Survival mode
{{short description|Game mode}}
{{About|the game mode|the genres|Survival game|and|Survival horror}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}Survival mode, or horde mode, is a game mode in a video game in which the player must continue playing for as long as possible without dying in an uninterrupted session while the game presents them with increasingly difficult waves of challenges. A variant of the mode requires that the player last for a certain finite amount of time or number of waves, after which victory is achieved and the mode ends.{{cite book |title=Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design |author=Rodgers, Scott |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |date=2010 |page=383 }} Survival mode has been compared to the gameplay of classic arcade games, where players face off against increasingly stronger waves of enemies.{{cite web |access-date=18 November 2011 |url=http://blog.games.com/2011/10/11/empires-allies-survival-mode-war-room/ |title=Empires & Allies Survival Mode: Everything you need to know |publisher=Games.com |date=11 October 2011 |author=Osborne, Joe }} This mode was intended to give the game a definite and sometimes sudden ending, so that other players could then play the arcade game as well.{{cite web |access-date=18 November 2011 |url=http://blog.games.com/2011/10/11/empires-allies-survival-mode-war-room/ |title=Empires & Allies Survival Mode: Everything you need to know |publisher=Games.com |date=11 October 2011 |author=Osborne, Joe }}
Survival mode in tower defense games
Rampart, released in 1991, is the first prototypical survival game mode in tower defense games.{{cite web |url=http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=11898 |website=PALGN |title=Tower Defense: Bringing the genre back |first=Luke |last=Mitchell |date=June 22, 2008 |access-date=December 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203062250/http://palgn.com.au/11898/tower-defense-bringing-the-genre-back/ |archive-date=February 3, 2014 |df=mdy-all }} Survival mode is particularly common among tower defense games, such as Plants vs. Zombies.{{cite web |access-date=18 November 2011 |url=http://ds.ign.com/articles/114/1141366p1.html |title=Plants vs. Zombies DS Review |publisher=IGN |date=18 January 2011 |author=Hatfield, Daemon }} where the player must improve the defenses of a specific location in order to repel enemy forces for as long as possible.{{cite web |access-date=18 November 2011 |url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/05/the-plants-vs-zombies-review/ |title=The Plants Vs. Zombies Review |website=Rock Paper Shotgun |date=5 May 2009 |author=Walker, John }}
Survival mode in fighting games
Power Instinct, released in 1993, added a survival game mode, called 'Life Attack' to their Super Nintendo Port in November 1993.{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=464|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=1 January 1994|page=35|lang=ja}} Street Fighter II: The World Warrior on the Game Boy introduced the mode in 1995, and both Tekken 2 and Street Fighter EX included the mode in 1996 and 1997 respectively.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
Survival mode in cooperative shooter games
Killing Floor, originally a total conversion mod for the game Unreal Tournament 2004, first released in 2005, introduced the cooperative wave-based survival game mode.{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2009-03-22-killing-floor-mod-gets-standalone-steam-release.html|title=Killing Floor mod gets standalone Steam release|last=de Matos|first=Xav|date=22 March 2009|publisher=engadget|access-date=12 January 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/pc-gaming/the-2000s-era-mod-scene-prepared-killing-floor-dev-for-living-games/|title=The 2000s-era mod scene prepared Killing Floor dev for living games|last=Grubb|first=Jeff|date=March 26, 2018|publisher=venturebeat|access-date=May 14, 2024}} Popular games that have a survival mode include zombie games such as those in the Left 4 Dead series,{{cite web |access-date=18 November 2011 |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/04/first-impressions-of-left-4-deads-survival-mode.ars |title=First impressions of Left 4 Dead's survival mode |publisher=Ars Technica |date=22 April 2009 |author=Kuchera, Ben }} games in the Call of Duty series following Call of Duty: World at War,{{cite web |access-date=18 November 2011 |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/25/call-of-duty-world-at-war-co-op-mode-pits-players-against-nazi/ |title=Call of Duty: World at War co-op mode pits players against Nazi zombies |publisher=Joystiq |date=25 October 2008 |author=McElroy, Griffin }} Gears of War 2 introduced the term "horde mode" as an alternative name for survival mode,{{cite web |access-date=18 November 2011 |url=http://kotaku.com/5063520/gears-of-war-2--horde-mode-is-the-way-to-go |title=Gears of War 2 – Horde Mode Is The Way To Go |publisher=Kotaku |date=15 October 2008 |author=Glasser, Aj }} and subsequently picked up by other games such as World War Z.{{cite web | url = https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-07-22-world-war-zs-latest-update-brings-cross-play-support-to-playstation-4 | title = World War Z's latest update brings cross-play support to PlayStation 4 | first = Matt | last = Wales | date = 20 July 2020 | accessdate = 8 March 2021 | work = Eurogamer }}
Survival mode in sandbox games
Many sandbox games, such as Minecraft, take advantage of this game mode by having players survive the night time from a variety of monsters, such as skeletons and zombies.{{cite web|last=Miller-Watt |first=Josh |title=Minecraft beginner's guide |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/minecraft-beginners-guide/ |website=GamesRadar |publisher=Future plc |access-date=27 September 2018}} Another sandbox game, Rust, uses both non-player characters and other players as enemies, inviting player vs player combat in order to survive in the game's environment.{{cite web|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/03/28/rust-diary/|title=To Hell With Other People: Nine Lives in Rust|access-date=27 September 2018|website=Rock Paper Shotgun|date=28 March 2014|first=Brendan|last=Caldwell|df=dmy-all}}