Games like Garbage: Hobo Prophecy

The Squirrel's verdictAt 143 hours median playtime and free to play, Once Human operates at a scale well beyond Hobo Prophecy: a full survival MMO shooter with territory building and co-op. The scavenging-into-gear and base-building loop is shared, but the scope and live-service structure are entirely different, and reviews note ongoing changes to core systems since launch.

Not for you if you want a small, contained experiment rather than a large live-service game with evolving systems.

The Squirrel's verdictPermadeath expeditions shape Sheltered's mid-game: survivors sent out can die permanently, and food scarcity in the early shelter forces strict rationing before you have tools to address it. Recruitment and crafting drive progress as in Hobo Prophecy, but brawls are replaced entirely by shelter micromanagement and task assignment. Finished and stable, 33 hours median playtime.

Not for you if you want a combat-focused loop rather than survivor task management and expedition-based resource scarcity.

The Squirrel's verdictBoth put you in a scavenging post-apocalypse where you gather scraps, manage survivors, and build up resources under pressure. Oxygen: First Breath drops the brawling and community recruitment for straight survival city-building: oxygen, food, water, and disasters against a fixed 50-day scenario. Suits players who liked the scavenging loop but want systems management over combat.

Not for you if you want open-ended progression — the fixed 50-day scenario caps content at roughly 3.8 hours median playtime.

The Squirrel's verdictDigging tunnels, farming beets, and crafting toward a fixed story ending is Mr. Prepper's core loop — the resource-management half of Hobo Prophecy without any fighting. There is a secondary goal hidden beneath the surface bunker-building, and the quest chain follows a strict A-to-B-to-C order reviewers describe as unforgiving if you deviate. No co-op, 21.7 hours median playtime.

Not for you if you want any combat system — Mr. Prepper has no fighting mechanics whatsoever, only crafting and quest progression.

The Squirrel's verdictBoth put you in charge of a scrappy community that must gather resources, build up defenses, and manage survivors against threats with limited tools. Pyramida trades Hobo Prophecy's combo-based brawling and recruitment for tighter survival management: skeletons attack, citizens pathfind poorly, and starvation looms fast. No co-op, no pause button, a single 2020 release with no promised expansion.

Not for you if you want the fighting and character-building progression Hobo Prophecy offers, since Pyramida is pure resource survival with unhelpful pathfinding and no pause function.

The Squirrel's verdictA demon apocalypse replaces homeless survival, but the structural loop is close: recruit survivors, build a base, craft gear, and fight escalating threats. Research gates control progression pace, and reviews flag both repetitive combat and mandatory build orders as friction points. Very Positive rating on Steam, no co-op, 34.8 hours median playtime.

Not for you if you want freeform progression — research gates and fixed build orders dictate your path throughout.

The Squirrel's verdictPunishing build-order difficulty is Basement's defining trait: the campaign demands a specific sequence of actions, and straying from it leaves you unable to diagnose what went wrong. The setting is a drug production basement rather than homeless survival, with the same loop of building up operations and managing scarce resources under pressure. No co-op, 7 hours median playtime.

Not for you if you want a difficulty curve that lets you identify and learn from your own mistakes.