Is this the right game for me?

[hardy_conrad]

Since (for once) I actually managed to beat a game in my library, thought I could justify indulging with something new. Been seeing lots of people play these sorts of survival type games recently and they seem a good fit. Question is, which one...

At first I was leaning 7 Days to Die, but for one thing it's on the pricey side and for another there are a LOT of concerns expressed about it once you dig under the surface.

Subnautica? Likely a good old game, but kinda limited and linear.

No Man's Sky? The most expensive of the bunch, and another game with mixed reviews (although not to the same extent as 7 Days).

Ark Survival Evolved? Probably one of the better games in the mix, although apparently it leans pretty heavily towards multiplayer and I'm on the fence about that.

Which leaves, Valheim. Funny thing is I first got curious about it roughly a year ago but at the time there were a lot of negative comments about it being abandonware. For whatever reason that's less of an issue now. I'll say probably the closest to a survival type game in the past I've played is Project Zomboid. I've noticed some people say Valheim is on the grindy side, but it's difficult to visualize anything more grindy than trying to level fitness in Zomboid. And, to a certain extent grindy is fun!

So what do you folks think? Yea or nay? Any suggestions or input is welcome, thanks.

[hardy_conrad]

Moderator beat me to it, marking the topic as answered. Good work as always :) I would have done that myself, eventually, but been busy playing the game.

[Fat Jimmy]

I have around 200 hours in this game, but over 1400 hours in 7 days to die. For me, this game is VERY empty and void. I would not have played nearly this much of this game without some friends to play it with, whereas with 7 Days to die, most of my playtime has been without friends, or at least half.

While both games have a modding community, much of the mods available for this game are not very gameplay-changing, but for 7 days, you can get some VERY substantial modpacks that really change up the game a lot, and add so much to it, similar to Minecraft.

I know you already staid you bought this game, but 7 Days to Die is a great game that you should definitely check out sometime.

[hardy_conrad]

7 Days is still on my radar, albeit on the distant horizon for now. I kinda feel like if a game needs mods to be good, is it really good? Plus I notice that the forum for it only allows you to comment if you've already bought the game, which is ominous. I will say I have mixed feelings about the Valheim levelling / skill system. To its credit it is logical, but because I don't get experience or points I can allocate directly it's a bit grindy at times with combat. Pros and cons for everything really.

Not having played 7 Days I can't speak to how empty Valheim is in comparative terms, but in an absolute sense I'm happy and satisfied. Because resources can be scarce there's a real sense of satisfaction finally encountering them. I'm retired so it isn't as if I'm in a rush to beat it or anything. Got nothing but time on my hands, heh. And it is a truly massive world.