Survival mode is a video game mode in which the player must survive by keeping their character alive or preventing the enemy from reaching a certain location for as long as possible, while the game sends waves of enemies to the player that become stronger with each subsequent wave.[1] Another variant of the mode requires that the player reach a certain point while remaining alive.[2] The mode is particularly common among tower defense games, where the player must improve the defenses of a specific location in order to repel enemy forces for as long as possible.[3] Survival mode has been compared to the gameplay of classic arcade games, where players face off against increasingly stronger waves of enemies.[4] 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.
Popular games that have a survival mode include zombie games such as those in the Left 4 Dead series,[5] games in the Call of Duty series following Call of Duty: World at War,[6] sandbox game Minecraft,[7] tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies,[8] and Gears of War 2.[1]