Everspace 2
- Genre: action.
- Opencritic score: 83/100.
- Metacritic score: 81/100.
- Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series.
Another game about battles on spaceships. It does not have the atmosphere and plot of Chorus, but the battles are more varied. The developers clearly looked at Diablo and came up with hundreds of types of weapons, enemies, builds.
The visuals are also more interesting than in Starfield. We’ll fly through a star system with huge drifting skeletons, a frosty galaxy where radiation and ice debris give no rest, and a dozen other biomes. It’ll be incredibly beautiful everywhere!
Prey
- Genre: immersive sim, shooter.
- Opencritic score: 81/100.
- Metacritic score: 79/100.
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One.
Arkane is now being criticized for the disastrous Redfall, but in 2017 the studio was applauded. It’s all about the gorgeous Prey, where every problem had multiple solutions. Stumbled upon a locked door? Find the password, hack it, build a plaster path to the ventilation, or turn into a mug and squeeze through the crack. This kind of variability was in everything from battles to exploring a space station.
At the same time, the developers regularly spurred the player on: for example, they introduced a monster nicknamed Nightmare into the plot. This creature persistently hunted the hero and refused to die. The tension was off the charts!
Dead Space (2023)
- Genre: horror, adventure.
- Opencritic score: 89/100.
- Metacritic score: 89/100.
- Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series.
A benchmark horror where engineer Isaac explores a creepy space station and fights necromorphs. These are monsters that suddenly jump out of the ventilation and tear everything alive into pieces. Luckily, the hero has a slowing device and a cult cutter for shooting off limbs.
However, in Dead Space no weapon will protect you from a nervous breakdown. Still, the developers constantly throw in new monsters, send you to arenas with crowds of enemies and release the Regenerator, who doesn’t care about injuries.
Alien: Isolation
- Genre: horror, adventure.
- Opencritic score: 81/100.
- Metacritic score: 79/100.
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch.
Think there are no games scarier than Dead Space ? Then you just haven’t played Alien: Isolation, where Amanda Ripley runs from the Alien. The heroine is defenseless for most of the game, and the enemy is shockingly smart, reacts to any rustle and persistently searches for prey.
As a result, every step on the space station is full of anxiety, because the monster can crawl out of the ventilation at any moment and force you to panic and look for shelter. It is no wonder that Alien: Isolation is called one of the most frightening games in history.
Breathedge
- Genre: survival.
- Opencritic score: 69/100.
- Metacritic score: 71/100.
- Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series.
Space isn’t just about fighting and shaking in fear — Russian developers Redruins Softworks have proven that there’s room for humor, too. Even the intro to Breathedge sets the right tone. For example, the authors are introduced with the phrase “From the creators of The Matrix… I haven’t heard anything.”
We play as a guy who is stuck in the middle of a vacuum. To survive, he needs to plug holes in the ship with an immortal chicken, improve his spacesuit with a condom, hijack the Normandy and fight a robot WDV. Of course, not all the jokes are successful, but a good mood after the game is guaranteed.
Deliver Us Mars
- Genre: adventure, platformer.
- Opencritic score: 67/100.
- Metacritic score: 69/100.
- Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series.
Deliver Us Mars is a perfect game for those who want to relax and enjoy the cosmic views. According to the plot, astronauts get to Mars and get into trouble. Sometimes they jump on platforms and run somewhere, but most of the time they walk on the surface of the planet, solve puzzles and reflect.
Outer Wilds
- Genre: adventure.
- Opencritic score: 86/100.
- Metacritic score: 85/100.
- Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series.
Outer Wilds proved that a good game can be made without a large team and a bloated budget. The secret is in the unusual concept: the hero gets into a time loop that inevitably ends with the end of the world.
Tragedy can be avoided, but how exactly? There are many planets around, oxygen is running out quickly, and the apocalypse will come in just 22 minutes. To make it work, explore the world, solve puzzles, and look for the perfect path to salvation.
Tacoma
- Genre: quest, adventure.
- Opencritic score: 77/100.
- Metacritic score: 76/100.
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One.
In this quest, the hero explores a space station where a mysterious tragedy occurred. What exactly happened? To figure it all out, you connect to the surveillance system, follow the crew and look for dark secrets.
The game lasts only four hours, but every minute is full of emotion and mystery. After all, people at the station loved each other, argued, got into trouble and plotted treachery.
Elite Dangerous
- Genre: simulator, strategy, action.
- Opencritic score: 79/100.
- Metacritic score: 80/100.
- Platforms: PC (less current version on consoles)
Perhaps the most grandiose space game in history. In it, you can trade, destroy enemy ships, form alliances, explore galaxies, conquer star systems – and this is only a small part of the activities. At the same time, gamers are constantly coming up with something new: for example, they create a GULAG and send the guilty to hard labor.
The world in Elite Dangerous is larger than in Starfield. The developers have implemented the Milky Way on a scale of 1:1. If you are looking for a sophisticated space game that will captivate you for hundreds of hours, do not miss this hit.
No Man’s Sky (bonus)
- Genre: space survival.
- Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.
Probably the most famous and popular space game today, No Man’s Sky offers incredible freedom: a galaxy of colossal size with many features, inhabitants and activities is in front of you. Whether you want to build your own base or explore the secrets of the local world, you can do it yourself.
The main feature of NMS is the ability to fly anywhere and land anywhere. Where else can you land your spaceship not only without loading screens, but also control the vessel all the time? Now in No Man’s Sky there is also a lot of story.