12 Best Games Like No Man's Sky for Space Exploration

What Makes a Game Similar to No Man’s Sky?

No Man’s Sky is an open-world science-fiction survival and exploration game developed and published by Hello Games. Its defining structure combines a procedurally generated universe, planetary travel, resource collection, technology upgrades, starships, base building, scanning, trading, survival, and multiplayer discovery.

A meaningful alternative should share several defining attributes:

• Space exploration: planets, star systems, anomalies, stations, or deep space can be explored independently.
• Open-world freedom: players choose where to travel and which systems to prioritize.
• Procedural or variable environments: geography, resources, discoveries, encounters, or sectors differ across locations.
• Planetary survival: oxygen, temperature, hazards, food, water, hostile life, or equipment condition influence expeditions.
• Resource gathering: mining, scanning, salvaging, harvesting, or trading produces materials for progression.
• Crafting and technology: resources become tools, upgrades, vehicles, modules, structures, or production systems.
• Base building: players establish shelters, outposts, factories, stations, colonies, or planetary homes.
• Starships or vehicles: travel depends on controllable spacecraft, rovers, submarines, or other exploration vehicles.
• Discovery systems: scanning, mapping, research, ruins, lifeforms, and environmental clues reward curiosity.
• Trading or economy: resources, cargo, markets, production chains, or professions create non-combat paths.
• Solo and multiplayer play: relevant alternatives support individual exploration, cooperative projects, or persistent worlds.
• Self-directed progression: mining, exploration, building, trading, survival, combat, or story can become the player’s main objective.

No single game reproduces No Man’s Sky’s exact blend of seamless planetary travel, enormous procedural scale, scanning, expeditions, bases, freighters, and multiplayer. The recommendations below are ranked by their overlap with its exploration, survival, construction, economy, and sandbox relationships.

Games Like No Man’s Sky at a Glance

1. ASTRONEER

Closest match for: planetary exploration, terrain manipulation, resource gathering, crafting, base building, automation, mysteries, and cooperative play
Developer and publisher: System Era Softworks
Release date: December 16, 2016
Modes: Single-player, co-op, multiplayer, and online co-op
Genres: Adventure and indie

ASTRONEER is the closest overall alternative because its core loop connects planetary exploration, resources, terrain, technology, bases, vehicles, and cooperative construction.

The terrain tool allows players to excavate, flatten, raise, and reshape the environment. Resources gathered underground or across planetary surfaces become platforms, modules, vehicles, power systems, storage, research, and automation.

Different planets introduce distinct resources, hazards, gravity, and logistical challenges. The universe is much smaller and more stylized than No Man’s Sky, but interaction with each planet is deeper and more physically transformative.

How ASTRONEER Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: space exploration, planets, open-world survival crafting, gathering, base building, vehicles, terrain manipulation, automation, discovery, and online co-op.
• Different: ASTRONEER uses a compact low-poly system, tactile terrain deformation, oxygen tethers, and a stronger emphasis on logistics.
• Choose it if: building and reshaping colorful planets matter more than galactic scale.

2. The Planet Crafter

Closest match for: planetary survival, resource gathering, crafting, bases, environmental transformation, exploration, and online co-op
Developer and publisher: Miju Games
Release date: March 24, 2022
Modes: Single-player, co-op, multiplayer, and online co-op
Genre: Adventure

The Planet Crafter places players on an inhospitable planet and makes planetary transformation the central progression system.

Gathered resources become shelters, oxygen systems, heaters, pressure technology, production tools, storage, and environmental infrastructure. As terraformation advances, the visible world changes from barren terrain toward a functioning biosphere.

No Man’s Sky spreads discovery across many planets. The Planet Crafter concentrates attention on one planet, making long-term environmental change and base networks more visible.

How The Planet Crafter Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: science-fiction survival, open exploration, gathering, crafting, base building, oxygen, technology progression, environmental discovery, and co-op.
• Different: The Planet Crafter focuses on transforming one planet through oxygen, heat, pressure, water, plants, and ecosystems.
• Choose it if: seeing a hostile planet become habitable is your preferred progression fantasy.

3. Empyrion - Galactic Survival

Closest match for: space survival, planetary exploration, crafting, settlements, ships, stations, sandbox freedom, and multiplayer
Developer and publisher: Eleon Game Studios
Release date: August 5, 2020
Modes: Single-player, LAN co-op, PvP, co-op, multiplayer, online PvP, and online co-op
Genres: Adventure, strategy, simulation, and indie

Empyrion - Galactic Survival combines planetary survival with modular construction of bases, settlements, small vessels, capital ships, and stations.

Resources gathered from planets and space feed a broad crafting and construction system. Survival preparation, storage, power, weapons, mobility, and production can be integrated into custom structures.

Its strongest No Man’s Sky relationship is the ability to move between planetary survival and larger galactic projects. The systems are more technical and less visually seamless, while construction offers greater functional depth.

How Empyrion Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: open-world space sandbox, survival, exploration, planets, gathering, crafting, base building, ships, stations, combat, and multiplayer.
• Different: Empyrion emphasizes modular vessel design, functional settlements, complex crafting, and survival systems over scanning and discovery presentation.
• Choose it if: you want to construct the ships and infrastructure used for exploration.

4. Space Engineers

Closest match for: custom spacecraft, stations, planetary bases, mining, physics, destructible environments, survival, and multiplayer
Developer and publisher: Keen Software House
Release date: October 23, 2013
Modes: Single-player, PvP, co-op, multiplayer, and online PvP
Genres: Action, strategy, simulation, and indie

Space Engineers is a sandbox engineering game built around designing functional grids for spacecraft, rovers, stations, and planetary bases.

Construction is mechanical rather than decorative. Thrusters, power, storage, conveyors, tools, life support, weapons, and structural damage influence whether a design operates successfully.

The game provides less guided discovery and fewer biological worlds than No Man’s Sky. It offers much deeper engineering, physics, and destruction for players who want to build the machinery of space exploration.

How Space Engineers Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: space, open worlds, planets, mining, survival, bases, ships, exploration, sandbox freedom, and multiplayer.
• Different: Space Engineers centers on physics-based engineering, modular grids, destructible structures, and custom vehicle design.
• Choose it if: building a working spacecraft is more important than discovering generated lifeforms.

5. Starbound

Closest match for: procedural planets, resource gathering, crafting, building, colonies, survival, space travel, and online co-op
Developer and publisher: Chucklefish
Release date: July 22, 2016
Modes: Single-player, PvP, co-op, multiplayer, online PvP, and online co-op
Genres: Action, RPG, casual, and indie

Starbound begins with a damaged ship and expands into travel across procedurally generated planets containing different biomes, resources, enemies, settlements, and construction opportunities.

Players mine terrain, craft equipment, repair and upgrade technology, establish bases, and create colonies. The ship provides a persistent home and transport layer between planetary expeditions.

The 2D perspective and structured story create a different sense of scale, but the explore-gather-build-travel relationship is closely aligned with No Man’s Sky.

How Starbound Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: procedural planets, space travel, exploration, survival, gathering, crafting, building, colonies, sandbox play, and online co-op.
• Different: Starbound uses 2D pixel art, terrain mining, platform combat, colony systems, and a directed campaign.
• Choose it if: you want No Man’s Sky’s planetary loop in a 2D sandbox format.

6. Elite Dangerous

Closest match for: galaxy-scale exploration, cockpit simulation, starships, mining, trading, professions, combat, and multiplayer
Developer and publisher: Frontier Developments
Release date: December 16, 2014
Modes: Single-player, co-op, and multiplayer
Genres: Action, adventure, RPG, simulation, and massively multiplayer

Elite Dangerous places the player behind the controls of a starship inside a large-scale representation of the Milky Way.

Exploration, mining, trade, bounty hunting, smuggling, and combat provide different career paths. Ship modules, jump range, cargo, fuel, and route planning make travel a technical process.

Elite Dangerous offers much deeper flight and cockpit simulation than No Man’s Sky. It provides less on-foot crafting and base construction, making spacecraft operation the center of the experience.

How Elite Dangerous Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: space exploration, open galaxy, starships, mining, trade, combat, professions, multiplayer, discovery, and self-directed progression.
• Different: Elite Dangerous prioritizes cockpit simulation, realistic travel procedures, ship modules, markets, and a shared galactic economy.
• Choose it if: piloting and navigating a spacecraft are your main reasons for playing space games.

7. Starfield

Closest match for: planetary exploration, starships, science fiction, character customization, factions, bases, crafting, and story-rich quests
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Release: 2023
Mode: Single-player
Genres: Adventure and RPG

Starfield is a single-player space RPG built around character creation, quests, factions, ships, equipment, settlements, and exploration across the Settled Systems.

Its overlap with No Man’s Sky comes from moving between planets, gathering resources, modifying ships, constructing outposts, and choosing a personal direction inside a broad science-fiction setting.

Starfield is more authored and dialogue-led. Companions, factions, character skills, and narrative decisions receive greater emphasis, while procedural survival and seamless multiplayer discovery are less central.

How Starfield Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: space setting, planetary exploration, starships, resources, crafting, bases, combat, open-world structure, and player-directed roles.
• Different: Starfield is a story-rich single-player RPG with factions, companions, dialogue, character builds, and authored quests.
• Choose it if: you want space exploration connected to role-playing and narrative choices.

8. Subnautica

Closest match for: alien-world survival, resource gathering, crafting, bases, vehicles, scanning, environmental mystery, and open exploration
Developer and publisher: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Release date: December 16, 2014
Mode: Single-player
Genres: Adventure and indie

Subnautica strands the player on an alien ocean planet where survival depends on oxygen, resources, crafted equipment, underwater habitats, vehicles, and understanding the ecosystem.

Progress is tied to depth. Better oxygen capacity, vehicles, pressure protection, and tools allow travel into new biomes containing rarer materials and deeper clues.

Subnautica lacks interplanetary travel and multiplayer. It provides a more concentrated alien world with stronger environmental storytelling and survival tension.

How Subnautica Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: alien world, first-person exploration, survival, gathering, crafting, base building, vehicles, scanning, environmental hazards, and discovery.
• Different: Subnautica focuses on one underwater planet, oxygen, depth, authored ecosystems, and a narrative mystery.
• Choose it if: exploring one richly connected alien environment appeals more than visiting many generated planets.

9. X4: Foundations

Closest match for: open-universe freedom, ships, stations, trading, mining, combat, fleets, production, and a simulated economy
Developer and publisher: Egosoft
Release date: November 30, 2018
Mode: Single-player
Genres: Action and simulation

X4: Foundations begins with control of a single ship and can expand into ownership of fleets, stations, production chains, and economic networks.

The universe continues to simulate trade and conflict across factions. Players can pilot directly, hire personnel, build stations, manage ships, and influence markets.

Its No Man’s Sky relationship is self-directed space life. Exploration, trade, mining, combat, and construction coexist, but X4 places far more weight on economics, logistics, and empire management.

How X4 Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: open-space sandbox, ships, exploration, mining, trade, combat, stations, economy, and player-directed progression.
• Different: X4 is a single-player economic and fleet simulation with deep production chains and faction systems.
• Choose it if: building a functioning space empire matters more than planetary survival.

10. Avorion

Closest match for: procedural galaxy, block-based ship construction, mining, trading, exploration, combat, empire growth, and online co-op
Developer and publisher: Boxelware
Release date: January 23, 2017
Modes: Single-player, LAN co-op, PvP, co-op, multiplayer, online PvP, and online co-op
Genres: Action, simulation, and indie

Avorion places players inside a procedural galaxy where ships are constructed from scalable blocks and developed for mining, trade, combat, exploration, or fleet roles.

Ship design directly affects capability. Materials, shape, systems, storage, weapons, and progression determine how far a vessel can travel and what activities it can support.

The game offers less on-foot planetary interaction than No Man’s Sky. It compensates with deeper vessel creation, fleet development, trading, faction conflict, and co-op empire building.

How Avorion Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: procedural galaxy, space exploration, mining, trade, combat, multiplayer, sandbox choice, resources, and progression.
• Different: Avorion centers on block-built ships, fleets, galactic factions, empire growth, and space-based activity.
• Choose it if: designing and expanding a fleet is your preferred sandbox objective.

11. Satisfactory

Closest match for: alien-world exploration, gathering, crafting, base building, automation, resource management, vehicles, and online co-op
Developer: Coffee Stain Studios
Publisher: Coffee Stain Publishing
Release date: March 19, 2019
Modes: Single-player, co-op, multiplayer, and online co-op
Genres: Action, adventure, strategy, and indie

Satisfactory places the player on an alien planet and turns resource extraction into increasingly complex factories, logistics systems, transport networks, and power infrastructure.

Exploration reveals new biomes, materials, hazards, and sites for expansion. The base grows from manual production into a connected industrial landscape of belts, pipes, trains, drones, and machines.

There is no interplanetary travel. Satisfactory takes No Man’s Sky’s gathering and building attributes and develops them into a much deeper automation game.

How Satisfactory Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: alien world, first-person exploration, resources, crafting, building, vehicles, technology progression, sandbox design, and online co-op.
• Different: Satisfactory focuses on factory planning, automation, production ratios, logistics, and one persistent planet.
• Choose it if: constructing large systems is more appealing than traveling between planets.

12. Outer Wilds

Closest match for: open-ended space exploration, distinct planets, ancient ruins, environmental discovery, spacecraft travel, and cosmic mystery
Developer: Mobius Digital
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Release date: May 28, 2019
Mode: Single-player
Genres: Adventure, indie, and puzzle

Outer Wilds places the player inside a handcrafted solar system trapped in a repeating time loop. Each planet changes over time and contains evidence about an ancient civilization.

Progress is based on knowledge rather than resources. Flying, observing, translating, experimenting, and understanding planetary rules reveal how different locations connect.

It lacks crafting, bases, trading, and multiplayer. Its relevance lies in reproducing the wonder of landing somewhere unfamiliar and allowing curiosity to determine the next destination.

How Outer Wilds Compares with No Man’s Sky

• Shared: starship travel, open planetary exploration, science fiction, discovery, environmental storytelling, alien ruins, self-directed goals, and single-player adventure.
• Different: Outer Wilds is a handcrafted time-loop mystery with knowledge-based progression and no survival-crafting economy.
• Choose it if: discovery and cosmic mystery matter more than building or resource progression.

Which No Man’s Sky Alternative Should You Play First?

Choose according to the No Man’s Sky attribute you most want to preserve:

• Closest balance of planets, survival, building, and co-op: ASTRONEER
• Terraforming and visible planetary transformation: The Planet Crafter
• Deep space-survival construction: Empyrion - Galactic Survival
• Physics-based ship and station engineering: Space Engineers
• Procedural planets in a 2D sandbox: Starbound
• Realistic cockpit exploration and professions: Elite Dangerous
• Space exploration with quests and factions: Starfield
• Atmospheric survival on one alien planet: Subnautica
• Trade, stations, fleets, and economic simulation: X4: Foundations
• Custom ships and procedural co-op galaxy: Avorion
• Alien-world automation and factories: Satisfactory
• Pure discovery and cosmic mystery: Outer Wilds

Other Relevant No Man’s Sky Alternatives

Several other games match narrower parts of the No Man’s Sky profile:

• Star Valor combines a procedural galaxy, mining, trade, combat, loot, professions, and open-world progression from a top-down perspective.
• Dune: Awakening offers open-world science-fiction survival, crafting, building, exploration, PvE, PvP, and multiplayer on a hostile desert planet.
• SPORE connects biological customization, sandbox play, planetary development, space exploration, and creation inside a single-player simulation.
• The Forest and The Long Dark preserve first-person open-world survival, gathering, crafting, exploration, and environmental danger without a space setting.
• DayZ emphasizes persistent multiplayer survival, scarce resources, exploration, PvE, and unpredictable encounters with other players.

How we chose these games

We looked for PC games we price that cover this topic and for games sharing at least four of No Man’s Sky’s most characteristic Steam user tags, checked on 7 October 2026. The order follows how closely each game’s main systems match No Man’s Sky, not its popularity.