Best Open World Games Not on Earth

Having an open-world city to explore is fun, but more games such as Star Wars: Outlaws are exploring the idea of planetary traversal. It's one of the longest-running human fantasies of the last century: to explore the galaxy, including alien planets, where adventure is just one step ahead.

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12 Open-World Games That Explore Interstellar Colonization

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By  Matthew Weideman

Several games have allowed players to trek across planets in a galaxy far, far away, and not-so-far-away. From RPGs to survival exploration, having an open world on another planet has led to games standing out in the sci-fi genre, with some even allowing the exploration of multiple planets.

10 Starlink: Battle For Atlas

Interstellar Travel With Unique Ships, Weapons, and Pilots

Despite favorable reviews overall, Starlink: Battle For Atlas was one of the last games made during a time when the "Toys To Life" gaming trend was declining. Starlink allowed players to build their own ships and that custom ship could appear in-game.

Thankfully, Starlink: Battle For Atlas is still playable without the discontinued toys and provides an addictive starfighting experience with multiple open-world maps on different planets. Starlink is a throwback to classic space fighter games, and it even features exclusive Star Fox content for the Nintendo Switch.

9 Mass Effect: Andromeda

The Black Sheep Of Mass Effect

Screenshot of Liam and Ryder in Mass Effect Andromeda

What separates Mass Effect: Andromeda from the original trilogy is the different alien environments to explore in a new galaxy. Fans treated Mass Effect: Andromeda harshly when it was first released, but it has gained a following over the years due to its eye-catching worlds combined with fluid third-person combat.

However, the lack of any iconic characters from the Mass Effect trilogy and unfortunate glitches led to a poor reputation for Mass Effect: Andromeda. The story is akin to Battlestar: Galactica, focusing on colonizing a new home for the Federation, not just humans, which leads to exploring many different types of planets and meeting new species to expand the Mass Effect universe.

8 Borderlands 2

No Place Quite Like Pandora

Pandora from the Borderlands franchise has become an iconic location due to its cast of wild characters combined with a Mad Max-like apocalyptic punk setting. Borderlands 2 brought the most freedom to explore Pandora with a wide variety of biomes on the planet that are fully explorable.

As a result, Borderlands 2 never gets dull, since every new location on Pandora typically results in new enemy types, environments, and a ridiculous amount of weapons to find. While there are technically more planets in Borderlands 3, they are more linear than Pandora in Borderlands 2 or even the moon in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.

7 Outer Wilds

Looping Through The Cosmos

Mixing Groundhog Day with space exploration, Outer Wilds puts the player on a time loop with the ability to travel across seven mysterious planets. It may not be action-packed, but Outer Wilds keeps the player engaged with its mystery, visuals, and relaxing exploration.

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By  Via Erhard

Memorizing the events of the time loop in Outer Wilds is challenging and thrilling, similar to The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask. However, simply wandering the strange planets is a thrill in itself, earning the Outer Wilds a multitude of praise from gamers and critics alike.

6 Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora

Living Life Like A Na'vi

From the deep jungles of the Kinglor Forest to the Upper Plains, Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora replicates the now-iconic planet from the movies for players to explore solo or co-op as a new Na'vi. The gameplay is very similar to Far Cry, but of all the games to borrow from for an Avatar game, Far Cry fits the most.

Exploring Pandora as a Na'vi that was raised among humans grants players the chance to learn to be a Na'vi organically. From learning about the cultures of different tribes with strong voice-acting across the board to hunting the alien fauna to learning to ride an Ikkran, Pandora is just as beautiful as it is in the movies.

5 Destiny 2

A Game That Changed Live-Service Forever

Destiny 2 has open-world patrol zones for players to explore and complete activities on, but it's not necessarily an open-world single-player game. Yet, the live-service content allows for constant updates and new content across various planets and moons that provide plenty of excitement in missions and stories.

The world of Destiny 2 is so far into the future that it becomes a fusion of science fiction and fantasy. The lore and the addictive gameplay developed by Bungie help turn Destiny 2 into an icon of modern gaming, proving to already be among the great franchises such as Borderlands, Mass Effect, and Halo.

4 Starfield

Endless Planetary Exploration in a Vast Universe

While it was not the revolutionary title that some fans were hoping for, Starfield did accomplish being Bethesda's next big immersive RPG. It borrows many elements from Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, creating a sci-fi RPG in which the player can explore dozens of planets.

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By  Tristan Jurkovich

With Starfield, there are many planets in the galaxy to explore, fight threats, and take on missions. They may not be as colorful and fantastical as the planets seen in other space-faring games, but Bethesda does make a universe that stands out from most RPGs and even sci-fi games.

3 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Expansive Worlds Set in the Star Wars Galaxy

Improved climbing, combat, customization, and Cal Kestis' story are just a few aspects to enjoy in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Most fans agreed that this sequel was superior in nearly every aspect to Fallen Order, including multiple massive open worlds to explore as a Jedi, with a grander and darker story.

While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor still has more linear locations that are explorable in a Metroidvania-like fashion, there are also bigger planets like Jedha and Koboh. From the watery village of Rambler's Reach to the High Republic structures, Koboh is massive with various secrets that provide new cosmetics for lightsabers and Cal himself or upgrades to help the hero in future battles.

2 No Man's Sky

A Game With an Infinite Amount of Planets and Galaxies

When No Man's Sky was first released, it was deemed a broken mess that failed to live up to the intergalactic sandbox it was promised to be. That is no longer the case, because the developers at Hello Games worked hard to turn No Man's Sky around, and it became what it was originally intended to be and more over the years.

Now, No Man's Sky is a stunning survival and exploration game that gives the player thousands of planets and moons to adventure onto in real-time, each procedurally generated with unique flora and fauna. Hello Games continues to update No Man's Sky with multiple expansions and updates and has seen players returning in large numbers, marking quite a comeback for the game.

1 The Outer Worlds

Throwback To The Space Age

With a classic RPG setup of the protagonist waking up and finding themselves on a hostile planet, The Outer Worlds was a surprise gem. Obsidian Entertainment took what they did with Fallout: New Vegas and essentially made a Starfield-like game before Starfield but with fewer planets.

Every planet in The Outer Worlds is vibrant and visually stunning, featuring quests where the player's choices actually matter and a strong commentary on capitalism. The Outer Worlds feels almost like a tribute to sci-fi comics of the 1960s where ships, characters, and the environment have a retro-futuristic aesthetic.

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