Nothing quite gives us goosebumps like the sight of spaceships gliding across our screens.
The science-fiction staple is a natural fit for video games. Whether in an atmospheric reveal trailer or in a climatic interstellar dog fight, it’s always an awe-inspiring sight. With World UFO Day turning our eyes to the skies, we wanted to take to the stars ourselves by looking at the best vessels from gaming’s final frontier.
The Dreadnaught (Destiny)
When a spaceship debuts by blowing a hole in Saturn’s ring, it makes you sit up and pay attention. The vessel of the fearsome Taken King is an absolute icon of Destiny and not just because of its scale. The arrival of the Dreadnaught kicked off Year 2, ending the wild west days of vanilla Destiny with plenty of quality-of-life adjustments. The scale of this spaceship is such that it was a whole zone for Guardians to explore. Bigger than some planets that preceded it, the Dreadnaught is filled with activities and secrets that players were discovering for months after launch. Not too shabby for a stationary ship in the stars.
Can’t get enough of Destiny and Destiny 2? Check out our breakdown of The Witch Queen DLC.
Normandy SR-2 (Mass Effect)
Commander Shepard’s signature ship is as much a part of his squad as Wrex or Liara. Never was that truer than in Mass Effect 2, when it was overhauled into the SR-2 by Cerberus. It was a decided upgrade over the original, eliminating the infamous elevator loading, populating areas of the ship with more to explore, and adding in many meaningful moments with your crew. Not only was it your trustworthy transport through the treacherous Terminus system, but a key to success in the endgame’s suicide mission. It’s Mass Effect 3 upgrade is pretty slick, but getting this vessel after seeing the original torn to shreds still brings a tear to the eye.
Mass Effect is a staple in the gaming sphere. Read up on the franchise’s history in our dedicated article.
Stinger Mantis (Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order)
Star Wars is stuffed full of iconic starships that have slipped into the gaming sphere on many occasions. We could easily give the honour to the Millenium Falcon or X-Wing, but as these didn’t originate in video games the crown is going to the Stinger Mantis. Cal Kestis’s personal space taxi clearly took some cues from the Normandy, with crew members you can recruit and interact with, a terrarium you can fill with flora from the planets you visit, and an array of paint jobs you can apply to make the ship really feel like your own.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor continues the story of Fallen Order. Cal Kestis is a fully-fledged Jedi Knight, and the galaxy is falling further into darkness. Can you stand against the Empire?
The Saucer (Destroy All Humans!)
Honestly, there could not be a more fitting entry for World UFO Day than this. The traditional, Roswell-style of this spaceship is a perfect fit for this franchise’s raison d’etre. You’ll be doing everything flying saucers are feared for – shooting lasers, draining the battery out of vehicles, and abducting unsuspecting people – all in the name of the Furon race. You may not be traversing the stars in this particular staple of sci-fi, but its retro appeal cannot be denied.
Thanks to Starfield, we can craft our own iconic spaceships. Check out our handy guide to help you build the best ship ever!
UNSC Pillar of Autumn (Halo)
If you’ll pardon the pun, this absolute pillar of the franchise had some stiff competition. Halo is absolutely jam-packed with starships worthy of mention, including the ring worlds, the Covenant’s High Charity, and the Sabre you pilot for Halo: Reach’s interstellar dogfight. But it’s the Pillar of Autumn exiting slipspace and discovering Installation 04 that kicks off the first game. Not only that, but it plays host to its now-legendary first level. It’s hard to argue with the gargantuan credentials of this colossal vessel.
With so many games under Halo’s belt, there is plenty of space to explore. If you’re itching to see more of the final frontier, why not see which space exploration games we can’t get enough of?
Samus’s Gunship (Metroid)
An oldie but a goodie, the signature starship of intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran has been around since the first Metroid game. The iconic orange gunship has never been officially named, though it is often dubbed ‘helmet’ by fans due to its resemblance to Samus’s own headgear. A purple variant that resembles her Gravity Suit debuted in Metroid Fusion and returned in Metroid Dread. Sadly, no matter the colour, we rarely get to go behind the wheel. Nevertheless, it is a key figure throughout the series that plasters a smile on fans faces.
Everspace 2 is packed with spaceships designed for exciting combat. Dodge, barrel roll, and fire upon your enemies!
USG Ishimura (Dead Space)
Now for a ship that we are all happy to admire from a distance. A very safe distance. At first glance, there’s nothing particularly untoward about the massive mining vessel Ishimura. But under the hood, it has been warped into a veritable hell thanks to hordes of Necromorphes. Yes, this spaceship is the atmospheric setting for Dead Space, where horrors sit around every corner. This floating haunted house is a brilliant and unsettling craft and a key ingredient in the success of its game.
Are you ready for the remake? Here’s everything you need to know about Dead Space’s 2023 remake.
The Ship (Asteroids)
The ruler of retro. The O.G. of outer space. Tsar of the stars. Titan of triangles. We could go on, but suffice to say this simple spaceship is probably the most significant we’re spotlighting. With little more than a few white lines and vector-based gameplay, Asteroids made us believe we were flying among the stars. Yes, it’s far from the most stylish or polished entry on this list. But ask yourself – without this game, would we even have a list?
No one can deny the impact Asteroids has had on gaming. Even when graphics were simple, we wanted to zoom about the cosmos, and this paved the way for the cinematic space RPGs we have today. What other titles have shaped the gaming landscape?
Out of This World Upgrades
If video games have been our gateway to the stars, then our gaming PCs have been our personal spaceships. While we may be grounded at our gaming desks, we can still equip ourselves with out-of-this-world hardware and peripherals. Check out some of the stellar choices we have at Overclockers UK.
Refract Gaming Celeste Pre-Built PC
The Celeste is a gaming PC ready-made to pilot your spaceship of choice, with a fitting name to boot. Equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU and 32GB of DDR5 RAM, it has all the power needed for you to blast off to the final frontier. With its NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Graphics Card, the Celeste has the graphical prowess needed to bring stunning detail to every new planet you step foot on. Plus, all Refract Gaming PCs come with a three-year parts and labour warranty as standard.
OcUK Gaming Firefly Plus Configurable PC
Explore the ‘Verse with the Firefly Plus’ lightning-fast performance. Providing ample processing power to this PC is an Intel Core i5 12400F CPU, with hybrid core technology that lets you effortlessly game, stream, and chat all at once! With your choice of NVIDIA RTX 30 and 40 Series GPUs, you can unlock stunning graphical prowess at a budget that suits you. What’s more, the Firefly Plus packs flexible storage options, offering up to two ultra-fast SSDs to provide capacity and speed.
LG 45″ 45GR75DC-B Curved Ultrawide Gaming Monitor
Take to the stars with this awe-inspiring widescreen gaming monitor from LG, measuring in at a staggering 45”! At a size that eclipses some starships, the LG 45″ 45GR75DC-B screen has to be seen to be believed. As a VA monitor, you will get to enjoy amazing contrast, response times, and per-pixel dimming for fantastic HDR. The 1500R curve matches the natural curvature of your eye, facilitating comfortable star gazing. What’s more, with AMD FreeSync Premium support and 200Hz refresh rate, you can conduct space combat and intensive exploration with minimal screen tear and stutter! Just smooth sailing for you.
Corsair MM700 RGB Extended 3XL Gaming Surface
If you’re looking to add some sparkle to your set-up, this mouse pad shines as brightly as the stars themselves. The Corsair MM700 3XL Gaming Surface features a glide-enhanced woven textile cloth that provides low-friction, pixel-precise tracking. That sounds positively space-age, especially with its spacious 930mm x 400mm surface area. Yet it’s the three-zone RGB LED customisable lighting and built-in USB pass-through port that makes it a worthy companion to the many starships you will come to pilot on your gaming PC.
ASUS GeForce RTX 4090 TUF OC Graphics Card (90YV0IE0-M0NA00)
Interstellar travel takes a lot of power, so you need hardware that packs it. The high performance offered by the RTX 4090 GPU is perfect for powering 4K gaming with high FPS. Unlock the maximum potential for playing and creating with third generation Ada Lovelace architecture. Alongside enhanced Ray Tracing, Tensor cores, and new streaming multiprocessors, the ASUS GeForce RTX Graphics Card provides everything you’ll need for the next generation of games.
Take the Helm
What is your favourite spaceship of all time? What have we missed from this list? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
PC specs are subject to change.
- 9 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.
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