Resource management in survival games

[StaceyPowers]

A huge part of most survival games is budgeting resources. I’m curious, is this something most people here enjoy, or find stressful?

For me, it seems to range a great deal. I found it anxiety-inducing in The Last of Us, but it was also a big part of what I found appealing in the game, because it pushed me to be creative. I also liked it in the Dead Money DLC I played recently in Fallout NV. But I never bring myself to turn on survival mode in NV for some reason—I guess because I usually play that game to relax, and budgeting resources would force me to hurry around when I want to take my time.

[DylanC]

It's a difficult balance, for sure. I think The Last Of Us did it just right as it makes every bullet and shiv feel important. Dead Space 1 and the Silent Hill games also does resource management right. Giving too much ammo and resources to players often detracts from the horror experience and it tends to lean into a more action-focused experience, which is what happened to Dead Space 3.

[Yarik]

Nowadays I don't play a lot of survival games but back in the time I was playing Minecraft, ARK: Survival Evolved and Banished. The 3rd game was the hardest one for me to manage the resources there but after some time I mastered it.