From 04.09.2024 until 09.09.2024 (10am PT) the popular game distribution platform Steam is once again blessing all PC gamers with some really nice discounts on space themed games. Lets have a look through some of the most interesting ones from the bunch to help you decide which might be worth your hard earned money.
Universe Sandbox 19.42€ (-33%) – Play around with the Solar System
Searching for a fun physics simulator? Look no further. Universe Sandbox is a full on Sandbox game where you can tweak and change any parameters of the environment and the planets, suns, black holes, comets and more. You can spawn and create any astronomical object that comes to your mind and let them collide and interact with each other. Furthermore you can actually learn quite a few things about orbital mechanics from this game.
SpaceEngine 20.29€ (-30%) – The entire Universe on your Harddrive
SpaceEngine while in some parts similar to Universe Sandbox offers a much more open world approach. You can understand Universe Sandbox as a physics simulation while SpaceEngine doesn’t as such allow collisions and focuses more on the scientifically accurate 3D star map of the known universe. Another aspect that differentiates the two are the graphics. SpaceEngine is incredibly beautiful to look at with much more nuanced texture details.
No Man’s Sky 23.59€ (-60%) – Classic Universe exploration game
To be fair, the above two games are more simulations than games. But no worries, while No Mans Sky plays in a fictional Universe it still offers a vast space to explore. Because the game has a unique engine that generates planets and their ecosystems as you proceed there is effectively no way that you will ever run out of parts of the universe to discover. No Mans Sky is focused on discovery, survival and crafting allowing players to choose their own path through the universe.
Everspace 2 19.99€ (-60%) – Spaceship RPG shooter
Everspace 2 is a single-player space shooter that blends acction with RPG elects like looting, crafting and mining. You are the pilot of a spaceship that battles outlaws while exploring different regions of space. As the story progresses you upgrade you ship and encounter more difficult enemys. Aside from the good gameplay the graphics are also really good. You can read our more in depth test of this game here.
Spaceflight Simulator 5.99€ (-50%) – simple 2D spaceflight physics sim
Spaceflight Simulator is graphically very simple 2D game that allows you to build your own rockets and launch them to the stars. It can be seen as the two dimensional brother of KSP. But don’t underestimate the quite accurate physics engine behind the simple textures. With its Map view this game teaches the basics of orbital dynamics and rocket physics quite well and allows for a simple entry in simulation games. You can read our more detailed review of the game here. Should you struggle with some of the Moon missions check out our guide here.
Bonus: Kerbal Space Program 9.99€ (-70%) – Ultimate Spaceflight Game
Even though KSP is now quite old and already has a successor i still recommend this classic over the new KSP 2 where the development seems to have stopped. KSP is a classic all in one Spaceflight Simulation Game in which you can build your own rocket from a huge selection of rocket parts and steer it through the solar system to the planets. While this game might look childish, it packs quite a punch when it comes to the level of realism and with it the level of complexity to pull off a successful moon landing. Above all it is also heavily modable with a huge community developing mods for it. Check out our detailed guide on how to do this here.
