The vastness of space takes on a whole new perspective in No Man’s Sky, a game of seemingly endless science fiction adventure thanks to the procedurally generated galaxy filled with countless different planets and their vibrant extraterrestrial environments. One of the biggest highlights of the game is that you can land at each destination manually from the atmosphere to the surface, all without interruption.
And the planetary fun never ends because No Man’s Sky is constantly receiving updates that add new elements, such as vehicles, expanded lore, VR, multiplayer and much more. While no other game can exactly match the intensity and brilliance of No Man’s Sky, there are plenty of games that do certain aspects of the space sim in their own brilliant ways.
10/10 Kerbal Space Program
Kerbal Space Program is based more on the physics of space travel and requires you to think scientifically about its approach to space travel. It’s a spaceship simulator where you play as the adorable species of green aliens known as Kerbals. Its standout feature has to be its physics engine, which enables you to achieve realistic space shuttle maneuvers in orbit.
Unlike No Man’s Sky, where spacecraft are readily available for an atmospheric ascent, Kerbal Space Program challenges you to build your own and test the waters to see if it launches successfully. Only then will the Kerbals be able to travel safely to nearby planets and moons to set up bases and attempt to survive.
9/10 Subnautica
Although this title is less about the solar system and more centered on navigating the depths of the ocean, Subnautica shares an elegant sci-fi style, survival mechanics and a penchant for exploring the unknown with No Man’s Sky. You start out as a space traveler exploring the outer edges of the universe, but end up crashing into an ocean planet known as 4546B.
The sea contains interesting flora and fauna that are native to the planet’s alien oceanic habitat and peculiar marine animals that have undergone a frightening evolution. Apart from saving yourself from them, you also have to worry about your oxygen, thirst and hunger levels. Another mechanic included here that No Man’s Sky included in an update is building and expanding underwater outposts.
8/10 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
If you’re a lover of Star Wars and the vast planetary exploration offered in No Man’s Sky, Jedi: Fallen Order will be a likely choice. You are free to travel to five unique planets in the iconic universe during the main story. Each is full of secrets and areas to return to explore further and comes with its own gorgeous ecology and distinct alien organisms, most of which are hostile.
And helping you on your journey to preserve the Jedi Order is a cute and versatile BD-1 droid who acts as your companion, supplying you with health boosts, hacking doors, and helping you with combat and ziplining. You can also see some familiar faces from existing Star Wars history, such as Saw Gerrera.
7/10 Return
Space exploration takes a far more inexplicable and mysterious turn in Returnal. The main character, astronaut Selene Vassos, finds herself lost on the planet Atropos after chasing a strange signal called the “White Shadow”, and soon realizes that she is stuck in a time loop. For each death, the opening sequence is restarted.
Returnal focuses more on combat and story than No Man’s Sky, as it is a third-person shooter with a fake game design. But even if the game doesn’t make you manage hunger and oxygen meters, the fight for survival is second to none here. That’s thanks to six different biomes where you’ll encounter spectacularly designed deadly creatures that will annihilate Selene with their colorful projectiles.
6/10 The outer worlds
This RPG from the beloved Obsidian Studio is a spaceship titled The Outer Worlds. While there is an element of moving through space by selecting a destination from a shipboard console and fast traveling there, it certainly doesn’t match the thrill of traversing the stars in No Man’s Sky. Instead, the game relies heavily on its open combat and narrative design.
The Outer Worlds paints a fantastical landscape around a bleak future setting in an alternate timeline where US President Theodore Roosevelt never made it to the White House. Without his important legislation to break up trusts, large corporations dominated and now extended their roots to colonize alien planets. You stumble upon a conspiracy that threatens one of these colonies and are soon wrapped up in an interplanetary adventure.
5/10 Astronomers
Astroneer’s aesthetic and art style offer a perfect pairing for No Man’s Sky, the colors are just as vibrant, and the terrain deformation is similar to No Man’s Sky’s mining elements. The story is also quite sparse as there is no coherent overarching narrative, but instead some lore to discover through side quests and data from collection logs. Astroneer’s focus rests more on interplanetary exploration and crafting.
The terrain manipulator from No Man’s Sky is also recreated here with Astroneer’s warp tool, which allows you to terraform and change the environment. The object sucks up debris like a vacuum and can then be used to form bridges or other creative structures as needed.
4/10 Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy
The joy of planet-hopping critical to No Man’s Sky becomes an even more memorable experience in Marvel and Eidos Montreal’s Guardians of the Galaxy. This game surprised everyone when it was released because its deep story and rich character development demonstrated a remarkable improvement over Square Enix’s previous Marvel outing with The Avengers.
The dialogue between the Guardians is truly the highlight of this game, as there are countless funny and tender moments shared between the group. It evokes a similar tone and mood to James Gunn’s films without feeling like an imitation. Throughout the main story, you take Milan to dazzling planets across the galaxy and fight against alien life forms with the help of each of the Guardians and the phenomenal soundtrack.
3/10 Death Stranding
Perhaps one of the most intricate and complex games to be conceptualized in recent years, Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding is an absolute must for fans of thought-provoking science fiction and apocalyptic narratives. It is exceptionally on par with the scope and ambition of No Man’s Sky throughout its world and content.
While it has no off-planet exploration, there are endless details to uncover just from the fixed in-game location alone. Death Stranding takes place in a decimated United States sometime in the future, where a connection between the living and the dead changes the environment. The graphics and visuals are some of the most impressive from the last generation, and it even boasts a large cast such as Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux and Mads Mikkelsen.
2/10 Fate 2
The interstellar journeys and stunning graphics of No Man’s Sky are echoed in the lush surroundings of Bungie’s Destiny 2. This game offers a variety of planets and locations to venture to throughout the multiple campaigns, and while everyone stays in our solar system and donates They stretch don’t enter the great beyond like they do in No Man’s Sky, they evolve and change in step with the events of this space opera’s ongoing saga.
Destiny 2 is also drastically different in terms of gameplay – it’s a first-person shooter MMO ARPG rooted in combat, loot, and weapons. However, it’s been a free-to-play game ever since the New Light update in 2019, so even if it was the survival loop of No Man’s Sky you love, there’s no harm in giving Destiny 2 a try.
1/10 Outer Wildlands
In Outer Wilds, another time loop twist is thrown in, but this time it’s not limited to a single planet causing the problem like in Returnal. An entire solar system is now affected. And as the newest member of the Outer Wilds Ventures program, your mission is to uncover an ancient mystery by exploring this solar system, which is being manipulated as time progresses.
Just as No Man’s Sky sets the end goal of traveling to the center of the galaxy, Outer Wilds pushes you towards the enigmatic eye of the universe. Some puzzles trickle into the gameplay, but the familiar mechanics of first-person starship piloting and traversing the surfaces of a variety of sprawling planets are as satisfying as ever.
