5 Space Sandboxes on Steam Worth the Dosh Investment

Have you ever looked up at the sky at night and wondered what secrets are hidden within the starts; in the confines of outer space?

While most of the mysteries of the universe remain unsolved, some games offer you the possibility of venturing into space. You actually manage to fulfill the human dream of discovering new frontiers. 

If you love the secrets hidden by outer space and enjoy playing video games, then you are in luck. We have compiled a list of five sandbox games that will let you travel through space and conquer the unknown.

Climb aboard your ship. We are about to leave orbit.

Universe Sandbox²

Developed by Giant Army

Available on Steam

Most sandbox games drop you in an universe where you need to explore and gather resources, but this game takes the sandbox genre to a new scope.

In it, you will not control a character. You will create whole planets, that will become an entire galaxy. You can become the God of your system, as you create physics for your planets, black holes and even make them collide with each other, in order to create interplanetary destruction -- if you wish.

This game is the closest experience you will have of becoming God.

Space Engineers

Developed by Keen Software House

Available on Steam

While the previous game allowed you to create your own galaxy, this one has a smaller scale, but delivers a compelling experience nevertheless.

Players build outposts that vary in size and purpose, build ships and pilot them to get to other planets, as they use their crafting skills to survive in space. Essentially, a 3D version of Starbound.

Above all, it features cooperative gameplay, so you and your friends can help each other in survival.

Take on Mars

Developed by Bohemia Interactive

Available on Steam

Most space games show sci-fi versions of what space exploration looks like. They do not aim for realism, as they only wish to entertain the audience. This game, however, goes on the opposite direction of this trend.

Developed by the team behind the Arma series, this game holds the premise of being a realistic survival game set on Mars. Even the locations players encounter were faithfully reproduced based on NASA's images of the red planet.

The objective of the game is to survive and gather as much information on Mars as possible.

You can even try to establish the first human colony on Mars, as you survive the hardcore challenges of a game that will simulate the same challenges real astronauts have to deal with -- just without the threat of death, or having to grow potatoes out of human waste like Mark Watney.

Astroneer

Developed by System Era Softworks

Available on Steam

This is one of the games for you to look for in 2017, if you are a fan of the mysteries of the universe.

Featuring procedural art that builds a virtually infinite number of planets to travel to, the game shows to players mesmerizing sights, that invite them to explore.

This game offers an impeccable audiovisual experience and a cooperative mode that allows your friends to jump in and help you to gather supplies and survive in outer space.

This game is a must for any player who enjoys the sandbox genre.

Avorion

Developed by Boxelware

Available on Steam

This game was released in Early Access on January 23, but it is already causing an impression, with 340 reviews marked as "very positive" on Steam. 

The description on its pages sheds some light as to why:

A procedural co-op space sandbox where players can build their own space ships out of dynamically scalable blocks. Fight epic space battles, explore, mine, trade, wage wars and build your own empire to save your galaxy from being torn apart by an unknown enemy.

The simple nature of the graphics of this games ensures that it can run on virtually any computer, so you do not need to worry about meeting the minimum requirements to play this game.

Conclusion:

Whether you are looking for a fictional experience as in Astroneer or aim at diving into the hardcore challenges of Take on Mars, outer space has always been a source of inspiration to allow our minds to fly away from us as we wonder what is out there.

Perhaps we will never unveil all of the secrets that remain hidden within the stars, but that will not stop us from trying to do that in our games.

We hope this list has introduced you to a new game and that you give it a try.

Happy exploring!