The best space games on PC 2022
What are the best space games on PC in 2022? Featuring the biggest Steam games, like Kerbal Space Program, and the best free games, such as Eve Online, these are the most sensational space epics around.
Trying to pick out the best PC space games is a galaxy-sized question. Developers have been churning out space adventures since the ‘70s, and with everyone getting excited about Jupiter, and with Kickstarter and crowdfunding allowing studios to strike out alone, we’re currently just a teensy bit obsessed with what’s beyond our little blue and green marble.
While we wait for E.T. to return our numerous missed calls, let’s kill the time by playing some amazing intergalactic adventures. Kick Collector posterior in Mass Effect 2. Mess around with adorable rocket science in Kerbal Space Program. Stare in awe at the sheer vastness of the universe in Eve Online. If you’re looking to go where only Bill Shatner and chums have boldly gone before, these are the best sci-fi and space games on PC. Just remember… no one will hear you scream.
The best space games are:
Mech Arena
Mech Arena is by no means a high concept game, but it is definitely a fun game. As you may be able to infer from the title, this is a game that sees you doing battle in mech suits. There are a number of different mechs to choose from, and they all play differently, and each of them has a ton of customisation options too.
“Mech suits are cool,” you may say, “but what do they have to do with space?” Well, as it happens, one of the game’s arenas takes place on the surface of the moon, with a moonbase as a backdrop. It’s particularly cool (in more ways than one) and looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie (or maybe 1960s Nasa footage).
Play Mech Arena for free.
Play for free
Star Trek Online
In movies and online, Star Trek has come a long way in a comparatively short space of time, though arguably it’s the initially troubled MMO that’s had the longest journey.
Ravaged a little upon release for effectively being a bad fit, Star Trek Online has ended up filling its replica uniform rather well, and is now regarded as one of the best MMORPGs around.
It’s helpful to think of Star Trek Online not just as a game that manages to capture the spirit of the Roddenberry-enforced universe – with its pioneering forays into the unknown, tactical one-on-one battles, and meeting with curious aliens with an abiding love for human history – but as being part of an online fan convention. Players display their affiliations for TOS, TNG, or DS9, indulge their series knowledge and take part in various games on the side, namely via structured away team missions and battles in space. Being a game funded by microtransactions, you can also buy loads of tat, but the point is that Star Trek Online is not so much a sim for gamers who like Star Trek, but a hang-out for Star Trek fans who like to game.
And there’s a lot of game to like, from the way in which you develop your character and bridge officers, to playing through regular episode missions.
It’s akin to riding an open-topped shuttle around every nook of Trek lore and history. Where the game excels, however, is during open team space battles, in which small groups of player ships combine to bring down indomitable NPC vessels. With a need to manage shields and power levels, consider speed and positioning, veteran fans of the Starfleet Command games will find much to engage, especially when part of a well-drilled team of frontline and support vessels tearing up the galaxy.
While Star Trek Online came out many, many years ago, it’s still receiving regular content updates and even expansions. The most recent one, Rise of Discovery, tells the story of a pivotal moment in the lives of both Gabriel Lorca and Ellen Landry. You get to experience the events that lead to the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery, plus there’s an overhaul to how you unlock the best ships in the game, making this a much kinder update for new players.
Play Star Trek Online for free.
Star Conflict
Star Conflict is a dogfighting free MMO that sees pilots clash amid asteroid belts and above planets in fast-paced scraps.
While it’s mostly concerned with PvP battles, you can grab a few quests, explore ruins, and dabble in a spot of crafting.
It’s the ships that make the game, of course. From nimble fighters to beefy frigates and bulky destroyers, there are a copious number of vessels to unlock and upgrade, determining your role in whatever conflict you find yourself duking it out in. There are over a hundred ships to choose from, but getting access to them all takes some doing.
There’s a metagame, too, as you fight for your chosen faction, hunting down foes and getting in pitched battles in an effort to spread your group’s influence and net yourself some lovely rewards.
Play Star Conflict for free.
EVE Online
This has been the preeminent space game for so long that you might be forgiven for thinking it’s the only space game in existence. Unquestionably, Eve Online is one of the most interesting, partly down to the fact that its half a million online inhabitants play on the same mega-server rather than having to endure the severed realities offered by its many fantasy contemporaries.
Players join together to form fleets that number in the thousands, and alliances in the tens of thousands, all laying siege to entire regions for months on end, supported by an extensive supply chain of miners, traders, researchers, and manufacturers. In terms of scale and substance, there really isn’t anything else like it. For example, an Eve ship worth 309 billion ISK – one of just one of three in existence – was destroyed by a spy embedded in the ship’s owner’s organisation. Yes, there’s nothing quite like the stories generated by Eve’s astonishing community.
Online games of this scale aren’t without their downsides. It has a reputation for being bastard-hard to get into, but after updates to the user interface, graphics and the near-constant streamlining of some of the game’s more obscure systems, the Eve of today is no more difficult to approach than its single-player bosom buddies X and Elite.
It’s also receiving regular updates like the recent Eve Online: Invasion expansion, the second chapter of which will be arriving November 26.
Earlier this year players were blindsided by the sudden aggression of a previously passive NPC faction, The Drifters, in a move designed by the developers to stir up trouble, proving the dangerous world of New Eden requires constant vigilance and cooperation.
The new player experience is being continually streamlined, but can still be challenging, especially if your aim is to carve out a small empire for yourself within a few weeks. Give yourself a fighting chance with our Eve Online beginner’s guide.
No Man’s Sky
Space is an unconquered and never-ending vista. That desire to explore the unknown also forms the attraction of Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky, which uses procedural generation to ensure that you’ll never reach the end of its recreation of space, which has over 18 quintillion planets to explore.
Exploration isn’t all you’ll do in No Man’s Sky, however, as you’ll need to find ways to survive. Paramount to your success in doing that is mastering the game’s trading and combat.
No Man’s Sky didn’t have the smoothest launch, but a heap of updates has steadied the ship since, adding everything from deep sea exploration to base-building – maintaining a dedicated and loving fanbase that bought a billboard to say thank you.
The No Man’s Sky: Beyond update this year massively overhauled several aspects of the game, introducing near-unlimited inventory space, VR compatibility, and a much more significant multiplayer component. You can now play No Man’s Sky on PC Game Pass, and it continues to see regular, huge updates, like this one that “doubles the variety in the game”.
Stellaris
Stellaris, Paradox’s 4X grand strategy hybrid, makes space surprising again thanks to event chains that are, at first, evocative of Crusader Kings II, but end up going much further. In Stellaris, you should expect mutant uprisings, robotic rebellions, and the discovery of alien texts that make your citizens question their place in the galaxy.
It’s not just a 4X game; it’s a galactic roleplaying game and empire sim, bestowing a vast array of options upon players, allowing them to create unique, eccentric, space-faring species.
You can play as a fundamentalist society built on the backs of slaves, or hyper-intelligent lizards that rely on robots whether they are fighting or farming. The robust species creator and a multitude of meaningful decisions mean that you can create almost any aliens that you can imagine.
And underpinning all of that is the game’s focus on exploration. While most space 4X games stick with one method of interstellar travel, Stellaris gives you three to choose from, each with their own strengths and counters. In one game, the galaxy might be a network of hyperlanes, but in the next, you might find yourself building wormhole stations and blinking across the galaxy.
Stellaris’ multiplayer isn’t to be overlooked either, transforming decent human beings into Machiavellian alien tyrants at the drop of a hat. Check out ours guides to The best Stellaris DLC and our Stellaris guide: tips and tricks for beginners.
Kerbal Space Program
The first order of doing anything in space is, of course, to get there.
Unfortunately, most games in this otherwise splendid list make the rather wild assumption that rocket science isn’t all that important and skip to the business of spreading violence, free market capitalism, and all manner of other human diseases to all corners of various galaxies. Thankfully, the space program to which the Kerbals fatefully apply is rather more grounded in reality, in the sense that the aim of the game is to avoid crashing into the stuff.
Kerbal Space Program is ostensibly about trial and error, first in building a vessel capable of getting its payload off the ground, which is relatively easy, second by actually getting the damn thing launched and steered into some kind of orbit. You soon realise that getting past the Karman Line is one thing, while delivering your payload safely to its destination another entirely. Thankfully, because your gurning passengers seem quite happy to be sacrificed for the greater good of the basic understanding of astrophysics, the trial and error is every bit as involved and entertaining as any fleeting success.
As you’ll read in our Kerbal Space Program PC review, there’s plenty of successes to aim for: reaching the Mun (née Moon), deploying a modular space station, and mining on distant planets are all attainable, albeit after a great deal of crushing but entertaining failure, made bearable thanks to a combination of hard science unpinning a soft and cute interior. As well as being a bloody good space game, KSP may well be the most entertaining community-enriched sandbox games since Minecraft – massively helped along by Kerbal Space Program mods.
Homeworld Remastered Collection
Homeworld’s the sort of game that gets inside your head and just stays there. It originally came out 15 years ago, eventually spawning an expansion, an excellent sequel, and most recently, Homeworld Remastered Collection. It’s a series that remains unsurpassed. It’s also one of those rare strategy games that has a great story; both tragic and hopeful, filled to the brim with tension. It’s a voyage of discovery, of learning about the past and desperately struggling to create a future.
It’s beautiful and a bit sad.
Thanks to Gearbox’s Homeworld remastering efforts, one of the best old games is even more beautiful. Now the game looks like it does in our memories, even those clouded by nostalgia, with its beautifully detailed ships and its gargantuan space backdrops. And, thanks to its minimalist UI, none of that beauty is obscured.
Watching the game in action is like viewing an epic ballet. Tiny ships fly in formation in all directions; massive, heavily armed capital ships float around the vast mother ship; diligent resource gatherers work away to fuel a massive undertaking. Even the biggest vessels are dwarfed by the size of the 3D maps, and when the camera is zoomed out, they look alone and vulnerable. Which is exactly what they are.
Outer Wilds
Not to be confused with The Outer Worlds – another awesome space game from 2019 – Outer Wilds casts you as an astronaut anthropologist out in the wilds of space exploring ruins across your solar system.
Your goal is to learn as much about the mysterious alien race, the Nomai, as possible, but it’s pretty much up to you how that mystery unravels.
There are several distinct planets to explore and a 20-minute time loop that bookends your adventures neatly, so each run you’ll aim to discover a little more about the world before your progress partially resets. Soulful and packed with mystery, Outer Wilds goes down a treat whether you gobble it all up in one sitting or treat each 20-minute time loop as a fresh bite.
Elite Dangerous
30 years since it first graced the BBC Micro, the Elite series returns in the form of Elite Dangerous. It’s been around for a while in alpha and beta forms, enough time to be written about thousands of times and played by countless pirates, bounty hunters, traders, and explorers. So we already knew it was going to be a bit impressive.
Our playground is a whole galaxy. Not just any galaxy, either. The Milky Way is the setting of Elite Dangerous, built to terrifying scale.
It’s a galaxy populated with black holes, gargantuan suns, space anomalies, and spaceships that flit around like tiny specks of dust on an inconceivably big table. It’s still familiar and authentically Elite, but elevated by tech that would have boggled minds in 1984, when 256 planets was massively impressive. How you carve out a life in this galaxy is much the same, though, whether you become a trader, filling your cargo hold with algae and microchips, or a mercenary, fighting in an interstellar war.
It’s great, and thanks to Elite Dangerous mods, players are improving it with things like chatting ship AIs that react to voice commands. Frontier also continues to fatten it up with free updates along with the Elite: Dangerous’ Horizon expansion. And if you’re lucky enough to have an Oculus Rift, then you’re in for a treat, right up to the point where your ship spins out of control and you dive head-first into a sick bag.
If that’s got you excited to strap into a Cobra and hurtle into the inky black, get your space adventure started with our Elite: Dangerous guide.
Endless Space 2
Story, a 4X designer would probably say, is something that emerges naturally from the interplay of systems in a strategy game – the clash of borders, an unplanned war. Amplitude Studios don’t think that’s much of an excuse. They’ve stuffed Endless Space 2 with as much science fiction as it can contain – and given that it’s got whole galaxies to fill, that’s plenty.
Here you’ll meet living crystals, tiny dragons, recycled war machines and millions of clones of a bloke named Horatio. It’s a universe teeming with offbeat ideas to enjoy, and then enslave, if you’re that sort of explorer. If not, you can play as a bunch of sentient trees and spread olive branches throughout known space.
There’s less left to the imagination than in conventional grand strategy – scraps are resolved in a beautiful 3D battle engine that sees your elaborate ships drift together in the void in a dramatic, interplanetary ballet. It’s like Football Manager, but with chrome, faster-than-light monoliths.
Isn’t that what Sega’s catalogue has been missing until now? If you still need convincing then just read our glowing Endless Space 2 review. It’s been years since the game launched, but still the Endless Space 2 player counts are looking strong.
Master of Orion 1 + 2
Fans have been arguing since last century over which of the Master of Orion games is the better of the series and they only seem to agree that the third most definitely isn’t it, which makes the widely-available double pack featuring the first two MOOs something of an essential and stress-free purchase – at least until Wargaming finish their MOO reboot with the help of some “key members” of the original team.
Released in 1993, Master of Orion took the concepts of Sid Meier’s classic turn-based Civilization and applied it across a galaxy of planets rather than one, so that instead of various flavours of human settlers and terrestrial biomes, players were given a wide range of planet types and races to control and conquer, such as the Silicoids; able to thrive in the most hostile of environments, albeit at a glacial reproductive rate.
While the driving force behind Master of Orion and all of the best strategy games since has been technological advancement and colonialism, this was the first game of its type to really nail diplomacy and offer a route to victory in which some measure of galactic peace could be achieved. The sequel went even further, with customisable races and a political victory that required you to be elected as the Supreme Leader of the galaxy.
What is undeniable is that MOO I and II are important historical references, as seminal an influence on turn-based space conquest as the first two Doom games were establishing and defining the FPS. Unlike Doom, however, MOO has cast such a long monolith-shaped shadow over the entire space game genre that many would argue that the Orion games have yet to be eclipsed.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Mass Effect Legendary Edition remasters the original games into one neat bundle and provides the ultimate experience for space explorers.
As Jen says in her Mass Effect Legendary Edition impressions, “it’s the new best way to play the trilogy”.
For Mass Effect newcomers, admittedly, there’s not much fizzing and fwooshing of spaceships to be enjoyed in the trilogy, but it’s still a planet-hopping, alien-seducing space adventure, and one of the best sci-fi RPG games you’re likely to play.
Mass Effect boasts a strong story and set of characters and, in spite of a complete lack of direct spaceship control, you’re command of a functioning ship with an ability to explore the galaxy.
Parallels have been drawn – not least by Bioware themselves – between the Mass Effect trilogy and the classic exploration series Starflight, which was notable in the late 1980s for being one of the very first space exploration games and is notable today for not having been bettered in that regard since. In terms of storyline, with all that ancient technology end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it gubbins, Mass Effect’s storyline is remarkably close to Starflight’s.
Indeed Starflight could almost be seen as the ’70s original to Mass Effect’s BSG-style gritty reimagining, only without the risible Galactica 80 spin-off series to besmirch its reputation.
FTL: Faster Than Light
Space is awful and will probably kill you: that’s the lesson FTL attempts to impart on brave spacefarers. The permadeath ship management game is, on the surface, a simple race to deliver information to the hands of your allies, but you’re being chased. With every diversion explored, the enemy fleet gets closer and closer, and even if you do stay ahead of them, random death lurks around every corner.
Random violent encounters, shopping sprees, new worlds and races, unlockable ships and configurations, loads and loads of weird and wonderful weapons and tools – there’s so much in FTL that every game has the potential to be dramatically different. One could see you managing a tough vessel that employs ion cannons to disable enemy systems and drones to pepper them with lasers.
Another might inspire you to use mind control to defeat your enemies, or teleporters to fill their ships with your own crew.
So much can go wrong. Sometimes it’s your fault, like when you mess up a fight and end up rapidly attempting to patch up hull breaches and put out fires. But sometimes luck just isn’t on your side, like when you agree to help a space station deal with a plague and one of your crew gets sick. But every failed attempt is a complete story full of adventures and misadventures, and a great excuse to make another valiant attempt.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
A game that successfully manages to combine the very best of 3D real-time strategy – albeit without a proper single-player campaign – with the kind of empire building offered only by the very top 4X games.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is played across a user-defined network of stars. Players begin forging an empire around the gravity wells of planets with shipyards, research outposts, extractors, and defence systems, then assemble fleets combining frigates, corvettes, cruisers, and capital ships to map and eventually conquer neighbouring systems.
In earlier versions of Sins of a Solar Empire, conquest was largely achieved in the time-honoured RTS fashion of dragging a huge box around every single damn ship you owned and directing them towards the enemy systems so as to allow sheer force of numbers to win the day. However, with the introduction of diplomatic victories in a previous expansion and research and occupation victories as part of 2012’s Rebellion standalone – not to mention new Death Star-like titan ships as a much-needed counter to the ultra-defensive starbases structures – the stalemates that would often cause games to peter out can be pursued as potentially winning strategies. And let’s not forget about the mods that let you play out your Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica fantasies.
For more space games, here are the best star wars games on PC and strategy games in 2022.
23 Horror Games That Are Set In Space, Ranked
Let’s face it, space is terrifying. If you’re not dealing with aliens, you’re navigating through vast emptiness, isolation from society, and being cramped in spaceships — creating the perfect recipe for a nightmare.
So, it’s no surprise that sci-fi horror is a pretty common genre.
RELATED: The Best Sci-Fi Games Of All Time
While there are plenty of films, such as Alien and Event Horizon, that take advantage of this sub-genre, video games have been no stranger to it either. In fact, you could spend a good couple of months just playing sci-fi horror video games alone. But which of these spooky sci-fi experiences are most worth your time?
Updated October 6, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: The terrifying isolation of space is something that media has used to great effect for some stellar horror experiences. This is quite true in the context of video games, where the agency of the player also contributes to this creepy sensation in its own way. Trying to combat and run away from the many horrors in the bowels of space can prove to be quite a harrowing endeavor, and the following games do a brilliant job of conveying just how alone and horrifying the galaxy really is.
23/23 Space Beast Terror Fright — A Space Horror Game Hybrid
If there’s one genre that’s seen even more of a boom in recent years than survival horror, it’s the roguelike.
Roguelikes emphasize death as a natural part of their gameplay loop: you’ll start with few skills and little knowledge of the enemies you’ll encounter, and battle through randomized levels in the hope of making it through the game in one piece. Each time you die, you’ll carry over some skills and weaponry, allowing you to go further on each run.
It’s an ideal setup for a horror game, and Space Beast Terror Fright combines roguelike structure with terrifying first-person alien battling, making for one of the tensest and challenging experiences in this universe.
22/23 We Went Back — A Slow-Paced Sci-Fi Haunt
P.T. was one of the biggest — and most infamous — horror hits of the last decade, despite only being a short game that was intended as a playable teaser for a since-cancelled Silent Hill title. The game’s looping structure and creeping sense of dread have influenced many others in the years since its launch, and We Went Back is one of its most interesting descendants.
RELATED: Sci-Fi Games Where Space Is The True Horror
Rather than taking place in a corrupted domestic atmosphere, We Went Back casts you as an astronaut on a space station where something has gone horribly wrong. You need to explore the station to find your way out, but you’ll notice that the rooms eventually start to repeat, while empty space suits turn to stare at you as pass. We Went Back uses the vastness of space to emphasize its tense atmosphere.
21/23 Deliver Us The Moon — An Eerie, Contemplative Thriller
While many space horror games will focus on combat with aliens, Deliver Us The Moon tells a decidedly more grounded story. The game casts you as an intrepid astronaut who’s sent to a defunct mining colony on the moon, tasked with figuring out what happened to the colonists. You’ll have to solve puzzles and explore the deteriorating settlement to bring it back online and save humanity.
Though its slow pace lacks the sheer terror of other games on this list, Deliver Us The Moon emphasizes a sense of existential loneliness that invokes a different kind of creeping dread.
20/23 Observation — A Cybernetic Space Horror Game
It’s easy to create cosmic terror by casting players as lone explorers navigating an inhospitable universe. It’s harder to do so when you’re playing as a non-human character, but Observation proves that it’s still possible. In this spooky adventure, you’ll play as S.A.M., an A.I. aboard the space station Observation.
The station has been knocked out of its orbit and only one of the human crew is still alive; you’ll have to team up with her to figure out what went wrong, and the two of you will slowly uncover an unsettling plot revolving around the very nature of humanity.
19/23 Solipsis — Short, Sweet, And Spooky
Part of the second Dread X Collection of horror games by indie developers, Solipsis overcomes its short length with a surreal, spooky atmosphere and incredible sound design. You play as an astronaut sent to the moon to take gravity readings. Shortly after the game begins, you find yourself trapped, with no choice but to explore the strange and inhuman landscape.
The game uses a top-down view and a unique ‘Rationalization’ mechanic — where you try to fit the strange things you’re experiencing into the astronaut’s preconceptions about the world — to create an unsettling, oppressive vibe.
18/23 Pollen — Space Horror On Saturn
The scariest element in Pollen is its ever-present sense of mystery. It’s more of an exploration game than straight-up horror, but the feeling that something is lurking around the corner is enough to get your heart racing.
Pollen is set on a research station on Saturn’s moon, Titan; you’ll have to interact with objects and solve puzzles to figure out ways to escape tight situations. It’s a slow-burning style of horror that helps its intriguing story stand out.
17/23 Caffeine — Oddball, Jittery Sci-Fi Scares
Though its premise is a little strange — involving the mining of caffeine — this indie horror title is still spooky as heck, since you play as a boy who finds himself on a seemingly abandoned mining ship.
The gameplay consists entirely of roaming empty halls and figuring out where the rest of the crew went.
RELATED: The Best Indie Horror Games Of All Time, According To Metacritic
Caffeine’s level design is its greatest accomplishment, as it communicates an eerie sense of foreboding to the player. It’s definitely repetitive in many places, but the overall mystery of the situation remains gripping to the very end.
16/23 Hellpoint — A Space Horror Game Meets A Soulslike
Taking place on a space station filled with vicious monsters, Hellpoint’s gameplay is comparable to the Dark Souls series. There’s no real subtlety to be found here, as the aim is to slash at the numerous enemies coming your way.
Still, there’s a sense of satisfaction at being empowered in a horror game, especially since most other games in the subgenre strip you of your power. For this reason alone, Hellpoint is worth a go.
15/23 Dispatcher — Sneaking Around In Space
In Dispatcher, you’re trapped on a space station that’s been infiltrated by mysterious, deadly monsters.
The game makes ample use of divisive jump-scare tactics, which might not be for everyone, but it definitely leads to an atmosphere soaked in tension and terror.
Dispatcher’s greatest strength is its stealthy gameplay; it disempowers you, so you’ll have to be quiet in order to survive the creatures and escape the station.
14/23 The White Chamber — A Chilling Point-And-Click Adventure
Point-and-click games were all the rage at one point, and this was around the same time that The White Chamber was released. For a freeware title, it was genuinely impressive to see just how much work and effort were put into developing this title.
You control a mysterious woman who wakes up in a coffin, only to realize that she’s trapped in a space station. You’ll need to solve puzzles and uncover the mysteries of this game before heading to the titular white chamber and discovering what lies within.
13/23 The Nightjar — In Space, No One Can See You Escape
The Nightjar is one of the most unique games on this list thanks to its simple, ingenious premise: you’re trapped on the spaceship, the Nightjar, with no visual feedback to help you survive.
Instead, you’ll have to follow a guiding voice — Benedict Cumberbatch’s, specifically — as you escape to safety.
Gameplay is based fully on trusting the voice’s guidance, with the screen only showing the voice’s signals. It’s an original concept that keeps you on your toes.
12/23 Syndrome — Uncover Secrets And Stay Alive
In this spooky psychological horror game, you play as Chief Technician Galen, who wakes up from cyro-sleep on the spaceship, Valkenburg to discover that their entire crew is dead. Whoever or whatever killed them in still on the ship, and it’s your job to find out what happened… and to survive.
In true survival-horror fashion, you’ll be able to find weapons, but ammo is always in short supply. So you’ll have to sneak around and avoid enemy encounters in order to make it through.
11/23 Martian Gothic: Unification — A Retro Space Horror Game That Deserves A Second Chance
Martian Gothic: Unification is a bit of an oldie, having launched in 2000 for the PS1 and Windows.
It’s been compared to the Resident Evil series in terms of feel and mechanics.
RELATED: Survival Horror Games That Deserve A Comeback, Ranked
The game features an interesting, spooky story — you follow three astronauts as they explore what appears to be a totally abandoned human settlement on Mars. But soon, you’ll discover that the settlement has been overrun by the undead.
10/23 Solarix — Zombies In Space. Need We Say More?
Launched in 2015, Solarix is a stealth-based first-person shooter that takes place in humanity’s first interstellar space colony. It is actually quite similar to Martian Gothic: Unification, since you’ll have to fight and hide from zombie-like creatures.
Solarix is clearly inspired by old-school survival-horror tales, but it updates that classic framework with graphics that actually look like they’re from this century.
9/23 Echo Night: Beyond — A Haunting Sci-Fi Ghost Story
This might be one of the most overlooked games for the PlayStation 2.
Echo Night: Beyond, the final installment in the underappreciated Echo Night series, departs from its predecessors by adding science-fiction elements to its ghost story framework.
You play as a newlywed, heading to the moon for their honeymoon. However, your vessel crashes, and you get separated from your spouse. You’ll have to explore an abandoned research base — and guess what — it’s haunted.
8/23 Stasis — Point-And-Click Scares On A Silent Spaceship
Stasis stands out a little differently than others on this list because it utilizes point-and-click mechanics instead of third or first-person perspectives.
You play a man named John Maracheck, who awakens from stasis on a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. The gameplay includes puzzle solving and exploration, surrounded by a spooky atmosphere.
7/23 System Shock 2 — A Pioneering Space Shocker
1999’s System Shock 2 is the oldest game on this list. This pioneering immersive sim has influenced many games since its launch, including the massively successful BioShock series.
It has earned its place as one of the best games ever made.
Though the original System Shock is spooky enough on its own, the sequel is even scarier. If you’re looking for boundary-breaking spills and chills in the great unknown, this is the game for you.
6/23 Prey — A Paranoia-Inducing Alien Tale
Prey, Arkane Studios’ immersive cult classic — not the 2008 title — was released in 2017, and is clearly inspired by the likes of System Shock 2. It’s set in an alternate timeline where the Space Race took place much faster than in our reality, leading to some interesting sci-fi world-building.
But then you’ll have to factor in the hostile alien enemies that can shape-shift into inanimate objects, which can quickly lead to paranoia. You’ll find yourself asking, «Were there always three chairs in this room?»
5/23 Doom 3 — Hell On Mars
Set in the year 2145, Doom 3 continues the Doom series’ obsession with occult imagery. It begins when a literal gate to hell opens and releases demons upon a Martian research station.
No big deal, right? Playing as the iconic Doomguy, you’ll have to battle the demonic horde with everything you’ve got.
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Though some would argue it is too action-oriented for horror fans, its creatures and atmosphere are downright nightmare-inducing.
4/23 Dead Space 2 — A Beloved Mix Of Combat And Horror
Dead Space 2 was a sequel to the popular first game which was hailed by many as a masterpiece. While the first game had more of an emphasis on horror, Dead Space 2 did prioritize its action sequences at times and did so with great finesse.
The best part about this was that Dead Space 2 managed to have a greater focus on action without sacrificing the things that made it terrifying in the first place. While some people find the first game to be scarier, there’s no denying that Dead Space 2 holds a special place in the hearts of many horror fans too.
The best space survival games
Dead Space series
Dark and bloody third-person shooter with survival horror elements.
The king of all space survival games. Horror and nightmare in the highest manifestations. The first part was developed back in 2008 by Visceral Games, and subsequently it turned into a cool trilogy.
Games of the Dead Space series immerse you in a creepy and scary atmosphere when a person is completely alone, without any help. Either he gets on a ship filled with monsters, or he wakes up as a prisoner in a terrible laboratory where inhuman experiments are carried out, but in any case, the main character is ready to fight back evil spirits, even if the cartridges run out of cartridges. nine0005
Dead SpaceDead Space 2Dead Space 3
Adr1ft
This is an amazing adventure story of a female astronaut. At the beginning of the storyline, she wakes up in outer space, drifting in dead silence among the wreckage of the destroyed space base. She is the only survivor.
The woman suffers from amnesia and does not remember anything. The player will have to help the brave space traveler find special keys to the rescue module, and at the same time find out with her the cause of the terrible disaster.
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Breathedge
Have you seen the action adventure called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? If yes, then you know what a mess there is. Something similar happens in Breathedge, a humorous game that is a typical space survival simulator.
The player will play as a simple astronaut guy who was carrying his grandfather’s remains to a space funeral, but ended up in a fateful galactic vortex. To stay alive, you will need a considerable level of ingenuity, a specific sense of humor and lots and lots of blue tape. nine0005
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No Man`s Sky
Space adventure with survival elements, telling us about the fearless conquerors of planets and galaxies. The action takes place in the distant future. The developer and publisher of the project is the British indie studio Hello Games.
The game makes extensive use of procedural generation and is an open-world sandbox. The overall graphic style of the game is quite extraordinary: it was inspired by the illustrations from the covers of various sci-fi books from a bygone era.
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Empyrion — Galactic Survival
Empyrion is a 3D open world that will make you fall in love with it for hours. This is an exciting space survival adventure where you can fly across the galaxy and land on different planets.
Build, explore, fight and survive in a hostile galaxy full of hidden dangers. But remember that survival is a key aspect of the game.
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Precursors
A very interesting Ukrainian project in the Action/RPG/Simulator genre. The plot of the game «Forerunners» was based on the theories of today’s pundits and science fiction writers, who believe that many civilizations of the galaxy have long surpassed all of us, the sinful sons of Adam and Eve, in all respects.
The game is made in a sci-fi environment, where people have conquered space for a long time, and the meeting with aliens was very calm. However, the people themselves became enemies for each other, and eventually quarreled, creating several different warring states in the galaxy.
The main hero-warrior has to go through many trials in order to finally achieve his goal. nine0005
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FTL: Faster Than Light
FTL: Faster Than Light is a great game that combines elements of strategy and space simulation. Developed by independent studio Subset Games and released for various platforms, including PC. This «2D space simulator» will take your shuttle on an unforgettable journey across the galaxy.
The interesting thing is that the galaxy itself is randomly generated by the game itself. Faster Than Light will be a real gift for those who love something new and unusual, and for those who are tired of primitive shooters with aliens. Survival here is an integral part of the gameplay. nine0005
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Space Engineers
It is recommended to pay attention to the Space Engineers project developed by Keen Software House. The game is based on the VRage 2.0 graphics engine developed by the creator company. Here we are assigned the role of fearless space engineers, working, as a rule, in a vacuum.
Space Engineers features a realistic voxel-based physics engine that allows everything in the game to be assembled, disassembled, broken and destroyed. You can play in both single and multiplayer modes. Voxel objects are the main game feature. They behave like real physical objects, have their own mass, inertia and speed. nine0005
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Elite Dangerous
Elite Dangerous is a well-known modern space simulation project. It is constantly evolving, gaining new features, as well as increasing narrative and in-game content with each new season.
Take control of your starship in the vast galaxy. You are given a lot of opportunities. Fight, make contracts, explore different planets. Take flight and experience the life of a ship commander in a dangerous galaxy of the 34th century. nine0005
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Rebel Galaxy
Rebel Galaxy is one of the best space survival games released in the last decade. Absolutely everything pleases here — both extensive content and a fairly low price that will not make your wallet turn into a black hole.
Rebel Galaxy is called the true successor to Freelancer, which at one time caused a rustle among the players. The project gives gamers the freedom to fulfill their cosmic desires. You are allowed to operate one of the most beautiful ships in the galaxy. Take part in an unforgettable adventure with many battles, exploration missions, trade and negotiation with various aliens living among the stars. nine0005
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The Long Journey Home
Long Journey Home is another interesting game where you have to survive among the stars and planets. The game will definitely appeal to all lovers of space exploration. Here we act as a freight forwarder who, together with his team of professionals, will go on a long and very interesting journey to the Alpha Centauri system.
The player is given complete freedom of action. Each of his decisions has a different effect on the gameplay. The player here is a producer and director at the same time. Complete freedom of action in the vast space and a new open system of tasks — these are the main aspects of Long Journey Home.
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Oxygen Not Included
Oxygen Not Included is a deceptively beautiful survival simulator that will make you sweat a lot as you try to manage an entire space colony. The settlers are hungry, thirsty and demanding entertainment, and all these whims must be satisfied, solving new problems over and over again.
In terms of gameplay, Oxygen Not Included invites you to explore the space asteroid, which is home to the colony, inside and out, while extracting various resources. The game also features procedural terrain generation (meaning each playthrough is different from the last), a crafting system, and a unique set of traits for individual settlers. nine0005
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Among Us
Among Us can be called a non-standard survival game. There is no need to extract resources here, and the controlled character does not need food, water and oxygen. But you still have to die and quite often.
This is a casual multiplayer game with asymmetric gameplay in which a group of players try to complete tasks on a space ship, and one gets the role of a «traitor».
The innocent need not only to figure out the villain, which prevents the completion of tasks, but also simply to survive, since a face-to-face meeting with the enemy is likely to be fatal. nine0005
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Astroneer
It’s the 25th century, but history tends to repeat itself. In Astroneer, people have long mastered other planets and freely travel between them, but this is not prompted by research interest, but by the space gold rush.
In Astroneer alone or with friends, you will explore mysterious biomes, you can deform them with various tools, build an entire space base out of sticks and, of course, fight for survival. There are much more creative elements here than in most of the games in the collection, and this cannot but rejoice. nine0005
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Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation is a horror game based on the iconic Alien. The plot is connected with the movie universe of the same name: in the role of Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda, the player will go to the space station and try to find the mother of the main character.
But as a result, he will find only a pretty (no) huge Alien who will try to kill him.
Even if you haven’t watched the films from this series, we highly recommend playing it, as Alien: Isolation is one of the best representatives of its genre. A weak girl will have to improvise in order to survive, and it is very difficult to do this. Futuristic atmosphere, music, smart alien AI are just a few of the advantages of this nugget. nine0005
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60 Parsecs!
60 Parsecs! — a game from the creators of «60 Seconds!», Everything is also about survival, but already in space. The space station is on the verge of exploding and you only have 1 minute before it is destroyed. During this time, you, as one of the crew members, need to grab everything that comes to hand and go to the rescue shuttle, where you will have agonizing days waiting for help.
Quite an original and humorous game fits perfectly into our selection. During the time allotted for collecting useful things, you should not get lost and take everything you need, because the rest of the gameplay is survival and making difficult decisions in a cramped shuttle.
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Space Haven
Space Haven is a space colony simulation game in which a team of adventurers set off in search of a new home, and you help them in this. Not to say that simple things await you — you need to build spaceships, create an optimal ecosystem and monitor the needs of each crew member. Difficulties will be added by aliens that will visit with bad intentions.
This is another great space survival game that, by the way, will run smoothly on computers with a weak configuration thanks to stylish pixel art. nine0005
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Aliens: Fireteam Elite
Co-op shooter in which players explore the planet LV-895 and fight off hordes of xenomorphs. Here is a nice gameplay, a lot of perks and weapons, there is also customization. The campaign is not catchy and is clearly of secondary importance. The most important thing is to shoot and pump. Despite the generally good reviews from the players, online has dipped extremely rapidly and it is difficult to find partners directly in the game.
Fans of the well-known movie series are especially advised, there are more chances that the shooter will give you some pleasant evenings. nine0005
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Deliver Us The Moon
We take on the role of an astronaut digging through the ruins of the past while trying to save the world after an unexplained incident. The game gives stunning lunar landscapes and makes you think about what is happening in the world with the resources that people mercilessly use. The only companion of the protagonist is a drone and modern technology.
Buy
Space Crew: Legendary Edition
The successor to the Bomber Crew, in which you will save the Earth from Phrasmids — evil aliens who want to destroy the human world. You will become the captain of your own spaceship, fighting with enemies.
You will have to complete and even train the crew yourself, and not everyone will be able to survive, of course. In addition, customization and upgrade of the ship is available, from the choice of guns to repainting.
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Tharsis
Digital board game where we roll dice. Players have at their disposal a spaceship that went to Mars after receiving a mysterious signal. But no luck — a micrometeor storm began. nine0005
As a result, the main task is to overcome all adversity, including natural disasters, lack of food and the prospect of going crazy from all sorts of mysterious signals.
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Pending
Dead Space (2023)
No, this is not a mistake. This time we are talking about a remake, which will be released in 2023. It is planned to be so large-scale that it deserves a separate item on the list. Of course, comparing with Resident Evil 2 is not entirely appropriate, because the original RE 2 came out too long ago, but I want the same careful and competent approach. nine0005
Not only the graphics will change, but also, for example, the sound. So even more immersion is guaranteed, and the fear that gamers experienced in 2008 will sparkle with new colors.
The Callisto Protocol
A shooter and part-time horror from the creator of Dead Space, published by the studio responsible for the royal battle PUBG. Funny combination.
Visually, The Callisto Protocol is very similar to Dead Space, which is not surprising. The action takes place on the moon of Jupiter in 2320, where the main character is unlucky enough to be imprisoned. There is a classic horror plot — people begin to turn into crazed creatures, and now Jacob Lee needs to get to a safe place. Of course, in hand-to-hand combat and using firearms. nine0005
In general, we are waiting for a meaty and, it seems, high-quality horror movie.
Pre-order
Aliens: Dark Descent
As they say, there are never too many xenomorphs. Another game about aliens will be released in 2023, and it will be an isometric strategy shooter.
We will have to take command of a whole squad, from which we can customize the arsenal, perks and armor. Of course, there will be different classes.
Among other things, infantrymen will receive a mental health system, meaning your soldiers will be able to go crazy if something goes too wrong. nine0005
The developers say that alien opponents will react intelligently to the actions of the players, so you will have to come up with unique ways to stop the xenomorphic creatures.
Steam page
Routine
A game with a very interesting story. Long-term construction, which was announced in the distant, distant 2012 and wanted to be released in 2017. But it did not grow together, and the game went on the back burner. But in June 2022, Routine was announced again and, of course, with a different publisher. The release date is still unknown, so the adventure with the release may continue. And what exactly is this game? nine0005
Sounds interesting. Routine is a first-person sci-fi horror game set in an 80s sci-fi setting. We will explore the lunar station and fight (or run away) with angry robots. It seems that the viscous atmosphere will be the main advantage.
Steam page
Games closed
Hellion
A space survival simulation game developed by the Serbian studio Zero Gravity Games. It was released back in 2017 as Early Access, but despite an abundance of user feedback, development has stopped. The game allows players to move freely in the environment and open space in the absence of gravity. nine0005
It is also allowed here to move around the internal and external spaces of spaceships or stations with artificial gravity. The main goal is space exploration and survival. It is necessary to adequately manage resources in the interests of one’s own survival, to find useful space station modules that can be recycled and assembled into larger and more complex structures.
Top Space Survival Games for PC
There is no place in the universe more amazing and mysterious than space. For some, it seems to be an insurmountable barrier of human existence, for others — a grandiose environment of amazing knowledge and open.
But in one thing, almost all space explorers are similar — with insufficient caution and recklessness, space becomes a deadly place, ruthless and not going to any compromises. It is computer games with a similar approach to the implementation of the space environment that are in this section. nine0005
Dead Space
A trilogy of survival horror and third-person shooter games set in the deep space of the distant future, on huge spaceships and stations. Ships and stations tend to be home to horrific creatures known as necromorphs, which are the result of humans being exposed to mysterious alien monoliths. Each game in the Dead Space series not only perfectly conveys the feeling of loneliness and vulnerability in deep space, but also greatly frightens, forcing you to seriously fight for your life against disgusting monsters. Among the features of Dead Space, it is worth noting an original and interesting sci-fi setting, intense shootouts against monsters, a large selection of original weapons, an upgradeable armored suit with gravity boots, and so on.
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Space Engineers
A popular space sandbox game with many planets and systems that pushes players not just to survive, but to real exploration, building and other interesting creative experiments. All this in an endless open universe, any planet of which can become a platform for collecting resources and entertaining construction and engineering experiments. You can build everything that your imagination has enough for: giant spaceships and orbital stations, rockets and shuttles, planetary outposts and entire colonies. True, many factors and physical laws must be taken into account, because Space Engineers has a very serious and realistic physics engine. It takes into account the volumes and sizes of objects, their design features, influences destructibility and damage, creates unique atmospheres for different planets, and so on. It is noteworthy that you can also play Space Engineers in multiplayer mode for up to 16 players, cooperating or competing with each other.
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Alien: Isolation
Scary horror game with elements of survival and stealth, the events of which unfold on board a giant space station captured by a monster. All of this (plot, setting and gameplay) is based to varying degrees on the famous Alien movie franchise. The main character is a weak and defenseless girl who cannot openly confront a powerful monster. So she has to hide and run, looking for an opportunity to help other surviving crew members and find a way to safely get off the ship. For lovers of space horror and survival, it is difficult to find a better and more atmospheric game with equally excellent gameplay and story. nine0005
Out of Space
A co-op survival game on a spaceship ark on a multi-year intergalactic journey. Arrange with your comrades a reliable life on the ship, so as not to starve to death or not become a victim of an alien attack. Get resources in limited conditions, repair and improve equipment, distribute responsibilities and so on, and do everything exactly as you see fit.
No hard scenarios and corridor gameplay, only maximum freedom of action and completely unpredictable random events. At the same time, each launch of Out of Space generates a random spaceship, unexpectedly creating its compartments and their filling. nine0005
Adrift
Pretty realistic outer space survival simulator after a horrendous accident that killed almost the entire space station personnel. According to the plot, only the main character remains alive, but her spacesuit is damaged and oxygen decreases every second. In addition, after the explosion, she is seriously injured and partially loses her memory. In such difficult conditions, the girl-astronaut will have to survive, find out the cause of the tragedy, find materials to repair the damaged spacesuit and, finally, return home. nine0005
Tharsis
A game about a space expedition to Mars, during which the expedition ship breaks down, endangering not only the purpose of the trip, but the lives of all its participants.
In terms of gameplay, Tharsis represents a variable and unpredictable digital board game with an element of strategy and RPG, where the development of events is influenced not only by the player’s actions, but also by random events, and the result depends on the count of dice rolls. All the action takes place in a step-by-step mode and is characterized by increased complexity. The game is designed for one player, has high-quality three-dimensional visualization, but, unfortunately, does not have official Russian Russification. nine0005
Breathedge
The protagonist travels through space in a star hearse, in which he carries the body of his deceased grandfather to the burial place. A sudden cosmic crash confuses all the plans of the hero, leaving him completely alone in open space, among the wreckage of the ship and corpses floating in weightlessness. The character has no choice but to start collecting resources at hand and building a temporary shelter, as well as creating other objects and mechanisms designed to help survive in outer space.
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Astroneer
A computer game dedicated to exploration and survival in space and on unexplored planets scattered throughout the Astroneer virtual universe. Players can create all sorts of amazing machines and mechanisms designed to help them explore distant planets and extract valuable new resources. The game supports a cooperative mode, allowing users to comprehend the secrets of the universe in friendly teams and overcome various dangers that await pioneers in outer space, as well as on the surface and in the depths of new planets. nine0005
We Went Back
A free-to-play survival horror game set in a bleak and lifeless space station. According to the story, the hero wakes up all alone at an abandoned station, remembers nothing about his past and the events preceding his awakening, but at the same time he clearly feels a sign of danger hovering in the air of the station. To find out the cause of what happened and find a way to get out.
The hero will have to carefully study every corner of the station, collect all the clues and solve many puzzles. Of the minuses, we can note the extremely short duration of We Went Back and the lack of support for the Russian language. nine0005
Among Us
Multiplayer space survival game for 4-10 players in a game session. The task of most of the players in Among Us is to prepare the ship for further flight to unknown locations, but at the same time there is one saboteur player in their midst (sometimes there may be more) who wants to disrupt the space mission, sabotage the ship and kill all members crew. Among Us can be played with friends online or through local multiplayer using the built-in voice chat. It is noteworthy that the game is multi-platform with cross-platform multiplayer — users of PC and Android and iOS mobile devices can participate in the session at the same time. A great game for a house party or a quick time killer in which you have to prepare the ship and figure out the impostors, throwing them overboard so that they can no longer harm and sabotage the work of the rest of the team.
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Hellion
Online space survival game with excellent modern graphics and realistic first person view. Hellion’s gameplay features a unique fusion of a wide variety of genres, designed to convincingly and interestingly simulate being in outer space, battling a variety of space hazards, and each other. However, players in Hellion do not have to compete at all — they can cooperate if they wish and more effectively resist external threats and trials. Users will have to extract building materials, oxygen and food, create various tools and partings, equipment and weapons, explore the ruins of an ancient human colony on an unknown planet, collect artifacts and so on. nine0005
Starbound
A two-dimensional pixel sandbox created by the developers of Terraria and offering, by and large, exactly the same element with some changes and improvements. But at the same time, Starbound has a much larger scope of action: everything takes place in a huge randomly generated universe with countless planets and stations.
The player can freely visit them, build and craft, collect resources and complete quests. Interesting gameplay takes place in space itself, as well as on a spaceship, which the player can upgrade and customize in every possible way, as well as use it as a tool for obtaining important information about the world around him and, of course, as the main vehicle for moving between star systems and planets. nine0005
Space Haven
A space survival game dedicated to managing a space colony in the form of a huge ship or drifting station. The player can change, adjust and customize all the internal arrangement of the station, adjusting to the urgent needs of its inhabitants. The surrounding space around the station (or ship) will be randomly generated and carry a lot of dangers, manifested in the form of random events, such as an alien invasion or a collision with a meteor field. The player can also interact in many ways with other spaceships and their crew encountered during the journey.
For example, to trade and exchange resources, technologies, cartographic information, and so on. You can also go out into outer space and explore nearby objects — meteorites, abandoned ships and stations, escape pods, and so on. nine0005
Oxygen Not Included
A 2D space colony simulation that combines elements of survival, urban strategy and a base manager. The player will have to manage the actions of a large team of space settlers to help them survive in unfamiliar and hostile environments. Explore the environment, extract resources, learn new technologies, create various scientific items, and also create enough food, water, energy and oxygen.
Empyrion: Galactic Survival
3D sandbox survival game in outer space and unknown planets. Players are given the opportunity to travel freely and, at their discretion, land on the planets encountered along the way, explore their surfaces and interiors, and collect resources to build and improve spaceships.
You can also create separate space settlements and entire colonies, equipping them with all the necessary equipment, machinery, and so on. nine0005
FTL: Faster Than Light
A 2D spaceship simulator that is a lot like traditional roguelike with unpredictable, randomly generated environments and lots of unexpected events. The gameplay comes down to managing and improving the spaceship, which is in constant motion and constantly experiencing various unexpected (most often negative) events. The player’s task is to respond to such events in a timely and correct manner, allowing the spacecraft to be in proper technical condition for as long as possible and continue the journey. nine0005
Stationeers
An open-world, crafting and building survival game based on the theme of outer space, deep interstellar travel, exploration and survival. In Stationeers, the player can independently build a unique spaceship or an entire station, with subsequent full control over it.
