Steam sales, your wallet’s final frontier, a chance to boldly add more games to your cart than any man has before. Sure the huge summer sale has already passed but the PC gaming storefront is always running some new event offering amazing deals on equally amazing games. This time around the savings are focused on titles that let you embrace your inner space explorer.
The Steam Space Exploration Fest is on and it runs from now until September 9 at 1 p.m. EST, so you have just under a week to take advantage of its deals. All the games with discounts during the event bring their own unique spin to the sci-fi genre, be it strategy, action adventure, open world RPG, or co-op fun.
To help you make sense of all the games you can get for cheap, here are nine titles we think you shouldn’t miss.
No Man’s Sky
The massive procedurally generated space survival game was once one of the biggest disappointments in gaming. When No Man’s Sky first released in 2016 it failed to live up to the lofty promises made by developer Hello Games prior to launch. Yet, over many years the studio has slowly updated and changed its underlying systems to not only meet those original expectations from fans and help rebuild trust, but eventually surpass those expectations. In 2024, No Man’s Sky is perhaps the most definitive game for those seeking a unique space fantasy that lets you explore, catalog, and conquer the great unknown.
Star Trucker
I respect, but don’t quite understand, the popularity of realistic driving sims like American Truck Simulator. Growing up in Los Angeles, driving around in my free time just to drive was a favorite pastime. There is something about the monotonous act of just cruising down roads with the radio on that feels meditative, but for me at least, doing that in a game just doesn’t hit the same. If you feel similarly then maybe change the setting to space. Star Trucker is exactly that, a realistic driving simulator with the exception of the extra-planetary routes you’ll be undertaking.
Stellaris
If you’d rather spend your time with a strategy game that will let you sink dozens of hours into building up your own space empire as you play cutthroat political games then Stellaris is for you. From the same team behind strategy heavy hitters like the Crusader Kings and Victoria series, Stellaris takes Paradox Interactive’s deftly crafted 4X gameplay and transfers it to a grand galactic theater. If you’ve ever thought that, actually, the political part of the Star Wars prequels was fascinating, you can guide your own rise to power amongst the stars.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Space isn’t all that friendly, especially in Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. In this co-up adventure, you and up to three friends man your spaceship against the seemingly constant threats of deep space. Communication is key in this joint adventure that requires you to run around your ship and man the proper stations to stay alive. Like any good party game, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is easy to pick up, hard to master, and just hectic enough to cause the right amount of chaos amongst your group.
Kerbal Space Program
How hard can it really be to build a rocket? Turns out extremely, but thanks to Kerbal Space Program it can also be extremely funny. The space flight simulation title bases its building and launching of rockets and other spacecraft off of completely realistic physics. The humorous twist are the titular Kerbals, silly looking aliens who are your guinea pigs. The meat of Kerbal Space Program is its incredibly intricate building systems that challenge you to make effective spaceships, but your many failures are made easier by the presence of the Kerbals at all times. Sometimes you might find yourself making the most failure prone craft you can just to see how it treats your willing victims.
The Outer Worlds
Fallout in space. That’s the pitch for The Outer Worlds—which is not to be confused with Outer Wilds, another great space exploration title currently not on sale. Developed by Fallout: New Vegas creator Obsidian Entertainment, The Outer Worlds brings the studio’s signature player-centric open-world RPG design to a space setting rife with sharp satire and western homages. The ability to choose how you approach situations (be it with a gun or with your words) in many major story beats and more minor interactions creates a living breathing world that makes the player feel truly important in more ways than just being the protagonist of a predetermined story. Running around and uncovering every little detail of The Outer Worlds setting is worthwhile, as its frontier western twist on the space adventure is perfectly pulpy.
FTL: Faster Than Light
In the twelve years since FTL released it feels like the roguelike genre has absolutely ballooned in popularity, yet FTL remains one of the absolute best to ever do it. You take control of a spaceship’s crew and make your way to your destination while being constantly attacked by enemies. While staying alive is paramount, FTL is much more management-based as you need to choose the proper crew and equipment as well as direct said crew to stations across these ships in order to avoid defeat. The fast-paced but highly strategic and customizable nature of each encounter makes returning to FTL over and over again a joy.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series
As far as original sci-fi settings go, The Expanse series (both the books and the TV show) are up there. From the mind of writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck—under the pen name James S. A. Corey—The Expanse is a gritty realistic version of space filled with high political tensions and space-based class disparity that leads to some incredible story arcs. The Telltale Series based on the TV show continues that thrilling world in a slightly more interactive form and centers around one of the show’s best characters, Camina Drummer. You shouldn’t feel intimidated if you’ve never read or watched The Expanse, as the game is a great starting point.
The Banished Vault
Space is an unknowable void. It is uncaring, cold, and will kill you. You cannot defeat a force of nature like it. That is the conceit behind The Banished Vault, a space-faring strategy/management game unlike any other on this list. You control a massive colony ship as it jumps from system to system as it constantly flees for an encroaching plague. Each system has planets and potential resources to find that can prolong your inhabitants’ lives from the inevitability of their deaths. There isn’t a real sense of victory in The Banished Vault, just a sense of ephemeral survival that can quickly be taken from you. This helplessness in the face of space makes for a thrilling gameplay loop that somehow hooks you in, compelling you to try to survive just a bit longer each time.
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