
Game Overview
An alien assault turns a quiet hunting trip at a grandfather’s country house into a rough open-world survival adventure. Cities lie in ruins, unfamiliar enemies patrol the wilderness, and the tone leans into lonely scavenging punctuated by sudden danger. When They Arrived frames its premise around a practical question: how does an ordinary person find food, shelter, weapons, and a way forward after civilization collapses? The stakes gradually grow beyond surviving the countryside, with a larger effort to disrupt the invaders’ hold on Earth.
Days revolve around gathering supplies, mining ore, hunting animals, and turning raw materials into equipment that keeps you alive. Wild boars and deer provide food, while bears and wolves make every trip into the woods riskier; aliens add another threat to defend against with weapons, explosives, fortifications, and traps. You can construct shelters and defensive positions, search abandoned areas for provisions and blueprints, and use an old ATV to cover ground quickly even when enemies crowd the roads. Progression comes through a card-based skill panel that improves combat and other survival abilities, while crafting parts and repairing gear opens the path toward more ambitious objectives.
Freedom is the main appeal here: the game lets you choose whether to focus on building, resource gathering, combat, exploration, or preparing for a major offensive. Its mix of rural hunting, crafting, vehicle travel, and alien warfare gives it a scrappy survival-sandbox identity rather than the tightly scripted feel of a conventional adventure. The mystery surrounding the “Witnesses of the Second Coming” adds lore for players willing to search for answers, while the eventual journey toward Mars gives the campaign a clear endgame goal. Fans of indie survival games in the vein of 7 Days to Die or The Forest, especially those who enjoy crafting defenses and making their own plans, are the best fit.
Screenshots
Installation
- Select the Download button at the top of this page to open UploadHaven.
- On UploadHaven, wait for any countdown, then select Free Download. Optional: UploadHaven Pro for faster downloads.
- When complete, extract the archive to a When They Arrived folder using 7-Zip.
- Open the extracted folder and start the game normally.
- For errors, check Setup Guide & Troubleshooting below. Keep your security software enabled.
System Requirements
- OS: WindowsXP (Service Pack 3)
- Processor: Quad Core Processor
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT
- DirectX: Version 9.0
- Storage: 5120 MB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX®-compatible
Setup Guide & Troubleshooting
How do I fix missing DLL errors for When They Arrived?
After extracting When They Arrived, navigate to the _Redist or _CommonRedist folder inside the game directory and install DirectX, Vcredist, and any other dependencies included.
What should I do if the downloaded file is corrupted?
The full archive is 1.72 GB — make sure your download completed fully before extracting. Use 7-Zip to extract the files. If you still see a "file corrupted" error, re-download and try again.
Do I need to run the game as administrator?
Usually, no. Start the game normally from the extracted folder. If you see a permissions or save error, check that the folder is writable and follow the game's documented fix. Only grant administrator access when a trusted game's specific setup requires it.
How do I update my GPU drivers for this game?
The game won't launch — what should I try?
Check that extraction completed and your PC meets the system requirements, including Version 9.0. Note any error message before choosing a fix. If it identifies a missing runtime, install the required DirectX components or Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable from Microsoft.
My antivirus is blocking the game — is it safe?
A warning needs to be investigated; the download source alone cannot confirm that a file is safe. Keep your security software enabled and review the detection details. Do not run or restore a flagged file unless you have verified that it is a false positive. If you are unsure, leave it quarantined.