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10 of the Hottest Space Games Ever

10 of the Hottest Space Games Ever

Space… the final frontier or something. I don’t know, I’m not a sci-fi nerd unless giant robots are involved. That said, it’s impossible to be into video games and not end up playing something set in outer space. It just comes with the territory in this medium. While normally I see spaceships and aliens and inevitably dread the surface-deep political allegories and nonsense jargon, I’ll still give it a spin because I can’t help myself. Hence, Mass Effect . I liked the original trilogy a lot, but Mass Effect: Andromeda left me feeling pretty unfulfilled. So, here’s a nice list of space-themed games that are super good!

Image Credit: reiq

Star Ocean

Star Ocean

Star Ocean is one of those games that wasn’t afraid to go big or go home. Star Ocean was a huge game with a unique combat system and would go on to fuel Tri-Ace’s reputation to this day. A band of space travelers dealing with the ethics of getting involved with less advanced societies was a great hook, and a real-time combat system in a JRPG aesthetic has proven to be an evergreen concept.

Starship Damrey

Starship Damrey

Starship Damrey is a 3DS eshop release that sticks around long enough to take the player through an intriguing mystery without overstaying its welcome. It’s one of those “show, don’t tell” type of experiences that uses a lack of information and details to disconcert and haunt the player.  It’s cheap, it’s cool, try it out.

Alien: Isolation

Alien: Isolation

The team behind Alien: Isolation just gets it. They understood the appeal of the original movie and why it will forever be one of the greatest films of all time. The grungy tech, the loneliness, the vulnerability is all in place here and multiplied by its first-person perspective. The connection to the Alien canon is icing on the cake.

Metroid: Zero Mission

Metroid: Zero Mission

Metroid is an excellent series that borrows heavily from the appeal of movies like Alien, but it hasn’t aged too well. Luckily, one of the best remakes of all time is Metroid: Zero Mission, and it’s just great. The added detail is seamless and the quality of life improvements (such as a very nice map) are what keeps the legacy of this series more relevant to newer fans than it might have been otherwise.

Phantasy Star Online

Phantasy Star Online

Nothing takes me back to nostalgic times like remembering how fun it was to grind for loot in Phantasy Star Online on the Gamecube. The Gamecube version was two games in one and opened up a whole world I had never seen before, not having been much of a Sega kid. Sega really had a lock on overtly sci-fi JRPGs, and it was thanks to this game that I discovered that slice of the pie.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam

Giant robots! There’s nothing that gets my nerd engine rumbling like a deep dive into Universal Century Gundam. The earnest mix of wartime politics and pseudo-realistic robots-as-military-hardware is a fascinating look into the mind of a single man’s view of the world through the course of several decades. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam takes all that, crumbles it into a ball and makes it a super-fun, arcade brawler. Antithetical, but fanservice rules sometimes.

Dead Space

Dead Space

A good horror game set in outer space hits those same bullet points I’ve already repeated across this list. Take the bright lights and ultra-conveniences of theoretical future technology, then smash it all and put the protagonist on their own, right in the middle of an empty, eroding hunk of broken promises. Dead Space also blatantly ripped off Resident Evil 4 ’s fresh, third-person mechanics, so it felt damn good to play as well.

DOOM

DOOM

Remember, DOOM is set on Mars. Roaming around the abandoned base after a hostile takeover by the denizens of hell didn’t always make that clear. But when the infestation spreads to Earth and you see that poor bunny-rabbit impaled on a stick, man. That’s magic. There’s a reason the Halo series made such a big deal about going to Earth. It’s a powerful transition after spending time away from home.

Star Fox 64

Star Fox 64

Star Fox 64 was arcade action in its purest form. The game was short, but with multiple paths that each offered its own rewards. The characters were goofy but endearing, and the ship controls were as tight and responsive as something on the Nintendo 64 could possibly be. It proved impossible to follow-up, although the re-release of sorts on the 3DS was pretty solid.

Space Jam

Space Jam

Yes, I am aware this list of space games does not have StarCraft on it. Yeah, I’m using a spot on a top ten list for a joke entry. There’s nothing you can do about it, no matter how many rude comments you leave. I am the king of this realm, and I am well within the constraints of my power to put Space Jam here. Deal with it. I don’t care how much this game actually sucks.It’s time to slam.

Evil laugh…mmmwwwahahahaha!

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