Arid

Arid

Sad Viscacha Studio · June 29, 2021 · Open World Survival Craft, Survival, Multiplayer, Exploration, Crafting

Arid is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.

PC
Very Positive87% · 1,9646playing now
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

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Arid price

Arid is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.

About Arid

✦ AI summary

Survive a brutal 1930s Atacama Desert after a plane crash by managing hunger, thirst, extreme heat, and environmental hazards across an open world of abandoned refuges and dark secrets. This semi-hardcore survival game refuses to hold your hand, forcing you to strategize every move, craft carefully, and decide whether to brave deadly sandstorms and scorching days or risk the unknown darkness of night.

Welcome to Arid, a small and contained open world survival experience set during the 1930s in one of the driest places in the world: the Atacama.

Plane Crash

It's the 30s. You are the pilot of a cargo flying 8000 meters over the Atacama*, a mysterious failure in the engine and a miraculous landing has left you stranded in one of the largest and most arid desert in the world. Will you survive the harsh temperature and conditions of this unique setting? Is there even a way out?

*We took some creative freedoms in order to extremize the harsh climate and location in which the game is set.

Survival Open World

As a singleplayer survival open world, Arid aims at delivering a semi-hardcore experience that does not handheld the players. After a guided onboarding the player will be left to explore and progress the story how they prefer. Will you find and repair all the refuges on the map? Will you explore for additional resources? How many days can you survive?

Harsh Environment

Shade in the desert is scarce, as it is water. While exploring the mountains of the Atacama, the player must survive severe dehydration, extreme temperatures, sun exposure and other kinds of natural dangers.

Avoid getting sunburn and be careful to the body temperature of the character. Stock up with resources and look for a safe place!

Weather Events

Prepare yourself, extreme temperatures and sandstorm can occurr at any time. While they're not lethal on their own, they can heavily affect a struggling survivor.

Day and Night Cycle

Survive the day to embrace the darkness of the night. Find a bed to recover energy or embrace the darkness and explore the desert at night. Vision is scarce but without dangers such as the sun exposure and high temperatures, it will be easier to find resources.

Remember to keep your torch well maintained, you will need oil to be able to explore at night or get deeper in the mining network of the Atacama.

FEATURE SUMMARY

  • Avoid sun exposure and keep your body temperature low.
  • Keep yourself well-fed and hydrated. Water will be a scarce resource!
  • Find abandoned locations and uses them as temporary refuges.
  • Consume energy with every action, find a bed and strategize how many resources are needed to recover it back.
  • Unlock different refuge facilities, such as the crafting bench, animal traps and the fireplace.
  • Prepare food and craft all the items required for your survival.
  • Hide from the lethal sandstorms.
  • Discover the stories of the people that lived in this mysterious part of the desert.

Something lies in the darkness...

Arid — game info

Platforms
Windows
Steam Deck
Unsupported
Player modes
Single-player
Controller
Partial controller support
PC Game Pass
Not included

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

✦ AI summary

Arid is a free survival game set in the desert that players appreciate for its core survival mechanics and premise, though it's held back by significant technical issues and design problems. Common complaints include frequent bugs and softlocks, a tedious late-game crafting system, and an unwanted enemy encounter mechanic that detracts from the survival challenge; additionally, the game lacks clear objectives and narrative explanation for why the protagonist remains in the desert.

Recommended Oct 8, 2026
Free survival game. Not bad, though I did encounter a bug towards the end; I was still able to finish it, but it was much harder. 7/10 More free game: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45031235
1 found this helpful
Not recommended Oct 6, 2026
It's a great premise and I love the desert challenge, but the invisible floor monster was a deal breaker. The survival aspect is good enough on it's own, I could happily do without the thing chasing me every night.
Recommended Sep 21, 2026
it is nice game
Recommended Sep 21, 2026
the amount of bugs and softlocks i found in half an hr is INSANE
Recommended Sep 13, 2026
Nice little game with elements that reminds me of amnesia and the long dark. The crafting system however is quite tedious when nearing the endgame. Considering its free and did spark my curiosity enough to finish it I'll give it a thumbs up.
Not recommended Sep 11, 2026
Survival games are my favorite genre, so I liked this game at first. It was interesting, but after playing for a while, it started to feel a bit meh. The game doesn't really explain what to do, what my main goal is, or why the main character is still there. She could just find some food and water and go back to civilization. What is she doing in this desert? The gameplay and graphics could also be better. 6/10

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