The 21 Best Space Games

Set a decade and a half after the events of the movie that kicked off the Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation follows Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley, as she tries to uncover the mystery behind her mother’s disappearance. The game captures the spirit of the films and their abrupt action amongst slower tension pretty well and it’s one of the better entries in the franchise’s history, including all of the movies. Naturally, this is an even better experience if you’re already familiar with those movies first.

Dead Space got apt praise when it first came out in 2008, but the remake from the top of this year (2023) did a great job of introducing it to a new audience, as well as letting long-time fans experience it on current-gen consoles. The game puts you in the shoes of Isaac Clarke, a ship systems engineer who finds himself on a ship that has been taken over and inhabited by Necromorphs, monsters that come in various shapes and sizes, but a unifying goal of ripping you limb from limb… quite literally. The game does an incredible job of building tension and making every turn as frightening as the next.

Chances are that if you haven’t played Destiny 2 yet but are even a casual gamer, you’ve still heard of the game. It’s best enjoyed with a few friends, where its blurry stature as an MMO can truly thrive. The game is set on alien planets that are filled with loot that matches the environment. You can play normal story missions here, or engage in raids, which is a big part of the appeal in the game.

This game can look a little daunting from the outside, but once you put some hours in and learn the mechanics, it’s undoubtedly one of the better games out there that’s set in space. It’s a real-time 4X strategy game where you’ll feel the weight of having to be tactical like in a turn-based game and the scale of an MMO. There are over a thousand star systems and tens of thousands of planets, asteroids, and moons.

Flight simulator games have been around for a long time and have remained popular up to now when it’s genuinely hard to tell the difference between graphics and real life. Elite Dangerous is a space-flying sim where the universe is your playground. The developers went out of their way to try to recreate our galaxy and its planets to scale and with a high level of realism, so even if you only have a basic understanding of things, you should be able to appreciate them. The game also supports you playing with a bunch of friends, which is always a plus.

The most interesting thing about EVE Online is that it is a persistent world where the players dictate pretty much everything. The thousands of players that are online at once all play on the same server and can choose to go it alone or group up as they see fit, having an impact on the entire in-game economy along the way. This level of power comes with great moments but also should come with caution because players can also steal from others, extort, and more, all in the name of freedom of choice.

EVERSPACE is a 3D space shooter that borrows the permadeath mechanic from many roguelike games. Dying here means having to start over while retaining only your money, which should help you have a more successful run each time you play. EVERSPACE 2 was released earlier in the year (2023) and you just might be compelled to see what all the hype is about with that equally amazing sequel after playing its predecessor.

Released in 2012, this is widely considered one of the best indie games of all time. It has it all, including but not limited to permadeath, real-time strategy, turn-based combat, crew members you can name, and more. You can enter a battle only for one of your crew to fall sick, meaning you’re unsuccessful, but this kind of realism and unpredictability is what has kept FTL popular in the decade-plus since its release.

The Homeworld Remastered Collection houses the first two games, excluding Homeworld: Cataclysm. The first game came out in 1999 and the second in 2003, so while some of the reasons it soared to popularity might be a little dated now, these remastered versions of the games still hold up and have some of the magic about them. It might be a good idea to play this before the next game comes out next year.

Many of the games on this list deal with being in space and all of its problems and wonders, but Kerbal Space Program takes a step back and much of the challenge is getting to space in the first place. You take the reins as the leader of a space program for aliens called "Kerbals." You must craft a ship that can not only get off the ground and into space but land on an alien planet. How you do this is up to you and the trial and error here is where the fun lies.

The Guardians of the Galaxy game had somewhat of a slow burn with gamers, with those who tried it out early pretty much unanimously agreeing that it was a pleasant surprise. The Guardians crew is a favorite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it was crucial that a game captured the spirit of the characters and it does just that. Just like the trilogy of movies, things are light-hearted until they aren’t, but it’s fun the entire way through.

Compiling and remastering Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3, the Legendary Edition of these games sees players meeting various alien races, exploring a bunch of alien planets, and taking part in other-world battles, which is about as much as you can hope for from a space game. This is considered by long-time fans of the games to be the best way to play them.

Despite the unfathomable hype around it before its release, No Man’s Sky had a somewhat turbulent first few years, with gamers being unequivocally disappointed as a whole. Thankfully, it meant that the developers were forced to be quite receptive to this, and in the seven years since the game’s release, it has seen various updates of various sizes, and today, it’s the game that many hoped for upon release.

Developed by No Code and published by Devolver Digital, Observation is an adventure game that actually sees you becoming an artificial intelligence software named "SAM" (Systems Administration and Maintenance) aboard a space station. The hero in the story is a woman named Dr. Emma Fisher, but the game takes a left turn instead by making you her trusty partner. The twists and turns of the story should keep you hooked here.

Outer Wilds is one of the more unique entries on this list because the setting of space isn’t the focal point, but a driver for the story. You’re investigating a solar system that’s stuck in a time loop and must land on multiple planets within it to find out what’s going on. Exploring the environment is a lot of fun, as are the many great puzzles on offer here.

Dogfighting games are often intense even in regular planes, but flying spaceships and doing battle amongst asteroids and overlooking galaxies is a whole different ballgame. There are numerous different modes to choose from here and all of them are fun for different reasons because the core gameplay is so great. There are over 100 ships to fly and all come with benefits and drawbacks.

TIE Fighter isn’t the most popular of the critically acclaimed Star Wars games out there for gamers to play, but it’s still one of the best, despite its release nearly three decades ago. The plot kicks off shortly after the events of The Empire Strikes Back and before Return Of The Jedi, two fan favorites in the movie series. The game got praised for its graphics when it first dropped, but naturally, those haven’t aged the best. There’s still some great Star Wars-themed space fun to have here though.

A 4X grand strategy game, Stellaris is a perfect offering for those who want to feel the immenseness of space and its combat at a large scale. The game lets you decide what’s most important to you and explore that area. If you want to engage in battle with any and every faction you see, you can do that. You can also form alliances with alien factions too. The universe has never been your oyster quite like it is here.

If the baron lands in The Outer Worlds feel familiar to you, it might be because it’s developed by Obsidian Entertainment, who did Fallout: New Vegas. Though there’s not an open world here, the game does encourage you to explore and give you enough outside of the main story to do that with too. This is a lighter-hearted space adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which should appeal to gamers who like a bit more comedy strewn into their space exploration.

Next up on this list of the best space games is X4: Foundations is essentially a sandbox game that takes place in a world that feels as though it’s living and breathing even while you’re not actively playing it. It’s not perfect by any means, but for those looking to get a dose of space in their gaming, this game has all of the facilities to let you build an empire in space as you please.

From the makers of classics such as Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim comes a space opera that places you beyond the stars. Starfield gives you the freedom to explore the Milky Way galaxy and make your way across more than 1,000 planets. Along the way, you'll make friends and your fair share of enemies as you map out your journey however you see fit. First- and third-person combat comes into play as you run into space pirates and local planetary wildlife that may not take too kindly to your presence. Starfield lets you craft your own spaceship, get into ship battles, and even raid other people's ships if you see fit to do so. The options are endless for anyone who gives this game a try.