Best Open World Games Set Across Multiple Planets

by

Summary

  • Starbound offers expansive multi-planet exploration with distinct biomes and colonies to shape.
  • Astroneer’s physics-based environment offers diverse planets with hazards and different challenges.
  • No Man’s Sky provides seamless travel across an endless universe with diverse planets and customization.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed how expansive open-world games have become over time, granting us larger and larger realms to traverse, some even extending to multiple planets for endless exploration. While some games masterfully encapsulate the entire narrative and content within a single world, it’s always refreshing to have the freedom to venture beyond those boundaries and experience new locales.

Various games offer rich, expansive settings, complete with multiple planets – some serene and others potentially dangerous. Other titles prefer a more modest approach yet allow players freedom to traverse worlds at their leisure. Regardless of the choice, soaring from planet to planet is an extraordinary sensation, greatly enhancing the space exploration fantasy in a delightful manner.

8. Starbound

Billions Of Planets To Conquer And Explore

Starbound presents an incredibly vast and imaginative portrayal of multi-planetary exploration within gaming. In this game, you start off stranded on just one planet, but soon acquire the skills to navigate through space. This feature allows you to visit a multitude of planets, each featuring unique landscapes, weather conditions, and obstacles.

This game offers a flexible design where players can dig up resources, grow their colonies across vast territories as they prefer, and engage with various civilizations that are randomly generated. The liberty to explore different star systems and customize each planet according to personal taste inspires players to venture further in exploration and base development. This game stands out for its advanced procedural planetary content and space travel freedom, presented in a compact 2D style.

7. Astroneer

Planetary Exploration In A Physics-Based Environment

Astroneer offers a captivating space expedition experience where players collaborate to shape alien planets, traverse various cosmic destinations, and tackle the unique hurdles each planet presents. The initial mining and construction tasks grow into intricate bases customizable according to individual requirements and preferences.

Each planet’s dangers significantly influence the way players interact with them. Harsh weather conditions and poisonous landscapes pose significant risks to the players, whereas low-gravity zones provide additional avenues for movement and discovery, ensuring that no two journeys are identical and every newly explored world is unique.

6. Outer Wilds

Puzzles And Mysteries In A Bite-Sized Solar System

In simple terms, Outer Wilds offers an intricately designed open-world adventure set within a confined solar system. Each planet is self-contained with unique physical laws and puzzles waiting to be explored. The entire cosmic neighborhood is trapped in a time loop, urging players to carefully observe their surroundings and unravel mysteries at their leisure.

This game encourages exploration through a story-based method, using the environment as a means of storytelling and piquing curiosity as its main motivators. There are no assigned missions, markers, or combat mechanisms; instead, players are drawn to explore and unravel the solar system’s enigmas. Each planet presents a distinct challenge that stimulates critical thinking and provides a singular, unparalleled experience that transcends current offerings.

5. Elite Dangerous

Seamless Space And Planetary Travel

In simpler terms, Elite Dangerous is a game that delivers an incredibly realistic space exploration experience, encompassing an entire Milky Way galaxy with over 400 billion star systems ready to be explored. The Horizons expansion allows players not only to travel across these stars but also to land on planets and traverse their surfaces using various vehicles, thereby expanding the possibilities for discovery.

Experiencing multiple diverse realms significantly boosts the main mechanic of trade and excavation within the game. Seamless transitions between outer space and ground ensure a consistent sense of immersion and authenticity, while the vast expanse of the cosmos makes each landing seem like a momentous step in an epic lifetime journey.

4. Mass Effect: Andromeda

Hostile Planets Just Waiting To Be Uncovered

In a significant leap for the series, Mass Effect: Andromeda broadens the franchise scope by presenting numerous expansive open-world planets scattered throughout the Andromeda galaxy. Each world showcases unique climates and landscapes that influence gameplay dynamics. Various tools designed for space travel and planetary exploration enable seamless transitions between planets, whether it’s for mission purposes or to roam freely and discover their hidden gems.

The planets in this game aren’t automatically created but instead are carefully designed, rich in narrative detail and strategic goals. Players have options to establish bases, claim outposts, and choose between battles or negotiations, which gives each planet a sense of importance. This game combines an expansive world design with story development, so every advancement not only pushes the plot forward but also lets players appreciate the stunning surroundings in full detail.

3. The Outer Worlds

Corporate Control Across An Entire Galaxy

In “The Outer Worlds,” action unfolds across various planets and moons within the Halcyon system. While travel is quick thanks to fast-travel, each planetary destination serves as a unique centerpoint brimming with activities for players to delve into and discover.

As an explorer at heart, I can’t help but be captivated by the vibrant, living worlds each planet presents. From the moment I step foot onto these alien landscapes, I feel fully immersed. The game’s design invites me to roam freely, with intriguing story tidbits and rich lore hidden just beyond every bend. With each step into the open expanses, I uncover more about the world and its mysteries, making my journey not just a physical one, but a journey of discovery as well.

2. Starfield

Open-World Biomes Full Of Settlements And Secrets To Solve

The Bethesda space adventure that enthusiasts have long awaited is called Starfield. This game allows players to design their characters extensively, after which they embark on a journey through the cosmos. With numerous chances to hop from one planet to another, they can also engage in quests sprawling across entire celestial systems.

The game may not provide a smooth transition between planetary exploration and space travel, but it allows players to move between vibrant worlds teeming with interactive characters, making each gaming session feel purposeful. Additionally, it offers numerous systems that heighten the impact of player choices, such as tracking bounties for thefts and crimes, creating a universe where every decision matters in a way that few other games have achieved.

1. No Man’s Sky

Survival In An Endless Universe

In simpler terms, “No Man’s Sky” is an extraordinary space exploration game where players can fly their ships through a virtually boundless universe, freely landing on any planet they fancy. Each landing offers opportunities for valuable resources and breathtaking landscapes, but also presents dangers that could endanger the player, making each planet unique and intriguing.

In this game, the extent of freedom is virtually limitless, offering a multitude of choices when it comes to constructing bases and personalizing ships. Players could easily lose track of time as they meticulously adjust their vessels without ever venturing beyond the surface. This game stands out as the epitome of open-world gaming, and for those seeking an entire cosmos within reach, it’s an ideal choice to immerse themselves in.

Read More

2025-07-22 13:35