Survive the Night: Survival, Zombie & Horror Files

The survival theatre runs on scarcity, and this shortlist collects its three weathers: the island kind, where ground and resources run out; the outbreak kind, where ammunition and angles run out; and the horror kind, where light and nerve run out first. Fourteen files, chosen because each one picks its scarcity and squeezes it honestly.

Start at the front if you want the fight-forward end of the shelf — the zombie shooters — and work backwards into the exploration and horror files, where the danger is mostly atmosphere until, suddenly, it isn't. Every game here is free and runs in the browser, which is more than can be said for your character's odds.