Aerospace is making huge strides right now, and we’re in the midst of an exciting time. But humanity isn’t quite ready to conquer new regions of the cosmos… at least not in the real world. Luckily, many developers have already given us great games that let us do it virtually; here’s our pick of the best titles that let us tackle the infinite expanses of space, each in their own way.
No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky is a great story that started out in the worst possible way. When it was released, Hello Games’ title was a complete dumpster fire that suffered greatly from the over-ambitiousness of its over-enthusiastic developers. But the studio didn’t give up on its baby, quite the contrary. It continued to improve it with passion and dedication for years, and those efforts paid off. Today, NMS is a beautiful space sandbox that offers players almost infinite freedom, whether it’s hunting for rare ships or building beautiful bases, following your own path or following the various story arcs that lead you to reflect on the meaning of life and our place in the universe.
No Man’s Sky is available on Steam.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
It's no coincidence that the Mass Effect trilogy has earned such a reputation. These are space RPGs that offer a multitude of objects and mechanics that diversify the experience, intense combat, exhilarating exploration phases... games that are remarkably well-designed on a technical level, in short. But if they have had such an impact on the history of video games and are still considered some of the best role-playing games in history, it is mainly thanks to their superb narration, full of superbly written characters, and where each choice can have a huge impact on the outcome of events. Many of you have probably already devoured all three episodes. But if that’s not your case, the Legendary Edition which brings together Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 in the same pack will allow you to correct that as soon as possible — trust other players, it’s a sumptuous video game triptych that is well worth your time.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is available on Steam.
Outer Wilds
With Outer Wilds, the cosmos is not a vast, practically infinite playground like in No Man’s Sky or Starfield; it only offers to discover a handful of planets that can be reached in the space of a few minutes. But don’t let this minimalist side fool you; it contains all the ingredients for one of the most memorable adventures in the history of video games. The entire narrative is based on temporal sleight of hand that allows the player to reconstruct the history of this small corner of the sky as intimate as it is mysterious through clever puzzles, and the recipe works exceptionally well. It is a stimulating, fascinating and deeply moving game that brilliantly pushes the limits of the medium; a true gem of game design, in short. But don’t count on us to tell you more; It would be criminal to spoil the surprise effect, because discovering Outer Wilds is a unique, overwhelming, even downright transcendent experience. To be tested urgently.
Outer Wilds is available on Steam.
EVE Online
EVE Online is a game with an incredibly rich story. What makes it special is that it was not written by the developers, but by the players in an entirely organic way. Every action taken by every avatar for more than ten years, no matter how insignificant, has contributed to building what is probably the richest persistent universe in the history of this medium. This immense virtual sandbox is punctuated by large-scale geopolitical frictions between super-coalitions of tens of thousands of players, who occasionally engage in immense wars of a downright implausible scale. If you’re looking for an alternate universe where you can become a pirate, a merchant, an explorer, or a mercenary for a large corporation in an infinitely dynamic and organic world, EVE has you covered… if you’re willing to put your heart and soul into it.
Eve Online is available on Steam.
Stellaris
Stellaris is a grand strategy, or 4X, game that lets players lead their own interstellar empire. With its vast procedural galaxies populated by diverse alien species, its complex diplomacy and economic mechanics, and its tasty mix of role-playing and strategy, it is a title that offers practically infinite playability and clearly deserves its place among the best 4X on the market. Its only real flaw: the Paradox studio's economic model, with its dozens of DLCs that make the price of the full game explode. But even the base game is entertaining for dozens of hours, and fans of the genre would be wrong to deprive themselves.
Stellaris is available on Steam.
Kerbal Space Program
Kerbal Space Program, or KSP for short, is a space conquest simulation with a cartoon twist. In it, you play as the Kerbals, little green men who dream of conquering the stars. In this gigantic physics sandbox on the scale of the universe, the player must build his own missions and build from scratch his rockets, satellites, rovers and other spacecraft to discover the secrets of the cosmos. But this fantasy side is deceptive: in reality, it is simply the most advanced simulation of space conquest to date. The second installment is available in early access, but it still doesn't quite hold a candle to this real gem, which is particularly addictive for aerospace enthusiasts.
Kerbal Space Program is available on Steam.
Space Engineers
If you've always dreamed of building space stations and outposts on hostile planets, alone or with friends, Space Engineers is for you. The flight mechanics are certainly less advanced than those of KSP, but it is possible to imagine much more varied and elaborate machines and structures, in particular thanks to a well-thought-out automation system. It is a limitless sandbox that gives pride of place to creativity and ingenuity, and those who enjoy racking their brains to improve the design of a drill or a transport system are likely to spend very long hours there.
Space Engineers is available on Steam.
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