Discover games similar to Project Zomboid, and find your next adventure.
Project Zomboid is The Indie Stone's isometric survival RPG set in a zombie-overrun Kentucky, where scavenging supplies, managing hunger and fatigue, and barricading a safehouse matter just as much as fighting off the infected. Permadeath and a famously unforgiving injury system mean a single bite or broken leg can end a long-running character for good. We like it because that constant, grinding tension turns even a quiet supply run into a real decision.
Available on PC.
View on SteamShowing 10 of 30 results · Filter or sort to explore more matches
Brings open world survival craft, survival and zombies to the table, with its own spin.
100%
match
Shares zombies, survival and open world survival craft with a similar overall feel.
98%
match
Built around open world survival craft, zombies and survival, much like the game you started from.
96%
match
Leans on zombies, open world survival craft and survival — the same pull that makes the original click.
95%
match
How to Survive 2 keeps the same crafting-and-scavenging survival loop as Zomboid but frames it around a small group of playable survivors and a more arcade-style top-down structure.
It's a shorter, more linear scenario-based game rather than Zomboid's open-ended sandbox, and combat leans more arcade than simulation.
Brings zombies, open world survival craft and survival to the table, with its own spin.
94%
match
Shares open world survival craft, zombies and survival with a similar overall feel.
93%
match
7 Days to Die shares Zomboid's obsession with crafting, base defense and scarce resources, with a first-person voxel world you can dig into and fortify against recurring hordes.
Its first-person building and horde-night structure give it a very different physical feel from Zomboid's isometric simulation.
Built around open world survival craft, zombies and survival, much like the game you started from.
93%
match
Leans on zombies, open world survival craft and survival — the same pull that makes the original click.
89%
match
Dead Rising 3 turns the zombie-survival idea into an open-world action game: scavenge improvised weapons, build absurd combo weapons, and fight through a city overrun by the dead against the clock.
Its combat-forward, often comedic tone and generous ammo and weapon supply are a world away from Zomboid's slow, punishing resource scarcity.
Brings zombies, open world survival craft and survival to the table, with its own spin.
89%
match
Shares open world survival craft, survival and crafting with a similar overall feel.
89%
match
We look for games that share something worth loving about Project Zomboid. The match score compares game data and is relative to the closest match in this list. Our picks below add our own perspective: why each game appeals to us, who it suits, and where it takes a different path.
Our picks, beyond the numbers
Project Zomboid turns an ordinary supply run into a chain of decisions that can get you killed: which route, how much noise, how much you can carry, whether it's worth the risk at all. That slow-burn pressure — not just the zombies themselves — is what makes it distinctive, and it's what we looked for in these picks.
Some of these games share Zomboid's isometric, systems-heavy survival; others trade the zombies for a different threat entirely while keeping the same feeling of every decision mattering. We've picked for that underlying pressure rather than for a one-to-one match in setting.
For keeping a whole community alive
State of Decay 2 widens Zomboid's survival math from one character to an entire community. You're managing morale, supplies and the people themselves, not just your own hunger and infection risk, and losing a community member can sting in a way that losing an item never does.
We'd choose it for a Zomboid player who wants that same resource anxiety but likes the idea of other survivors depending on their decisions too — recruiting people, assigning them roles, and watching a base's fortunes rise or fall as a group rather than an individual.
It's played from a third-person action perspective rather than Zomboid's isometric view, and it's noticeably more forgiving: death isn't quite as final when you have a roster of other playable survivors. If Zomboid's unforgiving solo permadeath is the whole appeal, this will feel softer.
For building a base that actually has to hold
7 Days to Die combines scavenging and crafting with building defenses that get tested on a schedule: a recurring horde night forces you to see whether your fortifications actually work, not just whether they look solid on paper.
We like it for players who want Zomboid's crafting and scavenging loop but want building to be the centerpiece, with a concrete deadline that turns preparation into its own kind of tension.
It's played first-person with voxel-based building rather than Zomboid's isometric simulation, and the horde-night structure gives it a more arcade-like rhythm of calm-then-chaos, compared to Zomboid's steadier, ever-present pressure.
For survival without a single zombie
The Long Dark removes the infected entirely and makes cold, hunger, fatigue and injury the whole threat. Managing your condition meter through a Canadian wilderness after a plane crash carries the same granular, numbers-matter feeling as Zomboid's health and infection tracking, just aimed at the environment instead of the undead.
We'd point someone here if what they actually love about Zomboid is the slow-burn resource management and the fear of a single bad decision spiraling, rather than the zombies specifically.
There's no combat against other threats and no infection mechanic — this is a quieter, more contemplative kind of survival. If the appeal of Zomboid is partly about outsmarting the infected, The Long Dark won't scratch that itch; it's built entirely around the environment instead.
For building under direct threat
The Forest combines gathering and shelter-building with a mutant-filled island that actively comes looking for you, especially once your base starts attracting attention. It shares Zomboid's loop of building up defenses while something dangerous is actively testing them.
We'd choose it for a group of friends who enjoy a tense, shared survival project — it supports online co-op, which Zomboid also offers, but The Forest's first-person horror atmosphere and cave systems give that shared pressure a different, more claustrophobic shape.
Its first-person perspective and three-dimensional island setting are a big departure from Zomboid's isometric Kentucky towns, and the threat is supernatural mutants rather than a zombie outbreak. Expect a more horror-leaning, less simulation-heavy experience.
For a character-led story on the road
Days Gone follows Deacon St. John, a drifter on a motorcycle, through a world overrun by feral infected called Freakers, with huge swarms that turn into genuine set pieces rather than Zomboid's steadier, more manageable threat.
We like it for someone who wants a more directed, story-driven take on the zombie apocalypse — Deacon's arc and the people he meets carry the game, where Zomboid leaves its narrative almost entirely up to the player's own run.
It's a third-person action game with a fixed protagonist and a scripted story, not an open survival sandbox — you won't be managing nutrition, injuries or base defenses the way Zomboid asks you to. Choose this when you want the apocalypse told as a story rather than simulated as a system.
If keeping a whole community fed and defended sounds appealing, start with State of Decay 2. 7 Days to Die is our pick when building and defending a base is the main draw, and The Long Dark is where we'd send you for the same granular survival pressure without any zombies at all. The Forest suits a group that wants to build under direct threat together, and Days Gone is the choice when you want the apocalypse told as a character's story.