The best space games
Starfield
Release date: 2023 | Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Following Bethesda’s established RPG pattern, Starfield begins in a confined area before revealing an expansive galactic playground. This sci-fi universe brims with collectible treasures, hundreds of distinctive quests and characters awaiting discovery. Team up with companions to explore resource-rich planets and establish bases, or channel your creativity into spacecraft construction. Since its 2023 launch, the game has expanded—and while the Shattered Space DLC offers modest additions, existing fans will appreciate the extra content. Though perhaps not Bethesda’s crowning achievement, Starfield stands as one of the most comprehensive space RPGs available.
Outer Wilds
Release date: 2019 | Developer: Mobius Digital
This first-person open world experience sends you exploring a compact solar system filled with peculiar planets and strange cosmic phenomena. The twist? You’re caught in a time loop that limits each exploration session to just 20 minutes. Outer Wilds shares conceptual DNA with investigative games like Her Story and Obra Dinn, requiring players to assemble a cohesive understanding by discovering and connecting seemingly unrelated fragments of information.
Honkai: Star Rail
Release date: 2023 | Developer: HoYoverse
This turn-based science fiction RPG from Genshin Impact’s creators delivers unexpected excellence. Players choose a male or female Trailblazer character and join an exploratory team visiting diverse planets threatened by cosmic deities. Unlike Genshin, it doesn’t feature a completely open world, but each planet offers explorable cities and locations alongside an extensive narrative that skillfully balances humor and heroism—embodying the essential qualities of an engaging space opera.
The Outer Worlds
Release date: 2019 | Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Not to be confused with the similarly named Outer Wilds (also featured here), Obsidian’s interplanetary RPG delivers a humorous action experience reminiscent of the studio’s earlier Fallout titles. You and your companions navigate a colorful solar system populated with vibrant environments and eccentric characters. Corporate entities serve as the antagonists in this retro-futuristic setting where you’ll engage in alien combat, navigate dialogue options, and potentially wreak havoc across any planet you visit—if that’s your preferred approach.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Release date: 2022 | Developer: Blackbird Interactive
Hardspace: Shipbreaker presents a future where spacecraft dismantling pays the bills—barely. This first-person deconstruction simulator has you learning technical skills, accepting contracts, and refining your abilities with the ultimate goal of escaping crushing debt. The game balances creative satisfaction with deliberate repetition, mirroring the reality of blue-collar employment. Through this experience, it highlights the critical importance of undervalued and overworked laborers within a system dominated by corporate billionaires.
Observation
Release date: 2019 | Developer: No Code
The space station Observation has drifted from Earth orbit to the vicinity of Saturn. Its systems malfunction, fires erupt, and the onboard AI called SAM exhibits unusual behavior. Dr. Emma Fisher faces dire circumstances in this sci-fi thriller from the creators of Stories Untold. The innovative twist? Rather than controlling Fisher, you embody the station’s artificial intelligence.
Tacoma
Release date: 2017 | Developer: Fullbright
When the Tacoma lunar transfer station is mysteriously abandoned, your mission becomes investigating the situation and retrieving its valuable AI system, Odin. This atmospheric science fiction mystery from Gone Home’s developers features exceptional writing and nuanced characters whose stories unfold through interactive augmented reality recordings. The meticulously detailed station environment invites exploration, and each discovery deepens the intriguing narrative.
Alien: Isolation
Release date: 2014 | Developer: Creative Assembly
Amanda Ripley, Ellen’s daughter, evades a xenomorph threat while navigating a deteriorating space station in this outstanding survival horror experience. Drawing inspiration from Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic, the game masterfully builds tension through deliberate pacing. The station itself, Sevastopol, exemplifies retro-futuristic design with chunky vintage technology and unsettling flickering illumination. It stands as both one of the most faithful film adaptations ever created and an exceptional horror game in its own right.
Dead Space (2023)
Release date: 2023 | Developer: Motive
Isaac Clarke faces extraordinary misfortune. Assigned to repair the USG Ishimura, he quickly discovers the vessel overrun with terrifying alien creatures. Dead Space combines Alien’s industrial horror aesthetic with third-person gameplay focused on dismembering every approaching monster. The 2023 remake enhances visual quality, updates Clarke’s appearance, and emphasizes the atmospheric tension and suspense that defined the original experience.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Release date: 2021 | Developer: BioWare
For anyone who has dreamed of captaining a starship like Picard—commanding a vessel, journeying through the galaxy, encountering exotic alien species, and facing cosmic dilemmas—the Mass Effect series (particularly the second installment) delivers this fantasy in playable form. Blending Star Wars operatic elements with Star Trek’s thoughtful episodes, it ranks among PC gaming’s finest science fiction experiences.
While lacking the open-ended freedom of titles like Elite: Dangerous, it offers an unforgettable guided tour of the galaxy, featuring unusual planets and meaningful interactions with their alien inhabitants. The series has been modernized through the Legendary Edition, though Mass Effect 2 remains the collective favorite despite its original PC version having technical issues.
Starbound
Release date: 2013 | Developer: Chucklefish Games
Offering Terraria-inspired survival mechanics with a science fiction perspective, Starbound lets you travel between procedurally generated planets aboard a starship, hunt alien wildlife for sustenance, construct colonies and subterranean bases, all while fighting for survival. This captivating sci-fi sandbox features charming visual design. Playable species include mechanical beings, solar energy entities, simian-like creatures, and colorful flightless avians.
Everspace
Release date: 2017 | Developer: Rockfish Games
In this roguelike experience, death is permanent in Everspace, but accumulated currency transfers between attempts for permanent upgrades. These enhancements compound, enabling deeper and more ambitious cosmic exploration with each successive run. This creates a compelling gameplay loop where death brings anticipation rather than frustration—each new attempt holds the promise of greater progress and discovery.
Elite Dangerous
Release date: 2014 | Developer: Frontier Developments
An entire galaxy becomes your playground in this comprehensive space simulation. Beginning with a basic vessel and limited funds, you determine your own path. Will you become a feared pirate, successful trader, or dedicated explorer? Elite’s greatest strength lies in accommodating diverse playstyles. From intense dogfights to peaceful exploration, the game offers something for everyone. Every ship, from agile fighters to substantial cargo haulers, provides a thoroughly satisfying piloting experience.
Heat Signature
Release date: 2017 | Developer: Suspicious Developments
This top-down science fiction action game involves infiltrating spaceships and neutralizing crews using various weapons and gadgets. Its brilliance stems from the creative freedom granted to players, drawing inspiration from immersive sim traditions. Your responses to the chaos that erupts when your presence becomes known transforms Heat Signature into a powerful generator of memorable gameplay moments. Plans may go awry, but these unexpected developments contribute significantly to the enjoyment.
Event[0]
Release date: 2016 | Developer: Ocelot Society
Stranded alone near Jupiter aboard an antiquated luxury spacecraft, your sole hope for returning home rests with an AI suffering from serious emotional instability. You communicate with Kaizen using keyboard inputs, and while it occasionally offers assistance, it might suddenly change its approach—perhaps deciding to seal you outside the airlock until your oxygen supply depletes. This clever adventure captures the understated atmosphere characteristic of 1970s science fiction cinema.
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Release date: 1994 | Developer: Totally Games
This game offers a rare opportunity to serve as the antagonist within George Lucas’s beloved space saga. Featuring various Imperial missions—from dogfighting and escort duties to capital ship assaults—alongside a narrative framework, it represents one of LucasArts’ finest Star Wars gaming contributions. Players preferring to support the Rebellion can substitute this entry with Star Wars: X-Wing.
FTL: Faster Than Light
Release date: 2012 | Developer: Subset Games
FTL combines turn-based and real-time strategy elements to capture the experience of commanding a Star Trek-style vessel. It also functions as an excellent roguelike, set against a backdrop of familiar yet engaging science fiction with its own semi-humorous mythology and well-crafted narrative sequences that make the journey toward its conclusion consistently exciting. The ability to name your ship and crew members makes their potential demise in hostile territory all the more emotionally impactful.
Duskers
Release date: 2016 | Developer: Misfits Attic
Despite being viewed entirely through a vintage-futuristic computer interface, Duskers delivers one of the most frightening, tension-filled sci-fi horror experiences available on PC. Players control a drone fleet searching abandoned spaceships for fuel, enhancements, and clues regarding the mysterious absence of galactic life. The vessels you investigate contain strange entities, making the search for information within those narrow, darkened corridors particularly nerve-wracking.
The Dig
Release date: 1995 | Developer: LucasArts
A mission to divert an Earth-bound asteroid goes wrong, transporting a group of astronauts to a distant, seemingly uninhabited world. Some puzzles prove frustratingly obscure, even by LucasArts point-and-click adventure standards, but the vibrant, unusual planet environment feels genuinely extraterrestrial. The voice acting quality is noteworthy, featuring X-Files star Robert Patrick in the lead role.
Wing Commander: Privateer
Release date: 1993 | Developer: Origin Systems
Series enthusiasts endlessly debate which Wing Commander title reigns supreme, but Privateer’s darker atmosphere has particular appeal. It provides a rich sandbox environment where players can function as mercenaries, pirates, merchants, or any combination thereof. Travel between star systems seeking bounties and vessels to plunder, with first-person space combat providing thrilling engagement. While a linear narrative exists, the true enjoyment comes from charting your own course through the cosmos.
Take On Mars
Release date: 2013 | Developer: Bohemia Interactive
For those preferring more grounded space gaming experiences, Arma developer Bohemia offers Take On Mars. This exploration and colonization simulator largely adheres to actual astronomical science. Construct a Curiosity-style rover to explore the Martian surface or establish your own colony on the red planet. This game appeals to those seeking scientific accuracy alongside their space adventures.
Objects in Space
Release date: 2019 | Developer: Flat Earth Games
This distinctive approach to space simulation incorporates the trading and exploration elements found in games like Elite Dangerous but evokes the sensation of submarine command. Space itself remains unseen; instead, players interact with utilitarian compartments filled with displays and equipment. Management demands are substantial, requiring simultaneous fulfillment of multiple roles: pilot, engineer, communications officer. Despite the limited visual perspective, the experience effectively conveys the sensation of traversing space aboard a starship.
The best strategy space games
Factorio: Space Age
Release date: 2024 | Developer: Wube Software
While Factorio’s base game unfolds on a planet resembling a dystopian Earth, space elements take center stage in the Space Age expansion. This addition introduces interplanetary logistics comparable to a full sequel, featuring man-made “space platforms” requiring maintenance and four distinct planets to discover and travel between. Each world presents unique geographical challenges, making your interplanetary base station seem remarkably hospitable compared to environments like a world primarily composed of lava and ash. The indigenous creatures on the volcanic planet demonstrate particular hostility, making interaction with the giant worms inadvisable.
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2
Release date: 2019 | Developer: Tindalos Interactive
This real-time tactical game features massive spaceships engaging in combat within the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Conflicts occur on a two-dimensional plane populated with control points and asteroid fields, with vessels handling like enormous, lethal cruise ships. Deploy fighter and bomber squadrons, launch torpedo barrages and laser strikes, and conduct boarding operations against enemy vessels. The space combat proves immersive and visually impressive, while the campaign delivers satisfaction—especially for enthusiasts of the 40K franchise.
Endless Space 2
Release date: 2017 | Developer: Amplitude Studios
A stylish galactic conquest game that, while not the most extensive or profound 4X strategy title available on PC, offers an atmospheric experience that effectively combines strategic decision-making with impressive visual presentation. Set within a vivid science fiction universe, players explore mysterious star systems, uncover ancient civilizations’ secrets, establish colonies on distant worlds, and encounter alien species for diplomatic or military engagement.
Stellaris
Release date: 2016 | Developer: Paradox
Developed by Paradox, renowned for Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis, this science fiction epic exemplifies grand strategy gaming. Explore the universe, form alliances with alien factions, and participate in occasional large-scale space conflicts. The game’s numerous systems function as powerful narrative generators, and each journey through the stars brings encounters with unpredictable extraterrestrial entities.
Sins of a Solar Empire
Release date: 2008 | Developer: Ironclad Games
Combining real-time strategy with 4X elements, Sins focuses on galactic domination. Select a faction, accumulate resources, and establish yourself as a formidable cosmic ruler. While commanding real-time warfare provides excitement, combat isn’t always necessary—diplomatic approaches can also secure planetary systems. This deliberately paced RTS features truly massive space confrontations that inspire awe.
Homeworld Remastered Collection
Release date: 2015 | Developer: Relic/Gearbox Software
Featuring one of gaming’s finest single-player RTS campaigns, beautifully restored by Gearbox. Watching thousands of your vessels streak across the game’s vibrantly colorful cosmic landscapes creates dramatic visual impact. Conflicts demand tactical thinking and offer variety through numerous vessel types, including imposing battleships. The Remastered Collection displays impressively on modern systems and includes both the original Homeworld and its sequel.
Surviving Mars
Release date: 2019 | Developer: Flat Earth Games
This unique interpretation of space simulation incorporates trading and exploration elements similar to Elite Dangerous but evokes submarine command sensations. Space itself remains unseen; players instead interact with functional compartments filled with displays and machinery. Management demands are substantial, requiring simultaneous fulfillment of multiple roles: pilot, engineer, communications officer. Despite limited environmental visibility, the experience effectively conveys the sensation of cosmic travel aboard a starship.
The best multiplayer space games
Helldivers 2
Release date: 2024 | Developer: Arrowhead Games
Though its initial player surge has stabilized, this third-person alien combat game maintains its appeal. Players serve as ordinary soldiers tasked with planetary expeditions to eliminate insectoid creatures and robotic adversaries through teamwork and special command inputs that summon devastating weapons. Everything desirable from a Starship Troopers game adaptation appears here: spectacular explosions, amusing mishaps, and genuine camaraderie.
Lethal Company
Release date: 2023 | Developer: Zeekerss
Lethal Company presents a straightforward premise: you and orange-uniformed companions accept assignments to salvage abandoned space stations inhabited by incomprehensible horrors. This first-person survival horror game balances terror with comedic potential as players fumble through environments seeking valuables. Proximity-based voice communication and hazard-filled planets create one of gaming’s most chaotic multiplayer environments. The vacuum of space becomes a minor concern when accompanied by three equally acquisitive astronauts.
Warframe
Release date: 2013 | Developer: Digital Extremes
Describing Warframe’s full scope—a kinetic, third-person action game with MMO elements—would be challenging. Players navigate its remarkable narrative using various hero-like ‘frames’ while also decorating vessels, playing space instruments, and capturing self-portraits. Digital Extremes continuously expands its science fiction universe, and remarkably, participation requires no financial investment.
Space Engineers
Release date: 2013 | Developer: Keen Software House
Extract building materials from asteroids, then transform them into orbital bases, functional spacecraft, and additional structures. Navigate environments using jetpacks or construct gravity generators enabling safe movement across larger asteroid surfaces. This ranks among PC gaming’s finest cooperative construction experiences.
EVE Online
Release date: 2003 | Developer: CCP Games
Experience an alternative existence—among the stars! EVE Online offers an unparalleled PC experience as a massively multiplayer RPG where player actions determine everything. This living galaxy hosts thousands of capsuleers engaged in combat, commerce, resource extraction, and exploration. Venture beyond the relative security of police-patrolled starting systems to discover a ruthless cosmic frontier where piracy, espionage, and deception flourish. Whether participating in massive space conflicts with significant real-world financial implications or simply exploring New Eden independently, EVE delivers an unforgettable experience.
Destiny 2
Release date: 2017 | Developer: Bungie
Bungie’s addictive FPS/MMO hybrid showcases some of PC gaming’s most visually striking alien landscapes. From Earth’s forested ruins and Europa’s frigid wastelands to The Dreaming City’s cosmic splendor, every location provides an aesthetically pleasing environment for loot-gathering and combat. Despite removing certain planets from the game, Bungie continues enhancing the narrative and mythology with each expansion, alongside thoughtful refinements to signature classes and equipment systems.
No Man’s Sky
Release date: 2016 | Developer: Hello Games
This game presents one of PC gaming’s most vibrantly colorful science fiction universes, with seamless transitions between space and planetary surfaces representing an impressive technical achievement. Features added through continuous updates—like base construction, mission systems, and genuine multiplayer functionality—provide substantive activities during planetary exploration. Additionally, algorithmic improvements to procedural generation have resulted in more unusual and visually appealing planetary surfaces.
