Summary
- Games like Outer Wilds and Dead Space immerse players in spaceship exploration amid mysterious and eerie settings.
- Iconic games like Mass Effect and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic offer players the chance to travel among stellar systems.
- In games such as FTL and No Man's Sky, players can create and customize their own spaceships to navigate galaxies.
Space travel has been an enduring and appealing notion for most of human history, and video games have proven to be a fantastic way of channeling this fantasy. There are dozens of excellent games that let players explore the cosmos from the comfort of their own spaceship.
In the vast and inhospitable vacuum of outer space, the ships that travel between the stars become some of the most important things around. Players often become attached to their favorite vehicles, and want to get to know them intimately. Here are ten excellent games where players can freely navigate the interiors of their spaceships.
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10 Among Us
Interstellar Hunting Grounds
Among Us
- Released
- June 5, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Mild Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Party Game
Among Us became ubiquitous in the early 2020s, bringing the classic social deduction formula of party games like Werewolf into deep space. Players have five maps to choose from in their quest to root out the alien Impostor, but the very first map, and the one most players are likely familiar with, is the Skeld.
This massive spaceship is split into 14 separate rooms, each of which offers different vital tasks for crewmates to do in order to keep the ship in the sky. The hallways separating these rooms, and the air conditioner vents running throughout the ship, offer plenty of ambush points for the sinister Impostor to use in their hunts.
9 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Cal's Quest
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Released
- April 28, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Mild Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Soulslike, Sci-Fi
The second game in Respawn's Star Wars Jedi saga sees protagonist Cal Kestis continuing his quest to fight back against the tyrannical Empire. The game builds on its predecessor by vastly expanding the number of lightsaber fighting styles Cal has on offer, while the story deals with Cal's inner turmoil over being one of the last Jedi alive after the Empire's horrible purge.
In his quest to protect the people he cares about from the Empire, Cal once again spends his time in the trusty Stinger Mantis, a modified luxury yacht owned and operated by Cal's friend Greez. The space inside this sleek vessel is a bit cramped, but there's enough room for Cal to modify his weapons, enhance his skills, and spend time with friends like Greez, Merrin, and new character Bode.
8 The Outer Worlds
Trust The Unreliable
The Outer Worlds
- Released
- October 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Obsidian's satirical space adventure takes place in a far-flung solar system that has been taken over by all of capitalism's worst excesses. The protagonist, rescued from a lost ship of cryogenically frozen colonists, must endeavor to overthrow the system and rescue their fellow settlers.
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In their adventures through the Halcyon system, the protagonist becomes the captain of a vessel known as the Unreliable, a chunky freighter that becomes the player's base of operations on their journey. During their travels, the player will accumulate trophies decorating their bedroom, as well as a growing crew of allies who also come to call the vessel home.
7 No Man's Sky
Charting The Stars
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
Everything that No Man's Sky has, it has a lot of. The game's functionally limitless, procedurally generated galaxy is home to more planets than players could hope to visit in a thousand lifetimes. In order to see as much of the galaxy as possible, players will need to use some of the game's countless spaceships.
There are eight basic classifications of ship in No Man's Sky, each of which has countless variations in statistics and appearance. In addition to sitting in the cockpits of these smaller vessels, players can also take over Freighters. These massive behemoths feature immense carrying capacity and customizable interiors, with room modules that players can freely build and swap between as they like.
6 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Blast From The Past
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Released
- July 15, 2003
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
It wouldn't be a stretch to call Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic one of the most prominent Star Wars games ever made. This game casts players as a Jedi initiate with a dark secret, striving to combat the insidious Darth Malak.
The protagonist navigates this treacherous adventure in the Ebon Hawk, a smuggling ship the player commandeers near the beginning of the game. Between missions, players can freely wander the vessel, and will even find themselves defending it from intruders multiple times over the course of their voyage.
5 FTL: Faster Than Light
All Hands To Battle Stations
FTL: Faster Than Light
- Released
- September 14, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Roguelike
While players of FTL: Faster Than Light won't spend any time actually walking around their ship, the interior of the vessel is still the most important thing in the game. As fans navigate a treacherous, procedurally generated galaxy, they will constantly have to monitor what's happening on board, directing their crew to different stations in order to man weapons, fight invaders, and put out fires.
New upgrades for the player's vessel will give them more things to worry about in combat, and new crewmembers will give them more people to delegate. Success in FTL depends on intimate knowledge of the ship's layout and prime tactical understanding of how to deal with any crisis that pops up on board.
4 Outer Wilds
Living The Loop
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Outer Wilds is an entrancing game that sets players in a doomed solar system, with a sun set to go supernova in 22 minutes. Across repeated time loops, players must discover the secrets of an ancient alien race that once lived here, and, in the process, discover why the sun is exploding.
In order to navigate this dying solar system, players have a small spaceship they can enter at will. From the comfort of their cockpit, fans can navigate between worlds and launch probes to learn more about the surrounding worlds. However, excess damage to the ship can disable it, and leave the protagonist vulnerable to the terrors of the void.
3 Halo: Combat Evolved
Cosmic Proportions
Halo: Combat Evolved
- Released
- November 15, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Halo is a game that needs no introduction. The legendary space shooter revolutionized the genre and led to enough imitators that they almost form a video game genre all their own. While most of the game's beloved singleplayer campaign takes place on the eponymous Halo ring, there are two spaceships that serve prominent roles as well.
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The game opens with Master Chief fighting his way through the Pillar of Autumn, a UNSC ship under attack by the alien Covenant. The sleek military hallways of this massive battleship form a stark contrast with the exotic alien architecture of Truth and Reconciliation, the Covenant cruiser Master Chief must board to rescue his captain, Jacob Keyes.
2 Dead Space
A Nightmare In Orbit
Dead Space
- Released
- January 27, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Strong Language, and Intense Violence.
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The famous horror game Dead Space takes place almost entirely inside a spaceship. Players will find themselves trapped aboard the USG Ishimura, a behemoth mining ship designed to crack open planets and harvest their natural resources en masse. Due to the presence of a sinister alien artifact on board, the ship's crewmembers have mutated into hideous, flesh-eating monsters, and Isaac Clarke must find a way to escape before he suffers a similar fate.
During the course of Dead Space's brutal and gory campaign, players will crawl and struggle through every corner of the massive mining ship, from the deep bowels of engineering to the bridge. Each region of the ship has been intricately designed for both in-universe practicality and extreme terror. The screeches and groans of failing industrial machinery can come to be just as alarming as the necromorphs lurking in the shadows.
1 Mass Effect Legendary Edition
The Voyages of the Normandy
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- Released
- May 14, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
The Mass Effect trilogy's main vessel, the Normandy, is arguably the most iconic spaceship in the video game industry. The ship has had many iterations and variations over the three games, but its powerful stealth drive and robust suite of weapons makes it a force to be reckoned with every time.
Over the course of the trilogy, the Normandy becomes home to Commander Shepard and their growing crew of allies. As Shepard deepens their relationship with their allies, and perhaps starts a romance with some of them, the Normandy will remain central to their exploits. This trusty vessel will be with Commander Shepard until the very end.
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