One unique title is No Man's Sky, a science fiction adventure set in an infinite, procedurally generated universe. Developed by Hello Games, it stands out for its sheer scale and expansive nature. Players are given the freedom to explore a vast universe, with quintillions of planets to discover, each with their own unique ecosystems, fauna, flora, and weather conditions. The game also incorporates elements of survival, combat, exploration, and trading in a beautiful, interstellar backdrop. You can mine resources on one planet, fly into space in real-time, engage in combat with hostile forces, land on another planet, trade resources, and even rename your discovery. The goal? Reach the center of the universe, and uncover the secrets it holds.
Given the playstyle and elements of No Man’s Sky, it exists within a particular genre of gaming that compels players to chart their own path, engage with a living world and navigate complex systems to forge their journey. For gamers who enjoy this level of autonomy and unending exploration, there are several other titles that echo the same sentiment. These games encourage players to explore, adapt, and create their own stories. From survival-focused titles to elaborate space operas, there are a plethora of games which live within the same sphere as No Man's Sky. Games that are procedural, expansive, intricate, and rewarding can be appealing if you have a liking for grand narratives, choice-based gameplay, and interactive environments...
25. Elite Dangerous
If you've enjoyed playing No Man's Sky, then you'll likely find yourself becoming immersed in the universe of Elite Dangerous, which, like No Man's Sky, offers a vast and constantly evolving open-world setup that thrives on exploration. In Elite Dangerous, you're placed in a created version of our Milky Way, anticipated to scale and packed with billions of star systems and planets to discover. Both games share an emphasis on developing trade routes, collecting resources, and upgrading your spaceship, but Elite Dangerous takes these aspects a step further, introducing an additional layer of realism by incorporating physics-based space flight and modeling the galaxy on real astronomical data.
Not just that, but both games create a nuanced sense of narrative through their diverse interactions. Like No Man's Sky, Elite Dangerous thrives on the unpredictability of encounters. You may find yourself in peaceful alliance with other space-farers or being chased by pirates through asteroid fields. Moreover, Elite Dangerous provides a far more intricate trading and economic system, directly influenced by actions of its community. Exploring mysterious alien artefacts, discovering uncharted star systems, trading in bustling space ports, battling in intense dogfights - Elite Dangerous is a testament to space simulation games and stands toe-to-toe with No Man's Sky.
Elite Dangerous is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $29.99 USD.
24. Starbound
Like No Man's Sky, Starbound provides you with an expansive, procedurally-generated universe to explore. In Starbound, you have the freedom to travel between different planets and solar systems, discovering diverse alien species and cultures along your journey. But unlike No Man's Sky, Starbound packs an engaging story into its vast universe, adding another element to the endless exploring.
Your gameplay in Starbound is centered around crafting and survival, very similar to No Man's Sky. You can mine resources from planets, then use these materials to build your own custom spaceship, craft useful tools and weapons, prepare foods, and even create your own planetary colonies. The combat system in Starbound is also more comprehensive than that found in No Man's Sky, offering a wider range of weapons and armors. And just like in No Man's Sky, you can team up with others in multiplayer mode to help each other survive and conquer!
Starbound is available on Windows, MacOS, and Linux, typically priced around $14.99 USD.
23. Astroneer
If you're a fan of No Man's Sky, you'll likely find Astroneer intriguing as well. Like No Man's Sky, Astroneer offers a vast, open-world experience in a unique, outer-space setting. It's a sandbox adventure game that revolves around space exploration, resource management, and terraforming. Similarly to No Man's Sky, you can explore and reshape diverse, procedurally-generated planets, engage in resource gathering and crafting, and deal with survival elements. Yet, the cartoonish, minimalist aesthetic of Astroneer gives it a distinctly appealing charm of its own while offering a lighter and less intense gaming experience.
A key feature that both games share is the compelling multiplayer experience that fosters camaraderie and teamwork. In No Man's Sky, you're exploring a shared universe simultaneously with others, while in Astroneer, the co-op mode allows up to four players to build and explore together on the same planet, effectively enabling a collective and collaborative adventure. Though the scale of Astroneer's universe is comparatively smaller, it lends itself well to focused, dedicated exploration and solid hours of fun with friends.
Astroneer is available on platforms such as PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, typically priced around $30 USD.
22. Subnautica
If you enjoyed gaming with No Man's Sky due to its core concept of open-world exploration in a science fiction setting, you will find Subnautica appealing. Subnautica shares the same principle of extensive exploration and survival but swaps the infinite universe for the depths of an uncharted, aquatic planet. Just like No Man's Sky, it sets the player in a first-person perspective and immerses you into a beautiful and precarious alien world teeming with vibrant flora and fauna. Both have an important focus on resource collection to build and upgrade equipment, vehicles, and bases, creating a unique space-marine experience for the player.
Subnautica and No Man's Sky both expose the player to the elation of discovery and the undertow of survival. They offer an exciting mix of tranquillity and menace while exploring diverse and unpredictable terrains. You will love the mystery these games offer as they both have vaguely explained narratives that are unveiled as you progress, enhancing the sense of intrigue and adventure. In addition, the aesthetics of these games are vivid, immersive, and enrich the overall exploration and survival experience. The procedurally generated terrains in No Man’s Sky and the beautifully crafted seascapes in Subnautica contribute to the games longevity by providing ever-changing landscapes filled with surprise and wonder.
Subnautica is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and macOS, typically priced around $30 USD.
21. Star Citizen
Star Citizen, like No Man's Sky, is an open-world, space exploration game with a heavy emphasis on player-driven storytelling. Both games provide an astonishingly vast universe for players to explore, replete with hundreds of star systems, planets, and asteroid fields. Just as No Man's Sky allows you to chart your own path across an infinite cosmos, in Star Citizen too, you’ll have the freedom to venture in any direction, with each jump to hyperspace leading to new discoveries. You could be mapping uncharted galaxies, trading with distant colonies, or competing with other players in breathtaking space battles - the universe is your oyster.
Furthermore, similar to No Man's Sky, Star Citizen features an incredibly immersive, dynamic environment. Both games boast state-of-the-art graphics, which combined with intricate sound design, provide a truly immersive experience that feels as though you’re actually venturing into the vast mysteries of space. Star Citizen, however, takes this a little further with the addition of fully explorable planets and cities, as well as NPC interactions. Similar to No Man's Sky, Star Citizen also has a fantastic crafting system, allowing players to modify and upgrade their ships, suits, and equipment, although Star Citizen's is arguably more in-depth with emphasis on customizing and upgrading your ships.
Star Citizen is available on PC, typically priced around $45 USD.
20. Empyrion - Galactic Survival
Empyrion - Galactic Survival should be right up your alley if you enjoyed No Man's Sky. Much like No Man's Sky, Empyrion is a fascinating sandbox-style survival game that takes place in a vast universe filled with hundreds of planets to explore and colonize. It has a procedurally generated environment, ensuring a unique experience each time you play. One key component is crafting; building tools, weapons, and even space-faring vessels from the resources you gather is an integral part of gameplay, just like in No Man's Sky.
What sets Empyrion apart, and what you might find interesting after playing No Man's Sky, is its focus on base-building and combat. It exposes the player to a variety of hazards such as extreme weather conditions, hostile aliens, and rival players, posing challenges that test your survival skills to the utmost. While No Man's Sky is more oriented towards exploration, Empyrion demands strategic planning and creative thinking from its players. Also, its fully destructible environment can prove to be both boon and bane in different scenarios, adding an intriguing layer of complexity to gameplay.
Empyrion - Galactic Survival is available on PC through Steam, typically priced around $20 USD.
19. Space Engineers
Space Engineers shares No Man's Sky's interstellar setting and crafting mechanics, which engrossed you into its unending universe so much. However, Space Engineers raises the complexity level by creating intricate physics simulation, offering you the chance to design, build, and manage anything from small space stations to complex intergalactic starships. Like No Man's Sky, you can explore vast reaches of space, discover randomly generated planets, each with unique resources and geographical features. However, where No Man’s Sky is primarily an adventure and exploration game, Space Engineers adds a deeper layer of engineering, construction, and maintenance, giving an exciting twist to your experience as an astronaut.
Both games feature planetary exploration, resource management, and survival aspects. You already loved No Man's Sky's ability to roam freely, gathering resources, and surviving hostile environments, so it will be a familiar yet upgraded feel in Space Engineers. What makes it stand out is its innovative crafting system. Unlike No Man's Sky where crafting is more simplistic, Space Engineers provides a more intricate and detailed crafting system that lets you build not just tools and items, but whole functional machines, vehicles, or stations, giving you a more immersive engineering experience. Each game delivers its own storyless, open-ended experience, where you are free to create your own narratives which I believe as an enthusiast of No Man's Sky, you will definitely appreciate.
Space Engineers is available on PC and Xbox One, typically priced around $20 USD.
18. EVE Online
If you enjoyed the expansive universe and exploratory aspects of No Man's Sky, then you might consider trying EVE Online. The similarities between the two stem not only from their shared genre of space-based MMORPGs, but also from their focus on player agency within a vast universe. Just like in No Man's Sky, the universe of EVE Online is captained by its players. In its encompassing cosmos, you can curate your very own space-faring journey - mining, trading, or engaging in epic encounters - whatever appeals to your sense of interstellar adventure.
While not as focused on planet exploration as No Man's Sky, in EVE Online you are thrust into a captivating, living galaxy brimming with political intrigue, economic manipulation, and colossal space battles. Players run the show in this game, forming massive alliances and engaging in politics for control of various star systems. EVE Online enhances its immersion aspect with real-time economy driven directly by players. So, if you enjoyed the sense of freedom and limitless possibilities in No Man's Sky, the communal spectacle of EVE Online holds a similar allure.
EVE Online is available on PC and MacOS, typically priced around $0 USD as it operates with a free-to-play model, supplemented by optional in-game purchases.
17. Solus Project
If you're a fan of No Man's Sky, then you'll probably find yourself right at home with the Solus Project. Much like NMS, Solus Project places you in the shoes of an astronaut exploring a visually stunning and mysterious alien world. Both games share a strong focus on survival and exploration, with systems in place for monitoring your character's health, starvation, dehydration, and even body temperature. In fact, Solus goes a bit deeper into the survival aspect, allowing you to craft tools and items to assist in your exploration and survival.
While both games offer gorgeous, procedurally generated alien landscapes to traverse and marvel at, Solus Project differs slightly in its approach to story. While NMS takes a more hands-off approach, with the narrative more or less in the background, Solus Project offers a more direct narrative with actual goals orienting your journey and exploration. You're sent as a part of a mission to find a new home planet for humanity with an obvious sense of urgency provided by on-going disaster sequences. Despite these differences, fans of No Man's Sky are sure to enjoy the expansive world, meticulous exploration, challenging survival mechanics, and the mystery component of the Solus Project.
Solus Project is available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $20 USD.
16. Destiny 2
At a first glance, Destiny 2 and No Man's Sky may seem like distinct games. However, they are both rooted in the exploration of vast, diversified, and highly-detailed universes. Much like No Man's Sky, Destiny 2 offers a significant emphasis on exploration. It encourages and rewards players who venture out into its sprawling networks of alien worlds and space stations. Each planet and moon comes with its own set of missions, side-quests, and hidden treasures, challenging players to dive into the lore of Destiny’s universe. Additionally, the multiplayer aspect is integral to both games, offers the chance to construct your own teams, and invites collaboration with other participants creating a sense of community in the vastness of deep space.
Another similarity that Destiny 2 shares with No Man’s Sky is the emphasis on generating your own narratives. While No Man’s Sky focuses more on survival mechanics and resource management, Destiny 2 builds on the themes of redemption and sacrifice among alien planets, and focuses largely on combat. But at the core, both games provide personalized experiences where your actions and preferences guide the story. Activities such as mining for resources in No Man’s Sky or raiding alien fortresses in Destiny 2 reveal unique pathways that shape your journey in their distinct universes, making each play-through a unique adventure.
Destiny 2 is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Google Stadia, and PC, typically priced around $40 USD.
15. Ark: Survival Evolved
Ark: Survival Evolved shares a lot of elements that make it similar to No Man's Sky. Just like in No Man's Sky, Ark: Survival Evolved also offers you a huge, immersive open-world environment. It is filled with vast landscapes, unique biomes, and a plethora of creatures. It puts heavy emphasis on exploration and discovery, allowing you to traverse the environments fully in first or third person, much like No Man's Sky. But what truly sets it apart is its focus on survival aspects. You have to hunt, gather resources, craft items, grow crops, and build shelters to survive, which adds another layer of immersion and engagement to the game.
Perhaps, one of the biggest similarities between Ark: Survival Evolved and No Man's Sky is the sense of adventure and the feeling of independence they provide. The games let you interact with the world in your way, at your own pace. They encourage you to make your own experiences and forge your own path. In Ark, this can even take the form of taming and riding dinosaurs! Moreover, both games support multiplayer mode facilitating shared exploration, resource gathering, and even combat encounters, ensuring that you're never alone in these remarkably designed universes.
Ark: Survival Evolved is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux, typically priced around $44.99 USD.
13. Minecraft
Minecraft and No Man's Sky share a common thread in their gameplay mechanics which involve exploration, resource gathering, crafting, and survival. You've already enjoyed the vast expanse of endless universes and unique planetary experiences in No Man's Sky, but Minecraft takes this whole experience to a more simplified, yet exciting level. The heart of Minecraft is bound in its endless, procedurally generated worlds, similar to No Man's Sky, where exploration reveals new landscapes, varied ecosystems, and opportunities for discovery. From the vast deserts, dense forests, massive mountains to serene beaches, all hold hidden secrets and valuable resources that form the basis for your survival and progress.
Another key similarity between Minecraft and No Man's Sky is the crafting system. Just like in No Man's Sky where you gather resources to craft useful items, upgrades, and even your own spaceship, Minecraft offers an intricate crafting system that requires you to gather and combine resources to create tools, buildings, and monuments. Survival in both games is also a shared challenge, as you will need to manage your resources wisely while navigating through potentially hostile environments. However, Minecraft offers a more robust building system allowing for the creation of complex structures, from simple huts to grand castles or even intricate contraptions using its unique redstone mechanic. It's like being a space explorer, pioneer, architect, and engineer, all in one experience.
Minecraft is available on multiple platforms, including PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $26.95 USD.
12. Terraria
Both Terraria and No Man's Sky are incredible sandbox games that offer an enriching open-ended gaming experience. You get to create your own civilization, explore a vast and uncharted world, and even interact with different creatures and aliens. As you mine for resources and artifacts in both games, each item can be transformed into something innovative and useful, showcasing your unique creativity. No Man's Sky's interstellar exploration echoes Terraria's underground delving - both games are all about discovering the unknown and surviving in a continually changing environment.
Notably, both of these games offer a vast array of customization and strategic options. They share a loosely structured gameplay style, where the narrative is largely driven by the player’s actions and choices. The core commonality is the freedom they provide, with literally worlds to explore and dozens of ways to do it. Whether it is building a base, crafting new equipment, battling opponents, or just spending hours floating or mining, the choices you make directly impact your game world. Moreover, the thrilling combat sequences in Terraria are reminiscent of the epic space battles in No Man’s Sky, yet they are balanced by the intricate crafting and building mechanics that encourage strategic gameplay.
Terraria is available on platforms like PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows, typically priced around $20 USD.
11. The Forest
Both The Forest and No Man's Sky are enticing open-world survival games that focus on exploration and crafting. If you enjoyed the way No Man's Sky allowed you to commandeer your own spaceship, roam freely among the stars, and seek out new worlds, you'd certainly be drawn to The Forest. Just swap the cosmic setting for a timberland wilderness. The Forest immerses you into a verdant landscape after a plane crash, and the setting alone makes it a phenomenal sight, much like the tapestry of galaxies in No Man's Sky. You are left to navigate through this alien world, seek sustenance, and build shelters, all while confronting the terrifying realities of the uncivilized wilderness around you.
On the aspect of survival and crafting, both games have parallel themes. Similar to gathering resources in No Man's Sky to fuel your ship or build colonies, The Forest also obliges you to gather resources to craft tools, weapons, and shelters, providing a survival experience that demands strategy and decision-making skills. While No Man's Sky may be more strongly laced with elements of fantasy and science fiction, The Forest offers a survival horror wine to your laid-back explorer palate: the thrill of survival not just in a visually stunning, exotic environment but one that bristles with unseen perils.
The Forest is available on PlayStation 4 and PC, typically priced around $20 USD.
10. Firewatch
Firewatch, much like No Man's Sky, delivers a striking and vividly immersive world ripe for exploration. The narrative-driven game offers plenty of opportunities for players to freely roam a beautifully crafted environment, akin to No Man's Sky's sprawling galaxies. Firewatch places a major emphasis on traversing a distinctive, delightful open-world. Instead of outlandish aliens or futuristic technology, Firewatch substitutes Wyoming's wild wilderness as its area of play. Its lush forests and towering mountains offer a level of immersion similar to that experienced while traversing No Man's Sky's diverse planetary terrains.
Another similarity between the two entertaining titles is their shared concentration on narrative and storytelling. In Firewatch, you take on the persona of a fire lookout named Henry, dealing with a series of mysterious events while developing a bond with a fellow lookout, Delilah. Just like how No Man's Sky allows players to uncover multiple story arcs throughout its cosmic expanse, Firewatch provides players with a compelling tale rooted in emotional depth and mystery. The real power of both games lies not just in their expansive environments, but also in their ability to tell a rich, captivating story.
Firewatch is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, typically priced around $19.99 USD.
9. The Long Dark
The Long Dark, like No Man's Sky, is an immersive survival game with a vast open world begging to be explored. It embraces the same principles of resource management, crafting, and survival against environmental challenges. Like No Man’s Sky, the game gives you total liberty in deciding your means of survival. You can hunt for food, avoid dangerous wildlife, and protect yourself from the harsh elements. The beautiful and sometimes terrifyingly realistic visuals are sure to captivate any fans of No Man's Sky's stunning in-game aesthetics.
Just like No Man's Sky, The Long Dark is all about the thrill of exploration and the inherent risks that come with it. Both games throw you in unfamiliar terrain with the goal of survival and discovery, offering you complete freedom in the decisions you make to reach your objectives. The world of The Long Dark has the same level of depth that players enjoyed in No Man’s Sky, with every experience shaping the nature of your game and directing its course. It encourages strategic thinking, resourceful gameplay, and persistence, making it an excellent alternative to your previous out-of-this-world adventure.
The Long Dark is available to play on various platforms including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam, typically priced around $30 USD.
8. Journey to the Savage Planet
If you're a fan of the sprawling, space exploration mechanics found in No Man's Sky, you're sure to be intrigued by Journey to the Savage Planet. Like No Man's Sky, your primary focus in Journey to the Savage Planet is exploration of an alien world. You're left to your own devices, equipped with a limited number of tools, and must forge ahead, discovering the intricacies of an unforgiving extraterrestrial environment as you go. Journey to the Savage Planet encourages experimentation and discovery through an engaging, open-world system similar to the one from your previous game.
Though certainly independent in its own right, Journey to the Savage Planet draws comparison to No Man's Sky in its stunning visual design and atmospheric aesthetic. The vibrant alien landscapes, rich with strange flora and fauna, contain a beautiful, otherworldly appeal that is reminiscent of the detailed, procedurally generated planets of No Man's Sky. But, Journey to the Savage Planet brings a unique, often tongue-in-cheek humor to its world, providing a refreshing twist to the typical, serious-toned space exploration genre. This game will surely provide familiar fun for any No Man's Sky fan, while presenting you with a new spin on the space exploration concept.
Journey to the Savage Planet is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows through the Epic Games Store, typically priced around $30 USD.
7. Far Cry Primal
Both Far Cry Primal and No Man's Sky have a dominant focus on exploration and survival, crafting a unique gaming environment where every decision you make plays a critical role toward your survival. Much like in No Man's Sky where you discover new planets and species, in Far Cry Primal, you traverse through an expanse of prehistoric land filled with primitive tribes and savage wildlife. This mix of both games establishes an environment teeming with new experiences at every corner, effectively providing an enticing element of novelty and excitement.
Another key similarity between the two games is resource management. No Man's Sky requires resource gathering and management for crafting and refueling your ship, while Far Cry Primal also demands careful gathering and utilization of resources to craft weapons, upgrade your gear and maintain your tribe. This shared aspect of resource management enhances the levels of strategic planning in the gameplay, making every action you take thoughtful and consequential, a quality that is sure to get you hooked.
Far Cry Primal is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $30 USD.
6. Planet Nomads
Like No Man's Sky, Planet Nomads is a procedurally generated, open-world sandbox game that offers an enormous universe for exploration. Both games share a core mechanic of discovery and exploration, where you travel across different planets, each with its unique ecosystems, wildlife, and other peculiarities. Much like No Man's Sky, collecting resources plays an important part as it allows players in Planet Nomads to survive harsh planetary conditions, to build, and to create complex machinery. From constructing bases to creating a variety of vehicles and equipment; it's all about using creativity and cleverness to survive in an expansive and unknown universe.
Another aspect that Planet Nomads shares with No Man's Sky is the science fiction sensation that permeates every aspect of the game. Both games flourish with vibrant, picturesque landscapes that are reminiscent of classic science fiction illustrations. There’s an unlimited sense of wonder at the sheer variety of the planets and vistas you encounter. Wherein No Man's Sky has a feeling of sheer endlessness, Planet Nomads adds an intriguing layer of survival mechanics that necessitate practical interaction with the environment. This makes it feel as if every decision and every action you take contributes substantially to your progress, thereby infusing more purpose to the gameplay.
Planet Nomads is available on Microsoft Windows and Mac, typically priced around $20 USD.
5. Everspace
Like No Man's Sky, Everspace is a space exploration game that perfectly merges an ever-evolving arcade-style ship combat system with a captivating space journey. Both games offer unique playthroughs each time by incorporating procedural generation, which means the environments, events, and enemies you encounter in your space exploration are randomly generated, ensuring a different experience every time you venture out into the cosmos. Everspace, in much the same way as No Man's Sky, allows you to traverse a vast universe, world filled with stunning visuals and galactic vistas, encouraging you to explore, mine for resources, upgrade your ship, and survive the dangers of space.
A shining feature of both games is evidently their eye-catching, vibrant aesthetics. Everspace captures the breathtaking beauty and intimidating vastness of deep space excellently, much akin to No Man's Sky's amazing rendering of extraterrestrial landscapes and cosmic sights. However, Everspace goes further in providing a more deep-rooted narrative and gameplay dynamics. If you enjoyed the free-roaming, resource-gathering, and space-traveling aspects of No Man's Sky but also crave an added depth of story and ship customization, Everspace might just be the next game you're looking for.
Everspace is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced at around $30 USD.
4. Surviving Mars
Surviving Mars has quite a lot in common with No Man's Sky in that they both encapsulate the thrill of exploration and discovery. In the same sense as No Man's Sky, Surviving Mars drops you into a new zone—this time, the red planet itself—and challenges you with not only surviving but thriving on this new, alien terrain. Much like No Man's Sky, there's a sense of the unknown lingering around every corner, be it uncovering new resources or finding ways to build and expand your Martian base. Every decision you make matters in Surviving Mars, whether you're choosing where to land, building infrastructure, or researching new technologies— all of which might feel familiar to any fan of No Man's Sky and its focus on resource management and exploration.
Additionally, Surviving Mars shares No Man's Sky's emphasis on sci-fi atmosphere and storytelling, which will undoubtedly appeal to your taste. Plus, this game offers another component that No Man's Sky does cluster around, regarding base-building and resource management complexly. In Surviving Mars, you are leading colonisation efforts on Mars, navigating what can only be described as ‘extreme city planning’. You're not only constructing and maintaining a habitable settlement, but you're also dealing with individual colonists—each with their own personality and issues that might arise and cause havoc. It's an intriguing twist on the survival game genre made well-known by No Man's Sky and tailored to fans who adore a mix of exploration, story, and base-building.
Surviving Mars is available on Windows, MacOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, typically priced around $30 USD.
3. Osiris: New Dawn
Osiris: New Dawn takes a lot of inspiration from No Man's Sky, all the while delivering its own unique flavor to the space exploration genre. Just like No Man's Sky, Osiris: New Dawn offers an expansive, open-world universe full of alien life, rich resources, and infinite possibilities. Both games encourage exploration, resource gathering, and base building. Osiris: New Dawn, however, goes a step further by infusing hardcore survival elements into its gameplay - imagine No Man's Sky meets DayZ on an alien planet, and you'll get a rough idea of what it's like.
Another major similarity between the two is the impressive visuals and immersive environments. Both games have stunning, procedurally generated planets to explore, each one unique and filled with exotic alien creatures. But where No Man's Sky focuses a lot on solo play and dynamic system exploration, Osiris: New Dawn emphasizes cooperative gameplay with friends, providing a deeply immersive multiplayer experience. Also, in Osiris: New Dawn, it feels like every decision you make truly matters, which can result in some really intense and rewarding gameplay moments. If you enjoyed the exploration and base building aspects of No Man's Sky, but wished it had more survival and cooperative elements, then you're definitely going to love Osiris: New Dawn.
Osiris: New Dawn is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, typically priced around $24.99 USD.
2. Starmade
If you're a fan of No Man's Sky, you'll undoubtedly find Starmade's mechanics and gameplay intriguing. Like No Man's Sky, Starmade is essentially a 3D sandbox space exploration and creation game, set in an expansive universe. You can craft, mine, trade, and fight in an infinite, procedurally generated cosmos; and there's plenty of freedom for you to make your own path. You might like the intricate ship and station design system; it allows you to build from small fighters to entire fleets of battleships using blocks, much like a more technical and space-focused Minecraft. You can also land on planets, and they are destructible like everything else in the game universe!
Moreover, where Starmade truly mirrors No Man's Sky is in the sense of loneliness and wonder that space exploration brings. You're journeying through a vast, uncaring universe, coming across abandoned space stations, derelict ships, and uninhabited planets. It's at times serene, and at times deeply unsettling, a blend of feelings that's truly representative of space exploration. While Starmade may not have No Man's Sky's vibrant, artistic color palette, it more than compensates for it with content depth, attention to detail, and a truly explorable universe. The game also allows for multiplayer play, an option that might appeal to you if you're looking to share your space discoveries with friends.
Starmade is available on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms, typically priced around $15 USD.
1. Outer Wilds
Both Outer Wilds and No Man's Sky are extraordinary titles when it comes to exploratory space adventures, steeped in the thrill of discovery and scientific curiosity. As a fan of No Man's Sky, you'll find similar themes of exploration, space travel, and sense of solitude in Outer Wilds. The gameplay involves traversing numerous celestial bodies, each unique with its own ecosystems and natural phenomena. Whether you're delving into dark and mysterious caves, landing on planetary rings, or jetpacking across alien landscapes, there's a constant sense of awe that sparks player's imagination and provokes a thirst for knowledge - very much like No Man's Sky.
However, it's not just the broad strokes where Outer Wilds mirrors No Man's Sky. They both also emphasize thoughtful exploration over combat, with a focus on unraveling the mysteries of the universe rather than on power-ups or defeating enemies. In the case of Outer Wilds, the whole game occurs within a manipulable 20-minute time loop, so your progression relies less on acquiring new equipment and more on gaining knowledge and understanding the mechanics of this strange solar system. This philosophical approach, where advancing is more about understanding the world rather than changing it, injects an intriguing layer of scientific deductive reasoning into your space-faring adventure – much like the allure of No Man's Sky.
Outer Wilds is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, typically priced around $25 USD.
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