Space Games That Let Players Blow Up Planets

Just as there are star-bound souls out there inspired by the altruistic selflessness of sci-fi heroes like Luke Skywalker or the stoic honor of the Mandalorian, other Star Wars fans with hearts as dark as a black hole have been captivated by the idea of seeing an entire world smashed up into rocks from high orbit by the Death Star.

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Since then, many other space operas and epics in books and on the silver screen have depicted world-ending ships or weapons. Since sci-fi movies have been inspiring game devs for as long as video games have existed, it makes sense that video games would have their share of interactive planet-smashers. With the power to wipe out virtual worlds in the palm of their hands, gamers have been reveling in cosmic devastation for decades, reshaping star systems as they see fit and embracing the fearsome power of a galactic god.

1 Spore

From Squishable Insect To Planet-Stomping Invader

• The "Planet Buster" can be unlocked right at the end of the game
• Using this doomsday weapon will make everyone but the comically evil Grox hate the player

At the end of a long, arduous journey from single-celled life form to international community, the player's (likely bizarre) creatures set off into the stars. Spore players of a particularly savage nature might be motivated to unlock the "Planet Buster," which does exactly what it says on the tin. Using one of these bad boys will turn a world (inhabited or otherwise) into a red-hot blob of floating lava mulch and cause other sentient species to consider the player's creatures as monstrously ugly on the inside as they probably are on the outside.

Although the galactic community at large will be disgusted by the player's callous disregard for the sanctity of life and ecology, the evil, half-machine Grox will love this ultimate demonstration of demolition. Ammunition for the Planet Buster is hard to come by, so cosmic conquerors must use their ultimate weapon sparingly. Still, watching a celestial object fade away into magma mist never gets old.

2 Stellaris

A Highly Customizable Way To Bring About Someone Else's Apocalypse

• Stellaris allows players several ways to end thousands of years of galactic history
• Players can kill the population of the planet or turn it into a mere minable resource

There isn't just one way to obliterate an egg in Stellaris. The game offers multiple approaches to turning sentient-populated systems into skid marks, including the "Neutron Sweep," which destroys the entire population of a planet, and the "Planet Cracker," which turns a celestial body into nothing more than a minable rock.

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By  Evan Arnoldi Sebayang

Finally, with the Nemesis expansion, the "Star Eater" collapses entire star systems, turning them into anti-matter resource nodes. Cracking open planetary bodies in Stellaris is made particularly intense because planets (and those who live there) are quite fleshed out, having layers of features and descriptions available from the planetary inspection UI.

3 Planetary Annihilation: TITANS

Crisping Planets To Bits On Gigantic Machines Of War

• The whole selling point of this game is that players get to devastate planets using an array of giant mechs and lasers
• The game is best played in multiplayer for its fast-paced action

Some space games give players the ability to wreck celestial objects near the end game as a reward for coming so far, but with Planetary Annihilation: TITANS, smashing worlds is its raison d'être. Wars wage over land, air, sea, and space with nano swarms, orbital lasers, and titanic walking battle tanks. Units and weapons escalate in scale and power until they become large enough to make the whole world go "boom."

Planetary Annihilation: TITANS can feel a little simplistic compared to the other great sci-fi RTS games out there as it sits more on the "action" side of the planetary liquidation spectrum. But when played with friends, there is plenty of galactic mayhem to be had.

4 Space Empires 4

An Old-School Planet Killer Tech With Plenty Of Possibility

• Stellar manipulation tech allows the player to create or destroy entire worlds (and even stars)
• The technology is incredibly expensive to build and maintain and must be used thoughtfully

While its graphics are dated in today's gaming era, having been released in 2000, Space Empires 4's take on the galactic doomsday weapon stands as one of the more well-thought-out examples of extra-terrestrial weaponry. As well as being symbols and tools of fear and oblivion, the extremely costly Tectonic Bomb and Matter Gravity Sphere from the stellar manipulation tech branch allow the player to turn worlds into asteroid belts and create worlds out of asteroids, respectively.

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Stellar manipulation lets players create small-scale ruinations like spatial storms and large-scale interstellar messes, such as wormhole-delivered star destroyers. Whole suns can be pulverized and turned into nebulae or black holes, or the latter can be wiped clear out of the sky. The gravity (pun intended) of these weapons simply existing is marked by their price. It takes a huge amount of time and resources to build and maintain these superweapons, and once the trigger has been pulled to destroy or create anything as large as a star, they are also irrevocably consumed.

5 Endless Space 2

Endlessly Fun Armageddon (In Space!)

• Planet-destroying missiles can be fired at great distances, snuffing out worlds from afar
• These superweapons require a considerable amount of charging after use

As a space-themed turn-based strategy game, it's obvious that Endless Space 2 would offer a superweapon capable of ending an interstellar fight in one shot. Carrier-sized ships can be chosen to deliver "Planet Cracker" modules, which work exactly as anyone might expect. After trashing a planet, the module can be moved to do the same to another habitat but requires an excessively long number of turns to charge again, leaving it vulnerable to attack.

With the Supremacy DLC, it is possible to load the Behemoth ship with "Obliterator" missiles, which can be safely fired from the comfort of the player's home star empire and will explode within three or four turns. Enemy (or victim) worlds can steel themselves against this attack if they throw up a shield in time, but once the missile has been fired, it's usually a slam dunk doomsday.

6 Star Wars: Rebellion

Millions Of Voices All Crying Out In Terror, The Game

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Real-Time Strategy

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Released

February 28, 1998

ESRB

e

Developer(s)

Coolhand Interactive

Publisher(s)

LucasArts

Engine

game engine

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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

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It is a time of great upheaval. The first Death Star has been destroyed, marking a major victory for the Rebellion. But the Empire remains strong. As commander, you must choose to take control of either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire. Your goal: complete domination of the galaxy.

Take the galaxy by force. Take the galaxy through diplomacy. Take the galaxy via covert operations. Earn the loyalty (or resentment) of up to 200 worlds. Star Wars™ Rebellion gives you a myraid of means to implement strategy and tactics on a grand scale and in a real-time environment. With control of the entire Star Wars galaxy as the prize, will the Force™ be with you? Discover for yourself.

Strategy Gaming on an Epic Scale - Take control of either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire as you vie for the support of up to 200 worlds. The real-time environment will test your strategic mettle at every turn.

Comprehensive Resource Management - Strategic portion lets you manage manufacturing, resources, fleet deployment and mission assignments.

Innovative 3D Battle Simulation - Take complete command of fleets in dramatic battle sequences – almost a separate game in itself.

Platform(s)

PC

Genre(s)

Real-Time Strategy

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• While it has outdated graphics, it is one of the few Star Wars games that lets the player meaningfully pull the trigger on planets
• The Death Star's defense still needs to be managed by military command, just like in the movies

With so many Star Wars games in existence, it was only a matter of time until one of them allowed players to build their own fully operational Death Star. While several strategies are available to conquer planets and maintain the Empire (diplomacy, espionage, forming trade relations), none offer quite as potent a warning as wiping out a Rebel homeworld with a giant green laser blast.

After constructing a Death Star, the player-led evil Empire will need to swat off any bothersome Rebel fighters (as putting a forcefield up around the main exhaust pipe seems to be a practical impossibility). Although not as horrific as those behind the Death Star itself, Star Wars: Rebellion delivers the "end of the world" fantasy on both sides of the force.

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