
SpaceEngine stands out as one of the best Simulation/Casual titles in recent memory.
95
Verdict
96%
Steam
—
IGDB
Verdict score based on confidence-adjusted Steam reviews?
Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (96% positive from 15K reviews)
Rich open world to explore
Standout indie gem
Still in Early Access — content may be incomplete
SpaceEngine is an interactive 3D planetarium and astronomy software initially developed by Russian astronomer and programmer Vladimir Romanyuk. Development is now continued by Cosmographic Software, an American company founded by Romanyuk and the SpaceEngine Team in February 2022, based in Connecticut.

Runs well on modern hardware.
Last updated 3d ago
I don't usually review games, but I have to with this. This is the best exploration game I have found next to stuff like Minecraft. The seamlessness of the exploration of real and auto generated objects is really immersive and fun. The wacky stuff the program generates has sparked ideas for stories I'm writing. My only real complaint is the surface landscape lacking variation. Rocky worlds are basically gravel and rolling hills, and occasionally you get volcanos and canyons. But other than that, its the same land masses in different shapes. Which can honestly be forgiven, due to the fact that other aspects of the planet, like its stars, moons, rings, or sky color add a unique and intriguing element to each object, even with the repetitive land generations. If the devs can find a way to make the surface generations more rewarding for on foot exploration that would be amazing, but I honestly don't mind if they don't. This is nearly perfect as it is. As a science lover, music lover, space lover, and game lover, this software itches all of those scratches at once. W game, W devs. This is fantastic.
I LOOOOOVEEEE this game!!!! But theres a problem, they didn't add buildings or trees, so please, can you add it?
This game has incredible graphics and optimization; high quality scenes can easily be rendered. Many features allow you to explore space in ways never possible. The location catalog is expansive and generally intuitive. This game does have a large learning curve-->Please reference steam community guides or forums for tutorials and graphics settings(Use AI!). This is quite possibly the greatest software for exploring space; many things can be learned; many things can be seen. I recommend this software for those who enjoy physics, astronomy, and photography/cinematography. Many sites are breathtaking and inspiring. This game is being developed every day: funding the development can and will keep the game evolving. This game has large amounts of customization in that it can fit almost any PC and any preference. Reference the checkbox review if needed. ↓↓↓↓↓ ---{ Graphics }--- ☑ You forget what reality is - You can literally explore the universe ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good - Great customization and tools; essentially limitless in usages ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good - Audio doesn't really matter; good songs though ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids - Pretty much anyone who can use the internet and a computer ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent - The game is extremely optimized and rarely crashes; pretty much every setting can be changed to fit your PC. ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Game Size }--- ☐ Floppy Disk ☐ Old Fashioned ☑ Workable - Nothing crazy unless exporting high-res screenshots or videos ☐ Big ☐ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive ☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it ☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☑ Easy - Just learn the basics and explore ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☑ Nothing to grind - The grind is whatever you make of it ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second life for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☑ No Story - It's a planetarium ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☐ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☑ To infinity and beyond - Essentially infinite things to explore(procedural or real) ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☑ Worth the price - It is 100% worth it IF you enjoy this type of software; this is not a game for people who expect a story ☐ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs - Very, very minor bugs, rarely any; crashes are very rare ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☐ 9 ☑ 10 - Incredible software
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