What are the best games like Starfield? No matter which way you slice it, Starfield is a huge game with a lot of moving parts. From its sweeping story to planet exploration and ship combat, finding a game like Starfield is no mean feat. Consequently, our list of the best games to capture the essence of Bethesda’s interstellar RPG spans multiple genres, to ensure that there’s something for everyone.
Now that the Starfield release date is a speck in the rear-view mirror, games like Starfield are the best way to capture the experience of playing the space game again without heading into Starfield new game plus. While there’s plenty of Starfield mods to help keep things fresh, we can’t deny that embarking on a brand new adventure has its appeal. Without further ado, here are our top picks for the best games like Starfield.
The best games like Starfield are:
Fallout 4
Bethesda’s RPG formula is a cornerstone of the genre, and in that respect, Starfield stands on the shoulders of giants. Bethesda’s work on the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series culminated in Starfield, so any of the more recent entries in either series are likely to scratch that same itch. However, if you’ve reached the Starfield ending and you’re looking for a game like Starfield from Bethesda’s own back catalog, then Fallout 4 is your best bet. As our Fallout 4 review attests, “it’s vast, packed, quirky, and held together with nails and duct tape.”
While Fallout’s post-apocalyptic world doesn’t include an equivalent for Starfield ship combat, it does include engaging questlines and NPCs that match the complexity of Starfield missions and Starfield companions. Fallout 4’s retrofuturist aesthetic isn’t a million miles away from Starfield’s own cassette futurism, and it includes a similar arsenal of ballistic and laser weaponry that will feel right at home in the hands of any Starfield fan. Fallout 4 even has its own equivalent to Starfield outposts: settlements, which you can build to establish a base of operations across the Wasteland. While you won’t be blasting off into space as part of Fallout 4’s story any time soon, you best believe there’s Fallout 4 mod for that.
Baldur’s Gate 3
We might be drifting into the realms of high fantasy games, but don’t let the presence of a few elves and dragons put you off. If you’re looking for a game like Starfield that gives you total freedom to explore a vast world full of people and places to discover, Baldur’s Gate 3 is your match made in heaven.
Our own Baldur’s Gate 3 review describes Larian’s smash hit as an “instant RPG classic” – and we’re not kidding. This massive RPG takes its cue from the tabletop game it’s based on to bring you choices galore, from deciding who you want in your BG3 party to embarking on a BG3 romance. Its turn-based combat is drastically different from Starfield – but if that’s not a dealbreaker, the Forgotten Realms is brimming with meaningful quests that often have a drastic impact on your character and the world around them. If you’re looking to get started, we’ve got the best Baldur’s Gate 3 builds for all BG3 classes and BG3 races. We’ve also got a Baldur’s Gate 3 leveling guide to get you on your feet.
Star Citizen
If you just can’t face leaving space behind, then Star Citizen may be your answer. In Star Citizen, you can take up a mining career to scavenge the universe for materials and generate an income while also taking in the sights. Sound familiar? Its expansive universe offers out-of-this-world immersion as developer Cloud Imperium invests the sandbox game’s mammoth production costs into crafting a truly limitless experience.
However, it’s important to bear in mind their stark differences. Starfield is a story-driven single-player game, whereas Star Citizen is a multiplayer space sim, so don’t expect Star Citizen to treat you to a space opera of explorers, space cowboys, and interstellar beings. That said, both make a clear bid for realism in their approach to space travel – so if Starfield ships stole the show for you, then Star Citizen is the perfect opportunity to take to the stars once more. What’s more, the upcoming Star Citizen Squadron 42 campaign promises to be an “unprecedented cinematic adventure” that may well rival Starfield’s. Only time will tell.
The Outer Worlds
Developed by Fallout: New Vegas legends Obsidian Entertainment, The Outer Worlds is probably the closest you can come to a game like Starfield without playing Starfield. It’s a first-person RPG, it’s set in space, you travel between planets, and you complete both a main quest and a series of side quests. What more could you ask for? It even has melee and shooting combat and a plethora of dialogue options when in conversations, though it does lack the nuance of Starfield persuasion.
Set in the 24th century against a backdrop of a space-age dominated by corporations while still poking fun at them, The Outer Worlds is a classic RPG through and through. It might not have the same expansive space travel when compared to the vast quantity of Starfield planets, but if you want a good old-fashioned RPG similar to what Bethesda is known for, this is for you. Read more about our thoughts on the game in our The Outer Worlds review, including why “it’s a journey worth undertaking.”
Outer Wilds
Despite its similar name, Outer Wilds is a very different beast to The Outer Worlds. We’ve already gushed about the space exploration game when it was leaving Game Pass, but here’s the rundown: you are an alien going on their first space flight around a solar system filled with wacky, wonderful, and nightmare-inducing discoveries. If you haven’t played it before, go in without looking anything else up.
Outer Wilds is all about the journey of space travel, and how what you find along the way can delight and surprise you. It has spaceship flight and fun gravity mechanics, and while it definitely isn’t as big as Starfield, it uses one very specific mechanic to force you down a path of constant discovery, and it’s all the better for it. The sense of progression is purely the knowledge you gain from discovery – and if that isn’t what space is all about, we don’t know what is.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
If you haven’t embarked on Bioware’s seminal trilogy following Commander Shepard and friends, please do. Like Starfield, Mass Effect depicts a fully fleshed-out Star Trek-style universe filled with danger, diplomacy, and memorable characters. Given that the Starfield Constellation faction of space explorers captures that same Roddenberry spirit of exploration, it should come as no surprise that Mass Effect sits right at home among the very best games like Starfield.
That said, Mass Effect’s true draw is its cast of characters. Each one is as memorable, complex, and as big a part of the universe as the last. Taking them out on missions almost feels like hanging out with good friends – so much so that when the credits finally roll on this trilogy, you’ll feel a part of yourself has gone along with it. Does this give you fond memories of Starfield’s Sarah Morgan or Sam Coe? Our Mass Effect Legendary Edition review explains why this edition is the best way to experience the trilogy for the first time on PC.
No Man’s Sky
If you get caught up with hoarding Starfield materials while exploring everything Bethesda’s sci-fi universe has to offer, then you should give No Man’s Sky a go. Despite a rocky launch back in 2016, No Man’s Sky has had an excellent redemption arc. It continues that ascent from negative to positive Steam reviews to this day, with a barrage of free updates packed with new content, features, and bug fixes. No Man’s sky offers exploration on a grand scale with your friends, and there’s plenty of parallels to Starfield base building and encountering Starfield creatures. It may not have that distinct ‘Nasa-punk’ look, but No Man’s Sky certainly worth your time.
Kerbal Space Program
If the Starfield ship builder is your home away from home, then Kerbal Space Program is the exact type of game for you. In short, you’re tasked with helping the Kerbals with their first successful space flight, but the realistic aerodynamics and orbital physics exist purely to stop you. A game all about trying and trying again, Kerbal Space Program should activate that part of your brain that likes building things and then watching them go boom.
Of course, Kerbal Space Program is a simulation game at heart, so it doesn’t have proper quests, combat, any dialogue choices, or much of a narrative. However, when it comes to building spaceships, there truly is nothing else like it. If you’re keen to push the boundaries of this orbital sandbox, the best Kerbal Space Program mods bring visual enhancements, interstellar flight, and enough artillery to begin a hostile takeover of space itself. For science!
Elite Dangerous
If the Kerbals manage to successfully get to space, perhaps Elite Dangerous is the universe they’d end up living in. Elite Dangerous consists of colossal multiplayer space travel and battles, and while it handles more realistically than Starfield and No Man’s Sky, that’s part of the overall appeal. In fact, there’s a 1:1 scale version of the Milky Way, so if you’re looking to experience the true vastness of space without a grav jump to speed things along, Elite: Dangerous may just be the game like Starfield for you.
Now that you’ve had a taste of the best games like Starfield, why not take the best PC games ever made for a spin? If you’re partial to Bethesda RPGs, we’ve also got the best games like Skyrim and games like Fallout on offer as well. Alternatively, check out all the upcoming PC games to look forward to if you’d prefer to stay on the cutting edge of releases.