Space games have fascinated video gamers around the world for decades. From fast-paced action adventures to tricky economic simulations to dramatic survival struggles on alien planets, these five games offer a broad genre mix for space fans and anyone who might want to become one.
„Everspace 2“ – Rasante Weltraumduelle
After around five years of development, the Rockfish development studio is embarking on a fast-paced adventure into space with “Everspace 2”. The space action cleverly plays with the lust for spectacular spaceship duels and the addictive quest for new equipment that players are familiar with from hit role-playing games like “Diablo”.
Chasing a pirate here, digging up an enemy base there and sneaking into the enemy’s space base in between: In addition to the pure action spectacle, “Everspace 2” offers a varied mission design and a large game world to explore.
According to the development studio, the game gives around 90 hours of play. The comic-like story takes up around a third of the game time. Rockfish fills the rest with exciting side missions and plenty of opportunities to buy and upgrade new spaceships.
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The development of “Everspace 2” also shows the advantages of a so-called Early Access test phase. The game was available in a slimmed-down version on the online distribution platform Steam for around two years.
During this time it was constantly expanded and improved – up to the current, almost perfectly mature space adventure. More content updates are planned.
In “Everspace 2” there are spaceship duels but also search missions for pieces of equipment
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Worth playing because: Spectacular effects, fast-paced space duels and a varied mission design make “Everspace 2” one of the best space games of the year.
“Everspace 2”, Rockfish Games for Windows. Console versions to follow. USK not checked.
“X4 – Foundations” is a real time waster
After brief teething problems, the space simulation “X4 – Foundations” has developed into the most extensive and best part of the “X” series, which has been racing through the video game world for around two decades. The development studio Egosoft has created a sophisticated mix of space action and economic simulation with attention to detail, which teaches the competition to fear in terms of scope and complexity.
The “X” series is something like the jack of all trades of the genre. Space battles are on an equal footing with a clever economy simulation in which players can advance from small pirate hunters to business tycoons. With their own space bases and trading fleets, fans of sophisticated space simulations can really let off steam in a huge game world.
“X4 Foundations” is the most extensive part of the “X” series to date and a challenging space simulation to play
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But: “X4 – Foundations” is a real time waster. Control and game principle are each complex, but once you get the hang of it, players can expect one of the greatest space adventures in the computer game world. Regular updates such as the recently released “Kingdom’s End” are constantly expanding it with new content.
Worth playing because: Legendary and aged well. Fans of sophisticated space simulations will find an almost unrivaled space opera.
“X 4 – Foundations”, Egosoft for Windows, Linux. USK from 12.
“Star Wars Squadrons” – the story is secondary
Who doesn’t know the legendary moments from the “Star Wars” films when Luke Skywalker & Co. in the X-Wing throw themselves at the Death Star and enemy star cruisers? With “Star Wars Squadrons” from Motive Studios, fans can get behind the controls themselves in exciting duels in space, alone or with other pilots.
If you want, you can even switch to the dark side of the force. After game hits like “X-Wing”, Star Wars fans have been waiting for the appropriate supplies for their home office cockpit for around three decades. “Star Wars Squadrons” is all about action: take the enemy in the crosshairs, dodge with daring maneuvers or chase across a space base at ridiculous speed.
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With their space action, Motive Studios pushes exactly the buttons that make the heart of every “Star Wars” fan beat faster. It hardly bothers that the story is secondary. What counts is the feeling of flying and the unique “Star Wars” scenario.
Worth playing because: Behind the controls of a legendary X-Wing or a Tie-Fighter is every “Star Wars” fan’s dream come true. Exciting and spectacular.
„Star Wars Squadrons“, Motive Studios, Electronic Arts für Windows, PS4, Xbox One. USK ab 12.
“No Man’s Sky” – More space adventure is hardly possible
“No Man’s Sky” started in 2016 with a lot of advance praise and wanted to please all players: space adventure, trading simulation, action adventure and survival drama. The disillusionment was great when the promises turned out to be hot air. In the meantime, however, the game has become one of the most exciting space adventures thanks to numerous expansions.
In 2022 it was even the top seller on Steam for a while. In “No Man’s Sky” players become daring space pilots or colonists on distant planets. You can loot other spaceships and gather resources, or focus entirely on exploring the alien fauna and flora with rocket packs and land vehicles.
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It’s handy that there are resources lying around everywhere that can be used to build a small base to protect against the climate. But be careful: ruthless adventurers must beware of the dangers of these strange worlds. There are no missions, just one game goal: reach the center of the galaxy.
How the players get there is up to them. It takes around 40 hours of play to get to that point. Those who want to see more of this universe travel at least twice as long from planet to planet.
The randomly generated game world consists of 255 galaxies and numerous planet types. Sometimes the pilots even encounter aliens with whom they can trade. In short: more space adventure is hardly possible.
In “No Mens Sky” you can also explore the extraterrestrial flora and fauna
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Worth playing because: After initial difficulties, the ambitious space adventure is finally where it always wanted to be. A great spectacle that video gamers won’t let go of easily.
„No Man‘s Sky“, Hello Games, Sony für Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, Nintendo Switch. USK ab 6.
“Elite Dangerous” – Old but good
Frontier Developments’ Elite Dangerous is making a comeback of one of the most iconic video game franchises. In the 1980s, the original “Elite” was one of the biggest time wasters in the computer game scene. Players could travel through space, trade, or attack enemy spaceships. Elite Dangerous picks up right where the original left off.
It stages the proven mix of action game and trading simulation as a spectacular space opera with contemporary graphics and an extensive game world. Elite Dangerous is an open-world game where you can explore a vast universe of 400 billion star systems in solo mode or as competing factions. The game principle has remained the same as in the original: trade, fight, buy and equip ships.
Since one of the last content updates, players can also land on planets and complete missions like in a first-person shooter. Despite the science fiction scenario, “Elite Dangerous” relies on realistic space flight mechanics that take a little getting used to.
“Elitedangerous” is an open-world game in which there are also missions that are reminiscent of the tasks in first-person shooters
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Once you have cleared this hurdle, an extensive space adventure opens up. Supplies are taken care of: In addition to the possibility of exploring planets, there are constantly new ships, weapons and equipment due to content updates. Unfortunately, this only applies to PC gamers. The further development of the console versions has now been discontinued.
Worth playing because: Old but good. Thanks to a huge game world and an indestructible game principle, “Elite Dangerous” shows that it can easily win every star battle.
Elite Dangerous, Frontier Developments for Windows. USK from 12.
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