Elite: Dangerous & 9 Other Games That Let You Explore Deep Space

The space-trading video game Elite revolutionized video gaming by allowing players to explore the depths of deep space, trade with alien factions, and encounter otherwordly phenomena as early as 1984.

The game’s third sequel Elite: Dangerous massively updated the franchise, introducing many new players to the Elite franchise. Crowdfunding efforts for the space flight simulation game began in 2012, and it finally released in 2014 on Microsoft Windows, with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 variants debuting in the ensuing years. The game proved to be a huge success, ensuring the continuing legacy of the franchise while offering serious competition to the many other deep space-themed games that arose since the original game.

10 Outer Wilds

With its ‘Groundhog Day’ approach, Outer Wilds succeeds at going beyond the usual space game tropes. It allows the player to explore a miniaturized Solar System in the course of a 22-minute time loop. As each loop reveals more clues to the final mystery, the player needs to ultimately prevent the Sun from undergoing a supernova.

Despite the dominant themes of action and adventure, the protagonist in Outer Wilds also relies on several strategies to make sense out of the solitude that befalls this unnamed space explorer. The game’s philosophical narratives and its puzzles garnered a highly positive response.

9 EVE Online

A cult classic in the pantheon of multiplayer online RPGs, EVE Online only gets bigger and better with every passing year. The ever-changing shared world allows players to constantly interact with each other and engage in combat—both PvP and PvE—as well as mining, trading operations, political upheavals, piracy raids, and, of course, space exploration.

Launched in 2003, the game is renowned for its atmospheric grandeur and scale, which is evident from massively-detailed events like the Bloodbath of B-R5RB that went on for 21 hours and involved thousands of players.

8 Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program might seem like a childish space-simulator at first glance, but it is, in fact, one of the most scientifically accurate space-sims in recent times. After all, NASA has even collaborated with the game’s developers.

Players are tasked with creating their own space program, staffed and crewed by the titular green aliens. Building a launchpad, maneuvering rockets, and many other tasks are implemented with the help of a very realistic physics engine. Kerbal Space Program also includes interactive mods like the NASA-based Asteroid Redirect Mission that involves observing and tracking asteroids.

7 Mass Effect (Shepard Trilogy)

The Mass Effect franchise, especially the original trilogy, boasts compelling character arcs and space-based action justifying the universal acclaim it has gathered over the years.

The first three games are centered on Commander Shepard, a space navy soldier who is tasked with fighting off the mechanical creatures known as the Reapers, who are heavily inspired by Lovecraftian horror. Even though some familiar themes make their way in the storyline, Mass Effect added a much-needed gritty take on its “saving the galaxy” trope instead of relying on a derivative space opera formula.

6 Stellaris

Stellaris is a perfect pick for space-strategy enthusiasts thanks to its overlying focus on building civilizations that spring out of diplomacy and interplanetary warfare.

The missions depend on the context and nature of the empire the player controls. This space empire can be a colonial power that derives its revenue from conquests, or it might be a diplomatic power that relies on technological prowess and collection of resources rather than combat.

5 Strike Suit Zero

Dogfights in outer space can be an intense and exhilarating experience, as can be seen from Strike Suit Zero’s gameplay. The space combat game delves into the conflicts between different space colonies in the future while reworking significant influences from other franchises like Star Wars, Gundam, and Elite.

High-speed vehicular combat aside, the environment and the ship designs are detailed enough to make the game’s depiction of outer space more breathtaking.

4 Destiny 2

As compared to the other modern sci-fi entries on this list, Destiny 2 is slightly different in the sense that it is set in a Dune-like mythic science-fiction world. The free-to-play first-person shooter allows players to take up the roles of the Guardians. As their name suggests, these protectors make it their mission to save humanity from lethal alien races, relying on their alchemic skills and elemental magic. With fleshed-out characters and an expansive world, Destiny 2 was a massive improvement over its predecessor.

3 Observation

Observation is an adventure-puzzle game—which also functions as a space thriller—that takes place in the aftermath of human decimation aboard a space station. The AI system of the station falls under the players’ control as they need to figure out the mystery behind this attack while finding any surviving members of the crew.

With its minimalistic aesthetic, the game mostly offers glimpses of the hexagonal cloud patterns around what seems like the surface of Saturn.

2 FTL: Faster Than Light

Strategy and roguelike game elements blend beautifully in this modern classic that was, much like Elite: Dangerous, a product of a successful Kickstarter campaign.

FTL allows one to control a spacecraft the crew of which holds critical information. The chief mission is to safely guide this ship through eight sectors of space while flying away from rebel fleets. Through this journey, players can recruit new members to the crew while making significant upgrades to the ship. Adrenaline-fueled action and thrills add a cinematic element to the game, drawing a few comparisons with classic space franchises like Firefly and Star Trek.

1 Elite: Dangerous

While the Elite series bore three classics in the space-trading and space-flight simulation genres, Elite: Dangerous revamped the franchise for a newer generation in the 2010s. Set in a seemingly endless Milky Way galaxy, most of its gameplay was open-ended. Elite: Dangerous was the first of its kind in the franchise, benefiting from a massive multiplayer mode in an open-world that keeps on changing with the actions of each player.

One can argue that the game’s releases marked a resurgence of the realm of deep space in gaming. The openended gameplay is unique in its own right, barring only the likes of EVE Online.

About The Author

Shaurya Thapa
(732 Articles Published)

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Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. When it comes to Screen Rant, he writes lists on a wide array of subjects ranging from international films to mainstream Netflix series and comic book trivia. He also hosts a podcast called ‘BhindiWire’, an Indian parody of IndieWire.

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