Summary
- Games like Astroneer, Star Traders: Frontiers, and Endless Space 2 offer immersive space exploration experiences.
- Each game focuses on different aspects of space exploration, from detailed mechanics to galactic politics.
- Titles like Starfield, Stellaris, No Man's Sky, and Starsector provide unique and exciting opportunities for players to immerse themselves in space navigation and discovery.
Throughout decades of adventure, role-playing, and strategy games, a constant ideal that game writers and developers have pushed for is something that can capture the expansiveness and infinite possibilities of space. Whether this is done through hardcore simulations or a more fantastical, idealistic take, many games have paved the way towards a truly unique and immersive spacefaring experience that captures the imagination of players permanently.
Cyberpunk 2077: Project Orion's Rumored Space Setting Could Leave It Walking the Same Fine Line as Starfield
If Project Orion's space setting rumors are to be believed, then the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel could encounter a similar conundrum as Starfield.
Depending on factors at play, like budget and scope, games have managed to create the feeling of exploring an expansive space world through all kinds of ingenious means. This also means that small-scale indie titles can often compete with big-budget video game blockbusters in terms of which title is more immersive. The following games all do an excellent job of creating an immersive environment in which players can explore space, ranked on how much detail and enjoyment there is to be gained from their gameplay loops.
7 Astroneer
A Unique Terraforming Take On Space Exploration
Astroneer
- Released
- February 6, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
What makes Astroneer so immersive beyond its dedication to high-tech space exploration is simply how details the mechanics of getting a space station up and running are. This is a game that manages to have immersive space exploration while keeping the scope tight - only one system can be explored, but each celestial body within it can be explored from top to bottom.
This is a survival game that players can sink hours into, and the space exploration aspects are not just hugely immersive, but incredibly rewarding, coming at the point where players have progressed far enough through the tech tree.
6 Star Traders: Frontiers
Galactic Politics On A Huge Scale
Star Traders: Frontiers
- Released
- November 14, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
People who believe that a good space exploration sim doesn't need to sacrifice the kind of epic adventures often found in the space opera genre will be very pleased with Star Traders: Frontiers. On the one hand, players need to manage fuel, travel smartly between stars, and manage an advanced economy to ensure they're making good deals from one system to the next. On the other hand, there's a huge, branching narrative that will place players at the center of factional intrigue and politics that span the galaxy.
Something of a mix between Dune and Star Wars, Star Traders is an excellent game for anyone wanting to explore space, though the narrative elements of the story do tend to take over the immersive elements from time to time - for example, most systems have multiple habitable worlds and settlements in them, which does detract from the realism a bit.
5 Endless Space 2
A Sleek, Stylish 4X Space Game
Endless Space 2
- Released
- October 6, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
There are many things that go into Endless Space 2, including an incredible space exploration system. The graphics of the title, despite being nearly ten years old, still hold up incredibly well, and the overall mechanics for a game of this scope are quite intuitive.
Players are in a race to explore systems, gather minor settlements as allies, and settle on untouched lands in a cosmic gold rush - it's an exhilarating and faster-paced means of space exploration than most of the titles on this list, but remains immersive all the same.
4 Starfield
One of Bethesda's Most Ambitious Titles
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
Bethesda poured blood, sweat, and tears into Starfield for over a decade, and the result was a hugely popular title that gave players the classic gameplay from titles like Skyrim - but in space. And yes, that makes a huge difference. The game isn't perfect, and the companions do tend to fall over themselves a little, but for players who just want to pick a string of stars and start hopping from one to the next, Starfield has got them covered.
Borderlands 4 Looks Less Mad Max, More Mass Effect
Based on what has been revealed so far, Borderlands 4 may be largely leaving behind its dystopian western feel for something more akin to Mass Effect.
Putting character skills to work in the field of space navigation helps players that have specialized in a 'pilot' playstyle feel rewarded, and it's not uncommon for massive ventures out in the unknown to end with a special gem of a planet that's perfect to settle on and call home - even if just for a while. The graphics in this title also definitely help with immersion - planets are never 'too' stylized, with three different sets of rings and five moons. If those planets exist, they're rare anomalies among places with simple, tranquil skyboxes and beautifully detailed landscapes.
3 Stellaris
Expansion Is Paradox's Strongest X In The 4X Scene
Stellaris
- Released
- May 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Violent References, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Paradox Development Studio
- Genre(s)
- 4X, Grand Strategy
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Surveying the stars is a lengthy task in Stellaris, but a fundamental one, whether players are starting off as warmongering slavers or elite technocrats. In fact, space exploration is really one of the pillars that hold this game up, taking players from early to mid-game. Stellaris might not have a first-person perspective to help immerse players, but having space exploration feel like a 'project' is incredibly immersive (and fun, also fun).
Searching for planetary anomalies, seeing a tiny ship drift like a crumb on a huge, solar-system-sized plate, it's an incredibly engaging and immersive activity that's helped keep Stellaris relevant for nearly a decade now.
2 No Man’s Sky
Space Exploration Keeps Getting Better
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
Despite encouraging the ethically dubious practice of big budget games releasing half finished with a little "I.O.U update" stickered on the back of the case, No Man's Sky and its success story have led to a fantastic game that now stands far beyond the shadow of its initial release.
Setting off in a myriad of different ships, players can explore huge, lush, stylized but detailed planets across a truly colossal galaxy, drawing closer to a galactic mystery in a way that's incredibly immersive and fleshed out.
1 Starsector
A Tactical But Highly Immersive Title
Starsector
- Released
- April 26, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PC
Rounding out this list is a title that brings just about everything to the table. Interactive planets, galactic politics and intrigue, a robust economic system, deep-space organ trading, it really is all here. Starsector is a game with few equals, being a highly immersive exploration game where players build a ship and make a name for themselves in a fractured galaxy.
Players can expect a title that's immersive, not just because of the way space can be explored, but because of how in-depth and storied some of the factions are that still cling to the fringes of this strange and hostile galaxy.
9 Best Sci-Fi Open-World Games
Open-world sci-fi games can be difficult to get right due to just how vast they can be, but these games manage to nail it.