Project Zomboid vs The Forest
Project Zomboid is a horror open-world game from The Indie Stone (2013) while The Forest is a horror open-world game from Endnight Games (2018).
What each one is
Steam files Project Zomboid under Horror and Open-World. In contrast, it files The Forest under Horror and Open-World.
Project Zomboid is the ultimate in zombie survival. Alone or in MP: you loot, build, craft, fight, farm and fish in a struggle to survive. A hardcore RPG skillset, a vast map, massively customisable sandbox and a cute tutorial raccoon await the unwary. So how will you die? All it takes is a bite..
As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.
At a glance
| Project Zomboid | The Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.7/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (94%, 476,732) | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 680,814) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 83/100 |
| Price | $24.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | — | 5 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2013 | 2018 |
| Developer | The Indie Stone | Endnight Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Project Zomboid vs The Forest, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Project ZomboidHorror open-world gameThe ForestHorror open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Project ZomboidSurvival, Zombies, Open WorldThe ForestOpen World Survival Craft, Survival, Open WorldThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Project Zomboid ✓Score 8.7 · 94% on SteamThe ForestScore 8.3 · 96% on Steam · 83 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Project Zomboid476,732 reviewsThe Forest680,814 reviews · 5 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Project Zomboid$24.99The Forest ✓$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Project Zomboid ✓VerifiedThe ForestPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Project Zomboid takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueProject Zomboid and The Forest on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Project Zomboid (GamingPickz Score 8.7)
- The cheaper right now: The Forest ($19.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Project Zomboid (verified)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
SurvivalZombiesOpen WorldOpen World Survival CraftSandboxCraftingBuildingIndie
Where they differ
MultiplayerPost-apocalypticCo-opRPGIsometric2D
HorrorFirst-PersonActionExplorationAtmosphericGore
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Project Zomboid is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. The Forest is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Project Zomboid | The Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT |
| Minimum CPU | Intel 2.77GHz Quad-core | Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Install size | — | 5 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Project Zomboid · The Forest.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Project Zomboid and 1 for The Forest. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Project Zomboid and The Forest in scope?
Project Zomboid has drawn 476,732 Steam reviews. The Forest has drawn 680,814 Steam reviews and installs in 5 GB.
Is Project Zomboid or The Forest better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Project Zomboid rates higher (8.7 to 8.3). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Project Zomboid or The Forest?
The Forest is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $24.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.