Similar games to Terminus: Zombie Survivors?

[enigma74]

Anyone know of games similar to this, with at least basic English translations? I've tried The Last Spell, but I found the visuals too dark and gory, despite it also having a zombie horde. Also it didn't have enough "powering up" between runs like Terminus does with character levels and perks. I liked Heroes of Hammerwatch, but I played that a lot already, and I prefer turn based games anyway.

Preferably no deckbuilders. I also tried Against the Obelisk (deckbuilder), but I got bored of it quick. I would prefer a roguelike/roguelite just like this. I like games with give you a little incremental progress, in terms of metaprogression or character profile experience, which you store and can get upgrades with for future runs.

Oh, forgot to mention I played Hades already, it's great. It's an ARPG though, and I prefer slower turn based games. Squad based games are good too, as long as you can power up the squad over time from failed runs.

[LittleBallOfPurr]

It's hard when you play out a game you love, trying to find something that scratches all the same itches.

The following games certainly don't closely match Terminus, but as someone who also enjoys similar things, these have been some of my favourites;

This War of Mine - A spectacular war torn civilian survival. Not turn based, but you can pause to think, it does run on a day/night cycle. Progression unlocks new stories/characters to play with, having different skills/flaws to manage. Scavenge the city at night to keep you and your crew alive, facing tough moral decisions along the way. With trading and crafting playing a key role, upgrade your shelter during the day to survive and even thrive. Artistically gorgeous, incredible atmosphere and one of my top games of all time.

Faster Than Light - Great meta progression as you unlock new ships, races and perks from game to game. Turn based gameplay with real-time but pausable combat. Randomly generated galaxies on your path to the same end goal each time, one of the best Roguelikes I've ever played. Fight or flee, protect or pirate, trade and scavenge.

King Arthur: Knight's Tale (Sequel -Legion X) and Expeditions Rome - Throwing these three into the same bowl of brilliant turn based game-play and combat, worth a peek at their storepages to see if it floats your boat or not.

Battle Brothers - A quirky art-style turn based combat, sometimes savagely difficult. Most of your guys are not going to be superior professional soldiers, are not going to be well armed and are not going to be well armoured, they are thankfully quite replaceable. They reminded me a of a quote from 300 "They shout and curse, stabbing wildly, more brawlers than warriors. They make a wondrous mess of things. Brave amateurs....they do their part."

Card Survival: Tropical Island - Okay, I know you said no deck-builders, but you're not really building a deck for combat. Instead everything is based on cards; Found a tree in your area? That's a card. Found a coconut to collect? That's a card. Need to cut your coconut, drag that knife card onto the coconut card. It's more that the visual/worldbuild/inventory style is cards.

Actions are purchased with increments of time, every action could be the start of a death spiral if you don't think things through. Sims style stats with a lot of depth and cross interactions. Lots of Rougelike characters, stats, challenges to unlock and enjoy along the way.

[Lactose Intolerant Volcano God]

Some others:

Neo Scavenger. I think I read this was one of the inspirations for Terminus. It's 10 years old now and might feel a bit outdated if you don't usually play older games. More reading, but also more narrative. More realistic. Modern, post-apocalyptic setting. Otherwise, similar to Terminus in that it's a procedurally generated open-world survival craft game with combat. There's a free demo on Steam.

Pawsecuted. Another procedurally generated open-world survival craft game with combat. This time the setting is post-apocalyptic Australia, and you play as a rabbit. Most of the characters are anthropomorphised animals, with a war between Australian native animals (kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, wombats etc.) vs. introduced/pest species (rabbits, foxes, cats etc.) Despite that premise, it's not cute or cuddly. So don't be put off as long as you can handle an animal avatar; the animals could just as well be people. The combat has more tactical elements than Terminus, and there is more town-building mechanics. You can hire mercenaries and workers for your towns. There's a narrative quest line, but the world is very open, so you can do your own thing. Has a nice Aussie bush vibe. There's a free demo on Steam.

Dungeons of Dredmor. A traditional roguelike with a goofy, comedic heart. It’s another oldie, and some of the jokes might be a bit dated, particularly for younger people who didn’t live through 2010s pop culture. Aside from the conventional warrior, rogue, and magic skills, there are some funnier options like tourism, emomancy, fleshsmithing, and killer veganism. It's just a dungeon crawler - no open world, but the survival, crafting, and turn-based combat is all there. Plenty of freedom to theorycraft and delve for success, or just roll a random character and see how you die. There are murmurs on the Steam discussions that the devs might be working on something new, but no word what that is yet.

The Doors of Trithius. Still in early access. Looks like a lot of cool features still to come; one to watch! More of a traditional roguelike in a medieval light-fantasy setting, but it is about as accessible as Terminus. (It's not one of those roguelikes with impenetrable graphics or a steep learning curve.) Procedurally generated open world where the towns/settlements prosper or decline based on events in the world and your actions. Warring factions. Lots of quests and dungeons to explore, and again there's a lot of freedom to do your own thing.

Skyhill. A pared-down survival craft combat game. Not open world; you're stuck in a procedurally-generated hotel and have to move down floors. A contemporary urban setting with zombies. Could be a good choice for shorter gaming sessions, or when you don't want to have to decide where to go or what ending to aim for. Just jump into Skyhill and see if you can get all the way down.


Edit: I just reread the OP's post and realised that metaprogression is something desired. (I'm not personally a fan of metaprogression, so I tend to overlook it, sorry.) If you're interested in roguelike colony builders, both Against the Storm and DotAge might be worth a look. Both have lots of metaprogression, so future games will be different as you unlock more features or perks. Both games are highly replayable, with lots of RNG and roguelike aspects.

[enigma74]

These suggestions are very appreciated, thanks! Always up for some more if anyone has any. I forgot to mention I already played some of these (FTL, Battle Brothers, Card Survival: Tropical Island, Neo Scavenger, Dredmor, Trithius), but I enjoyed lots of parts of all of these. I will look at the others games mentioned.

Some games I forgot to mention with achievement-based meta-progression are:

Card Quest:
Has a deck, but it's not a deckbuilder as you can't modify the deck. Made by the developers of Card Survival: Tropical Island as their first game on steam. Beating levels rewards you with equipment that future characters can use, sometimes much better than starting equipment like better swords or armor. Sometimes the unlocked equipment is a sidegrade, but you always have the choice of what to take with you.

Tactical Nexus:
Very similar to desktop dungeons, with Japanese flair. Defeat enemies in different an optimal order, and reach an ending tile to defeat a tower. Your remaining HP multiplied by a factor of your character level is your score. Your score determines if you are eligible for bronze, silver, gold, or platinum medals, depending on how efficiently you cleared the enemies in a tower. Medals can be used to purchase stat upgrades or equipment at the start of a tower, making towers easier as you can waste less resources earlier. Not possible to grind, because medals are awarded only once per achievement. Recently became free to play for the base game, with previous base-game purchasers like me getting free DLC as compensation. I liked it at first, but then the puzzles became to difficult for me, and the DLC towers are even more difficult than the base game towers.

[mikufanboy]

Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead is the ultimate zombie survival craft and thrive sandbox game currently. It doesn't have spiffy graphics though, but as far as gameplay and content goes, you won't find any other zombie survive that matches it.

[Metal Cat Solid]

Originally posted by mikufanboy:

Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead is the ultimate zombie survival craft and thrive sandbox game currently. It doesn't have spiffy graphics though, but as far as gameplay and content goes, you won't find any other zombie survive that matches it.

I love this game, is hard AF, but immersive in the same way

[enigma74]

Oh yes, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is definitely good for someone looking for a nearly pure rogue-like. Very detailed, immersive environment created by many contributors over time. I can also recommend Cataclysm: Bright Nights - which is a splinter fork of Dark Days Ahead made by some contributors who disagreed with the "pure realism" focus of Dark Days. It favors some simplifications like the elimination of individual pockets in backpack-style bags which are less immersive but less annoying to deal with. I personally prefer Bright Nights, but I recommend trying both out. Unlike Dark Days Ahead, Bright Nights also has an achievable ending.

[HunterXHK]

Neo Scavenger kinda nice

[Nordil(Hun)]

Judgement apocalypse survival simulator.
One thing to note though. When you get tips about production and such, it is is very important to note they do not scale with difficulty. (So on hardest 2 gardens will NOT feed your 3 folks.)

[Pixl Pixl]

Hi, I recommend the game "Death Road to Canada." It's very similar to Terminus, with pixel art and a focus on traveling from place to place. The difference is that it's played in real-time, so you really need to dodge zombies. Between each location you visit, you travel by car and encounter events. The game is a bit less serious when it comes to these events, but I love it because it gives you a real sense of a zombie swarm, and the closer you get to Canada, the harder it becomes. There are tons of game modes, and you can even create your own characters with traits and more. It's one of my favorite zombie games.

[In Vitriol]

Similar, but not necessarily zombie survival:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1022980/Ostranauts/?curator_clanid=33315290
From the makers of Neoscavenger.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/333640/Caves_of_Qud/
Haven't played this yet- but looks intense.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/625960/Stoneshard/
Hard, but satisfying.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1155970/Roadwarden/
More text-based.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/951430/Dead_Age_2_The_Zombie_Survival_RPG/
Has a bit of everything.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/108600/Project_Zomboid/
Zombies and everything!