Space – the final frontier. One that, in reality, is still just beyond the reach of mankind. But in the objectively better and far cooler world of video games, space exploration is thriving.
July 20th marks space exploration day. We’re going to infinity and beyond to recommend you a whole constellation of star-faring titles to fulfill any cosmic fantasy you have. We do mean any.
No Man’s Sky
The game that boldly dared to do what no game had done before. No Man’s Sky shot for the stars at launch, fell short, but has steadily course-corrected itself over the years. Indeed, this is probably the first game on many people’s minds these days when they think of interstellar adventuring. With 18 quintillion procedurally generated planets for you to find, settle, mine, and research, there’s no better game if you want the thrill of discovery space exploration promises.
We took a look at the tumultuous yet ultimately heart warming journey No Man’s Sky took to become the beloved game it is today.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Often cited as gaming’s answer to Star Wars, the original Mass Effect trilogy is a work of sci-fi art. The Legendary Edition is the best way for players old and new to experience this space opera epic. Across the games, you play as Commander Shepard. Charting your iconic spaceship, the SSV Normandy, around the Milky Way galaxy, you’ll encounter bands of pirates, deadly AI, and conspiracies that threaten the lives of every species in the system. Taking on suicide missions, building a lovable misfit crew, and shooting the bad guys is all in a day’s work for this intrepid space explorer.
Mass Effect has made its mark on gaming. Read up on its history, full of highs and lows.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
If you want a sprinkling of irreverence in your space exploration, you can’t go wrong with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Based on their comics and film counterparts, you’ll play as the rag-tag team’s leader Star-Lord, aka, Peter Quill. Blending all-guns-blazing combat and story-driven gameplay, you’ll have as much fun kicking back with your squad as you will flying around the galaxy in the Milano. Oh, and you might just save the universe once or twice along the way.
Marvel has been celebrating some milestone anniversaries recently. To mark the occasion, we rounded up some of the best Marvel games you can currently play.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Putting the star in Star Wars, this LEGO game knows exactly what fans want out of the franchise. Not only do you get to relive the nine films in the Skywalker Saga, reimagined with TravellerTales’ signature brand of humour, but you get to venture throughout the galaxy far, far away as you move from mission to mission! Choose from over 300 iconic Star Wars characters, jump behind the wheel of your favourite spaceship, and hop from Tatooine to Dagoba for real. Space exploration not only rewards you with upgrades and unlockable content, but you’ll get a few interstellar dogfights with Tiefighters and Imperial Star Destroyers in there too!
If you’d like a full breakdown of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, then we have the article for you!
Starfield
Starfield, the newest IP from Bethesda, promises thousands of planets to explore, in a ship you can customise. You take to the stars with Constellation, the last remaining group of explorers on the hunt for priceless artefacts and more. (Space exploration is just sci-fi pirates, and I will die on this hill.) Discover untold biomes, bustling cities, and dangerous territory, all populated with a diverse cast of characters.
We were lucky enough to get a review copy of Starfield. Read up on our first impressions of this space RPG.
The Outer Worlds
If you prefer your space exploration games with a greater sense of detachment from reality than normal, then The Outer Worlds is the one for you. Developers Obsidian Entertainment brought the same magic they put into Fallout: New Vegas to this title. This sci-fi RPG sees you play as a recently unfrozen colonist. You awaken to discover the galaxy dominated by a corporation and filled with wild planets, colourful characters, zany weapons, and extraterrestrial monstrosities for you to blast.
None of these quite hitting the spot? Well, there’s always more space to explore. How about starting with Everspace 2?
Get a Setup Built for Space Exploration
Is your gaming PC built to shoot for the stars? Do you have the peripherals to pop between planets? In short, does your setup need an injection of rocket fuel? Here at Overclockers UK, we have plenty of hardware to help you in your digital space exploration.
OcUK Gaming Firefly Plus (FS-1DY-OG)
Be ready to explore the ‘Verse with the lightning-fast performance of the Firefly Plus. Providing the processing power needed for take-off to this gaming PC is an Intel Core i5-12400F CPU. In addition, it has hybrid core technology that lets you effortlessly stream and chat as you game across the galaxy. With the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU you can see the stars in all their detail, thanks to gaming-focused features such as ray tracing and AI upscaling. What’s more, the Firefly Plus packs flexible storage options, offering primary and secondary SSDs for ultra-fast performance and high capacity.
Better yet, the Firefly Plus is one of our configurable PCs, meaning you can adjust the base spec to best suit your needs. Customise the PC case, CPU, memory, GPU, SSDs, and operating system. Please note, any changes will affect the pricing.
LG UltraGear 27GP850P-B 27” Gaming Monitor (27GP850P-B.AEK)
If your gaming PC has got the graphical prowess to show off the wonders of space, you need a gaming monitor to get the most from it. The LG UltraGear 27GP850P-B Gaming Monitor is a great choice to experience the final frontier. Thanks to Nano IPS technology, this 27” screen can support the vivid colour and sharp details of even the most extraterrestrial planets. With an ultra-fast 165Hz refresh rate and both AMD Free-Sync and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility, this gaming monitor is sure to offer you a smooth experience.
Glorious Model D- Optical Gaming Mouse – Matte White (GLO-MS-DM-MW)
If you’re in need of a new gaming mouse to chart your way across space, then the Glorious Model D- could be the one for you. With its small form factor and super low-friction gliders, it’ll be easy to guide across your mouse pad. With its highly-accurate optical sensor, you can take advantage of up to 12,000 DPI as you game. It’s full of style too, with its iconic honeycomb shell design and dazzling RGB lighting to go with its sleek white colour scheme.
Explore the Stars
What is your go-to game to explore the stars above? Let us know in the comments – we’re always looking for new games to add to our libraries!
PC specs are subject to change.
- 6 min read
Jacob Smith
Author
Jacob is a passionate gamer, plus a noted Pokemon and LEGO nutjob, who emerges only when doing the words here at Overclockers UK. Since starting at the tail end of 2021, Jacob has gone on to write dozens of blogs on everything from the latest games to whimsical Dickens-inspired poetry. Outside of creating content and being the one person in the office daring to champion Nintendo, he is often found fawning over his Pokemon card collection and his trio of lovely doggos.
Read More >>