Personally, I really don't like most of these games due to the tedium and frustration that comes with hunger/thirst mechanics. Most of the exceptions that I do actually like either make up for it through something else that elevates the experience enough - or they either don't have these mechanics or allow for players to disable them.
Subnautica is an example of the latter. There's already a lot to like here: A gorgeous, hand-crafted world that skillfully strides the balance between being alien and familiar, a cool sci-fi aesthetic for everything that isn't natural, purposeful progression, fantastic atmosphere, swimming that feels great. The fact that I can play this game having only to worry about my breath and health is the cherry on top.
The Long Dark still has hunger and thirst, but I'm willing to overlook this just so that I can soak in the atmosphere of this frozen post-apocalypse. With relatively simple tech and straightforward mechanics, this game effortlessly manages to engross the player. I will admit though that when I found a nice deserted cabin at one point, I decided to end the game there, deciding that this was a suitable end point. I'll definitely pick it up again in the future, but not during this time of the year.
NEO Scavenger: It's kind of ironic that one of the most "hardcore" examples of this genre is also one of my favorites. Like with the other two, it's the atmosphere and the world that drew me in, but it's also that all of the intricate, unforgiving survival mechanics this game has, down to getting sick due to exposure, feel realistic and purposeful, instead of merely existing to tick a standard survival game checkbox. It's hard, not unfair, it's punishing and random without feeling uncontrollable.
Give Frostpunk a try. It's a good mix of city builder and survival. Darkest Dungeon is also good, but more unforgiving.
I just started Frostpunk, and one of the first tutorial steps is to build a food place. So I built it, but it wasn't on a road (apparently) so it's unusable. I don't know where the road is, and even if I did I don't know how to build or extend it. And I can't see a way to move or demolish it. Of course I can easily look all this up, but you know when a game immediately gets on your bad side? Yup, that.
Not a survival fan either but The Long Dark and Subnautica are both fantastic.
I know I'm late but I had that same issue with finding out how to demolish roads (I ended up looking it up). Ironically my most recent obsession with it, where I sunk 30 hours in a week, is also my 2nd time giving the game a chance.
I think my initial complaint was the controls for playing with a controller. Coming back to it with keyboard and mouse was great. If you have any questions let me know, sometimes you gotta set it down and come back to it.
Demolish roads is a small red button below the row of buildings. You should see the roads button that looks like a bunch of lines, and to the right of it should be the small red demolish roads button.
I have actually played Frostpunk and it's one of my favorite games in recent years, if a bit too easy.
Frostpunk is made by my favorite game studio and I love the genre and all their other games, but I really did not enjoy it. Some reviews mention that the scenarios have such small margins that unless you do things in a specific way, it's very unlikely you will beat them. I agree with that to a certain extent, but it feels like there's something else to it too. It's been years since I played, but the tech tree felt interesting but like it wasn't properly enmeshed with the gameplay and struggles with an obvious winning strategy that limits your feasible options.