The Best Sci-Fi Games Released in 2018

It has been a great year for Science Fiction video gaming, with many space adventure RPGs, survival games, and first person shooters to choose from. 

Advances in computer graphics have made it possible to depict the beauty of space like never before, allowing players to experience a zero gravity environment or fly a starship.  On the other hand, grand strategy games and roguelikes may forgo intense graphics and focus on storytelling and RPG elements to create a memorable experience.

Whether it is a dark and humorous roguelike with retro aesthetics or a graphically stunning FPS slugfest, there is something for every Science Fiction enthusiast in this list of the top 15 Science Fiction games of 2018.

15. Rimworld

Rimworld Gameplay

Rimworld is a colony survival game that generates memorable storylines and character arcs.  Three colonists survive the wreckage of a crashed passenger liner and become the foundations of your impromptu colony.  The different skills and attributes of your survivors make unique contributions to your economy and to the story, while your chosen storyteller determines the kind of challenges you will face.  

Tame the local wildlife, harvest natural resources, and work as a team to survive the dangerous of this hostile world that is your new home. Lead characters through deadly storms, pirate raids and cruel winters, while welcoming survivors of the crash to your colony and nurturing healthy relationships among your population.  Follow the drama and daily routine of these brave survivors as they try their best to forge a functioning settlement.

Community Health: Make sure your inhabitants get along, or factions will form and strange psychotic disorders will derail your people’s sanity.

The Story is Everything: Choose from one of many storytellers who will decide the kinds of challenges you endure.

14.  Deep Sky Derelicts

Deep Sky Derelicts Gameplay

Deep Sky Derelicts is a scavenger RPG with card-based tactical combat and roguelike elements.  Loot the remains of abandoned ships and lead your band of outcasts to a better life by finding the legendary mothership.  Pillaging derelict ships gives loot and experience in addition to valuable information on where to find the mothership.  Bits of data from each ship fills in pieces of the mothership puzzle while dialoguing with different alien characters will provide further clues.  Vivid illustrations in graphic novel style depict the contents of each ship room by room as you battle the many infernal foes living in the darkness.   

In the Cards: Beautifully drawn cut scenes portray the result of each card-based battle action.

Search the Ship:  Comb every inch of an abandoned ship to maximize your haul and extract valuable information you need for the story.

13.  Breathedge

Breathedge Gameplay

Play as the lone survivor of a spaceship explosion in this first person space survival game.  Float in zero gravity as you collect all the space debris that will keep you alive, and in the process follow an exciting story that uncovers an unusual and exciting conspiracy.  Your greatest asset is an immortal chicken that can be used as multipurpose tool.  His indestructible frame is often the difference between life and death, while you stock up on supplies and find the most useful loot from the crash.  Perfect your spacewalking, craft items, and encounter bizarre scenes in a breathtaking zero gravity environment.

Darkly Comedic:  Absurd encounters remind you of the recent crash, as corpses of not-so-lucky travellers float around the ship’s remains.

A Chicken Tool:  An immortal chicken is your best friend and your quickest fix for all kinds of technical failures.

12.  60 Parsecs!

60 Parsecs! Gameplay

Scavenge your way through the galaxy with a motley crew as they flee the horrors of nuclear war on Earth.  Unfortunately, the crew is woefully unprepared, and you will have to guide them through challenges that will test your decision-making abilities and crew management skills.  Run through the space station for the first 60 seconds grabbing all the supplies you need before the station explodes!  It may be harder than you think to find cans of soup in other parts of the galaxy.  Once on board, keep track of your daily log and supplies, make planetary excursions to pick up new supplies, and evade hostile foes (or challenge them to a dance off).  It is a dangerous journey, not all of your crew will make it, and many of them will never be the same.

Contend with Disaster:  Quickly gather all the supplies you need for your escape before the nuclear war destroys your space station. 

Crew Mood: Your crew might not keep their sanity during their voyage.  Make sure they are capable of completing missions and use a sock puppet to keep them from losing all of their marbles. 

11.  Star Singularity

Star Singularity Gameplay

Fly through a chaotic and randomized galaxy in this space action-adventure game.  Farm the various treasures of space to upgrade your mothership and expand your influence to build a small fleet of galactic conquerors.  Designed with classic space shooters in mind, the simple top down view is enhanced by modern physics engines and remarkably fluid combat, while a grand strategy aspect allows you to occupy different parts of the galaxy.  Spin around your enemies and keep track of enemy ships as they zoom in and out of vision.  Play through the campaign or fight online against different custom ships in cutthroat space battles.

Zoom through Space:  With classic top down ship control, battles are frenzied games of positioning as you contend with enemy ships twice your size and deadly asteroid fields.

Ship Upgrades:  Craft new items and improve your main ship throughout the game to make it an unstoppable force capable of taking out ships 3 times its size. 

10.  Executive Assault 2

Executive Assault 2 Gameplay

Executive Assault 2 is a star fighter RTS/FPS fusion where you can control large groups of units as well as take the reigns of a single ship to turn the tide in battle.  You can even walk around inside huge battle cruisers tinkering with the controls of the ship and watch the battle take place from inside.  Participate in quick, deadly skirmishes and larger orbital sieges as you conquer spaceports and planetary defenses.  Build your space station and fleet from the ground up similar to classic RTS titles to compete against enemy empires for galactic domination. There is even a CoOp mode in which one player controls the RTS game while the other player takes command of a single ship in FPS mode.  

Ship Gunfights:  Land on a battle cruiser and fight enemies on foot – then fly a ship into  the stars and barrel roll through the sky.

RTS Aspects:  Control the movements of entire fleets and when you are perfectly positioned zoom into a cockpit for maximum damage output.

9.  Dreadnought

Dreadnought Gameplay

A spaceship-based shooter game, Dreadnought portrays the excitement and awe of galactic space battles.  Join a team of your friends online, each with their own fully customized ships, and work together to take down the enemy capital ships.  Defend supermassive space stations or raid the enemy base with your friends.  Teamwork will make a huge difference – stay together as a single unit or risk being picked off by enemy fighters.  Hop into the hangar and enjoy a ship building sim like none other, and deck out your capital ship with hundreds of different weapons and armor.

Capital Ship Warfare:  Command the biggest ship in the fleet and blast smaller fighters from the sky or bombard the enemy capital ships from afar.

Play With Friends:  Join a team of friends and fight against other players, experiencing the excitement of interesting tactical situations and down to the wire finishes.

8.  AI War 2

AI War 2 Gameplay

Fight across the galaxy against an alien menace by conquering their systems, managing your budding empire, and winning massive space battles involving hundreds of starships.  Choose from different human factions, winning space battles RTS-style while you manage the bulwark of your empire in a streamlined UI.  Don’t let your Empire expand too fast, or else the alien menace that has conquered the galaxy will notice and stomp out your ships.  Stealthily move through the galaxy setting up disparate bases and wait until you are strong enough to challenge the alien overlords.  There are various powerups you can build in systems such as the dyson sphere that gives your economy a boost while you focus on building a military that can save the galaxy.

Space Armada:  Field massive fleets as you band together to defeat the alien menace.

Up Close:  Experience the fight up close and aim your units at the best targets while managing the economy, infrastructure, and military of your empire.

7.  Deliver Us the Moon: Fortuna

Deliver Us the Moon: Fortuna Gameplay

Travel to the moon in this first person space mystery in which you are the lone astronaut on a mission to find a lost colony on the moon.  Your one companion is a robot named ASE who will help you piece together clues to the curious case of the missing moon colony.  It is a lonely game and you will not find much help, so make sure to manage your supplies carefully.  Get the colony back online by discovering what happened to the colony and troubleshoot ways to get their power source back online.  Failure will ensure that the Earth will continue to wallow in dust, so your mission is clear: stay alive and deliver us the moon.

Quest of Hope:  Explore a seemingly extinct moon colony to piece together clues and discover if there is any hope for humanity.

Robot Friend: A robot named ASE is your one helper and friend through your trials, and can help you access rooms and computer logs to unlock the history of the moon colony.

6.  Hyperspace Delivery Service

Hyperspace Delivery Service Gameplay

Hyperspace Delivery Service puts you in charge of a cargo ship tasked with making a dangerous delivery to the other side of explored space. Stock up for the journey with a handpicked crew and go on different quests along the way, entering first person mode to shoot down enemy ships and defend planetary settlements.  Weather the cruel RNG of the galaxy from your command station, where different crewmembers perform their own role on the ship and learn new skills.  The retro graphics remind of early gaming systems and game boy advance games, but with diverse features and more in-depth outcomes.  

A Brave Crew:  Travel at warp to different planets en route to your final destination, and be sure to stock up on supplies at every opportunity.

FPS action:  Send away missions down to planets if you think there is a chance to pick up supplies, but you may have to shoot some aliens to retrieve your loot!

5.  Battletech

Battletech Gameplay

This turn-based mech combat game lets you build your own character and wield legions of mercenary mechs for glory and for money.  Mechs serve a central role in this future society, and choosing your family roots will provide unique bonuses and mechs to serve your cause. In addition to the turn-based battles fought in epic environments, the story is rich with lore.  A bloody civil war is ripping the galaxy apart, and mechs on both sides are arming for war.  Participate in exciting, mech-based warfare on brilliantly rendered battle maps and use a diverse set of weapons to leave the fields littered with heaps of melted metal.

Mech Warriors Reborn:  Mechs hold a special reverence in this future society, where family owned mechs indicate the social status and martial prowess of different factions.

Plan Your Attack:  Control your legions of mechs on a classic top-down turn-based strategy map, and level up your mechs as you play through a memorable campaign.

4.  Pit of Doom

Pit of Doom Gameplay

Explore an undiscovered alien pit deep in the heart of a mountain in this roguelike FPS.  Level up as you descend into the pit and encounter various pit creatures that become more difficult (and scarier) the deeper you dive.  Keep loaded with laser weapons to fight off the toxic abominations hiding around every corner, and relish procedurally generated environments complete with works of art and fascinating scenes.  Breathtaking discoveries in never-before-seen caverns guard an ancient mystery: can you find out what it is?

Horrors of the Deep:  The untapped vaults and deserted rooms are crawling with abominations.

Sculpt your Hero:  Pick from different classes and outfit yourself with the rare items you find deep in the pit, and level up to contend with bigger foes.

3.  Ground Runner: Trials

Ground Runner: Trials Gameplay

Ground Runner: Trials is a VR game that puts you in the shoes of a Ground Runner pilot playing a dangerous game.  Learn how to drift, climb over terrain, and gun down your enemies from the cockpit of your Ground Runner, which is a speedy one-person hovercraft.  With the immersive VR headset, the renown and skill of the Ground Runner pilot will flow through your hands.  Ground Runners are akin to galactic sport heroes, and you must prove yourself in the deadly blood matches famous throughout the galaxy.  The sensation of riding hundreds of miles an hour across epic landscapes is a true thrill, and the immersive experience provided by the VR technology will leave you feeling like a true galactic superstar.

Smooth Ride:  Careen over gaps and rip through the environment swiftly, but be on the look out for enemy ground runners.

Epic Environments: Race your way through incredible environments and treat them as your own personal racetrack.

2.  State of Mind

State of Mind Gameplay

Play through an incredible story set in a dystopian version of Berlin as you follow one journalist’s efforts to expose the dangers of mass automation and surveillance.  Interact with various characters and objects in engaging narrative gameplay, and watch as your choices and decisions shape the story in subtle ways.  The early computer graphic style and angular bodies have a slightly retro feel, but offer a complete artistic vision in which no rain-covered skyscraper is out of place.  The cyberpunk cities, investigative sleuthing, and philosophical dialogue tell a thought-provoking story that rivals the best science fiction novels.   

Deep Philosophy:  A somber mood covers a bleak world where there is no privacy, and one journalist begins to question everything.

AI Take Over:  Expose the dark secrets behind the glass as you witness the repercussions of a fully automated society.

1. Deep Rock Galactic

Deep Rock Galactic Gameplay

Play as one of four dwarven miners in a 4-player cooperative shooter where you fight endless hordes of cave-dwelling aliens.  Choose from one of four classes, including a miner, a scout, and two weapon-specialists.  Harness their different skills to blast through the bedrock, scout dark passageways, and zap aliens with volleys of pure firepower.  The environment is completely destructible, allowing the miner to plow through thick walls of rock to find better gems and bigger aliens.  Wield melee weapons, bombs, light arms and huge machine guns to protect your spelunking crew.  Play solo or with 4 friends as you delve through procedurally generated glittering caves to complete different mining missions administered by an intergalactic mining company.

Procedurally Generated Environments:  Spelunk your way through gorgeous caves.  But don’t get too distracted by the beauty: these are dangerous environments!

CoOp Horde Blasting:  Kick it with your friends as a deadly dwarf with a lust for loot as you blast the horrible beings out of existence.

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