Summary
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 andinfinite 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.
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 thatsmall-scale indie titlescan 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.
What makesAstroneerso 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.
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 withStar 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 ahuge, branching narrativethat will place players at the center of factional intrigue and politics that span the galaxy.
Something of a mix betweenDuneandStar Wars,Star Tradersis 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.
There are many things that go intoEndless 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.
Bethesda poured blood, sweat, and tears intoStarfieldfor over a decade, and the result was a hugely popular title that gave players the classic gameplay from titles likeSkyrim- but in space. And yes, that makes a huge difference. The game isn’t perfect,and the companionsdo 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,Starfieldhas got them covered.
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.
Surveying the stars is a lengthy task inStellaris, but a fundamental one, whetherplayers are starting off aswarmongering 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.Stellarismight 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 keepStellarisrelevant for nearly a decade now.
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 Skyand its success story have led to a fantastic game that now stands far beyond the shadow of its initial release.
Setting off in amyriad 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.
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.Starsectoris a game with few equals, being a highly immersive exploration game where playersbuild a shipand 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.
