NextGameLike
Outer Wilds

7 Games with a space setting like Outer Wilds that you should try

Games like Outer Wilds · Find similar →

We filtered the 50 games similar to Outer Wilds down to the 7 that fit the “Space” category. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and MirrorMoon EP top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Outer Wilds.

NextGameLike92/ 100

Did you find what you were looking for?

GenreAdventureSubgenreOpen World Action-Adventure
Tags
NarrativeSolo
Year 2019Dev Mobius Digital

Quick answer

Within the “Space” category, the closest game to Outer Wilds is The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — scoring 70/100 on our similarity scale. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and MirrorMoon EP follow close behind.

🗳️

Help us build the best rankings

Community powered

Vote on each result below — good match or not. Every vote directly shapes how we rank similar games for everyone.

The best games with a space setting like Outer Wilds

7 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Outer Wilds. Each one has been evaluated across 14 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

1

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

70
NGL84
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Closest overall match
AdventureOpen World Action-Adventure
SoloNarrativeOpen WorldHorrorSpaceExplorationFirst Person
Year 2014Dev The AstronautsOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

What brings it close to Outer Wilds is strong narrative focus, open world exploration and horror setting, and the two track each other on genre, game mode and world. The common ground extends to a first-person view and single-player focus. Where the two diverge is combat: magic-based combat.

Genre100Game mode100World100Progression100Setting84Visuals84
2

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

64
NGL86
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Closest on combat
AdventureOpen World Action-Adventure
SoloMeleeNarrativeOpen WorldSpaceSci-FiExplorationFirst Person
Year 2022Dev Traveller's Tales · WB GamesOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

What brings it close to Outer Wilds is strong narrative focus, open world exploration and melee combat, and the two track each other on genre, combat and tone. To that it adds exploration and discovery, and a first-person view. They part company on game mode and visuals: this one brings offline play and a third-person camera.

Released 3 years after Outer Wilds.

Genre100Combat100Tone100World100Progression100Setting89
3

MirrorMoon EP

60
NGL58
MirrorMoon EP
AdventureOpen World Action-Adventure
SoloNarrativeOpen WorldSpaceSci-FiExplorationFirst Person
Year 2013Dev Santa RagionePlaytime ~2hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

On paper it is what Outer Wilds is — strong narrative focus, open world exploration and a space setting — though the resemblance is mostly at that level. Both also lean on a first-person view and single-player focus. The distance is in game mode and world — its own ground is procedural generation and multiplayer gameplay.

Genre100Tone100Progression100Setting89Visuals84World63
4

Kerbal Space Program

58
NGL88
Kerbal Space Program
Closest on setting
AdventureOpen World Action-Adventure
SoloOpen WorldSpaceSci-FiExplorationFirst Person
Year 2015Dev Squad · Private DivisionPlaytime ~5hOn PC · PS · Xbox

Shelved next to Outer Wilds for good reason: open world exploration, a space setting and single-player focus. The common ground extends to exploration and discovery, and a first-person view. Where the two diverge is tone and visuals: punishing difficulty and a sandbox world.

Genre100Game mode100Setting90Progression75World56Visuals48
5

X2: The Threat

58
NGL72
X2: The Threat
AdventureOpen World Action-Adventure
SoloMeleeOpen WorldSpaceSci-FiExplorationFirst Person
Year 2003Dev EgosoftPlaytime ~1hOn PC

What brings it close to Outer Wilds is open world exploration, melee combat and a space setting, and the two track each other on genre, combat and game mode. Both also lean on exploration and discovery, and single-player focus. The distance is in visuals and progression — its own ground is a sandbox world and resource management.

It predates Outer Wilds by 16 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Setting90World68Progression65
6

X: Beyond the Frontier

58
NGL60
X: Beyond the Frontier
AdventureOpen World Action-Adventure
SoloMeleeOpen WorldSpaceSci-FiExplorationFirst Person
Year 1999Dev Egosoft · THQPlaytime ~1hOn PC

Genre puts it alongside Outer Wilds, and so does open world exploration, melee combat and a space setting. Both also lean on exploration and discovery, and single-player focus. The distance is in world and visuals — its own ground is a sandbox world and a third-person camera.

It predates Outer Wilds by 20 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Setting89Progression72Visuals63
7

SpaceEngine

54
NGL93
SpaceEngine
AdventureOpen World Action-Adventure
SoloNarrativeOpen WorldSci-FiSpaceExploration3D
Year 2019Dev Vladimir RomanyukPlaytime ~1hOn PC

On paper it is what Outer Wilds is — strong narrative focus, open world exploration and a sci-fi setting — though the resemblance is mostly at that level. Both also lean on exploration and discovery, and single-player focus. The distance is in tone and world — its own ground is a casual, approachable feel and a sandbox world.

Genre100Game mode100Progression100Setting89Visuals59World47

More similar-games lists to keep going

Found one on the list you already love? Open its own list: the games that play most like it, ranked, with the reason for each.

Explore games similar to Outer Wilds by category

If Outer Wilds left you wanting more, this is where you narrow it down. Was it the adventure or the puzzle that hooked you? There is a list of just that. And if you play on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PlayStation, Xbox and Mobile, filter by platform and skip the games you could not play anyway.

Rankings in the same genre

Sometimes what you want is not a Outer Wilds look-alike but simply the best Open-World Adventure Games there are. That is what these rankings are for: no comparison to anything, just the highest-rated games. And if you feel like widening the net, the Adventure Games ranking is a good way to run into something you were not expecting.