When Minecraft was first released, the general population of its players was children. Almost every gamer knows that Minecraft is almost all made out of blocks from the land, the waters, the trees, the rocks, the characters, and heck, even the sky. The game became so popular that even the grown-ups started playing it.

For those who remember what it was like to play and survive through the blocky fantasy world of Minecraft, there were certain features of the game that made it endearing to all. Of course, Minecraft was designed for a light-hearted form of gameplay despite that you had to fight beasts and monsters, hunt for food, build your fortified shelter, fight unfriendly players and unsavory NPC's, explore new lands, and most of all craft the needed things and objects from the resources that you mine...hence Minecraft. However, we are just using Minecraft to elaborate the kind of games that we are discussing, survival games.

When it comes to brutal, barbaric, and violent survival games, Rust has currently become the de-facto standard by which these kinds of games are measured. Rust at its core is Minecraft but take away the kids, the light-heartedness, and the fun of discovery and adventure and replace it with realistic environmental graphics that emanates survival and violence to the highest level and you've got Rust.

Almost all the elements of Minecraft are in the game, gathering resources, hunting for food, building and crafting things from that which you can collect, cutting down trees, using stones, weapons you make, and wandering about to survive the game while encountering all kinds of beings and other players whose only intent is to kill you and get your stuff or have you for their dinner. Thus, the wonderful blocky world of Minecraft turns into the bleak and harsh reality of Rust.

Using practically the same kind of formula that Minecraft used albeit the never let the children play this game with a big No, No No, Rust developed and published by Facepunch Studios has become a gaming sensation in itself. Gone are the sweet little kids now replaced by the trash-talking, malevolent, savage, and generally homicidal gaming crowd all in the name of Survival.

Yes, cooperation and teamwork are a possibility in the game if you play on a map/room with your friends but as for striking new friendships in the game with absolute strangers, Good Luck! Chances are you'll have to pawn the other guy or gal before he or she gets to pawn you. Survival of the fittest is the name of the game and Rust (as it is aptly called) brings out the Rust in human nature all in the name (again) of gaming fun. Believe it or not, a lot of gamers find it to be really fun.

Not all survival games however are as violent and despicable as RUST and although many have to maintain a modicum of Rust-like decadence for the player to survive, it depends on the main theme and situations in the game. Also, Rust as it currently is is not available for the mobile market. So, instead of RUST, Mobile game developers have come out with games that in one way or the other, play like RUST (or Minecraft as the case may be). To that, let's take a look at some of the really good Rust-like games currently available should you want to play with your tablet or smartphone instead.

Thrive Island: Survival

Thrive Island: Survival is a game created in the tradition of Rust. Released by Westeros Solutions the game has gained its following in the mobile gaming scenes. However, the game has a more PUBG/Battle Royal feel to it as you can ransack cabins and houses for any valuables that you can use aside from crafting or building on your own. Again, the Rust rule of thumb when it comes to strangers applies. Pawn them first lest they pawn you! This however will depend of course on the game scenario you and the other players are stuck in.

Exile Survival

Exile Survival is an awesome adventure survival game that although has the strong elements of Rust, gives you a feeling of playing something like WOW or Mobile Legends. The top-down isometric third-person view coupled with an attractively detailed landscape plus the ambient sounds and music that change depending on the player's situation will surely immerse you in the game. Exile has a storyline that it follows in a somewhat post-apocalyptic fantasy world where you have to do your best to survive. Not everyone though and everything is your enemy. There are NPC characters that you can interact with and may prove helpful to you. Gathering resources like stone, wood, and others as well as crafting play a definite key role in the game. Exile is bound to keep you running around and exploring so be always aware of the nasties and dangers that abound in the land.

Radiation Island

Radiation Island is an FPS puzzle-solving horror adventure released by Atypical Games with strong elements of Rust. Although the game centers on the quest of a single-player trapped on a group of irradiated islands populated with all manner of mutations, the game, and the player's survival will heavily depend on factors like resource gathering, crafting, exploring, and tactical strategy and combat as well as solving the mystery of the Tesla Towers and the overall storyline of the game. A unique feature though is that you (the player) have access to your journal that contains maps and important info regarding your quest. If you're the kind of player that loves FPS exploration games, Radiation Island may be just the game for you. It somewhat though does have the look and feel of Far Cry, with a journal.

Last Day on Earth: Survival

Last Day on Earth: Survival released by Kefir is another top-down isometric multiplayer survival game set in a post-apocalyptic future where an outbreak of an unknown source has turned the population into zombies. You play the role of one of the last survivors who must gather resources, explore, craft, and fight your way to survival in the game. The game does play a lot like RUST in every man for himself environment but a chat feature gives one the option of coop-play with other gamers, that is if the other guy decides to pursue some gamer decency instead of the usual pawn first and ask questions later. Overall, the game is enjoyable for those that want a near-futuristic modern zombie-infested setting like World War Z.

ARK: Survival Evolved

ARK: Survival Evolved released by Wild Card is another FPS survival game that will remind one of the game TUROK, yes, lots and lots of Dinosaurs. Set in a world where Advance Tech and Age of the Dyno's collide, you play a survivor who must continually make it from day today. Although the game has the survival elements of RUST where you gather resources, craft, build and pawn the others before they pawn you, you also have the unique option to befriend your very own Dino buddy to carry you around. Beats traveling alone though.

Also, you can play the game in single-player adventure mode where you don't have to be like those homicidal maniacs that populate RUST. There is so much to explore in this game and the Dynos, as well as the prehistoric environment, are awesome to behold in the PC version of the game. Weapons vary from basic prehistoric to advance tech weaponry and Dyno combat is always bound to be intense as the beasts never seem to let up. If you love games with Dinosaurs, ARK may just be the game for you.



There are many other available Rust-like games that you can play on mobile and the ones listed here are but a few of them. So, whether you decide to play survival games on a PC or Mobile device, chances are, there will always be one to suit your taste, and just like in any of these games, you'll just have to explore around to find what you're looking for.