No Man’s Skytook what we know about open-world exploration and flipped it on its head. Subsequent and substantial updates saw it vastly improve, becoming the massive undertaking fans enjoy today. But what if you’re seeking something more? Perhaps you want to indulge inadditional space exploration, crafting, building, survival, etc.? Thankfully, there are plenty of other games you can immerse yourself in if you love to play No Man’s Sky.

No Man’s Sky: The Ultimate Early Game Strategy

Make the Sky your own with this jump-start guide!

Despite the numbering, there’s no order for the games listed. All have traits that make them feel similar to No Man’s Sky, and there’s enough diversity for them to appeal to different gamers.

10Elite Dangerous

Realistic View Of The Milky Way

Elite Dangerous

AlthoughElite Dangerousfeatures a procedurally-generated universe like No Man’s Sky, it focuses on a more realistic scale of the vast Milky Way. It takes a much darker approach though as you engage in heavy, deadly combat.

Exploring space with these gorgeous graphics is delightful, but complex. The mechanics are worth learning because, once you do, nothing will stop your journey. Discover alliances, trade and even buy and customize more ships.

NMS day one featured image

9Rebel Galaxy

Zoom Into Deep Space With A Massive Destroyer

Platform(s)

PC, PS4, Xbox One

2025-08-08

Developer(s)

Double Damage Games

If you have lifelong dreams of owning a huge destroyer spaceship, Rebel Galaxy will help you live out that fantasy. You can become a feared space pirate or go the friendlier route and be more open to meeting new people.

Best of all, Rebel Galaxy balancesopen-world with RPG gameplay. Feel free to enjoy the main story or take your ship to discover everything within the galaxy at your own pace.

Ally ships together in Elite Dangerous

8Planet Nomads

Survive In An Alien World

2025-08-20

Craneballs Studio

Compared to other games like No Man’s Sky, Planet Nomads takes a unique approach in that you’reonlyon this planet. The lack of space exploration doesn’t hurt, however, seeing as there’s a deep crafting and building system to keep you well entertained and busy.

The procedurally-produced planet features various biomes, deadly plants and a host of animals. It tackles the survival genre quite well and in a rich, evolving way to keep you on your toes. Unfortunately, the company no longer exists, so updates are out of the question. Still, you can enjoy it thanks to GOG saving it from disappearing as it does withmany other games.

Large spaceship and station in Rebel Galaxy

Since the game doesn’t look like it can be updated, it can sometimes feel a bit barren. But what wecando is still impressive for base building and exploring on land, air, and water alike. Being able to create mobile bases is exciting too.

A Dynamic And Immersive Space Journey

2025-05-31

Elliptic Games

Created by a single developer with years in the industry, Rodina is a charming indie game to play for fans of No Man’s Sky. It has everything you could ask for from space combat to a procedural galaxy.

you may customize the interior of your ship too, and if you want to get really creative, hop into the modding side of things thanks to the awesome mod support. There’s still a story to enjoy too thanks to the various logs and books you can read.

Exploring in Planet Nomads

6Empyrion: Galactic Survival

Explore The Universe In Space And On The Ground

2025-08-17

Eleon Game Studios

Empyrion: Galactic Survival is a colorful sandbox adventure that features solid diversity both in space and on the various planets you can land on. There’s such an incredible amount of control that you can even deform the terrain to shape your settlement exactly how you want it.

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Go deep and build tunnels, or keep things above ground and construct impressive stations and planetary settlements. The crafting system is well-designed from buildings to weapons. And if you need more ideas and blueprints, you can always dip into the official modding community.

Examining a planet close up in Rodina

One of the things I appreciated the most was the effortless ability to navigate PvE and PvP. It’s just as easy to play solo in a comfortable PvE area as it is to jump into multiplayer and join a faction.

5Everspace 2

A Clone Space Pilot In A Fast-Paced Galaxy

Everspace 2

Everspace 2expands on everything its predecessor offered. It’s intense, beautifully designed and features epic space combat with immersive mechanisms. In a fighter spaceship, you not only shoot your way out of danger, but you must also expertly maneuver out of harm’s way with fun dodges and rolls.

You can spend hours following the storyline, but it isn’t streamlined. So you can jump off the path anytime to explore the galaxy and various side missions, finding anything and everything to help you in your journey.

4Starbound

Repair Your Ship And Set Off For Adventure

Are you looking for something more old-school to fill the void No Man’s Sky left behind? Well, you can find that inStarbound. This 2D sandbox has more features than you realize at first glance. There’s unending exploration since you essentially make your own story.

Travel from planet to planet or settle down somewhere and start a new life. Play with friends on a multiplayer server or keep things contained to just you and the universe. It’s your choice. Have it as you wish.

3Surviving Mars

Build A Thriving Colony

Surviving Mars

Yet another game uniquely resembling No Man’s Sky,Surviving Mars tackles the survival aspectmore than anything else. The red planet has a harsh environment, and it’s up to you to ensure everyone survives.

Resource management is vital, and without it, you’ll quickly lose. Being hands-on constantly is a must. Even the colonists are distinct, bustling with personalities and storylines that can make or break your setup.

2Subnautica

An Underwater Alien World

Subnautica

Let’s take a new approach to finding games like No Man’s Sky. We’re still on an alien world in Subnautica, but instead of space, we’re exploring underwater. You’ve crash-landed in the ocean, in fact, and there’s no going up anymore. The further down you go, the more you discover a remarkable new world.

You’ll gather your resources, explore and build bases on the seafloor. Additionally, there are pressure changes the deeper you go. Just watch out for nighttime as that’s when the real trouble comes.

One of the most enjoyable things about Subnautica is that it resembles much of No Man’s Sky, just with water. There are a lot more particulars you must be aware of though concerning the water pressure with both your own gear and your base.

1Astroneer

Explore The Frontier As An Astroneer

Such a colorful difference from No Man’s Sky, Astroneer has a more whimsical look. Yet it still has everything from the former but seems to do it on a larger scale. You’ve got your crafting, building, resource gathering and management, exploration and even terraforming.

The graphics are vibrant and eye-catching, and you can be freely creative without worrying about anything else. You can even bring friends to enjoy this sandbox world, working together to create truly magnificent structures.

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