Our picks, beyond the numbers
5 games like Starfield we would recommend for different reasons
Starfield's appeal rests on a particular combination: Bethesda's familiar RPG structure — character building, factions, side quests that pull you off course — transplanted into a setting built around planets, ships and the space between them. We looked for games that carry forward one part of that mix, rather than games that simply happen to be set among the stars.
A couple of these are close relatives in structure; others swap the setting back to fantasy, or trade Starfield's RPG framing for a more focused flight or trading simulation. Here is where we would send a Starfield player next.
The Outer Worlds
Our first choice for a tighter, character-led space RPG
The Outer Worlds gives you a corporate-controlled solar system, a crew of companions and a story with a sharp satirical edge, all wrapped around first-person combat and dialogue choices that shape how factions see you.
We would send a Starfield player here first for a more tightly paced version of the same basic idea: build a character, pick up companions, and let faction politics complicate a main quest you can set aside whenever something more interesting comes up.
Its regions are smaller and more curated than Starfield's planets and star systems, and the whole game is considerably shorter. Choose it when you want the Bethesda-style RPG loop without the scale, and don't mind a few jokes along the way.
Elite: Dangerous
For a more serious flight and trading sim
Elite: Dangerous puts you in the cockpit of a ship in a simulated, persistent galaxy, where trading routes, bounty hunting and exploration all depend on genuinely demanding flight mechanics rather than the more forgiving traversal Starfield offers.
We like it for a Starfield player whose favorite moments were piloting between systems and managing a ship, who wants that half of the experience pushed much further — online co-op and a shared persistent universe mean other players' choices can shape the same galaxy you're exploring.
There is no character-building RPG structure here in Starfield's sense, and planetary content is far more limited. Pick this one specifically for the cockpit, not for companions or faction storylines.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
For Bethesda's formula back in fantasy
Oblivion Remastered updates the 2006 original's visuals and combat while keeping its open-ended fantasy structure intact: an open world, a main quest easy to set aside, and guilds and side stories that can eat an entire evening.
We would choose it for a Starfield player who wants the same Bethesda bones — character building, faction questlines, a world that rewards wandering — back in a single continuous landscape instead of a galaxy split across planets and loading screens.
It is single-player only, with no multiplayer or co-op to speak of, and dragons, spells and Cyrodiil's countryside replace Starfield's ships and star systems entirely. Go in for the Bethesda structure, not for anything resembling space travel.
The Outer Worlds 2
For another corporate-satire RPG with sharper teeth
The Outer Worlds 2 follows an Earth Directorate agent investigating dangerous rifts across a new colony, with factions fighting over what to do about them and your choices shaping how that conflict plays out.
We like it as a second option in the same vein as the first Outer Worlds — tighter, more character-focused science fiction RPG storytelling — for a Starfield player who wants the satire and faction politics sharpened further in a newer release.
It is single-player only, without Starfield's ship-building or planetary exploration systems, and its regions stay more curated and story-driven than Starfield's open systems. Choose it for the writing and faction choices, not for open-ended space travel.
No Man's Sky
For a much bigger universe to get lost in
No Man's Sky sends you into a procedurally generated universe of planets to land on, resources to gather and bases to build, with a scale that dwarfs Starfield's hand-crafted star systems by design.
We would recommend it to a Starfield player who wants the act of discovery itself — landing somewhere new, scanning unfamiliar life, deciding whether to build there — to matter more than faction storylines or companion relationships. Online co-op lets a group explore that universe together.
Its survival-crafting systems and procedurally generated worlds give it a very different texture from Starfield's curated RPG writing, and years of free updates have reshaped it substantially since launch. Pick this one for sheer breadth of exploration over a tightly authored story.
