DayZ vs. Rust vs. Nether vs. Starforge: the early access survival FPS showdown

We’ve done all of the let’s play posts for our early access experiments series, so now it’s time to start talking conclusions. First up? A head-to-head fight between four pretty similar early access games that focus on first-person shooting and survival.

DayZ

Strengths: DayZ‘s world is gigantic and varied; it’s probably the largest and most interesting of the bunch. It also has the biggest player community, and it gets pretty frequent updates. It’s genuinely fun and tense sometimes, as you never know just what you’re walking into.
Weaknesses: It’s still pretty full of bugs, from weird sound glitches to more game-breaking stuff, like invincible zombies that kill you from inside the floor of a building. The absolutely massive game world can also make for some long, boring hikes when you’re moving from place to place.
Price: $29.99 on Steam
Should you buy it now? No. It’s a fun game that’ll be worth your money eventually, but give them another couple of months to iron out the bugs unless you have the patience of a saint. (Also worth noting: the mod version of DayZ is still available and free if you own a copy of Arma II).

Nether

Strengths: Fascinating game world with tons of little details to help you understand what’s going on, lots of loot means you rarely walk long distances for nothing, and in-game events help spice things up and make it feel a little more like a traditional game.
Weaknesses: A few bugs still to be ironed out, and the game world is pretty small compared to these other games. It’s not too small to enjoy, but it’s definitely no Chernarus (the name of DayZ‘s fictional setting).
Price: $14.99 on Steam
Should you buy it now? Maybe. If you like this kind of game and have some friends to play with, this is arguably the most finished-feeling survival MMOFPS on offer right now.

Starforge

Strengths: Really fun and deep building and mining mechanic lets you craft the castle of your dreams. And then you can blast aliens from the top of that castle using a huge machine gun.
Weaknesses: The game still feels pretty thin at the moment. Once you’ve got a gun (which is pretty immediately) and figured out how to mine, you can construct a safe shelter and there’s no real threat to your survival, so your enjoyment will be based mostly on how much you’re entertained by the in-game building and mining modes.
Price: $19.99 on Steam
Should you buy it now? Maybe. If you want a simple space-themed version of Minecraft with better graphics, then yes, buy and build to your heart’s content. But if you want more, you’ll need to wait.

Rust

Strengths: Combines the survival in a zombie world fun of DayZ with the crafting fun of games like Starforge.
Weaknesses: The game world pretty much all looks the same, so it’s not interesting to explore right now.
Price: $19.99 on Steam
Should you buy it now? Maybe. Some players have been having a lot of fun with it, and if you want to play with friends, there’s a lot of potential. Personally though, I think the world is just too boring right now.