Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Prime Day Deals
  • Superman
  • Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Days Gone guide
Adventure Games Days Gone guide and walkthrough to help you survive
A player firing a gun at a zombie in the new game, Dying Light: The Beast.
Survival Horror Games Dying Light: The Beast dev says "we are not Call of Duty" and the series has a "complicated relationship" with guns, but The Beast's firearms should finally be "on par" with melee
Ark Survival Evolved clothing
Action Games How to craft and equip clothing in Ark Survival Ascended
Ark: Survival Evolved tips
Action Games 10 essential Ark Survival Ascended tips you should know
Prologue
Survival Games PUBG creator's nails-hard survival game flips genre staples on their heads: "Have you tried chopping down a tree?"
Minecraft key art showing Steve holding a pickaxe.
Adventure Games The 25 best crafting games for the craftiest gamers among us to play in 2025
Aran holds a huge sword aloft, mouth open in a battle cry in the promotional key art for Blades of Fire used as the header on storefronts
Action RPGs After 3 hours, I'm impressed by how Blades of Fire smelts Dark Souls and Monster Hunter together to forge high-impact action into twisted new shapes
  1. Games
  2. Action

Craft makeshift chainsaws and guns in How to Survive

Features
By Lorenzo Veloria published 25 September 2013

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Scrounge your way through the zombie apocalypse

Scrounge your way through the zombie apocalypse

Yes, How to Survive is another game about surviving the onslaught of undead flesh eaters on a lonely island--a setting you might have experienced before. But this isometric adventure has a lot more going for it than smashing brains and gory, red goo. With a surprisingly deep crafting system, looming day and night system, and survival elements that make you worry more about your health bar than your kill count, How to Survive seems like it's more than the average zombie game.

You start the adventure with nothing but the clothes on your back, and you'll have to scour the environment for items to fend off undead aggressors, food to keep you fed and watered, and a safe place to rest. While most games have you maintain a single health bar, you'll have to keep your hunger, thirst, and tiredness in check as well. You'll also have to find clean water, hunt the local wildlife, and even cook your food which uses the game's intricate crafting system.

Almost anything you pick up can be crafted into something useful. If you find up a stick, you can use it to break zombies' skulls, or combine it with a machete to break it down to ten arrows for your crafted bow. You can also upgrade your equipment with additional material. Add a balancing rod to your bow for faster target acquisition, put on pulleys to create a compound bow, or lash a molotov to an arrow for an explosive projectile. All of your items seem infinitely customizable, and you'll eventually find mechanical parts that you can piece together makeshift chainsaws, ballistic weapons, and protective armor as well.

Check out the following slides for more information and images.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Jack is especially adept at smashing heads.

Jack is especially adept at smashing heads.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
You'll have to work with limited inventory space.

You'll have to work with limited inventory space.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Upgrading your equipment gives you a better chance at surviving zombie hordes.

Upgrading your equipment gives you a better chance at surviving zombie hordes.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
There are several types of threats on the island, including this massive beast.

There are several types of threats on the island, including this massive beast.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Each character has a unique skill tree and attributes.

Each character has a unique skill tree and attributes.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Campfires keep away the things that go bump in the night.

Campfires keep away the things that go bump in the night.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Handmade chainsaws? Check.

Handmade chainsaws? Check.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Upgrading armor is just as important as improving your weapons.

Upgrading armor is just as important as improving your weapons.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Two players can join together for co-op in the story and challenge modes.

Two players can join together for co-op in the story and challenge modes.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Night brings out new threats, but you can use light to scare some of them away.

Night brings out new threats, but you can use light to scare some of them away.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Wii-u PlayStation Xbox Platforms Nintendo
Lorenzo Veloria
Lorenzo Veloria
Social Links Navigation

Many years ago, Lorenzo Veloria was a Senior Editor here at GamesRadar+ helping to shape content strategy. Since then, Lorenzo has shifted his attention to Future Plc's broader video game portfolio, working as a Senior Brand Marketing Manager to oversee the development of advertising pitches and marketing strategies for the department. He might not have all that much time to write about games anymore, but he's still focused on making sure the latest and greatest end up in front of your eyes one way or another.

See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
Days Gone guide
Days Gone guide and walkthrough to help you survive
A player firing a gun at a zombie in the new game, Dying Light: The Beast.
Dying Light: The Beast dev says "we are not Call of Duty" and the series has a "complicated relationship" with guns, but The Beast's firearms should finally be "on par" with melee
Ark Survival Evolved clothing
How to craft and equip clothing in Ark Survival Ascended
Ark: Survival Evolved tips
10 essential Ark Survival Ascended tips you should know
Prologue
PUBG creator's nails-hard survival game flips genre staples on their heads: "Have you tried chopping down a tree?"
Minecraft key art showing Steve holding a pickaxe.
The 25 best crafting games for the craftiest gamers among us to play in 2025
Latest in Action
Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot of Sam on a futuristic motorcycle
Death Stranding 2 players reach "breaking point for hating signs" as devious porters place speed boosts in inconvenient places: "I ran over a quokka because of one of those signs... I was devastated"
Star Fox
Nintendo employed "so many incredible people," even a legendary Star Fox and Zelda dev had an "inferiority complex" during his 32-year stay at the company
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Ingenious Tears of the Kingdom player spends 3 glitchy hours bringing Purah, Paya, and a fake Zelda from across the map all for the perfect photo for Link's wall
Death Stranding 2
I'm glad the heatwave is over, because if it wasn't I'd think I hallucinated these weird Death Stranding 2 moments, from dancing dolls to sci-fi directors fighting while making pizza
Hollow Knight
As Hollow Knight: Silksong gets 7 new Steam updates in less than a week, the SKONG community reaches levels of cope hitherto unseen: "The wait is almost over"
Fighting enemies in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition
2 years and one Switch 2 release later, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hoarders are still celebrating their item duping glitches making it past Nintendo's patches
Latest in Features
Kaizen: A Factory Story key art featuring a production line making a toy electronic
"Make games and die. That's my plan": Coincidence's Zach Barth on making games about making things, a year of teaching, and being in it for the long haul
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
Cyberpunk Edgerunners season 2: Everything we know about CD Projekt Red's anime
David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Skyler Gisondo in Superman
Do I need to watch any movies or TV shows before Superman?
David Corenswet as Superman in James Gunn's Superman
James Gunn's Superman looks like a comics-accurate take on the Man of Steel at last – but will it be enough to revive DC at the box office?
A cropped screenshot from Undertale, showing Frisk and Sans standing in Grillby's in Snowdin.
17 years after it was released, I'm tracing Undertale and Deltarune's origins back to Toby Fox's spooky Earthbound mod
Superman movies ranked: Christopher Reeve as Superman flying through the sky during the 1978 movie Superman.
All the Superman movies ranked from worst to best, ahead of James Gunn's upcoming DC movie
  1. A Gundam style mech in Mecha Break
    1
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  2. 2
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  3. 3
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  4. 4
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  5. 5
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...