Nine games set in space that are *NOT* Starfield
Bethesda's oxygen sucking behemoth is no doubt holding focus, but there are other succulent treats on the menu
Starfield. The elephant in the room. The big release of the year. Bethesda’s once in a generation mega-project has finally released and its…quite good but not amazing.
I’m certainly enjoying how much it hits all the same buttons that The Elder Scrolls and Fallout does even though it’s very much a carbon copy of those things and also is making my PC absolutely chug.
Will history be kind to this game? Who knows, but here are nine other games set in space you can also play if you’re not that fussed about it.
OPUS: Echo of Starsong
More of a visual novel than anything else, OPUS: Echo of Starsong is part of an ongoing but unconnected series by developer SIGONO INC and concerns an exiled noble, a journey to reclaim lost glory, and a galaxy that has long since abandoned any idea of renewal.
It’s a game full of extremely tense interstellar travel where you have to keep an eye on your fuel consumption and hull integrity, exploration of caves and vaults in pursuit of valuable resources and leads on the game’s central mystery, and a lot of deep conversations among the central cast.
I was shocked at how invested I was in this story and its incredibly moving conclusion. Really excited to see what this team does with their next game OPUS: Prism Peak.
Citizen Sleeper
I’ve already written about Citizen Sleeper a few times, but let me reiterate: this haunting, methodical, beautifully placed narrative adventure game absolutely captures the essence of good Sci Fi at its peak.
A moratorium on resource conflict, modern slavery and the agony of trying to find home in an exiled space, Citizen Sleeper is a game that remains rattling through my head at all times.
Whether its the beautifully realised cast of characters, those seemingly impossible decisions you have to make at pivotal moments, or simply the great soundtrack by Amos Roddy, it is, in my eyes, a must play.
The Banished Vault
The odd entry in this list because I haven’t actually played this yet, however the premise of The Banished Vault is so fascinating I couldn’t not offer it a place.
Leading the last bastion of humanity through a dark and hostile galaxy aboard an intergalactic cathederal of the damned, it looks to be a deep strategy title full of resource management, difficult decisions and haunting storytelling about the impossible nihilism of the cold dark star ocean.
Made by a subdivision of Bithell Games, makers of the excellent Subsurface Circular, I have no doubt that when I do finally get round to playing this it will be a hell of an ordeal. I can’t wait, I bought a physical copy of its manual in anticipation.
Heat Signature
One of the things that Starfield proposes is that a potential outcome of intergalactic dogfights is to disable your foe and board them. In practice, a bit of a clunky method that doesn’t really capture the sense of urgency that would come from such a daring manoever.
What does capture this extremely well, however, is Tom Francis’ Heat Signature, a heist game in which you fling yourself into the hostile reaches of a procedurally generated space to infiltrate an array of starships, take out their occupants, steal their prizes and return home to do it all again.
There’s a wonderful kinetic energy to how you engage with this game, merging precision plans with panicked back ups, and sometimes the best solution is to blow out the windows and send everyone out into the screaming vaccuum of space, yourself included.
A riot, a devilishly challenging game, and a wonderful experience overall.
Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
Set in a bustling intergalactic transportation hub, Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor makes the bold decision to not let you go into space. In reality, very few people would actually have the means and freedom to explore the vast reaches of space, especially in a society not yet lifted from the chains of capitalism.
What you get instead is a game that’s all about litter. Surviving from day to day barely making enough to make ends meet and with the added bonus of a cursed talking skull haunting you.
It’s a game full of strange and welcome decisions. Immersed among the alien denizens of this celestial airport, you have to think about your energy, your hunger and even your gender identity as you struggle to exist in a world that needs you but does not respect you.
A more virulently anti-capitalist tome I have yet to read. A brilliant game.
FTL Faster Than Light
How can we talk about games set in space without talking about FTL? The brilliant tactical roguelike from Subset Games is the apex of this idea of being trapped in a desperate struggle to escape an invincible foe.
David vs Goliath among the stars, as you move through hostile territory, manage your resources, build yourself up to have a better chance at surviving the wall of death coming for you.
It’s a fantastic, stressful and oh so moreish experience that fully immerses you in that perfect fantasy of inhabiting the role and responsibility of a starship captain. Bastard hard though, I have yet to complete it.
Steamworld Heist
I had to give some love to this incredible little strategy game. A sort of 2D XCOM, you play a roaving gang of pirate robots tasked with infiltrating various strongholds across the cosmos, to rid them of their pesky valuables and headwear.
This is great, a true gem of the genre that combines turn based strategy with mild physics bullshit to let you shoot the hats off your foe to claim for yourself, rickochet bullets all around your environment, and turn your foes cover against them.
The sci-fi leanings of this game are a bit tenuous for the purposes of this article, but it is a game set in space, so it counts. Can pick this up on almost everything for a few quid most days, well worth your time.
Hardspace Shipbreaker
Similar to Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, and with some Powerwash Simulator-esque leanings, this is another methodical rumination on the power imbalances of capital.
You are a workhorse contracted to an interstellar shipyard whose only job is to systematically take apart decomissioned spaceships, recycle what you can and destroy the rest.
Motivated by that age old trap of morally unconscionable debt, this is a game that ever so slowly reveals its hand. Another tome for the great galactic anti-capitalist library.
Exo One
The most cerebral and kind of horrifying entry in this list, Exo One is about travelling vast distances at stomach churning speeds.
You play an astronaut settled inside what is essentially an amorphous chrome marble, an alien ship that travels using gravity and momentum. In each level you have to reach a sort of interstellar cannon far off in the distance, navigating often genuinely upsetting topography in the process.
Barren landscapes, incorporeal megastructures, braving all manner of weather phenomenon all the while attempting to figure out how to get home.
It’s minimalist, extremely impactful, and I definitely recommend it if you fancy a few sleepless nights thinking about just how big space actually is.
And there you have it. I’m sure I’ll be spending countless dozens of hours playing Starfield yet, but I would be remiss if I didn’t use this time to ruminate on some of the games I’ve played in years past that really captured the essence of this magnificent and broad genre. There are no doubt many more offerings, if you have any recommendations of your own, please put them in the comments.
Until next time: Wealth beyond measure, outlander!
(hang on that’s the other game isn’t it?)