The gaming world has been treated to a lot of fantastic sci-fi games over the years. Many of them have you flying through space in a ship, whether it's the Normandy from Mass Effect or the Mantis from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. They're great ships, but they're pre-made and you can't change them too much.
Great minds from these universes created these vessels. However, some games don't need fancy engineers. They allow you to craft or modify your own ship with varying degrees of success. This allows you to give the vehicle you're flying through space an extra personal touch, so it's a nice mechanic. The following titles do it best.
Avorion
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Release date |
March 9, 2020 |
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Systems |
PC and Mac. |
Avorion is a sandbox game set in space where you explore, trade and fight with the help of a luxury spaceship. And that ship is the one you designed for yourself. This doesn't just mean some customization. In this game, you can actually build your vessel from scratch, block by block. There aren't many restrictions.
At first, your ships may look a little plain and boxy, like they were built in Minecraft. However, as you gain more experience, you will begin to understand more about the tools at your disposal, and you will be able to make more complex vessels with minute details. This gives you the potential to create some very impressive and distinctive designs. Basic ships can also be very efficient, so you don't have to be a creative genius to make some functional vessels in this game.
Space Engineers
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Release date |
February 28, 2019 |
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Systems |
PC, PS4, PS5 and Xbox One. |
Space Engineers is a sandbox game about building things. Some of the things you can make include space stations, robots, drones and of course spaceships. You can build ships completely from scratch. This means that in survival mode you literally place each block and use a welding torch to attach it. So in theory you can make the ship look however you want.
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Still, if you want to use the craft in any way, you need it to be able to fly and actually do things. Therefore, the jets and oxygen tanks are pretty important, but there are many other things you may need to add depending on the purpose of the ship. It's all very technical and the ship building mechanics are very deep.
Kerbal Space Program
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Release date |
April 27, 2015 |
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Systems |
PC, Mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Linux. |
Building ships is what the Kerbal Space Program is all about. You are in charge of a space program for an alien species. In career mode, you have to manage several different aspects of the space program, but crafting ships is the main focus of each mode. You have enough freedom to do that. There is a litany of different parts that you can connect together to rustle up some kind of vessel.
Then, when you make your ship, you have to launch it into space, or at least try to launch it into space. You will most likely fail on the first try. This game is all about experimentation. You try different things until your ship actually breaks through the atmosphere and reaches space without exploding. It's an interesting and sometimes comical process.
Space pirates and zombies 2
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Release date |
November 7, 2017 |
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Systems |
PC, Mac and Linux. |
Just by the name, you can assume that this is a rather unique game. After all, while there are plenty of zombie games out there, you don't often see them in space pirates. However, this game brings them both together. It also has a solid ship customization feature.
You can attach and remove parts of your ship as you see fit. And much of the game is about flying around space and finding new parts to add to your craft. You start with junk and gradually get better stuff as you play. Once you get deep into the game, you can start creating very large and strange looking ships. They will help deal with the large number of enemies that you will encounter while traveling through space.
Space Haven
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Release date |
May 21, 2020 |
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Systems |
PC, Mac and Linux |
Most games where you can build and modify ships focus on the exterior of the vessel. This is not the case with Space Haven. In this game, it's all about the interior. You have to include all kinds of things to accommodate your crew. So they will need toilets, beds, places to eat and anything else to keep them alive and comfortable.
This is because the game is all about managing your crew and making sure their needs are met. But that doesn't mean you can't make a funny shaped ship. After all, you can also build the vessel tile by tile into any design you wish. This means that you need to make sure that it is shaped so that it does not interfere with the comfort of your people.
No Man's Sky
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Release date |
August 9, 2016 |
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Systems |
PC, Mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. |
No Man's Sky is one of the most improved games in recent times thanks to the constant updates and additions the developer has provided over the years. One of these additions was the ability to create and modify ships. This process is known as shipbuilding, where you take parts you've salvaged from other vessels to build new ones.
The process is fairly simple compared to the ship building mechanics seen in some other games. That's because it's just a small part of the big game. However, you can still make some nice looking creations to fly through space and explore different planets.
Star field
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Release date |
September 6, 2023 |
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Systems |
PC and Xbox Series X|S. |
Starfield is a very large action RPG with a wide variety of mechanics. Therefore, the game is not built around the concept of building ships, and you would understand if this aspect of the game was a little minimal. However, this is not very true. There are plenty of customization options for the Starfield ship. If you have the parts and creativity, you can make all kinds of containers.
The game doesn't allow you to start from scratch, but you can take an existing ship and change it a lot. There are a lot of things to think about when building a vessel, such as weight management and considering what type of ship you want to create. So this part of the game is quite complex. But if you can get your bearings, you'll be flying through space in a beautiful looking ship in no time.
To Boldly Go: The Best Space Exploration Games
For anyone who has ever wanted to explore the vast expanses of space, these games are an absolute must!