How many hours have you put into Starfield? 50? 100? More than you’re willing to admit? Starfield has been out for less than two weeks, and space captains everywhere are still exploring the galaxy for the best ships, new crew members, secret locales, and credits. Lots and lots of credits. Sooner or later, though, your budding privateer will become bigger than the galaxy around them. And when the boredom finally sets in, you will want something else to play. When that time finally comes - or right now if you are a PS5 owner - we have compiled a list of sci-fi games that can fill the empty void left behind in Starfield’s wake.
No Man’s Sky
Homes to build, ships to buy, fleets to gather, worlds to explore and catalog, derelicts to plunder. No, I’m not talking about Starfield. If you haven’t played No Man’s Sky since its abysmal launch, you are missing out on what has become one of the best open-world space titles of all time. It may not have a super strong main story like Starfield, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find any space exploration title with more things to keep you busy hour after hour. Not to mention that while Starfield is a solo experience, you can group up with your friends to explore, scavenge, and build in No Man’s Sky.
Fallout 76
Another title that wasn’t as advertised at launch, Fallout 76 has matured into a great multiplayer option for fans of Bethesda’s Fallout series. From setting off a nuke in the mountains of Appalachia to surviving the urban ruins of The Pitt, residents of Vault 76 can go it alone or join up with a group of friends as they battle to survive and thrive in the post-apocalyptic world of 2102.
Fallout 4
If you don’t want to mix multiplayer with your post-apocalyptic RPG, you might want to skip Fallout 76 and go with Fallout 4, the latest single-player title in the Fallout franchise. Like every Fallout game, you start Fallout 4 as a freshly thawed popsicle, um, vault citizen, that has survived the apocalypse. Late to the thawing process, you set out to find your missing son, picking up side quests along the way.
Elite Dangerous
Not quite as massive an MMO as many would like, Elite Dangerous is still one of the best space sims around. You start Elite Dangerous with a small ship and endless choices on how you want to tackle the Milky Way galaxy. Yes, the entire Milky Way galaxy, not just 1000 random planets like Starfield. Offering some of the best space combat around, Elite Dangerous falls short on out-of-the-cockpit action, with the ED: Odyssey DLC sitting at a Mostly Negative review on Steam.
Eve Online
Initially released in 2003, Eve Online is one of a handful of space-themed MMOs to survive in a genre dominated by fantasy settings. Much more than its “spreadsheets in space” moniker would suggest, Eve Online has been the home to some of the largest PvP battles ever seen in a video game as player-run corporations assert their power across entire sectors of space.
The Outer Worlds
It may not be as open-world as Starfield, but Obsidian Entertainment knows RPGs, and it shows in The Outer Worlds. Take on the role of space captain (and crew babysitter) to tackle a satirical alternate future full of corporate greed. As you hop from planet to planet, you’ll grow your character as you help - or harm - the local citizens as you work through a branching storyline that is influenced by your actions.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
In the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, we once again fly into the void as Commander Shepard, the beloved protagonist as they romance their crew, piss off alien species, and otherwise save the galaxy from the Reapers, an ancient race of…well, you’ll have to play to find out. Bioware has masterfully created an engaging story, complete with branching dialog that will not only define your character's morality but can also change the galaxy's fate. The Legendary Edition comprises the first three entries in the series (you’ll have to pick up ME: Andromeda on its own) and over 40 DLC, all remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD.
Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim
There’s a reason everyone claimed that Starfield would be Skyrim in space. Skyrim has been around for over a decade, but if you haven’t experienced Bethesda’s grand open-world fantasy, it’s time to trade in your blaster rifle for a longsword and magic spells. Or, if you’re tired of going it alone, you could always gather up a few friends for some multiplayer action in Elder Scrolls Online.
Kerbal Space Program
Just like the Star Wars universe, Starfield’s ships have the luxury of flying in a relaxed physics environment. If you want to see if you have what it takes to build a starship that could actually function with painfully realistic physics, then give Kerbal Space Program a try.
If KSP is too unforgiving (or boring) for your tastes, you still have a couple of other options we can suggest. Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander is a top-down pixel-ish title where you design your own spaceship to explore the galaxy. Like Starfield, you will have to manage the subsystems of your ship (and eventually an entire fleet) by diverting power and crew members to vital areas during exploration and combat.
Lodged somewhere between Kerbal Space Program and Cosmoteer is Space Engineers. If you played with Legos, Erector Sets, or any other building toys as a child, then you’ll feel right at home in Space Engineers. And if you laugh at how janky the “I built the Millennium Falcon in Starcraft” videos, Space Engineers has the parts you need to build iconic ships, space stations, and planetside constructs.
Just Enjoy The World Around You
No, that isn’t the title of some indie VR game. But let’s face it, you’ve been cooped up inside playing Starfield every free minute over the last couple of weeks. Even if you aren’t done exploring all that Bethesda’s potential GOTY has to offer, you need to get your butt out of that chair and get outside. The heat wave is over, and summer is quickly turning into fall. So take off that space helmet and get some fresh air, take a walk, go for a hike, ride a bike, or jump in your car and explore the area around you. That next mission will still be waiting for you when you get back.
