Games like Days Gone

That feeling in Days Gone of scraping together resources under pressure, knowing one wrong move could drain your last crafting materials — Metro Exodus runs on exactly that same nerve. Both games build tension through scarcity, forcing you to weigh every bullet spent and every supply route taken. It's the kind of resource anxiety that makes quiet moments feel earned rather than empty.

The post-apocalyptic open world here rewards the same slow, observant playstyle that Days Gone players develop naturally — scouting ahead, planning routes, and adapting when encounters go sideways. Metro Exodus also layers in deep weapon customization that gives tinkerers the same satisfaction as Days Gone's crafting and bike upgrades. Where Days Gone lets you feel the weight of the world through Deacon's personal loss, Metro Exodus delivers that emotional pull through its crew — characters you'll genuinely not want to lose.

The shift worth noting: Metro Exodus is first-person and more linear in structure, trading Days Gone's freeform open roads for more curated, atmospheric corridors between its open zones. If Days Gone's grinding and repetitive loop frustrated you, Exodus offers a tighter, more authored pacing that keeps momentum from stalling.

Best for players who lean into the survival systems and story beats rather than sandbox exploration above all else.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Metro Exodus.

Both games anchor their open worlds around methodical, tactical combat where observing enemy behavior before engagement pays off more than reflexive shooting. In Days Gone, studying horde patterns and positioning matters; in Horizon Zero Dawn, scanning machines to identify weak points and elemental vulnerabilities creates that same read-then-execute rhythm that rewards patience over aggression.

You'll recognize the post-apocalyptic survival framework immediately—resource scavenging, crafting consumables mid-combat, and navigating a hostile landscape where the environment itself poses genuine threat. Both games also deliver story-driven single-player campaigns with cinematic presentation and emotional weight, grounding their spectacle in character arcs that matter.

The meaningful shift: Horizon replaces Days Gone's intimate motorcycle survival horror with large-scale machine hunting that leans sci-fi epic rather than dread. Where Days Gone grinds on repetitive tasks, Horizon's combat encounters feel structurally distinct, minimizing the tedium Days Gone veterans often cite.

Best for players who loved Days Gone's tactical depth and atmospheric storytelling but are hungry for a wider scope and more varied combat encounters.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Horizon Zero Dawn.

Roaming a ruined landscape on a battered machine, scavenging fuel, parts, and safe routes while every mile can turn violent feels immediately familiar here. Mad Max captures that same lonely road-warrior loop that makes Days Gone click: you push deeper into hostile territory, manage resources, and turn survival into routine through careful movement and preparation.

The overlap goes beyond atmosphere. Vehicular combat, third-person combat, and open-world scavenging create the same habit of planning ahead, then improvising when a patrol, ambush, or outpost goes wrong. That constant pressure gives each encounter weight, because success comes from reading the world and using your tools well, not just from raw firepower.

The fresh angle is that Mad Max puts more of that tension into driving and vehicle upgrades, so the terrain itself becomes part of the challenge. That makes it a smart follow-up for fans who liked Days Gone’s bike systems and want a version with even more mechanical focus, while also offering a long, grind-friendly campaign that speaks to one of Days Gone’s biggest criticisms.

Best for players who want apocalyptic traversal, scrappy combat, and progression built around survival.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Mad Max.

Navigating a lawless wilderness where you must scavenge raw materials to upgrade your lethality captures the same desperate progression found in Deacon’s journey. Both titles force you to constantly balance aggressive combat with tactical resource gathering to stay ahead of hostile, unpredictable factions.

The crafting and hunting systems provide a familiar loop of venturing into danger for specific gear upgrades. Tracking dangerous wildlife to expand your inventory mirrors the tension of scouring NERO checkpoints, transforming the landscape into a predatory puzzle you must solve to survive.

While Days Gone often demands a heavy grind and can feel burdened by monetization hurdles, Far Cry 3 offers a more frenetic sandbox pace focused on pure progression. The shift to a first-person perspective provides a raw, intimate angle on combat, emphasizing the visceral chaos of the Rook Islands.

Best for players who crave narrative-driven chaos and want to trade the motorbike for an explosive, hallucinogenic survival experience.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Far Cry 3.

That feeling of scanning a hostile open world for resources while keeping one eye on what's lurking nearby — Dying Light 2 Stay Human runs on the same survival tension that makes Days Gone so compulsive. Both games reward players who treat the environment as a tool, punish carelessness, and let danger accumulate naturally rather than scripting it.

Where Days Gone uses a motorbike to make the open world feel personal and traversable, Dying Light 2 replaces that with fluid parkour movement — and the effect on player experience is remarkably alike. You're constantly reading the landscape, planning routes, and feeling the world open up as your mobility improves. That sense of earned freedom is central to both games.

The story here won't hit as hard as Deacon's arc, so players who ranked Days Gone's emotional depth above everything else may feel that gap. What you gain in return is a denser activity layer and genuine co-op support, which Days Gone never offered.

Best for players who prioritize open-world exploration and movement mastery over narrative payoff.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Dying Light 2 Stay Human.

The visceral fusion of vehicular combat and gunplay defines the DNA of both Days Gone and Rage. Both titles lean heavily into the post-apocalyptic scavenger aesthetic, grounding the high-octane action in a gritty, survival-focused wasteland.

The primary tradeoff is perspective and depth; you lose the cinematic narrative weight of Deacon St. John for the sake of Rage’s tighter, first-person shooter mechanics. While Days Gone excels in open-world storytelling, Rage prioritizes the immediate tactile satisfaction of its ballistic combat loop.

Pick this up if you want the motorized combat and wasteland exploration of Days Gone but can live without the character-driven melodrama and long-form narrative structure.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Rage.

Mafia: The Old Country shares Days Gone’s focus on third-person, story-rich, and mature narratives, delivering cinematic experiences that emphasize emotional depth.

Both games rely heavily on atmosphere; Mafia’s period-authentic music and detailed environments enhance immersion just as Days Gone’s post-apocalyptic setting does for its tone.

However, Mafia’s linear structure and repetitive gameplay contrast with Days Gone’s open-world freedom, making it feel more like a scripted drama than a survival adventure.

Pick Mafia if you prioritize a tightly controlled story with historical flair but expect less player agency and replayability than Days Gone offers.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Mafia: The Old Country.

Both games drop you into a sprawling, hostile open world where scavenging, crafting, and upgrading gear are essential to survival, all viewed from a tight third‑person camera.

They also share a cinematic, story‑rich approach that rewards exploration and player choice—making every encounter feel purposeful and emotionally charged.

Shadow trades Days Gone's motorcycle‑centric, zombie‑filled survival for a lush, puzzle‑laden jungle with stealth‑focused combat.

Pick this up if you want polished, narrative‑driven survival with deep atmosphere but can live without vehicle‑based traversal and relentless undead hordes.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Both games anchor their survival horror around crafting and base building in hostile post-apocalyptic zones, giving you agency over resource management and shelter rather than pure combat focus.

Chernobylite matches Days Gone's narrative-driven open world, though here your choices actively reshape the story instead of following a linear path.

The critical difference: Days Gone prioritizes action and motorcycle mobility, while Chernobylite demands methodical stealth and exploration from a first-person perspective—slower, more deliberate pacing.

Pick this if you want Days Gone's survival depth and atmospheric dread, but prefer exploration and base-building strategy over combat encounters and driving sequences.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Chernobylite.

The mechanical DNA of Days Gone lives on in the Tomb Raider reboot through its tight, deliberate third-person survival combat. You will find that same visceral satisfaction in scavenging for scraps to upgrade weapons on the fly, which keeps the constant threat of being overwhelmed at the forefront of your focus.

The primary tradeoff is the shift from a wide, motorbike-centric open world to a more linear, set-piece-heavy exploration experience. While you lose the roaming freedom of the Pacific Northwest, you gain a refined, polished pacing that rarely suffers from the technical jank of Deacon St. John’s journey.

Pick this up if you want gritty, grounded combat but can live without the motorcycle maintenance and horde-clearing chaos.

If you enjoyed this game, see our list of games similar to Tomb Raider.