Games Like No Man's Sky

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: Open World Survival Craft 35.7% ★, Space 15.2%, Open World 13.3%, Survival 8.3%, Multiplayer 5.9%

Why You'll Like It: It captures the same planet-hopping sandbox loop with co-op, resource gathering, base building, and a colorful sci-fi sense of discovery.

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: Open World Survival Craft 30.4% ★, Space 13.2%, Open World 10.9%, Space Sim 9.2% ★, Survival 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: It leans harder into combat and survival, but building bases and ships across multiple planets makes it one of the closest full sandboxes to No Man's Sky.

A space survival open world terraforming crafting game, designed for 1 to 10 players. Alter the ecosystem of an inhospitable planet to render it habitable for humanity. Survive, gather resources, and build your base. Then, generate oxygen, warmth, and pressure to create a brand new biosphere.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 37.8% ★, Space 13.3%, Open World 11.6%, Survival 8.4%, Sandbox 6.1%

Why You'll Like It: Its core loop of exploring an alien world, harvesting resources, crafting upgrades, and slowly transforming the environment feels very close to No Man's Sky's planetary progression.

Survive in outer space! Together with your immortal chicken, discover the truth behind your sudden spaceship crash. Craft tools, pilot vehicles, and even control space stations to survive and explore the wreckage.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 38.9% ★, Space 16%, Survival 7.9%, Open World 7.2%, Sandbox 7%

Why You'll Like It: It translates the survival-crafting formula into a quirky space setting with scavenging, suit management, and constant environmental hazards.

You’ve fled your home, only to find yourself lost in space with a damaged ship. Your only option is to beam down to the planet below, repair your ship and set off to explore the universe...

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 44.6% ★, Space 11.6%, Sandbox 8.8%, Open World 8.8%, Survival 6.6%

Why You'll Like It: It offers procedural planets, survival-lite progression, base building, and constant incentives to explore new worlds, just in 2D.

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 21.2%, Open World 18.1%, Space Sim 16.7% ★, Survival 11.6%, Sandbox 11.1%

Why You'll Like It: If your favorite part of No Man's Sky is mining, building, and engineering your own way through space, this offers a deeper sandbox version of that fantasy.

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 24.8%, Space Sim 20.7% ★, Open World 18.8%, Sci-fi 8.9%, Exploration 7.7%

Why You'll Like It: It matches the scale and fantasy of flying through a massive galaxy, landing on worlds, and carving out your own spacefaring life, though with more sim depth and less crafting.

Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 43.6% ★, Open World 13.5%, Survival 10.2%, Exploration 6.4%, Crafting 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: It swaps space for ocean, but the lonely exploration, survival crafting, scanning, and wonder of uncovering an alien ecosystem are extremely similar in feel.

A first-person survival game set on a post-apocalyptic, ecologically ruined Earth. Play solo or with up to 3 friends as you build, upgrade, and fly a high-tech airship. Scavenge resources, craft tools, and face dangers on the surface as you hunt for a cure to save humanity.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 37.6% ★, Open World 14.6%, Survival 9.5%, Exploration 7.6%, Crafting 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: Its loop of exploring a ruined sci-fi world, gathering materials, upgrading your mobile base, and chasing curiosity-driven discoveries feels very No Man's Sky-adjacent.

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 31.6%, Open World 24.6%, Sci-fi 12.6%, Space Sim 9.9% ★, Exploration 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: While more RPG-driven and less systemic, it still offers a broad sci-fi universe of ship travel, scanning, looting, base building, and planetary exploration.

Dive into a freezing underwater adventure on an alien planet. Below Zero is set two years after the original Subnautica. Return to Planet 4546B to uncover the truth behind a deadly cover-up. Survive by building habitats, crafting tools, & diving deeper into the world of Subnautica.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 45% ★, Open World 13.2%, Survival 9.8%, Exploration 5.8%, Sci-fi 4.5%

Why You'll Like It: Like No Man's Sky, it mixes exploration, crafting, vehicles, and environmental survival with a strong sense of charting the unknown.

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 20.7%, Open World 19.5%, Sandbox 11.5%, Survival 11.2%, Crafting 9.3%

Why You'll Like It: This focuses on realistic off-world survival, base building, vehicles, and planetary resource management in a way that scratches the colonizing-an-alien-planet itch.

Grab your jetpack and explore procedural asteroid fields, derelict spaceships and abandoned outposts. Build and automate your Space Rig to process scavenged trash. Craft, trade and fight your way home in this interstellar, open-world survival sandbox.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 32.6% ★, Space 12.8%, Open World 10.1%, Survival 7.1%, Procedural Generation 6.7%

Why You'll Like It: Its relaxed loop of scavenging debris, crafting upgrades, and building a space outpost captures the low-pressure survival side of No Man's Sky.

You are the lone survivor orbiting a potential new home planet, tethered to what’s left of your ship. Gather nearby debris and assemble a make-shift vessel in an attempt to survive the harsh realities of space. Maybe you'll live long enough to uncover the truth behind the ship's malfunction...

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 35.5% ★, Space 14.4%, Survival 8.2%, Open World 7.3%, Crafting 6.4%

Why You'll Like It: It centers on surviving and crafting in open space with a light, approachable sandbox structure that echoes No Man's Sky's survival loop.

ICARUS is a solo or multiplayer PvE survival game. Explore a savage wilderness in the aftermath of terraforming gone wrong. Complete narrative quests as either Open World operations or Individual Missions. Explore, build, craft and hunt while seeking your fortune and prospecting for exotic matter.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 41.5% ★, Open World 11.9%, Survival 10.8%, Space 9.3%, Multiplayer 6.5%

Why You'll Like It: This keeps the drop-into-a-hostile-world survival-crafting loop and cooperative exploration, even if it trades interstellar travel for session-based planetside survival.

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 23.9%, Open World 20%, Space Sim 19.9% ★, Sandbox 13%, Sci-fi 10.8%

Why You'll Like It: It offers a giant procedural galaxy where you build ships, gather resources, expand your capabilities, and explore at your own pace.

"WELCOME TO THE PIONEER PROGRAM! As the newest recruit of Kindred Aerospace - The 4th best interstellar space exploration company - Your job is to determine if the planet ARY-26 planet is fit for humans. You may be short on equipment and experience, but you'll figure it out. Good luck!

Why similar: Exploration 32.7%, Multiplayer 24.3%, First-Person 16.6%, Adventure 11.3%, Sci-fi 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: This nails the playful alien-world exploration side of No Man's Sky with scanning, traversal upgrades, and vibrant first-person discovery.

Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory building game with a dash of exploration and combat. Play alone or with friends, explore an alien planet, create multi-story factories, and enter conveyor belt heaven!

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 26.7% ★, Open World 21.6%, Crafting 10.1%, Sandbox 9.8%, Multiplayer 9%

Why You'll Like It: It replaces galaxy travel with one huge alien planet, but the first-person exploration, scanning, harvesting, and building progression can feel very familiar.

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 23.3%, Space Sim 20.1% ★, Open World 14.3%, Sandbox 12.9%, Exploration 9.9%

Why You'll Like It: This is a deeper and more simulation-heavy take on the open-ended space sandbox, emphasizing freedom, ships, exploration, and empire building.

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 35.2%, Open World 20.3%, Exploration 17%, Sci-fi 9.9%, First-Person 5.2%

Why You'll Like It: If the best part of No Man's Sky for you is pure cosmic wonder and uncovering mysteries across planets, this is one of the strongest exploration games ever made.

You were deep in uncharted space on a research mission. Disaster struck. Together with your friends, explore a mysterious asteroid field and mine whatever resources possible to build what you need to survive.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 42.1% ★, Space 16%, Survival 9%, Exploration 5.8%, Crafting 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: It focuses on the vulnerable early-game fantasy of staying alive, gathering supplies, and building up from almost nothing in space.

Embark on a journey of survival, crafting, and automation in Eden Crafters, a solo and co-op open-world game that challenges you to turn a hostile planet into a habitable haven for humanity. Temper the climate, create a breathable atmosphere, and turn toxic lakes into water: shape a new world!

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 41.3% ★, Open World 13.1%, Space 11.8%, Sandbox 8%, Survival 7.5%

Why You'll Like It: Terraforming an alien planet while building infrastructure and harvesting resources makes it a strong fit for the exploratory crafting side of No Man's Sky.

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 35.6%, Open World 28%, Exploration 13.7%, Sci-fi 12.5%, Adventure 4.1%

Why You'll Like It: It is more combat-focused, but its spacefaring progression, loot-driven exploration, and moving through distinct star systems still hit some of the same sci-fi adventure notes.

TerraTech Worlds is an open world, build-craft adventure game, set on an uncharted alien world. Play solo or with friends, explore your surroundings, craft unique vehicles, construct automated bases, and battle your way through hazards and enemies to harness the power of your environment

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 38.2% ★, Open World 13.2%, Survival 8.4%, Sandbox 8.2%, Space 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: Exploring a large world while harvesting resources, crafting machinery, and building modular vehicles makes it a good sandbox alternative with a lighter tone.

Starcom: Unknown Space is an action RPG of space exploration and adventure. Build your own starship while discovering an epic story in a universe of strange mysteries, alien factions and uncharted worlds.

Why similar: Space 32.9%, Open World 21.6%, Space Sim 17.8% ★, Exploration 11%, Sci-fi 9.8%

Why You'll Like It: This offers open-ended sci-fi exploration, ship upgrading, and charting the unknown, capturing No Man's Sky's curiosity-driven side from a top-down perspective.

In Lightyear Frontier you use your powerful trusty mech to farm on a large beautiful alien planet. Settle your homestead, farm and deliver produce to remote colonies, gather and manage resources, build, craft, explore, expand, improve your mech, meet neighbors, and make a place to call your own.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 41.4% ★, Open World 12.7%, Survival 8%, Sandbox 7.8%, Crafting 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: Its gentle alien-world exploration, resource gathering, and base-building progression make it a good pick for players who enjoy No Man's Sky at its most relaxed.

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: Space 29.3%, Survival 17%, Sandbox 15.6%, Sci-fi 14.6%, Crafting 12.7%

Why You'll Like It: This is a much more hardcore take on surviving and building on hostile planets, ideal if you want the systems side of No Man's Sky pushed further.

A brutal exploration and survival game for 1-10 players, set in a procedurally-generated purgatory inspired by viking culture. Battle, build, and conquer your way to a saga worthy of Odin’s patronage!

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 47.4% ★, Open World 15.3%, Survival 10.6%, Multiplayer 6.6%, Crafting 6.1%

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 30.7%, Open World 20.2%, Exploration 10.8%, Sandbox 9.1%, Sci-fi 8.8%

Why You'll Like It: It is a rougher indie sandbox, but the seamless fantasy of flying a ship through space, landing on planets, and exploring freely is very much in No Man's Sky's spirit.

Dig, fight, explore, build! Nothing is impossible in this action-packed adventure game. Four Pack also available!

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 49.7% ★, Sandbox 11%, Survival 9.2%, Open World 8.7%, Multiplayer 6.4%

Planet Explorers is an open world sandbox adventure RPG game set on a distant planet. The game uses a new OpenCL calculated voxel system to allow players to change the terrain in any way, create new objects such as weapons, vehicles, objects, and do it anywhere.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 45.8% ★, Open World 15.5%, Sandbox 10.3%, Survival 7.1%, Crafting 5.1%

Build, quest, and conquer across an infinite procedurally generated world. Play alone or with friends as you establish a settlement and explore deep dungeons, fight monsters and bosses, mine rare ores, craft magical equipment, recruit specialists for your colony, and more!

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 52.4% ★, Open World 12.7%, Sandbox 7.6%, Survival 7.5%, Multiplayer 5.9%

Embark on a galactic journey in Cubic Odyssey, an open-world adventure where you explore vibrant planets, craft tools, build vehicles, and fight the Red Darkness. Uncover ancient mysteries, and shape a universe full of life, danger, and limitless possibilities!

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 36.8% ★, Open World 10.4%, Space 9.9%, Sandbox 7.9%, Sci-fi 7.3%

Stranded on the shores of a mysterious island, you must learn to survive. Use your cunning to kill or tame the primeval creatures roaming the land, and encounter other players to survive, dominate... and escape!

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 51.2% ★, Open World 14.1%, Survival 11.5%, Multiplayer 6.4%, Crafting 5.7%

Star shelter is a space survival game built from the ground up for VR. You are stranded in space, you must climb around in Zero-G, explore, scavenge, craft, hack and fight to survive. You have to build, arm and upgrade your own space station in order to escape the cosmic graveyard.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 30.9% ★, Space 10.5%, Open World 10.4%, Procedural Generation 8.2%, Space Sim 7.6% ★

Take the role of a plane crash survivor stranded somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Come face to face with some of the most life threatening scenarios that will result in a different experience each time you play. Scavenge. Discover. Survive.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 50.9% ★, Open World 12.3%, Survival 11.4%, Multiplayer 6.9%, Crafting 5.6%

GRAV is a sand box experience where you explore a multitude of planets, hunt strange alien creatures, build and defend outposts, craft weapons and armor, and attempt to survive against other players in a hostile environment.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 44.5% ★, Open World 13.8%, Survival 10.1%, Space 9.7%, Sandbox 6.8%

A sandbox adventure game as big as your imagination.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 38.5% ★, Open World 14%, Survival 9.1%, Sandbox 8.8%, Exploration 7.2%

Astrometica is a space exploration and base-building survival game. After a catastrophic event, explore vast space, gather resources, build bases, and uncover cosmic mysteries. Use advanced technology, craft tools, and discover new blueprints to survive and thrive in the unknown.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 20.9% ★, Open World 15%, Space Sim 14.9% ★, Space 14.8%, Survival 9.7%

An open-world galaxy adventure game ✨🚀🌠 Explore a procedurally-generated universe filled with diverse micro-planets, asteroid belts and UFOs. 👽

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 34.2% ★, Space 17.5%, Open World 12.7%, Procedural Generation 11.3%, Sci-fi 8.1%

Crash-land onto a unique and hostile alien world and begin your fight to survive. Face its inhabitants, upgrade your technology, create outposts & bases, and find a way to repair your ship. Explore the beautifully strange terrain, all while blasting and crafting your way off of the planet.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 32.8% ★, Space 13.4%, Open World 11.8%, Space Sim 7.9% ★, Survival 7.5%

Suit up as an operative of the Ark Corporation, sent to the farthest reaches of the universe in search of habitable planets to terraform. However, after the long space journey you awaken from cryosleep to find that your ship has gone way off course and is disabled near a strange new world.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 48.5% ★, Space 11.2%, Sandbox 10.2%, Open World 6.1%, Sci-fi 5.4%

Stars End is a sci-fi survival sandbox set on the wild frontier of a distant star system. Play solo or host your own server as you craft, build, and battle to survive in a galaxy shaped by danger, discovery, and your own grit.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 30.2% ★, Space 12.9%, Open World 9.8%, Space Sim 8.1% ★, Survival 6.9%

Over 20 years of legendary space battles! Explore a massive living universe of danger and opportunity in a challenging and highly rewarding space adventure. Fight, trade, build, and connect with a universe driven and shaped directly by players.

Why similar: Space 24%, Open World 20.9%, Space Sim 19.6% ★, Sandbox 10.3%, Exploration 10.1%

Become a crew member of an Interdimensional Express Train! Discover a new world full of mysterious creatures, enemies and places. Upgrade and customize your train, gather new materials and build better weapons. Play solo or online сo-op with up to 4 people.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 48.7% ★, Open World 11.5%, Survival 8.4%, Multiplayer 5.9%, Crafting 5.6%

A space survival crafting mining base building and star system building game. Craft rockets to create planets and Dyson Rings, mine and craft advanced materials, terraform the terrain, manage electricity, farm food, and more as you watch the star system evolve into stunning, ever-changing views.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 38.7% ★, Space 15.2%, Open World 9%, Crafting 7%, Survival 6.8%

While searching for a new home, an unexpected failure in your ship has left you stranded on a planet surprisingly similar to Earth. Discover a vast open world, hunt for food, develop technologies, and build yourself a new home to survive!

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 45.8% ★, Open World 15.3%, Survival 10.1%, Crafting 6.8%, Exploration 6%

THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 52.7% ★, Open World 13.6%, Survival 13.1%, Exploration 5.3%, Sandbox 3.7%

Experience the first stages of terraforming an entire planet in this space survival open world terraforming crafting game prologue. Explore, survive, collect, build your base then create oxygen, heat and pressure to make an hostile planet livable for humanity.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 38.1% ★, Open World 13%, Survival 9.8%, Space 8.9%, Multiplayer 6.4%

Shape your citizen, forge your destiny and sculpt your world in this epic voxel sandbox MMO built on endless possibility.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 47% ★, Open World 16.2%, Sandbox 10.1%, Crafting 7.1%, Survival 6.5%

Investigate a starship crash, explore a hostile world, build shelters and survive nightly attacks of the Rot. Tear down any structure and experience total freedom of action.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 47.8% ★, Open World 12.4%, Survival 11%, Sandbox 10.1%, Crafting 7.4%

Salt is an open world exploration game where you sail from island to island looking for loot and new discoveries! Relax and explore at your own pace, picking a direction and setting sail across a vast ocean filled with quests, merchants, ruins, pirates, and other mysterious places.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 42.5% ★, Open World 15.7%, Survival 9.8%, Sandbox 6.1%, Crafting 5.8%

Stranded in a hostile alien world, you must fight to survive. Hunt, harvest, craft, advance skills, and build using local resources along with technology from your voyage.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 49.9% ★, Open World 11.6%, Survival 10.7%, Multiplayer 5.4%, Sandbox 5%

Explore a vast cavern of creatures, relics and resources in a mining sandbox adventure for 1-8 players. Mine, build, fight, craft and farm to unravel the mystery of the ancient Core.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 32.8% ★, Open World 14.3%, Procedural Generation 9.4%, Survival 8.9%, Sandbox 8.2%

Explore a galaxy full of wonders in this sci-fi grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studios. Interact with diverse alien races, discover strange new worlds with unexpected events and expand the reach of your empire. Each new adventure holds almost limitless possibilities.

Why similar: Space 38.7%, Sci-fi 15.6%, Sandbox 14.6%, Exploration 11.8%, Procedural Generation 7.5%

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: Survival 28.5%, Space 19.2%, Sandbox 12.9%, Open World 10.2%, Sci-fi 7.1%

EVERSPACE™ combines fast-paced combat with roguelike elements, great visuals and a captivating story. It takes you on a challenging journey through an ever-changing, beautifully crafted universe full of surprises. Shoot, craft and loot your way to victory while the odds are stacked against you.

Why similar: Space 49.5%, Space Sim 18.1% ★, Sci-fi 13.2%, Survival 4.9%, Exploration 3.8%

Signs of Life is a sci-fi survival sandbox platformer with a combination of procedurally generated and hand-crafted content. You'll explore mysterious locations, Mine blocks for resources, and meet strange (and some familiar) creatures, some of which don't even want to kill you and eat your corpse.

Why similar: Open World Survival Craft 47.1% ★, Space 10.6%, Sandbox 9.5%, Survival 8.3%, Open World 7.1%