Rabbits will try to eat your crops. Raccoons will try to eat your bee hives. It's a really great game even though it's not "finished" the dev has said he has enough ideas to keep going for another decade or so.
Minecraft isn't on the list and you have plenty of survival and/or rpg mods + 4k texture packs that make you forget it's a voxel game
Card Survival: Tropical Island! It’s a hardcore bushcraft esq survival game. Totally single player and is finished! They’re actually working on a second game right now.
Not sure I share the sentiment about Valheim; I've played both solo and co-op and the solo experience is still very satisfying for me
Without a doubt Grounded and V-rising. Both superb games. FoY is one of the best games I've played in ages. I just finished my second play through. Off the wall choice, Empyrion. It's not for everyone, but is fantastic detailed space world. The overhaul mods like reforged Eden take it to another level.
So completely on a tangent, but any tips for fountain of youth? I've just got to copper island.
game really is not that hard if you increase the spawn rate of your resources. the toughest thing to manage was the spawn rate of minerals
Soulmask is pretty good for EA. I would definitely recommend it. You can adjust the game settings enough to make it solo playable and fun as I have. Another one you may enjoy is Raft. Had fun with that.
Abiotic Factor might be up your street, crafting, base building, exploring a large research complex. It's like if Half Life was a survival game. It's still in early access but I've really been enjoying it so far.
I've been thinking about picking this up. It has really good reviews on Steam.
Enshrouded. :) I've played both co-op and solo and love the game. Some of the bosses seem overly challenging solo till you learn their "secret". The mini-bosses and quest progression felt pretty spot on however. I too loved not having to defend my base. Home is home. For Valheim... have you tried or considered the new server settings? I hate the grind, so upping the resource drop multiplier is fantastic. There's a few settings in there that really let you tune the game. Soul Mask. I commented elsewhere. I love it and hate it. The "Material Management Minigame" is way too grindy in and of itself. It's a tribe, you shouldn't need to spend 80% of your time setting up all the "automation". I love the concept, but I found the execution to be a huge PITA.
Try Plains of Pain.
your own game?
Yes. Finally got it to a good shape, players enjoy it, lot of positive feedback, so I feel confident to recommend it😊
I added it to my wishlist the last time someone mentioned it, but how balanced is it for solo play? Games starting their description with "Multiplayer" always tend to worry me.
Don’t worry at all. The game is fully enjoyable even in Single player. Because the game was designed with idea of “autonomous world living without a player”, which means you can enjoy it alone or with friends, it’s up to you :-)
Well done with the game. I’ve only dabbled so far, but I’m enjoying it solo.
I second this. That game is amazing.
I am loving [Grounded](https://store.steampowered.com/app/962130/Grounded/?https://store.steampowered.com/app/2492410/Bootleg_Steamer/&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC8iJYCn1wW-ZGUbwzzNkkG4j3vG9) solo, while bosses and big game events would be easier in co-op, I’ve played through it twice solo without issue
Yeah, I'm honestly surprised Grounded isn't on this list more. I recall avoiding it for a long time cause it feels like it's gunna to be childish or something, but honestly, it is a solid survival game. I've played through multiple solo runs now and immensely enjoyed it.
I finished ARK and all the expansions in single player, you need to mess with the breeding timers or it'll literally take months of sitting around though (you can change them in the settings whenever you load the game), but pretty much everything can be finished solo
The Planet Crafter is amazing. Very chill and relax. It's very "RPG" but there's still kind of a story behind it. I tried the ASKA demo this weekend and it has a lot of potential too. Have you ever tried Medieval Dynasty ? It's a different kind of survival game, it's more city management but with survival elements.
7 days to die
Stalker Gamma
Aska when it comes out?
Go back to project zomboid, ignore the tutorial if you have to and learn the ropes the hard way. If you find it too difficult try changing the setting with a sandbox start.
Project zomboid is what you are looking for the vanilla experience is good and with the modding community being one of the largest I've seen you can literally play any game you want lol
The last of us part 1 Medieval Dynasty Sengoku Dynasty Wartales
Try uninstalling and reinstalling Project Zomboid. That fixed the same issue I had (stuck in tutorial). Grounded is a great game as well which immerses you in it's scenery. I love how deep Grounded is. I know you said you don't want to worry about things destroying your base so I will just preface with there is an aspect of base defense that can be turned off in settings.
You’re wrong about soul mask I’ve been playing since release solo just last week a girl joined my tribe she’s been just base building upgrading while I’ve pretty much soloed everything. your tribe mates take the grind out of resources I’m a explore type of person so that’s what I do.
You don’t really need the tutorial to play zomboid. Dying over and over again is the real tutorial.
You didn’t mention Don’t Starve or 7 Days To Die and they are my favorite. Ark and Conan: Exiles might work for you, I much preferred the later for what it’s worth. Less survival on the survival/management scale but I’ve been completely hooked on Medieval Dynasty for weeks now.