Summary
- Starbound offers expansive multi-planet exploration with distinct biomes and colonies to shape.
- Astroneer's physics-based environment offers diverse planets with hazards and different challenges.
- No Man's Sky provides seamless travel across an endless universe with diverse planets and customization.
Open-world games have grown over the years, giving players bigger and bigger worlds to explore and even stretching to multiple planets to offer even more areas to discover. Many games have perfected a single world that contains all the story and content for the entire game, but it is nice to have the option to go further and not be limited to one location.
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Many games go above and beyond in this department, delivering entire universes that are full of planets, both peaceful and hostile, while others opt for a more restrained perspective that still lets players jump between worlds whenever they like. Whatever the case, the ability to fly from planet to planet is a feeling unlike any other, and it really feeds into the space captain fantasy in the best way possible.
8 Starbound
Billions Of Planets To Conquer And Explore
Starbound
- Released
- July 22, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
- Chucklefish
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Sandbox
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Starbound offers one of the most expansive and creatively rich interpretations of multi-planet exploration in gaming. Set in a procedurally generated universe, players begin their journey stranded on a single world and quickly gain the ability to pilot a spacecraft. This enables travel to countless planets, each with distinct biomes, climates, and challenges.
The game’s sandbox structure allows players to mine resources and expand their colonies as far and wide as they choose to, all while interacting with randomly generated civilizations. The freedom to jump between star systems and shape each planet to personal taste also encourages players to go above and beyond both in exploration and base construction. The game remains a benchmark for procedural planetary content and spacefaring freedom, all while being condensed into a 2D format.
7 Astroneer
Planetary Exploration In A Physics-Based Environment
Astroneer
- Released
- February 6, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
Astroneer is a uniquely charming space adventure that lets players work together in the quest to terraform planets and explore different worlds, all while navigating the challenges that each new planet presents. The mining and construction start out simple but quickly expand into sprawling bases that can be tailored to specific needs and desires.
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The hazards play a big role in how players approach each planet. Volatile weather and toxic environments pose serious threats to the players, while low-gravity areas offer more options for traversal and exploration, meaning that no two adventures are the same, and every new world landed upon is different.
6 Outer Wilds
Puzzles And Mysteries In A Bite-Sized Solar System
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
Outer Wilds delivers a tightly woven open-world experience within a compact solar system, where each planet is a fully explorable world with its own physical rules and mysteries. The entire system is locked in a time loop, encouraging players to pay close attention to the environments and uncover secrets at their own pace.
The game’s approach to exploration is narratively driven, with environmental storytelling and curiosity serving as primary motivators. There are no missions, markers, or combat systems, only the desire to explore and solve the solar system's mysteries, with each planet offering a unique twist that challenges players' critical thinking skills and delivers an unforgettable experience that knows no contemporary.
5 Elite Dangerous
Seamless Space And Planetary Travel
Elite Dangerous
- Released
- December 16, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Drug Reference, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Frontier Developments
- Genre(s)
- Flight Simulator
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Elite Dangerous offers one of the most accurate simulations of space travel, featuring a full-scale Milky Way galaxy with over 400 billion star systems to explore. With the Horizons expansion, players can seamlessly land on planets and explore their surfaces on foot and in various vehicles, opening the door for even more lands to be discovered.
The ability to explore many different worlds enhances the game’s core loop of trading and mining. Transitions from space to ground occur in real time, maintaining immersion and realism, and the sheer scale of the universe makes every landing feel like a small step in an adventure of a lifetime.
4 Mass Effect: Andromeda
Hostile Planets Just Waiting To Be Uncovered
Mass Effect: Andromeda
- Released
- March 1, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Mass Effect: Andromeda expands the franchise in a big way by offering several large, open-world planets across the Andromeda galaxy for players to explore. Each features distinct climates and terrains that impact gameplay, and by using several tools for space and planetary traversal, players can easily hop between worlds both for the purpose of missions and to freely explore them.
While not procedurally generated, the planets are expertly hand-crafted with narrative depth and strategic objectives. Players can activate forward stations, secure outposts, and engage in combat or diplomacy, making each world feel purposeful. The game blends the open-world design with story progression, meaning that every step forward moves the story and still allows players to soak in the environments in all their glory.
3 The Outer Worlds
Corporate Control Across An Entire Galaxy
The Outer Worlds
- Released
- October 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
The Outer Worlds splits its gameplay across multiple planets and moons within the Halcyon system. Though travel occurs through fast travel, each planetary location acts as a distinct hub with so much content for players to explore and engage with.
Each planet offers plenty of open environments and choice-based encounters that make the worlds feel alive and immerses players right from the start. The game’s structure encourages players to explore with the promise of story revelations and lore around every corner, meaning that journeying out into the open plains will almost always result in narrative progression and a deeper understanding of the world.
2 Starfield
Open-World Biomes Full Of Settlements And Secrets To Solve
Starfield
- Released
- September 6, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Starfield is the Bethesda space game that fans have always wanted. In it, players create a character using an expansive customization system. They are then thrust into the universe with plenty of opportunities to jump between planets and complete questlines across an entire planetary system.
It won't offer players the seamless transition between planet and space travel, but the ability to move between dynamic worlds full of interactive NPCs makes every session feel meaningful. There are also plenty of systems that add stakes to the player's decisions, like bounties that track thefts and crimes, bringing the whole universe into alignment in a way that few other games have accomplished.
1 No Man's Sky
Survival In An Endless Universe
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Nintendo Switch 2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
No Man's Sky is the definitive space exploration title that takes all the boundaries away and allows players to fly ships across a nearly endless universe while also being able to seamlessly land on any planet they choose to. Every landing can net valuable resources and beautiful environments while also potentially threatening the player's life with hazards, making every planet feel distinctly different.
The level of freedom truly knows no bounds, and there are so many options when it comes to base-building and ship customization that players could spend hours tweaking their craft without ever leaving the surface. It really is the pinnacle of the open-world genre, and for players who want an entire universe at their fingertips, it's the perfect game to jump into.
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