Abiotic Factor

A weird survival game that still feels ahead of the pack

Even in 2026, Abiotic Factor still lands like one of the smartest survival games to come out in the last couple of years. A lot of survival stuff blurs together after a while, but this one has a real identity. You’re not just scavenging sticks in the woods. You’re a bunch of PhD-level nerds trying to stay alive in a busted underground research facility with office junk, lab scraps, and pure panic. That mix of brainy sci-fi, black humor, and actual survival pressure is what makes it stick.

And yeah, the numbers back up the reputation. Steam sits at 95% positive from nearly 40,000 reviews. OpenCritic’s at 83.5, the media average is still strong, and it’s pulled in serious praise like PC Gamer’s 92, plus 1.5 million copies sold and an NZ Game Awards Grand Prize. So this isn’t some tiny cult thing that only a few people latched onto. It’s one of the steadier breakout survival hits around, and it earned that by being memorable instead of generic.

What really sells it is how the game treats your progress. A couch cushion isn’t just a joke. It becomes gear. A fire axe, microwave parts, weird improvised science nonsense — it all fits the same grimy, desperate tone. That’s why it works. It’s funny, but it never feels goofy in a way that kills the tension. The world stays creepy, the facility stays hostile, and the joke is always that you’re building a life out of trash while the universe is falling apart around you.

Best with a squad, rougher if you want the game to hold your hand

Here’s the blunt version: this is a great pick if you like exploring, don’t mind being confused for a while, and ideally have a couple friends with you. The co-op is a big part of the appeal. In a group, the RPG skill tree and PhD specializations actually matter, because people can split jobs and lean into different roles instead of everybody doing the same thing. That makes the whole thing feel smarter and less grindy. It also means a fresh run can feel meaningfully different if you pick another specialization.

But if you want crystal-clear quest markers and constant guidance, this game will irritate you. A lot of systems are barely explained. Solo especially can feel like getting dropped into a lab fire with a clipboard and no instructions. It ramps slowly, and if you hate figuring things out by trial and error, you’re going to bounce off it. Same deal if you’re trying to speedrun it alone. That’s not really the vibe. It wants patience, curiosity, and a tolerance for being lost.

Platform-wise, it’s on all three, but PC is the cleanest way to play, especially if you’re planning to lean into co-op. The console versions are fine, but modifying gear and juggling the game’s fiddlier systems feels a bit awkward there. So if you want the smoothest version of the experience, go PC. If you’re set on controller play, just know you’re making a small tradeoff for convenience.