- #1 Kerbal Space Program
97% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 133,317 reviews2015
Dev: SquadPub: Private Division
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 5.3 hrsMean: 65.2 hrs≥1hr: 84%
In Kerbal Space Program, take charge of the space program for the alien race known as the Kerbals. You have access to an array of parts to assemble fully-functional spacecraft that flies (or doesn’t) based on realistic aerodynamic and orbital physics.
Why similar: Science 18.8% ★, Space 15.6%, Space Sim 13.7% ★, Sandbox 10.7%, Physics 8.6%
Why You'll Like It: The original remains the closest match, with deep rocket construction, orbital mechanics, science progression, and the same trial-and-error comedy of catastrophic launches.
- #2 Juno: New Origins
96% matchVery Positive89% of 3,369 reviews2023
Dev: Jundroo, LLC
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.0 hrsMean: 12.8 hrs≥1hr: 51%
Bring to life anything you can imagine from rockets and airplanes to cars and more. Automate them with a visual programming language. Explore 3D planets and make your own. Share your creations online. Complete contracts, conquer milestones, and unlock technology in the newly added Career Mode.
Why similar: Science 21% ★, Space Sim 16.2% ★, Moddable 11.1% ★, Building 10.9%, Space 9.2%
Why You'll Like It: It offers KSP-style vehicle design and spaceflight with robust part-based construction, realistic physics, and a polished sandbox for rockets, aircraft, and spacecraft.
- #3 Spaceflight Simulator
96% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 7,486 reviews2022
Dev: Team Curiosity ✦
Windows · Mac
Median: 4.6 hrsMean: 14.2 hrs≥1hr: 84%
In Spaceflight Simulator, you will get to build your rockets, plan launches and flights, attempt landings, deploy payloads and explore new worlds.
Why similar: Space Sim 20.4% ★, Science 19.2% ★, Space 13.5%, Sandbox 13.1%, Building 5.5%
Why You'll Like It: This captures the iterative build-launch-crash-improve loop of KSP in a simpler 2D format that still emphasizes staging, orbital planning, and engineering efficiency.
- #4 Space Engineers
95% matchVery Positive89% of 133,238 reviews2019
Dev: Keen Software House
Windows
Median: 9.0 hrsMean: 95.7 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Space Engineers is a sandbox engineering game where you design and build ships, stations, and planetary bases in a fully destructible environment. Explore planets and space, mine resources, survive hazards, and engage in combat alone or with friends in Creative or Survival modes.
Why similar: Space Sim 17% ★, Moddable 14.2% ★, Space 11.7%, Building 11.1%, Sandbox 10.5%
Why You'll Like It: Its voxel ship building and physics-driven sandbox let you design, test, and pilot spacecraft in a similarly experimental way, just with more survival and construction focus.
- #5 Take On Mars
94% matchMixed55% of 2,023 reviews2017
Dev: Bohemia Interactive
Windows
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 10.5 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Take On Mars places you right in the middle of mankind’s most exciting undertaking. Start out in the seat of a rover operator, finish as the first human to have ever set foot on the Red Planet.
Why similar: Science 20.1% ★, Space 18.1%, Space Sim 14.3% ★, Building 9.7%, Sandbox 8.2%
Why You'll Like It: This combines realistic Mars mission themes, rover and lander operation, and aerospace simulation in a way that strongly overlaps with KSP's science-and-exploration appeal.
- #6 Stationeers
94% matchVery Positive88% of 8,897 reviews2017
Dev: RocketWerkz
Windows
Median: 9.8 hrsMean: 81.9 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Stationeers puts you in control of the construction and management of a space station to run by yourself or online with your friends. Complex atmospheric, electrical, manufacturing, agriculture, and gravitational systems require your thought and management at all times!
Why similar: Science 25.3% ★, Moddable 16% ★, Space 13.2%, Building 12.9%, Sandbox 12.2%
Why You'll Like It: For players who enjoy the engineering side of KSP, this turns space survival into a dense systems sandbox of construction, automation, life support, and problem solving.
- #7 Universe Sandbox
93% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 30,587 reviews2015
Dev: Giant Army
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.4 hrsMean: 23.5 hrs≥1hr: 71%
Create & destroy on an unimaginable scale with a realistic physics-based space simulator. Explore the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Use science to bend the laws of gravity, collide planets, boil away oceans, fire epic space lasers, and customize your universe.
Why similar: Science 24.3% ★, Space 16.4%, Sandbox 15.6%, Physics 11.5%, Space Sim 9.9% ★
Why You'll Like It: It shares KSP's fascination with astrophysics and emergent space simulation, even if the focus is celestial-scale experimentation rather than vehicle building.
- #8 Flyout
92% matchVery Positive81% of 2,149 reviews2023
Dev: Stonext Games
Windows
Median: 2.7 hrsMean: 18.4 hrs≥1hr: 62%
Build and fly realistic aircraft. Use free-form fuselage and wing editor tools and tune your engines to recreate aircraft from any era or design your own.
Why similar: Science 24.7% ★, Sandbox 23.1%, Building 19.7%, Physics 15.7%, Simulation 10.8%
Why You'll Like It: Although centered on aircraft, it scratches a very similar itch with realistic aero engineering, custom craft building, and lots of iterative testing.
- #9 Children of a Dead Earth
91% matchVery Positive90% of 902 reviews2016
Dev: Q Switched Productions, LLC
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.2 hrsMean: 23.8 hrs≥1hr: 65%
The most scientifically accurate space warfare simulator ever made. Now with Steam Workshop!
Why similar: Science 27.9% ★, Space 21.8%, Space Sim 12.4% ★, Realistic 10.4%, Simulation 9%
Why You'll Like It: It leans into hard science and realistic spacecraft design, rewarding the same kind of obsessive tweaking and physics-minded experimentation as KSP.
- #10 SpaceEngine
91% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 14,936 reviews2019
Dev: Cosmographic Software
Windows
Median: 2.1 hrsMean: 47.7 hrs≥1hr: 66%
The world's first science-based photorealistic interactive 3D planetarium that models the entire Universe, using procedural generation for uncharted areas.
Why similar: Science 22% ★, Space Sim 18.1% ★, Space 14.5%, Sandbox 13.6%, Open World 11.1%
Why You'll Like It: If your favorite part of KSP is the wonder of space itself, this offers breathtaking, simulation-heavy exploration of the universe.
- #11 SimplePlanes
90% matchVery Positive93% of 10,799 reviews2015
Dev: Jundroo, LLC
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.5 hrsMean: 12.7 hrs≥1hr: 74%
Build airplanes by snapping parts together, designing wing sections, and attaching engines. At any time, you can strap yourself into the cockpit and see how it flies with realistic physics. If you're not in the mood for building, over 100,000 airplanes are available to download for free.
Why similar: Moddable 19.5% ★, Building 18.7%, Sandbox 18.2%, Physics 15.8%, Open World 11.3%
Why You'll Like It: Its modular craft builder, accessible physics, and constant test-refine loop feel very KSP-adjacent, just focused on atmospheric flight instead of space programs.
- #12 Stormworks: Build and Rescue
89% matchVery Positive90% of 57,601 reviews2020
Dev: Geometa
Windows · Mac
Median: 17.4 hrsMean: 111.9 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Join a world where you design, create and pilot your own air sea rescue service. Release your inner hero as you battle fierce storms out at sea to rescue those in need.
Why similar: Sandbox 28%, Building 25.5%, Physics 19.3%, Open World 17.3%, Exploration 9.9%
Why You'll Like It: This is another brilliant vehicle sandbox where building functional machines, troubleshooting physics, and refining designs is the core fun.
- #13 Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander
89% matchVery Positive95% of 12,431 reviews2022
Dev: Walternate Realities
Windows
Median: 19.3 hrsMean: 40.4 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Design and simulate the starships of your dreams! Command your ship or fleet in epic battles and manage your crew while exploring a dangerous galaxy. Play alone or with friends, test your ships in online PvP, and let your imagination reach for the stars!
Why similar: Space Sim 21.8% ★, Space 16.8%, Building 16%, Difficult 12.1%, Sci-fi 10.2%
Why You'll Like It: Designing ships room-by-room and iterating on how they fly and fight taps into the same builder mindset as KSP.
- #14 Starship EVO
88% matchVery Positive84% of 1,210 reviews2020
Dev: Moonfire Entertainment
Windows
Median: 1.3 hrsMean: 5.8 hrs≥1hr: 55%
Mine and craft your way to orbit, build your own starship and explore a vast, dangerous galaxy alongside your crew. For players who love a meaningful survival progression, a unique and elegant building system, and epic space-opera scale.
Why similar: Space 19.7%, Building 18.4%, Space Sim 14.8% ★, Sandbox 14.8%, Simulation 7.4%
Why You'll Like It: It offers freeform spaceship construction and hands-on piloting in a sandboxy sci-fi setting that will appeal to craft tinkerers.
- #15 Trailmakers
87% matchVery Positive92% of 34,107 reviews2019
Dev: Flashbulb
Windows
Median: 3.9 hrsMean: 15.4 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Build the ultimate vehicle and explore a vast open world filled with challenges and adventure. Play solo or team up with friends in multiplayer to conquer the toughest obstacles. With a thrilling campaign mode and endless creative possibilities, Trailmakers is the ultimate sandbox for adventurers.
Why similar: Space 27.5%, Building 16%, Sandbox 15.1%, Physics 13.5%, Open World 10.7%
Why You'll Like It: It delivers a more playful take on modular vehicle building, with satisfying experimentation, physics mishaps, and exploration.
- #16 Mars First Logistics
85% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 3,474 reviews2025
Dev: Shape Shop
Windows
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 10.1 hrs≥1hr: 79%
Build physically simulated rovers to transport awkwardly shaped cargo across the rugged terrain of Mars. Earn funds, unlock new parts, and use your ingenuity to help the Martians establish a new home. Playable solo or in online co-op!
Why similar: Science 23.7% ★, Space Sim 17.9% ★, Building 12.5%, Sandbox 11.7%, Physics 10.2%
Why You'll Like It: Its goofy-but-clever vehicle building on Mars captures KSP's mix of engineering challenge, physics chaos, and humor.
- #17 Nimbatus - The Space Drone Constructor
86% matchMostly Positive79% of 2,144 reviews2020
Dev: Stray Fawn StudioPub: Stray Fawn Publishing
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 5.1 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Command the Nimbatus and craft drones out of hundreds of different parts. Survive unknown threats in a fully destructible, procedural universe, compete against other players in different arenas or enjoy complete creative freedom in the sandbox.
Why similar: Space Sim 24.5% ★, Space 15.6%, Building 11.9%, Sandbox 11.2%, Physics 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: Building programmable drones in a physics-driven space sandbox gives it a similar engineering-heavy creativity to KSP.
- #18 ΔV: Rings of Saturn
84% matchVery Positive93% of 3,305 reviews2023
Dev: Kodera Software
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 8.3 hrsMean: 11.6 hrs≥1hr: 85%
A physics-based mining sim, set in the thickest debris field in Sol. Every action has a reaction, lasers are invisible without a medium, and your thrust is a potent weapon. Find trade, adapt your equipment to your playstyle, hire a crew to help. Unravel the mysteries of the rings, or just get rich.
Why similar: Science 18.7% ★, Space Sim 15.6% ★, Space 13.5%, Physics 9.5%, Difficult 8.1%
Why You'll Like It: Its grounded near-future space sim, inertia-heavy flight, and meticulous ship outfitting echo KSP's hard-SF side.
- #19 Rodina
86% matchVery Positive93% of 1,329 reviews2014
Dev: Elliptic Games
Windows
Median: 2.8 hrsMean: 6.4 hrs≥1hr: 71%
A single-developer passion project. A seamless full scale solar system. Thrilling action. Be part of an incredible journey as a Universe is built from the ground up!
Why similar: Space 29.3%, Space Sim 15.1% ★, Sandbox 15%, Open World 14.6%, Exploration 10.7%
Why You'll Like It: This indie space sandbox emphasizes flying between planets and poking around a handcrafted solar system, appealing to KSP's exploration side.
- #20 Hardspace: Shipbreaker
84% matchVery Positive89% of 21,702 reviews2022
Dev: Blackbird Interactive
Windows
Median: 4.7 hrsMean: 23.9 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Equipped with cutting-edge salvaging tech, carve & slice spaceships to recover valuable materials. Upgrade your gear to take on more lucrative contracts and pay your billion credits debt to LYNX Corp!
Why similar: Space 23.6%, Space Sim 17.4% ★, Physics 15.5%, Sandbox 14.4%, Sci-fi 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: Its tactile zero-g work and believable industrial space tech make it a good fit if you enjoy the hands-on physics side of space simulation.
- #21 Besiege
83% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 52,104 reviews2020
Dev: Spiderling Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.4 hrsMean: 19.1 hrs≥1hr: 71%
Besiege is a physics building game about constructing medieval machines to annihilate armies, obliterate castles and overcome challenging obstacles. Conquer the campaign or skirmish with friends in Multiplayer!
Why similar: Moddable 27.3% ★, Building 21.2%, Sandbox 20.5%, Physics 18%, Simulation 7.5%
Why You'll Like It: Like KSP, it's about assembling contraptions from parts and learning through hilarious structural failures, only in a medieval destruction sandbox.
- #22 Empyrion - Galactic Survival
82% matchMostly Positive79% of 34,087 reviews2020
Dev: Eleon Game Studios
Windows
Median: 6.3 hrsMean: 76.7 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Build and explore in a true space sandbox survival adventure. Construct mighty capital vessels, sprawling planetary settlements, and vast space stations in your galactic journey to discover the mysteries of Empyrion!
Why similar: Space Sim 19.2% ★, Space 15%, Building 13.8%, Sandbox 11.5%, Physics 9.8%
Why You'll Like It: This blends base building, ship construction, and planetary and space exploration into a broader but still KSP-adjacent sci-fi sandbox.
- #23 Occupy Mars: The Game
80% matchMostly Positive70% of 3,012 reviews2026
Dev: ▲ Pyramid Games
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 31.4 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Survive and colonize Mars in a highly technical, open-world sandbox game. Build and upgrade your base, discover new regions, conduct mining operations, retrieve water, generate oxygen, grow crops, and fix broken parts.
Why similar: Space 20%, Sandbox 19.2%, Building 18.4%, Open World 14.3%, Exploration 8.4%
Why You'll Like It: Colonizing Mars with realistic tools, vehicles, and survival systems makes it a strong pick for the practical aerospace fantasy around KSP.
- #24 Starbase
82% matchMixed56% of 6,702 reviews2021
Dev: Frozenbyte
Windows
Median: 14.3 hrsMean: 91.6 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Starbase is a hybrid voxel/vertex-based space MMO with a fully destructible and infinitely expanding universe, with a focus on building and designing spaceships and stations, exploration, resource gathering, crafting, trading, and combat.
Why similar: Space Sim 25% ★, Building 17.2%, Space 15%, Sandbox 13.5%, Open World 11.9%
Why You'll Like It: Its detailed ship construction and space engineering systems are appealing if what you want most is assembling functioning spacecraft.
- #25 From the Depths
81% matchVery Positive89% of 12,523 reviews2020
Dev: Brilliant Skies Ltd.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 40.6 hrs≥1hr: 81%
Over 1000 unique components allow you to build and command voxel vehicles from the deep ocean to outer space! Forge strategies, allegiances and fleets strong enough to destroy eight deadly factions of the planet and reign supreme. A genre-defying mashup of simulation, building, RTS and RPG.
Why similar: Building 25.4%, Sandbox 22.9%, Space 19.5%, Physics 19.3%, Simulation 6.8%
Why You'll Like It: This is a deep design sandbox for complex vehicles and weapons systems, ideal if you love spending hours making machines actually work.
- #26 Avorion
81% matchVery Positive90% of 14,288 reviews2020
Dev: Boxelware
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 18.6 hrsMean: 98.8 hrs≥1hr: 90%
A procedural co-op space sandbox where players can build their own space ships out of dynamically scalable blocks. Fight epic space battles, explore, mine, trade, wage wars and build your own empire to save your galaxy from being torn apart by an unknown enemy.
Why similar: Space Sim 24.7% ★, Space 16.1%, Building 15.6%, Sandbox 15.1%, Open World 10.2%
Why You'll Like It: Building and iterating on your own ships in an open-ended galaxy gives it a lighter but still satisfying spacecraft sandbox feel.
- #27 Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator
77% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 1,212 reviews2025
Dev: Lyra Creative
Windows
Median: 2.0 hrsMean: 5.7 hrs≥1hr: 70%
Do you have what it takes to become an astronaut? Reentry is a realistic space flight simulator inspired by the early NASA space programs, from orbiting Earth in Mercury and Gemini, to the moon landing in project Apollo. Learn the procedures. Operate the spacecraft. Complete the mission.
Why similar: Science 21.6% ★, Space Sim 20% ★, Space 14.8%, Physics 8.4%, Difficult 8.2%
- #28 Outer Wilds
78% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 99,459 reviews2020
Dev: Mobius DigitalPub: Annapurna Interactive
Windows
Median: 4.6 hrsMean: 16.7 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.
Why similar: Space 37.3%, Exploration 18.6%, Open World 16.2%, Sci-fi 9.3%, Atmospheric 7.3%
Why You'll Like It: It doesn't share the construction systems, but its solar-system exploration, curiosity-driven discovery, and light physics make it a natural thematic companion.
- #29 Aviassembly
77% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 8,303 reviews2025
Dev: Jelle Booij
Windows
Median: 6.1 hrsMean: 6.9 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Build and fly your own airplane! Complete missions to earn money, upgrade your plane, and discover new locations in an open world.
Why similar: Science 22.3% ★, Building 21.3%, Sandbox 17%, Physics 15.6%, Open World 8.8%
- #30 Mars Horizon
79% matchVery Positive84% of 3,058 reviews2020
Dev: Auroch Digital
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.3 hrsMean: 9.3 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Lead a major space agency as you guide humanity to Mars in this strategy simulation game. Construct a base, design and build rockets, conduct missions throughout the Solar System, and write your own history of Space exploration. Created with support from the European Space Agency.
Why similar: Science 28.5% ★, Space Sim 22% ★, Space 16.7%, Building 13.4%, Physics 8.4%
Why You'll Like It: While more strategic than hands-on, it captures the fantasy of running missions, managing technology, and building a space program.
- #31 Space Engineers 2
78% matchMostly Positive76% of 4,293 reviews2025
Dev: Keen Software House
Windows
Median: 1.3 hrsMean: 7.1 hrs≥1hr: 58%
Space Engineers 2 is a sandbox about engineering and colonization where you build ships, stations, and planetary bases in a fully destructible world. Begin the story of Miro and Ivan Sokol, expand humanity’s foothold in the Almagest system, and fight to survive.
Why similar: Science 16.5% ★, Moddable 11.7% ★, Space Sim 10.9% ★, Space 10.2%, Building 10%
- #32 Scrap Mechanic
79% matchVery Positive92% of 117,049 reviews2016
Dev: Axolot Games
Windows
Median: 11.1 hrsMean: 57.3 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Enter the creative paradise of Scrap Mechanic! Build fantastic machines, go on adventures with your friends and defend against waves of evil Farmbots in this imaginative multiplayer survival sandbox. With Scrap Mechanic’s powerful creation tools you can engineer your own adventures!
Why similar: Building 23.5%, Sandbox 19%, Physics 15.8%, Open World 13.4%, Moddable 9.3% ★
Why You'll Like It: This is a great sandbox for players who mainly love KSP's build-test-break-rebuild engineering loop.
- #33 Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
75% matchMixed55% of 18,915 reviews2024
Dev: Asobo StudioPub: Xbox Game Studios
Windows
Median: 25.6 hrsMean: 131.6 hrs≥1hr: 96%
Explore the world with our largest fleet of aircraft and take simulation to new heights while pursuing your aviation career within Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
Why similar: Sandbox 19.9%, Realistic 18.3%, Simulation 15%, Open World 13.4%, Exploration 9.6%
- #34 Rocket Science
76% matchVery Positive80% of 160 reviews2020
Dev: unbeGames
Windows
Take part in a space program. Design spacecrafts and send them off to explore the vast expanses of space. Experience the real scale of the Solar system and the size of its celestial bodies.
Why similar: Science 19.4% ★, Space Sim 14.4% ★, Space 11.5%, Building 10.2%, Sandbox 9.8%
- #35 Starfield
74% matchMixed57% of 170,771 reviews2023
Dev: Bethesda Game StudiosPub: Bethesda Softworks
Windows
Median: 36.0 hrsMean: 72.1 hrs≥1hr: 96%
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4.
Why similar: Space 27.2%, Open World 16%, Space Sim 15.7% ★, Moddable 13% ★, Sci-fi 9.6%
- #36 The Last Starship
73% matchMostly Positive75% of 1,419 reviews2026
Dev: Introversion Software
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.6 hrsMean: 10.4 hrs≥1hr: 81%
The Last Starship is a 2D space construction game where you design and upgrade your starship. Choose your path: pirate hunter, miner, engineer, spacebus driver, and more, whilst exploring vibrant star systems. Enjoy a growing sandbox world, with regular free updates. Your cosmic adventure awaits!
Why similar: Space Sim 21.3% ★, Science 18.8% ★, Space 14.8%, Building 13.5%, Sandbox 13.4%
- #37 X4: Foundations
74% matchMostly Positive80% of 27,985 reviews2018
Dev: Egosoft
Windows · Linux
Median: 5.1 hrsMean: 94.2 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Your journey to building a vast space empire begins behind the controls of a single ship. Explore the stars, trade goods, fight battles, build stations, buy and equip ships, and command fleets in a living, fully simulated universe that reacts to your decisions.
Why similar: Space Sim 23.6% ★, Space 14.9%, Sandbox 14.2%, Moddable 11.9% ★, Building 9.1%
- #38 StarMade
75% matchMixed68% of 2,981 reviews2014
Dev: Schine GmbH
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.3 hrsMean: 18.8 hrs≥1hr: 54%
The ultimate space sandbox. Participate in epic fleet battles, form alliances, strive to dominate entire galaxies and harness the universe’s resources for your industrious empire or the destruction of others. Customise your experience, the universe is yours!
Why similar: Space 25%, Sandbox 19.5%, Building 14.5%, Open World 11.5%, Space Sim 9.9% ★
- #39 Star Trucker
71% matchMostly Positive79% of 4,997 reviews2024
Dev: Monster and MonsterPub: Raw Fury
Windows
Median: 3.3 hrsMean: 10.4 hrs≥1hr: 78%
Haul cargo, trade salvage and keep your space suit close as you search for fame and fortune among the stars in a game that puts an interstellar twist on the truck sim genre.
Why similar: Space Sim 20.9% ★, Space 14.2%, Moddable 14% ★, Physics 10.9%, Sandbox 9.6%
- #40 Celestial Command
76% matchMixed63% of 687 reviews2014
Dev: Romenics
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.5 hrsMean: 6.3 hrs≥1hr: 62%
Mine asteroids, salvage space debris, design your own small or massive spacecraft using individual functional components, complete missions, and engage in battles against enemies in a vast galaxy with realistic physics based on orbital mechanics or in a classic physics mode.
Why similar: Space 30%, Sandbox 17.3%, Space Sim 17% ★, Building 11.4%, Simulation 9.5%
- #41 Cities: Skylines II
72% matchMixed54% of 86,513 reviews2023
Dev: Iceflake StudiosPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows
Median: 23.8 hrsMean: 72.6 hrs≥1hr: 94%
Raise a city from the ground up and transform it into a thriving metropolis with the most realistic city builder ever. Push your creativity and problem-solving to build on a scale you've never experienced. With deep simulation and a living economy, this is world-building without limits.
Why similar: Building 27.7%, Sandbox 22.5%, Moddable 17% ★, Simulation 12.1%, Realistic 8.6%
- #42 X-Plane 11
72% matchVery Positive93% of 19,836 reviews2017
Dev: Laminar Research
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 14.8 hrsMean: 162.9 hrs≥1hr: 91%
The future of flight simulation is now! X-Plane 11 is the detailed, realistic, and modern simulator you’ve been waiting for. Intuitive user interface, 3-D cockpits, new effects, 3-D sound, living airports and world-wide scenery.
Why similar: Simulation 22.5%, Open World 20.8%, Realistic 20.4%, Physics 12.3%, Sandbox 9.3%
- #43 EVERSPACE™ 2
70% matchVery Positive86% of 12,587 reviews2023
Dev: ROCKFISH Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 7.7 hrsMean: 29.1 hrs≥1hr: 87%
EVERSPACE 2 is a fast-paced single-player spaceship shooter with exploration in space and on planets, tons of loot, RPG elements, mining, and crafting. Experience an exciting sci-fi story set in a vivid, handcrafted open world full of secrets, puzzles, and perils.
Why similar: Space 36.7%, Open World 21.8%, Exploration 14.5%, Sci-fi 11.4%, Simulation 8.7%
- #44 Poly Bridge 2
71% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 8,114 reviews2020
Dev: Dry Cactus
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.1 hrsMean: 14.6 hrs≥1hr: 67%
The acclaimed bridge-building indie-hit is back! More levels, more features, more physics fun!
Why similar: Building 29.1%, Physics 19.3%, Sandbox 18.1%, Difficult 17.6%, Simulation 7.9%
- #45 SpaceBourne 2
68% matchMostly Positive77% of 4,992 reviews2025
Dev: Burak Dabak
Windows
Median: 2.4 hrsMean: 10.9 hrs≥1hr: 70%
Embark on a journey to greatness. Get ready for adrenaline-fueled battles and a chance to claim your place in the galaxy. Grab the controls of your ship, gear up for the fight, and unleash your ambition to conquer and build a new empire in the vastness of space.
Why similar: Space Sim 31% ★, Science 29.3% ★, Space 16%, Open World 11.9%, Building 11.7%
- #46 Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition
70% matchMostly Positive79% of 71,065 reviews2020
Dev: Asobo StudioPub: Xbox Game Studios
Windows
Median: 35.3 hrsMean: 165.3 hrs≥1hr: 98%
From gliders and helicopters to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft in the Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition. The world is at your fingertips.
Why similar: Open World 23.8%, Realistic 18.5%, Physics 18.4%, Simulation 18%, Multiplayer 9.9%
- #47 Elite Dangerous
71% matchMostly Positive77% of 105,113 reviews2015
Dev: Frontier Developments
Windows
Median: 18.4 hrsMean: 146.5 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Take control of your own starship and blaze your trail in an ever-changing galaxy. Master the arts of combat, mining and trade or venture out into the unknown across a 1:1 scale universe.
Why similar: Space Sim 32.7% ★, Space 21.3%, Open World 12.2%, Sandbox 7%, Exploration 6.8%
- #48 Dyson Sphere Program
67% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 90,027 reviews2021
Dev: Youthcat StudioPub: Gamirror Games
Windows
Median: 13.2 hrsMean: 75.2 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Build the most efficient intergalactic factory in space simulation strategy game Dyson Sphere Program! Harness the power of stars, collect resources, plan and design production lines and develop your interstellar factory from a small space workshop to a galaxy-wide industrial empire.
Why similar: Space 25.7%, Building 18.9%, Sandbox 14.3%, Space Sim 14% ★, Open World 12.4%
- #49 Space Haven
69% matchVery Positive86% of 9,719 reviews2020
Dev: Bugbyte Ltd.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 20.2 hrs≥1hr: 72%
Embark on a space voyage with your ragtag crew of civilians in search of a new home. Build spaceships tile by tile, create optimal gas conditions, manage the needs and moods of their crew, encounter other space-faring groups, and explore the universe in this spaceship colony simulation.
Why similar: Space Sim 21.9% ★, Space 16.3%, Building 15.7%, Sandbox 15.1%, Open World 9.8%
- #50 Ostranauts
69% matchMostly Positive80% of 2,398 reviews2020
Dev: Blue Bottle GamesPub: Kitfox Games
Windows
Median: 5.1 hrsMean: 26.8 hrs≥1hr: 71%
Navigate your scrappy ship through the boneyard in search of valuable parts in abandoned vessels. Use salvage to upgrade your ship, or sell it for cash to pay down your mounting debt, or restock fuel, air, or food. Fly and role-play aboard your dream spaceship in this hardcore noir space-sim.
Why similar: Space Sim 21% ★, Difficult 20.6%, Space 15.1%, Sandbox 13.3%, Exploration 10.6%
- #51 Solar 2
70% matchVery Positive91% of 2,205 reviews2011
Dev: Murudai
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.0 hrsMean: 4.3 hrs≥1hr: 71%
Dynamic abstract sandbox universe. Changes and evolves as you do.
Why similar: Space 30.6%, Sandbox 20.2%, Space Sim 15% ★, Physics 9.6%, Open World 8.3%
- #52 Oxygen Not Included
67% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 138,890 reviews2019
Dev: Klei Entertainment
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 8.9 hrsMean: 67.7 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony simulation game. Deep inside an alien space rock your industrious crew will need to master science, overcome strange new lifeforms, and harness incredible space tech to survive, and possibly, thrive.
Why similar: Building 24.6%, Sandbox 16.8%, Space 14.5%, Space Sim 8.9% ★, Difficult 8.5%
- #53 Archean
67% matchVery Positive88% of 236 reviews2024
Dev: batcholi
Windows · Linux
Gather resources, craft components, build vehicles, and code their logic in a physics-driven engineering sandbox and full scale space sim.
Why similar: Science 19.8% ★, Space Sim 14.8% ★, Building 10.4%, Space 10.3%, Sandbox 10.1%
- #54 Flight Of Nova
68% matchVery Positive94% of 513 reviews2022
Dev: Aerovery Lab
Windows · Linux
Flight of Nova is a simulator based on newtonian mechanics in which you control spacecraft in the Noren star system. You fly multiple types of spacecraft doing transport and search missions in an environment with realistic aerodynamics and orbital physics.
Why similar: Space Sim 26.7% ★, Physics 11.6%, Sandbox 11.2%, Space 9.7%, Open World 9.4%
- #55 Interstellar Rift
69% matchMixed68% of 1,655 reviews2020
Dev: Split PolygonPub: Iceberg Interactive
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 33.2 hrs≥1hr: 83%
Interstellar Rift is an open world starship simulator with an emphasis on ship construction and multi-player interaction. Survive in a hostile galaxy with your own custom designed and constructed starship. Invite other players to join your crew or fight them across the galaxy!
Why similar: Space Sim 25% ★, Building 15.5%, Sandbox 13.7%, Space 13.6%, Open World 10.6%
- #56 Kinetic Void
73% matchOverwhelmingly Negative17% of 1,556 reviews2014
Dev: Badland Studio
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.9 hrsMean: 3.6 hrs≥1hr: 76%
Kinetic Void is a 3D space adventure with a focus on customization and enjoyable space simulation. The shipyard allows players to construct their ship piece by piece. Ships can be as simplistic as a cockpit, a hull, a engine and a gun, or as complex as a player wants.
Why similar: Space 36.8%, Sandbox 17.5%, Space Sim 11.4% ★, Building 9.6%, Simulation 9.6%
- #57 StarbaseSim
66% matchVery Positive97% of 59 reviews2025
Dev: AshtorakSimGames
Windows · Linux
Operate the Starship space launch system and learn how to catch a rocket to understand what it takes to colonize Mars in this ever-evolving simulation of SpaceX Starbase Texas.
Why similar: Space Sim 33.4% ★, Sandbox 20.8%, Space 12.5%, Simulation 8.9%, Realistic 8.8%
- #58 ASTRONEER
66% matchVery Positive92% of 136,711 reviews2019
Dev: System Era Softworks
Windows
Median: 11.7 hrsMean: 44.1 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Interact with strange new worlds in a unique and tactile way, molding the environment itself as if it were clay in your hands. Build your base, master resource management, automate your production lines, and more as you unravel the mysteries of the universe, alone or with friends.
Why similar: Space 24.6%, Open World 16.2%, Sandbox 16%, Building 14.2%, Exploration 9.1%
- #59 Surviving Mars: Relaunched
65% matchMixed52% of 1,856 reviews2025
Dev: Haemimont GamesPub: Paradox Interactive
Windows
Median: 12.4 hrsMean: 26.6 hrs≥1hr: 90%
The award-winning sci-fi city builder is back - remastered, expanded and even more stunning. Colonize Mars and survive the process, from exploration and infrastructure to welcoming colonists and achieving long-term stability. Are you ready? Mars is waiting.
Why similar: Space 20.7%, Moddable 20.7% ★, Building 17.6%, Realistic 11%, Open World 10.4%
