IMHO.

Games like Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved

Looking for games like both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved? Below are 24 Steam games ranked by imho.run's hybrid recommender for players who enjoy both titles. Both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved share Action, Indie, Adventure roots, making the overlapping player base a strong signal for what to play next. Each pick is scored by combining collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries — players who own Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved also tend to own these — with content overlap on genres, categories, and storefront tags, plus review-mined vibe embeddings that catch tonal similarity even when genre labels differ. No Steam login required.

Rust — Steam game coverARK: Survival Evolved — Steam game cover
Shared genres:ActionIndieAdventureMassively MultiplayerRPG

Best matches for fans of both games

Ranked by collaborative filtering, genre overlap, and review-mined vibes — the same signals that power imho.run.

  1. 1
    ARK: Survival Ascended — Steam game cover

    ARK: Survival Ascended

    Top pick for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    ARK is reimagined from the ground-up into the next-generation of video game technology with Unreal Engine 5! Form a tribe, tame & breed hundreds of unique dinosaurs and primeval creatures, explore, craft, build, and fight your way to the top of the food-chain. Your new world awaits!

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  2. 2
    Don't Starve Together — Steam game cover

    Don't Starve Together

    Second pick for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Strategy with both games.

    Fight, Farm, Build and Explore Together in the standalone multiplayer expansion to the uncompromising wilderness survival game, Don't Starve.

    ActionStrategyIndieDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  3. 3
    The Forest — Steam game cover

    The Forest

    Third pick for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  4. 4
    Satisfactory — Steam game cover

    Satisfactory

    Ranked #4 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Strategy and Indie with both games.

    Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory building game with a dash of exploration and combat. Play alone or with friends, explore an alien planet, create multi-story factories, and enter conveyor belt heaven!

    StrategyIndieAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  5. 5
    No Man's Sky — Steam game cover

    No Man's Sky

    Ranked #5 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Adventure with both games.

    No Man's Sky is a game about exploration and survival in an infinite procedurally generated universe.

    ActionAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  6. 6
    Subnautica — Steam game cover

    Subnautica

    Ranked #6 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Indie and Adventure with both games.

    Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.

    IndieAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  7. 7
    Terraria — Steam game cover

    Terraria

    Ranked #7 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    Dig, fight, explore, build! Nothing is impossible in this action-packed adventure game. Four Pack also available!

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  8. 8
    Green Hell — Steam game cover

    Green Hell

    Ranked #8 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    Plunge into the open-world survival simulation set in the extreme conditions of the uncharted Amazon jungle. Use real-life survival techniques to craft, hunt, fight, and gather resources, set a makeshift shelter, or raise a fortress. Survive alone or team up with your friends and challenge the jungle together.

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  9. 9
    Grounded — Steam game cover

    Grounded

    Ranked #9 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Adventure with both games.

    The world is a vast, beautiful and dangerous place – especially when you have been shrunk to the size of an ant. Can you thrive alongside the hordes of giant insects, fighting to survive the perils of the backyard?

    ActionAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  10. 10
    Out of Reach — Steam game cover

    Out of Reach

    Ranked #10 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    You’re a castaway stranded in the middle of nowhere. Storm is gone, the worst certainly not. Look for food and resources, craft gear, make shelters. These are the basics, you need much more to stay alive on this cut-off-the-world, yet not desert island. Build & burn, sail & explore, be Out of Reach!

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  11. 11
    Dig or Die — Steam game cover

    Dig or Die

    Ranked #11 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Strategy with both games.

    Crash land on a hostile planet where you'll have to build the strongest defenses if you wish to live to escape from it. But be warned... this planet is merciless. Build strong, and smart; else physics may flood or destroy your only hopes of survival.

    ActionStrategyIndieSteam ↗
  12. 12
    Don't Starve — Steam game cover

    Don't Starve

    Ranked #12 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Indie and Adventure with both games.

    Don’t Starve is an uncompromising wilderness survival game full of science and magic. Enter a strange and unexplored world full of strange creatures, dangers, and surprises. Gather resources to craft items and structures that match your survival style.

    IndieAdventureSimulationDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  13. 13
    Starbound — Steam game cover

    Starbound

    Ranked #13 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    You’ve fled your home, only to find yourself lost in space with a damaged ship. Your only option is to beam down to the planet below, repair your ship and set off to explore the universe...

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  14. 14
    Conan Exiles — Steam game cover

    Conan Exiles

    Ranked #14 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Strategy with both games.

    An online multiplayer survival game, now with sorcery, set in the lands of Conan the Barbarian. Survive in a vast open world sandbox, build your home into a kingdom, and dominate your enemies in single or multiplayer.

    ActionStrategyAdventureSteam ↗
  15. 15
    Voidtrain — Steam game cover

    Voidtrain

    Ranked #15 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    Become a crew member of an Interdimensional Express Train! Discover a new world full of mysterious creatures, enemies and places. Upgrade and customize your train, gather new materials and build better weapons. Play solo or online сo-op with up to 4 people.

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  16. 16
    How to Survive 2 — Steam game cover

    How to Survive 2

    Ranked #16 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Adventure with both games.

    Dead or Alive? Make up your mind, stranger. We don’t like that undead business here in Louisiana…Survive solo or with friends as you look to fulfill your basic needs of food, water and shelter, crafting your own tools and weapons while you secure your camp and face flesh hungry zombies.

    ActionAdventureRPGDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  17. 17
    Hurtworld — Steam game cover

    Hurtworld

    Ranked #17 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Adventure with both games.

    Hurtworld is a hardcore multiplayer survival FPS with a focus on competitive gunplay and strategic map control. Built for hardcore gamers, Hurtworld aims to punish.

    ActionAdventureSimulationSteam ↗
  18. 18
    Crestfallen: Medieval Survival — Steam game cover

    Crestfallen: Medieval Survival

    Ranked #18 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Strategy with both games.

    👑 Hail to the King! In Crestfallen: Medieval Survival, players clash for dominance over the realm through strategic castle 🏰 building and fierce combat. Craft epic armor, forge deadly medieval weapons⚔️, and build a kingdom worthy of legend 📜. Create a Guild 🐉, trade goods, and prevail! 🌟

    ActionStrategyIndieDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  19. 19
    Palworld — Steam game cover

    Palworld

    Ranked #19 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    Fight, farm, build and work alongside mysterious creatures called "Pals" in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  20. 20
    SCUM — Steam game cover

    SCUM

    Ranked #20 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    Traverse punishing environments, looting, crafting and evading the constant threats to your life. The unprecedented levels of character customization and progression are your ultimate tools for survival.

    ActionIndieAdventureSteam ↗
  21. 21
    Valheim — Steam game cover

    Valheim

    Ranked #21 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    A brutal exploration and survival game for 1-10 players, set in a procedurally-generated purgatory inspired by viking culture. Battle, build, and conquer your way to a saga worthy of Odin’s patronage!

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  22. 22
    Medieval Dynasty — Steam game cover

    Medieval Dynasty

    Ranked #22 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    Hunt, survive, build and lead in the harsh Middle Ages: Create your own Medieval Dynasty and ensure its long-lasting prosperity or die trying! Play alone or team up with friends to enjoy the ultimate medieval experience.

    ActionIndieAdventureDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  23. 23
    Dinosaur World — Steam game cover

    Dinosaur World

    Ranked #23 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Indie with both games.

    Dinosaur World is a survival game about dinosaurs.

    ActionIndieAdventureSteam ↗
  24. 24
    XERA: Survival — Steam game cover

    XERA: Survival

    Ranked #24 for fans of both Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved. Shares Action and Strategy with both games.

    Action-focused, open world survival shooter, PvPvE against fellow mercenaries and lethal XOIDS. Raid for resources alone or with team-mates, build and defend your base, stash your gear and survive against the odds. You are the hunters. You are the hunted. And the robots never sleep…

    ActionStrategyIndieFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗

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