Games like Starfield to play while you wait

Games Like Starfield To Play While You Wait

Starfield, Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi behemoth is on its way and it’s fair to say the gaming community is on the edge of its seat with anticipation. Last month’s Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase gave eager gamers the first detailed look at Starfield’s gameplay. It certainly looks like an adventurous effort on Bethesda’s part, with reportedly over 100 star systems and over 1,000 planets to explore.

Throw finely-tuned spacecraft and character customisation, new planetary metropolises, aerial combat and intergalactic navigation into the mix and Starfield looks set to set the gaming community on fire when it launches next year. However, while we wait excitedly for the launch of the spacefaring RPG, what titles are amongst the best to try out to get in the mood for exploring the cosmos? In this post, I’m going to check out some of the best games like Starfield to play while you wait.

As always, let me know in the comments if you’ve got a great recommendation to add to the list!

The Outer Worlds

games like Starfield The outer Worlds

Set in a far-flung future, The Outer Worlds may help to fill the Starfield-shaped hole in your life for a while. A space-based sci-fi RPG with plenty of choice-based dialogue elements, this game has that Bethesda feel in terms of NPC interactions. Players will get to explore a new space colony and discover their destiny as the choices they make shape the events of the story.

The space exploration part of The Outer Worlds isn’t quite on par with others that involve actual flight mechanics. However, the RPG elements of the game should satisfy anyone looking for games like Starfield in the short term.

No Man’s Sky

games like starfield no man's sky

Hello Games’ procedurally generated universe is truly gargantuan. The potential exploration available in No Man’s Sky is possibly the only spacefaring adventure comparable with the scale Starfield is aiming for. This is a game that allows players to really venture into the unknown, with a seemingly infinite universe packed with the secrets of alien races to discover. No Man’s Sky is a game to truly get lost in and is probably one of the best games like Starfield to try out while waiting for its release.

Chorus

Games like Starfield Chorus

This is a really exciting and engaging space-based adventure that puts a really cool story at the heart of the action. As starship pilots, players can engage in a range of dynamic aerial battles and dogfights as they escape the clutches of a cult the protagonist was formerly part of. Interestingly, there’s an element of gameplay that involves building a bond with your spaceship.

Given that spaceship customisation will be such a central part of Starfield’s gameplay and combat preparation, Chorus could really scratch that itch if you’re the kind of player who loves to navigate through deadly spacecraft battles.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

games like Starfield mass effect legendary edition

Perhaps the ultimate saga in space-based game narrative, the Mass Effect trilogy is playable in one package in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Experience the iconic saga of Commander Shepard in greater detail thanks to the Legendary Edition’s improved character models, visuals and textures. Mass Effect Legendary Edition features everything an intergalactic adventurer could hope for, whether it be hi-tech futuristic weapons and vehicles or broaching diplomatic relations with new alien species.

At the heart of the Mass Effect games lies an excellent storytelling experience which makes them a must-play for fans of space games. With three games plus all the DLCs in one title, Mass Effect Legendary Edition should keep players busy for quite some time while waiting for Starfield.

Prey

Games like Starfield Prey

A dark and often frightening space adventure, Prey sees players exploring a space station under attack from a hostile alien species known as the Typhon. With psychic powers and shapeshifting abilities in their toolkit, the Typhon are pretty formidable foes. This is a game developed by Arkane and published by Bethesda, so it has all those hallmark Bethesda game vibes with an intrinsically Arkane style of stealth gameplay.

It’s a fantastic space-based adventure that deserves a lot more recognition in terms of its design and highly engaging sci-fi setting. Being able to venture outside of the space station as well as explore its interiors is particularly thrilling at times.

Elite Dangerous

A massively multiplayer space game that’s probably on par with No Man’s Sky in terms of sheer scale, Elite Dangerous is one of the games like Starfield you should try out if piloting spacecraft is your thing. Exploring the galaxy from the cockpit of your own spacecraft, you’ll need to be able to survive by whatever means necessary in this strange and often hostile new open-world environment.

Elite Dangerous is set in the midst of an interstellar war and provides players with a multitude of options in terms of where they wish their story to take them. Choices have consequences against a backdrop of superhuman and extraterrestrial beings. This is an odyssey of a game that will keep you entertained for many hours ahead of Starfield.

Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds

An action-adventure game set in a solar system that’s stuck in a time loop, Outer Wilds is a fantastically original concept. It’s down to players to unlock the mystery behind the time loop, which will involve venturing into the unknown depths of space to discover clues and secrets.

This is an intriguing space game that’s packed with the unknown, which should be perfect for anyone who enjoys a bit of puzzle-solving in their galactic adventures. It’s a surreal and beautiful game that’ll provide plenty of escapism and wonder.

Other games like Starfield to explore

While these seven suggestions should give you plenty of adventures while you’re waiting, there are other games like Starfield to try out ahead of next November. Other recommendations include the Fallout series of games, which while not space-based have plenty of Bethesda’s hallmark RPG elements about them. Also on the cards could be Star Citizen, although you’ll need a pretty high-spec PC for it to run well. Another game like Starfield in terms of that iconic Bethesda feel is, of course, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Admittedly, it’s not space-based, but it’s an epic RPG with plenty of brilliant NPC interaction, and it still holds up well over a decade since its release.

Which games would you include in a list of games like Starfield to play while you wait? Let me know in the comments. For more on gaming, check out this post on helping your kids learn through gaming or this list of open-world games to escape reality with.

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