I'm a pretty thrifty guy; no one will ever accuse me of being a hoarder or a bulk shopper. You won’t ever see me at a Costco lugging around 48-count packs of toilet paper, hernia-inducing apple bags, or ginormous 5-pound boxes of Goldfish Crackers.

But after tinkering around with "The Last Starship" for a while, I think I could be converted into a doomsday prepper; someone who loads up on necessary supplies and has a keen sense of the proper protocol for acquiring stockpiles of food, water, ammo, and —if I were stuck out in deep space — oxygen.

After being available in early access for nearly three years, "The Last Starship" 1.0 was finally released on Feb. 6, 2026, for PC from Introversion Software, the same inventive creators of "Prison Architect". It's hardly a new release at this point, but I've been absorbed by it for the last few months, and it's definitely one that space game fans should check out.

This engaging indie sci-fi video game teaches single-player gamers how to strategically operate an interstellar shipping and trading conglomerate. It does this by repeatedly driving home the importance of planning ahead while operating in the cold vacuum of outer space and fortifying your sturdy spaceship.

Oh, and watch out for space pirates!

Introversion's "The Last Starship" is officially classified as a 2D space construction and simulation game, where you design, build, and upgrade your very own working starship. Once it’s in operational order, you strike out into the starfields to investigate colorful solar systems, discover rare resources, and even stumble upon arcane secrets.

There's a dreamy, meditative element to "The Last Starship" that can’t be denied, even in this middle-aged gamer’s attitude of flying by the seat of my pants and holding an advanced degree in procrastination from Cambridge University.

You get a sense of genuine pride in accomplishing goals, fine-tuning your interstellar trading operations, and seeing them flourish before you.

Just as in real life, your specific choices will dictate your personal odyssey, whether you’re a brave soul itching to become a pirate hunter, a working joe looking to get into salvaging, mining, or transport delivery, or a visionary scientist like the Stargate engineer.

First, choose an appropriate spaceship hull, then boost its propulsion system with engines, add critical life support systems, external sensors, thrusters. Then, supply your crew with tasty chow, and some bristling lasers and autocannons to test your might on the battlefield against space buccaneers. Rescue crews and civilians in peril, or go into business for yourself organizing an asteroid mining camp for profit. The choice is yours.

And for my fellow right-brained individuals who can barely fathom how a basic kitchen toaster works, this indie gem is a real eye-opener to the planning and engineering know-how that goes into such fantastic machines.

Once you’re up and running and your dutiful crew is bustling about carrying out various operational tasks, you're free to explore the galaxy in your new cosmic ride as its proud captain, picking up missions.

Gliding around the cosmos as the master of your own epic domain with your starship humming happily beneath you provides a supreme sense of satisfaction. Mostly you’ll be hopping around the open-world environment, building and customizing your vessel, and grabbing contracts for a variety of legitimate and illegitimate enterprises to fatten your alien-skin wallet.

Feeling ambitious? Become a hustler as a commercial spacebus driver or strike out excavating and smelting minerals for profit to sell and bolster your bank account to purchase even larger starships or equipment upgrades. Feeling lazy? Just play around and create cool ships while traversing the universe!

For intrepid commanders, the game’s procedurally generated map delivers missions and meteor storms featuring a multitude of characters inhabiting their own storylines waiting to be uncovered.

Managing your resources will be of the utmost importance, but organizational aptitude and drone deployment will exponentially increase your survivability in the final frontier. Intense space combat sessions do remind me of some of the cooler "close quarters battle" scenes in "The Expanse."

On the slight downside, "The Last Starship" might be a bit rudimentary for gamers seeking more challenging logistical endeavors, as I've found it's pretty easy to build up your spaceship. Obstacles are usually solved easily by slapping on another module or installing more reactors and managing your oxygen and CO2.

Despite that, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable initial iteration that’s constantly receiving attentive updates and patches, so hang with it, ye gallant captains.

"The Last Starship" is an excellent 2D open-world, spaceship-building game that offers tons of strategy fun in a nostalgic visual package. If you’re an "F.T.L." fanatic, you’ll absolutely dig it!

"The Last Starship" is available for purchase on Steam, Humble Store, and GOG for Windows and macOS. Oh, and there's a free demo you can check out if you're on the fence.

Exodus' journey so far has been quite transparent, with publisher Wizards of the Coast and developer Archetype Entertainment giving us a surprising number of updates and looks at the sci-fi action RPG over the years. Now, at Gamescom 2026, they've finally given us the release date and a striking hands-on demo.

I was able to play a 50-minute demo that takes protagonist Jun Aslan (who you can customize Commander Shepard-style) and their companions to Khonsu, a huge orbital space platform above the world of Lidon, where a population of Awakened frogs – genetically modified animals that are natural to this universe – are keeping more than a few critical systems in working order. I won't get into story spoilers here, but their connection to Lidon's people makes them valuable allies who must be protected from certain evildoers...

For the most part, Exodus plays exactly like you think it does after looking at the gameplay videos, and I mean that as a compliment. In many ways, it feels like an evolution of Mass Effect – one that's fiercer and more dynamic. The gunplay is punchy and satisfying; Jun and their NPC companions are more agile; and the arsenal of both sci-fi weapons and ancient powers (magic in a sci-fi trench coat) gives players a richer selection of tools to neutralize enemies with.

On top of my hands-on time with the game, I was able to sit down and chat with three members of the development team: Chad Robertson (producer), Chris King (director), and Drew Karpyshyn (writer). If those names sound familiar, it's because they all come from a BioWare background*, so they know their way around sprawling space operas.

*Archetype houses more triple-A talent from other iconic studios like Naughty Dog

The following interview has been edited for better flow.

"One of the tenets was that we wanted to be developing an IP that could stand the test of time, and we needed something in the science fiction space for the benefit of Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. They're very interested in developing an IP that could be owned and be science fiction," Robertson said of the project's beginnings years ago.

Archetype was founded in 2019, so Exodus has been brewing and evolving for quite some time. The backing of Hasbro and Wizards could be felt throughout the whole demo; Exodus is an expensive game with a stunning visual look.

"We've been able to stick with that without having to worry about money and financing and being able to execute on that vision," Robertson added. This also extends to how all the exploration and combat feel even at this stage. While the demo wasn't ready for the public yet, it was a compelling vertical slice with most of the systems and assets in pretty good shape.

The more you dig into Exodus' universe-building, the bolder it becomes, throwing concepts like the Awakened or time dilation into the mix. Still, it's very much a game ideated by BioWare veterans.

"It's sort of natural that we ended up with an RPG set in an epic sci-fi universe with strong player agency and heavy companion content... Yeah, I could've guessed that's where we would end up," said Karpyshyn. While the KOTOR and Mass Effect veteran led on the narrative front, sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton added to the "core" of the universe and wrote two big sequel novels that also serve as our first proper step into Exodus' universe.

"He was very collaborative, but we also wanted to give him a free hand to tell the story he wanted to tell. So he took the elements that he was most interested in and expanded on them, and that allowed us to take some of the ideas and bring them into the game," Karpyshyn explained. Plenty of time (roughly 40,000 years) and space (it's set in the Omega Centauri cluster) separate Exodus from being a look at humanity's immediate future, so Archetype is looking at the universe as a place "that will tell many different stories" over time.

Well ahead of the game's launch, Wizards of the Coast is betting big on the IP, with tabletop adventures, novels, and a Secret Level short introducing RPG fanatics to its universe. How do you rein all that ambition in when working on a huge video game? According to Robertson, setting reasonable limits happened naturally: "We wanted to build a player experience that was cohesive and complete enough. Over the course of the first couple of years, I think we kinda naturally figured it out." He admitted there's "plenty of other stories" they want to tell, though.

A highlight of the demo was how fluid the tone in Exodus seems. It's playful — and often comedic — but never too much, and even as a separate, isolated chunk of the game, it presents high stakes and dilemmas I personally cared about. Again, it reminded me of Mass Effect at its best – especially the second one. I was impressed by how grounded it all felt despite heavily featuring a bunch of talking frogs and an armored bear who was also insulting me during a boss fight.

King mentioned the Awakened are "a really interesting example", as it's a concept that pushed them to explore "different ways to present them and what the tone would be". In fact, he revealed they made them "a bit too serious" early on (some of that can even be felt in the earlier lore videos on them). Eventually, the team found a balance between Jun's progression, which "has a lot of heavy, even dark themes", and other elements and characters that you run into. "They're meant to provide a counterbalance to that. You do have lighthearted moments."

Inevitably, I had to ask about the matter of romances, and that human emotion we call love. Many players show up for these RPGs looking for hilarious, dramatic, and spicy romantic relationships.

The first thing Karpyshyn did was shoot down the possibility of a Salt (the combat mech-piloting octopus) romance: "Salt isn't really into humans. She thinks they're kind of gross. But there are many other romances. You can play as male or female Jun, and we don't lock any of the romances out based on gender choice. But you do have to pursue and work for them. They're not gonna happen by accident."

His reply then led to some brief talk about the tension between Jun and the members of the crew: "All your companions have their own goals, wants, and needs. They don't get along with each other always. We're constantly putting you into these conflict situations where you have to decide how to navigate... As a player, you have to decide, 'Do I want to risk annoying the romance character?' and maybe the romance ends... Life is messy, and we wanted the game to be messy and complicated."

Indeed, the hands-on preview mission ended with a heavy choice that no doubt would have major consequences down the line. Even if my save game meant nothing at this stage, I was still conflicted, and the developers mentioned it was interesting to finally get this game in front of people outside the studio and see their reactions to certain story beats.

On that front, I also had to ask the trio about the voice acting (some voices were really familiar) and the music in the game, which are totally top-notch. "I'm tempted to ask which ones you recognize," Robertson said before stating they're not ready to elaborate on those yet. "The marketing team would shoot us in the head."

During our chat, the team wanted to get some quick feedback on a specific zero-gravity section — shooting and platforming are involved — which they described as "revelatory" after getting the sound FX right. I agree with them. Whereas many space walks in video games feel too fantasy-like or realistic to be truly exciting, Exodus appears to find a fine balance between the space opera spectacle we're showing up for and the harsh coldness of the void out there. There are certain sound FX still giving you feedback, but muffled shootouts are refreshingly scary.

When asked about customization options and character build – as in abilities and skills – possibilities, King answered that "philosophically, what we want to do is give players interesting choices and figure out what they like playing the most".

It's not a hard class system like in the original Mass Effect games. "We let you sort of express and figure out what you like in the skill tree... Layered on top of that, there are mastery levels on classes, and then depending on your choices, it unlocks hybrid trees," explains King.

Combined with the many types of guns and suits available — each with different firing modes and upgrades — it all creates a familiar yet deeper progression structure.

Speaking about the game as a whole and what he's particularly proud of, King circled back to "player agency" and what he calls "water cooler moments", as you can discuss with friends at work or online what your and their choices were and what happened. At least, that's what the team hopes will happen with some of the story beats.

Robertson added to his answer: "The first time we had enough pieces together... and you could feel the music and cinematics coming together, and the emotional weight behind it, that's what these games are about. Where you have that angst over a decision and feel the anxiety of what just happened. 'I should have chosen something different.' I think we're super proud of those. There's a bunch of moments in the game like that." At this point, I can already see what the team means, which is why I sincerely believe there might be something special to Exodus.

Exodus is releasing on PC (Steam & Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on April 7, 2027.

It's hard to downplay excitement for Alien: Isolation 2 after a first menacing teaser and promising early previews. Alien video games are in a good spot right now thanks to bangers like Aliens Dark Descent and Fireteam Elite 2, but nothing has hit quite like Creative Assembly's 2014 survival horror classic.

Now, after a thrilling Gamescom hands-on demo, it looks like the studio has nailed it once again, bringing Xenomorph-shaped scares to the next generation. At least that's what its breezy prologue section I played at Gamescom suggests.

As the earliest possible section of the game, no new mechanics were present, and the larger ideas and structure are still a big mystery. Instead, Sega and Creative Assembly have bet on pure atmosphere, dread that runs deeper thanks to more detailed graphics and audio, and of course, letting everyone know the Xenomorph's dynamic AI has evolved too.

Though it'd been mentioned before, the biggest shocker comes with the immediate reveal that Amanda Ripley is no longer the protagonist. Even if I wouldn't close the door on her showing up one way or another in Alien: Isolation 2, her story was continued elsewhere after all hope for a sequel was lost a few years ago. (Look at us now).

Instead, we play as Blake, a gal from Earth who seems eager to please her employers, even if that bothers Cole and Otto, two rugged workers under her command.

Still, the game smartly kicks off with a quick rundown of what went down in the first Isolation, narrated by Ripley, who was responsible for the destruction of the infested Sevastopol station. The nightmare was over... until it wasn't. The bad news is that part of Sevastopol was ejected as an emergency measure, probably to preserve the lab inside and the horrors within it. It's a similar setup to Alien: Romulus' "the Company went and recovered a chunk of the Nostromo", but it gets the job done.

Our interview with Creative Director Al Hope revealed that "Alien: Isolation 2 picks up a few months after the first game". The nature of the colony-planet we're on remains a mystery, but it seems the terraforming process is going well, with plenty of vegetation and trees scattered about. Shame about the remarkably bad weather though.

During the prologue, the ground vehicle is forced to stop during the beginning of a terrible storm, and that makes visibility once Blake steps out of the vehicle an issue. Hope also confirmed that these inclement weather conditions will play an actual role in how the survival gameplay evolves over the course of the game, but for now the prologue keeps things mostly on-rails.

In any case, the rainy and windy weather is a fantastic showcase of the game's visuals and sound FX work. It's fairly stressful even without a Xenomorph haunting the place (yet), so I can only imagine how intense Alien: Isolation 2 will get once things ramp up. After wandering around the area and spotting a crashed structure, Blake decides to play the hero and goes into the trashed remnants of the Sevastopol despite Cole's persistent warnings about the rising water level of the river. Who knows, that guy might make it out alive thanks to his "I'm not getting paid enough for this" mentality.

Inside the messy lab, malfunctioning doors are the first obstacle. It seems I was meant to use my only two flares to roam around the dark corridors and look for pieces of scrap that Blake can use to fix some circuits. Instead, I used them outside and went "oooh" at the lighting, wasting them. This made the first step into this haunted house trickier than it needed to be, but I eventually made it into its inner sections, restoring some of the power and also awakening the beast.

Creative Assembly thought it made no sense to keep the Xenomorph in the shadows for long. It's a trick the studio pulled off once, but 12 years later, it'd have been silly to tease us with limited glimpses of a creature everyone already knows and fears. Instead, the Xenomorph drops down right in front of Blake, who's lucky enough to be able to duck under a table the moment it shows up, offering us a glimpse at its glorious new model.

After that point, the goal in the demo is simple: Get the hell out of there. With obstacles like fire coming out of pipes and blocked doors, survival comes down to chucking small items like bottles across the room to keep the Xenomorph off Blake's back while trying to find a way forward. No motion tracker, no flamethrower, no anything. Just crawling on one's knees and making the right move at the right moment. Needless to say, poor Blake was impaled and "kissed" by the alien drone more than a few times before my time was up.

At this stage, it's impossible to discern how Alien: Isolation 2 differs from the original beyond the more advanced tech powering it, the new cast of characters, and the desolate planetary setting. What this demo achieved, however, was making the main Xenomorph threat even livelier. Its patrols were more unpredictable, and the reaction times shocked me more than once.

Muscle memory and knowledge of the previous aliens' behaviors in the 2014 original won't save you here. Even staying inside the vents for too long made it search every nook and cranny before eventually finding and grabbing me. There's no easy way out even when you're silent, and I suspect Creative Assembly wants to push players to be on the move always.

There's a clear opportunity here to create a bolder sequel that borrows more from the recent Resident Evil entries — which were themselves partially shaped by Alien: Isolation's first-person horror — to keep players on their toes, always readjusting to environments and non-Xeno threats. It's a full circle moment for the dev team, and the final confirmation that the first game is now a bona fide classic.

Creative Assembly's Survival Team has gotten back in the saddle like nothing happened, and now I'm just excited to see the twists and turns that elevate its basic tried and tested formula.

Alien: Isolation 2 is releasing on PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in the near future. A release window hasn't been locked yet.

Released in 2014, "Alien: Isolation" was a sci-fi horror gaming masterpiece that combined stealth, survival horror mechanics, and cinema's greatest monster to create an underpants-ruiningly terrifying experience. After earning phenomenal reviews, winning awards, and selling millions of copies globally, players were left clamouring for a sequel. Now, 12 years later, it's finally happening.

In June 2026, fans got what they’ve been waiting for: their first real glimpse into what Alien: Isolation 2 has in store. From the trailer, we learned that players will play as a survey team member at a small Weyland-Yutani outpost called Kurosaki Station. When a ship crashes in the nearby forest, you head out to search for survivors, but the search-and-rescue mission quickly becomes a fight for survival when you start being hunted by a xenomorph.

While Alien: Isolation 2 doesn’t have an official release date yet, more info is expected later this year, including our hands-on preview at Gamescom 2026 (which is coming later this week). In the meantime, Space caught up with Al Hope, the Creative Director for Alien: Isolation 2, to chat about what it’s like to create horror in video games and what fans can expect from the sequel.

Space.com: Alien: Isolation is considered one of the scariest games ever made. In fact, many people see it as the scariest game ever. Do you think you’ve discovered the secret to great video game horror?

Hope: "What can I say, we had the best source material in the world to work with. We spent so long deconstructing Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie when making Alien: Isolation to really understand the building blocks, and how it evokes such a unique and striking sense of horror to this day.

"That’s what we build into our games. That sense of powerlessness against an unknowable, unkillable foe. The ‘perfect organism’ as Ash dubs it. And you’re its prey in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. We’re taking that brand of horror even further in Alien: Isolation 2."

Space.com: We have new sets in Alien: Isolation 2, from woodlands to an outpost settlement. What was it like taking the claustrophobic, outer space terror of the first game and transporting it into new environments and settings? Were there any challenges in keeping the horror alive in these areas, or did the new settings help create terror of their own?

Hope: "In many ways, the sequel is a blend of the old and the new. You’ll experience that familiar claustrophobia you felt on Sevastopol Station in the first game while exploring the facilities on Kurosaki in the sequel. You’ll be hunted mercilessly, and you’ll need to improvise in order to change the odds and survive. These are the cornerstones of what we term the ‘Isolation Experience.’

"But as you’ve guessed, the exterior environments in Alien: Isolation 2 have a kind of horror all their own. You might feel some initial sense of relief when escaping the claustrophobic confines of the colony, but the exterior areas are storm-ravaged and wildly inhospitable. The violent weather can rob you of your senses, and yes, the Alien will hunt you outdoors as well, in ways you haven’t experienced before. You’re going to feel exposed, vulnerable, and very isolated."

Space.com: Over the last few decades, the Alien franchise feels like it’s drifted more and more into the action genre. What encouraged you to take Alien back to its horror roots with Isolation?

Hope: "Back then, we wanted to provide, for the very first time, the experience of encountering and trying to survive against cinema's greatest killer. In a way, it was the game we always wanted to play."

Space.com: In Predator: Badlands, we got our biggest Alien-Predator crossover yet outside of the AVP franchise. With the debate settled and it now firmly canon that the universes are shared, can players expect any Predator easter eggs in Alien: Isolation 2?

Hope: "Our focus in the sequel is very much on placing you in the shoes of a character who has no prior knowledge of the Alien, and who encounters it for the first time.

"How she reacts to that, and how you deal with it through your choices and actions, is where the drama lies. While we will have other NPCs and threats which contribute to that drama, the Predator isn’t a character or concept we’re factoring into the game."

Space.com: It's been over 10 years since the first game, and many fans started wondering if we were ever going to get a sequel. What took so long to make a sequel happen, and do you think waiting so long helped (or hindered) you at all when making the game?

Hope: "We’d always intended to make a sequel. Even during the development of the original, we had a number of ideas regarding the direction the next game could take.

"But we also had some great opportunities to work on other titles and try some new stuff out, like Halo Wars 2. But again, the hope was always to return with another Isolation game, and now that we’re back in full flow, it feels like coming home."

Space.com: Timeline-wise, Alien: Isolation takes place between the first two movies, and the sequel apparently takes place just months after the first game. So in the larger Alien timeline, gamers are still playing a story that happens between the first two movies. Does the game’s place in the larger timeline impact how you told the story?

Hope: That’s right, so the original game takes place around 15 years after the events of Alien, and Alien: Isolation 2 picks up a few months after the first game. Its place in the timeline means we’re continuing to draw inspiration from that lo-fi, sci-fi world of tactile, analogue equipment, and environmental features you can touch and feel. Now that we’re expressing those aesthetics in the context of a Weyland-Yutani colony, we have a whole new canvas to explore artistically.

Alien: Isolation 2 is releasing on PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2, though there is no fixed release date at this time.

Growing up, the best Saturday morning cartoons were the ones we re-enacted with our friends on the playground. Whether it was screaming at the top of our lungs to go Super Saiyan like in Dragon Ball Z, or sleuthing around the school as Darkwing Duck.

In the years since our childhood, we’ve often bonded with both strangers and friends over memories of Saturday morning cartoons, remembering the quaint stories and characters that influenced our lives in surprisingly profound ways.

Those stories have a unifying power, and that’s at the heart of developer Shapefarm’s debut, Orbitals, which seeks to combine that rich heart with the gameplay style of Hazelight Studios’ co-op games like It Takes Two and Split Fiction. Will Orbitals be looked back on quite as fondly as those cartoons years down the road? Probably not, but this Switch 2 exclusive is a no-frills co-op smorgasbord that’s delightful from start to finish.

Editor's Note: Since Orbitals requires two players to complete, this feature is co-authored by George Yang and Hayes Madsen. Name a more iconic duo.

You play as Maki and Omura, two space explorers tasked with finding power cores to power up their home ship and prevent it from being destroyed by a cosmic storm. Orbitals is very similar to co-op games like It Takes Two and Split Fiction, both from Hazelight Studios.

Strictly a two-player game, you and a friend have to work together to solve environmental puzzles while communicating with each other. This dynamic complements the friendly camaraderie between Maki and Omura, the former of whom is a bubbly girl and the latter a more laidback, blue-skinned male humanoid with horns.

Perhaps what’s most remarkable about Orbitals is its sense of lightness. This is a game laser-focused on fun, evoking that through smart puzzle design, cooperation, collectibles that are all tied to fun little minigames, and more.

Experiencing Orbitals was just like marathoning an entire season worth of anime. The 80s and 90s anime art direction emphasizes thick lines and simple shading, as opposed to modern standards of meticulous detail and cinematic lighting.

This retro aesthetic permeates every facet of Orbitals. The splash screen that appears when loading up Orbitals, showing Shapefarm and publisher Kepler Interactive’s logos, is soaked in retro-futuristic bright neon like Apple’s back in the 80s. The amazing opening song, “Accelerating Destiny,” is sung by legendary 80s anime vocalist Mami Ayukawa. Each decision feels intentional, like a love letter to this era.

It’s an absolutely gorgeous journey through space that lasts a brisk 5 hours. There are 12 chapters lasting around 20-25 minutes, with each feeling like a separate TV episode, and we know what you're thinking; that seems like a short game. And it is.

Compared to Split Fiction, which lasted way too long, Orbitals finds itself on the other end of the spectrum. The pacing quickly picks up into the finale, making it feel a bit rushed. There's a middle ground that both games missed, which is a shame. Despite that, although hastily, Orbitals wraps itself up in a satisfying way.

Shows like Cowboy Bebop had a ragtag team of underdogs exploring the solar system, instilling lessons about loneliness and existentialism. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing had heavier ethical themes about war. These ideas flew over our heads as kids, and we were mostly occupied by the pretty lights and awesome fight scenes. But rewatching them as adults allowed us to grasp them better. Orbitals follows in these classics’ footsteps, tackling subjects like agency of choice and forgiveness.

Orbitals has its fair share of battles, with one player controlling the guns while the other steers the ship to take down turrets and incoming asteroids. It’s not too difficult, since each of you only has to focus on one task, but the real challenge comes from communicating.

In a few boss fights, the battles can suddenly change into a completely different format. In one instance, the pilot had to dodge enemy projectiles like a bullet-hell game, while the other player's perspective shifted inside the ship, with them putting out fires before heading back to the guns. It’s these unexpected moments that make Orbitals a blast to play.

As the designated pilot of the duo, Hayes quickly felt the burden of protection weigh upon his shoulders. He didn’t just have to get us from point A to point B, but also had to dodge enemy attacks in frenetic battles, pilot through the sudden bullet-hell segment, use a microwave to possess creatures and shift the stage, and so much more. George, on the other hand, had to quickly dispatch enemies before they depleted the ship’s HP, while also frantically navigating through lava while Hayes cooled it from underneath, creating a path to the other side of the level.

Despite a runtime that feels like it ends when the game is really picking up, Orbitals is an incredibly smartly designed little game. One that consistently weaves different gameplay styles and genres together into something effortlessly distinct, even though it clearly is trying to emulate the magic of It Takes Two and Split Fiction. The good news is that it largely succeeds at what it does.

The story is breezy, but punctuated by shockingly good performances and that whimsical Saturday morning cartoon feel. The main duo instantly feel like lifelong friends, with the game knowing it doesn’t need to take the time to lay out that backstory.

Equally, gameplay mechanics are briefly explained but then further explored through experimentation and context clues, rather than lengthy tutorials. Those two aspects combine into a game that, ultimately, makes every hour feel distinctly different, just like a Saturday morning cartoon.

It’s those differences that make Orbitals more than the sum of its parts, alongside how much the experience of the game’s two players actually differs.

While the game likely felt more like a shooter for George, Orbitals was essentially a platformer and vehicular exploration game. That inherently adds a bit of a different tinge to each experience, even in how Orbitals relates to those Saturday morning cartoons it tries to evoke. For Hayes’ part, it transported him back to his favorite shows like Gundam and Code Lyoko. This also adds some much-needed replay value, as you can swap roles and dive back in once the credits have rolled.

Orbitals may be short, but there’s a lot to love. The kind of dessert that satisfies your craving, but doesn’t taste too sickly sweet.

Orbitals launches on September 3 exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2.

Across the decades, Star Wars' secret sauce has always been a feeling – an intoxicating mixture of whimsy and adventure that’s nearly impossible to replicate. That’s especially true with the original film trilogy and the prequel film trilogy, even if the two have distinctly different flavors.

The series forays into video games have seen a lot of success, but Zero Company does something I’ve never seen a Star Wars game do before: it seamlessly combines the two different eras of the original and prequel film trilogies into something that not only recaptures the magic of those stories, but entirely stands on its own.

By taking the strategic XCOM formula and splicing it together with the whimsy of Star Wars, Zero Company becomes one of the best adventures you can find in a galaxy far, far away.

Zero Company takes place in the midst of the Clone Wars of the prequel trilogy, following an ex-Republic officer named Hawks who left their military post after losing an entire unit. The game picks up long after this event, with Hawks now running the titular “Zero Company,” a mercenary group that takes on odd — and often off-the-books — jobs across the war-torn galaxy. But on an ordinary mission, Hawks discovers a bizarre magic plague, a secret plan hatched by the Separatist army, and a contract with Republic intelligence to take on jobs the army can’t do.

The story of Zero Company is firmly set within the Clone Wars, and along with that comes the era's distinctive visual style and aesthetic. Fascinatingly, though, this narrative feels remarkably like a Rebel one, more in line with the original trilogy.

Zero Company’s secretive missions are a perfect vessel to explore the fringes of Galactic Society, the underworld, and the harsh reality common people face in a Republic dangerously veering toward authoritarianism. Zero Company meaningfully explores these themes, using a ragtag band of outcasts as a filter to view them. For all intents and purposes, this story could slot into the original trilogy just as easily, making it a fascinating mish-mash that Star Wars has seldom seen before.

And that all starts with Hawks themselves, a wonderfully charismatic hero who’s nearly impossible to dislike. I played the game as the male Hawks, but you can choose a female Hawks as well. The best way I can think to describe Hawks is as if Han Solo was played by Mathew McConaughey; a hero with a biting sense of humor punctuated by a thick Southern drawl, backed up by some genuinely hilarious writing.

Hawks is the grounding force of Zero Company, the down-to-Earth scoundrel that keeps everyone humble. It's a common trope in Star Wars, but it works well here because Hawks has some real weirdos to bounce off of, including a clone named Trick who has nightmares of losing his helmet before battle, an alien named Kabb who’s obsessed with opera and had a Yoda-like stilt to his speech, and a lost Jedi Padawan, who’s not quite sure how to be a Jedi.

Zero Company relishes the quiet moments where your characters get to bond, translating those bonds directly into gameplay enhancements and skills in battle. Again, this inevitably ends up giving the game more of a Rebellion-era feel, as each of your operatives holds some kind of dark secret or goal that has led them to Zero Company.

There’s a selection of defined characters to build your squad out with, on top of the ability to recruit generic operatives. And you’re going to need the numbers because in Zero Company, literally anyone can die.

This is an XCOM-style game through and through, meaning complex turn-based combat where each and every one of your characters can fall in battle. But it’s not instant death, luckily, as every character can take two injuries (downs), and the third one means permanent death.

It provides some flexibility to the game’s combat, also tying into the heavy focus on teamwork and operating the squad as a whole. You can take up to four characters into each battle, though you are occasionally joined by some kind of guest character or have to rescue a hostage, thus gaining another character midway through battle.

Zero Company is, essentially, split into three parts: The hideout, Operations, and Tactical Missions. In the hideout, you can talk to characters, conduct research to improve weapons or facilities, and then prepare for missions. On the mission board, you can use intel (gained from Tactical Missions) to conduct quick little text-based expeditions called Operations that grant various rewards, boost your influence in that specific zone, and unlock new Tactical Missions. These add some flavour without actually engaging you in combat. For that, you'll want the Tactical Missions.

There’s a ton of variability in how you build your forces; alongside the class system, which decides a character's skills, each can equip one of four weapons, along with utility items like medpacks or grenades.

Classes and skills lean into different styles of play; Astromech droids are entirely support-focused, generating AP (action points) and buffing the party, while the Assault is focused on heavy damage and drawing aggro. Zero Company smartly leans into the Star Wars universe, making classes and characters feel like distinct pieces of said universe. Tel-Rea, the Jedi character, is almost entirely melee-focused, but comes with her own entirely distinct skills and combat abilities, essentially requiring you to build your party around her.

But by far the most interesting element of building your squad is the relationship system. As characters battle alongside each other, their relationship levels will rise, and each level lets you pick a perk that applies to both operators. You might be able to permanently increase ranged damage, or critical chance, or the range of movement on first turn. This provides a ton of flexibility for progression, and feels extremely rewarding for painting units together – and directly ties into that narrative sense of camaraderie that builds as well.

Zero Company has a lot of different systems and stats to keep track of, and it can be overwhelming at first, but eventually everything clicks together in a superbly satisfying way, like finding that section of a puzzle that just effortlessly comes together.

I’m not hesitant to say that outside of XCOM itself, this is one of the best squad-based strategy games I’ve ever played. And that’s largely because of how well the game leans into the uniqueness of the Star Wars universe, using its source material in nearly every narrative beat and gameplay mechanic.

But the beating heart at the center of everything is the convincing way the game builds your tight-knit squad, the little family that quickly starts to develop. It’s in the little moments in your base, where your janitor says he’s gonna find that space mouse…. and eat it, much to the chagrin of Hawks. It’s in those little moments in battle, where a skill you’ve invested in lets your party member execute a follow-up attack at the perfect time, taking out a Sniper Droid that might have dropped your own squadmate next turn.

And I think the initial smaller scope of Zero Company’s narrative really helps nail that Star Wars feel. There are bigger stakes that eventually develop, but for the first half of the game you’re simply living out life as a band of mercenaries, getting to know your squaddies, and trying to juggle the various systems and injuries your crew gets.

Zero Company uses the epic backdrop of the prequels and the Clone Wars to tell an original trilogy-style story about a band of heroes that simply come together in the right place at the right time. Star Wars is no stranger to good video games, and Zero Company quite handily blasts its way into the conversation as one of the best.

'For All Mankind' was pretty good, wasn't it? Sadly, the show's run has finished now, and while we've got spin-off 'Star City' picking up the mantle, it's still going to be a while before we get any more space politics drama on our screens. Luckily, we can find it on our tabletops instead, with these fantastic space board games.

If you haven't seen it, For All Mankind is the story of an alternate history in which the space race between the U.S. and Russia never fizzled out. Instead, it becomes a multigenerational competition that drives everything from electric vehicle adoption to gender equality.

If, like millions of other Apple TV subscribers, you've been rapt watching 'For All Mankind' and want to bring some of that hot diplomacy and betrayal to your own kitchen table, you're in luck. Several space-based board games let you get a taste of the space race intrigue without having to connive your way to the top of an actual space agency.

Social deduction games have exploded in recent years with good reason. Some of the best tabletop games include some level of politicking, as well as the deal-making, deception, and favor trading that entails. Making social and technological advances often comes at the cost of high levels of international brinkmanship and some very gray ethics.

So, are you ready to kick off the space race once again? Here are 7 space board games that capture the high drama of the era, but without all the devastating foreign policy implications of the real thing.

1. Twilight Struggle

Developer: Ananda Gupta, Trevor Devries | Release Date: 2005 | Players: 2 | Recommended Age: 13+

Twilight Struggle is a perfect distillation of the tension and national anxiety embodied by the Cold War. It follows the conflict between the U.S. and Russia across five decades, and its space race track mirrors For All Mankind's geopolitical stakes.

Every satellite you managed to hurl into the atmosphere or astronaut you successfully guide into space represents both a technical and a propaganda victory. It’s like watching Margo Madison and Sergei Nikulov battle with dice in place of launch vehicles.

Buy "Twilight Struggle" at GMT Games

2. Twilight Imperium

Developer: Corey Konieczka (Fantasy Flight Games) | Release Date: 2017 | Players: 3-6 (up to 8 with expansions) | Recommended Age: 14+

Considered by many to be the gold standard in space politicking, Twilight Imperium drops you into a vast galaxy after the fall of the ancient Lazax empire.

Players take on the role of interstellar empires competing to conquer the capital planet at the center of a huge galaxy. They achieve this by building space docks and warships, trading goods, and clashing in cosmic combat.

The true brilliance of TI lies in its asymmetry, with each of the 17 factions having a variety of advantages and quirks that differentiate it from the others, and the way it drives players to negotiate with — and backstab — each other on the galactic stage.

Laws and elections can quickly shift the balance of power in the game, and the rules can be subverted or twisted to your advantage through the deft deployment of crushing bureaucracy. It's a long game and not one for beginners, but there really is nothing quite like a session of Twilight Imperium.

Buy "Twilight Imperium" at Asmodee

3. High Frontier (4th Edition)

Developer: Phil Eklund (Sierra Madre Games) | Release Date: 2019 | Players: 1-5 | Recommended Age: 14+

Designed by real-world aerospace engineer and rocket scientist Phil Eklund, High Frontier puts you at the helm of a space agency or private aerospace company and tasks you with building a self-sustaining space economy.

It channels For All Mankind’s scientific obsession and is a great showcase for the intersection of personal and national ambition and feasibility. Every decision feels freighted with international importance, and players are forced to grapple with mechanics like realistically modeled orbital mechanics and unforgiving resource scarcity.

Beware, though; High Frontier is one of the most complex board games ever developed, but can also be one of the most rewarding for committed players.

Buy "High Frontier" at Ion Game Design.

4. SpaceCorp: 2025–2300 AD

Developer: Phil Eklund (Sierra Madre Games) | Release Date: 2018 | Players: 1-5 | Recommended Age: 14+

SpaceCorp takes us far beyond the imagined future of For All Mankind's world of governmental space agency programs, and into a timeline where vast, powerful corporations have transformed cosmic exploration and exploitation into big business.

Players begin in low Earth orbit and steadily expand their way into the depths of space, trying to find the balance between risk and profit. Like any good far future dystopia, SpaceCorp positions massive corporations as the true governing entities of the future, swapping in private investors for diplomats and corporate boards for politicians.

It's the natural evolution of the creeping commercialization that For All Mankind's later seasons begin to gesture towards. Real life is making similar gestures, if we're honest, and I, for one, welcome our new corporate overlords.

Buy "SpaceCorp: 2025–2300 AD" at Amazon.

5. Terraforming Mars

Developer: Jacob Fryxelius (FryxGames) | Release Date: 2016 | Players: 1-5 | Recommended Age: 12+

Terraforming Mars takes the terrestrial-based space race so vividly portrayed in For All Mankind and ships it to the Martian surface.

Players compete to build massive engines of profit and production to transform Mars into a livable habitat, all in the glorious name of cutthroat capitalism.

It perfectly embodies the dream-versus-profit conflict so adeptly portrayed in For All Mankind, while also reflecting the later seasons' focus on the red planet as a new stage for human rivalry and ethical reckoning, clothed in the reassuring euphemism of progress.

6. Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy

Developer: Touko Tahkokallio (Lautapelit.fi) | Release Date: 2020 | Players: 2-6 | Recommended Age: 14+

A personal favorite, Eclipse is a 4X* game that blends elements of exploration with research and direct (fairly deterministic) combat.

Players ruthlessly compete for victory points derived from controlling systems, building specific structures, discovering artifacts, and researching scientific innovations. It's a beautiful interpretation of one of our world's oldest refrains, the often impossible balance of diplomacy and domination.

A full game of Eclipse ends up reflecting on human nature in some of the same ways the show does, illustrating how often our best intentions are undermined by our desire for personal advancement (or total victory).

*4X stands for Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate.

Buy "Eclipse: 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy" at Zatu Games.

It's always the way, you wait 40,000 years for a Warhammer series from Amazon Prime Video, and then two come along at once.

Spinning off of Prime Video's animated video game-based anthology, "Secret Level," a new "Warhammer 40,000" animated series is marching down the creative pipeline. This spin-off series is spawned from "Secret Level's" "Warhammer 40,000" episode titled "And They Shall Know No Fear," which debuted in December of 2024.

The show doesn't have a name yet, but we know it's coming courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios, Blur Studios, and the miniature wargame's British parent company, Games Workshop.

Hollywood megastar and king of the nerds, Henry Cavill ("The Witcher"), has signed on to executive produce, alongside his role on the previously announced live-action "Warhammer 40,000" series in development at Amazon MGM Studios, which is coming from prolific writer/producer Mike Flanagan ("Midnight Mass," "Carrie").

We don't know much about the plot at this time, other than that it will focus on the Deathwatch, who are a group of intimidating cybernetically enhanced Space Marines who are particularly adept at slaying nasty extraterrestrial xenos.

Dave Wilson directed the original short, and he's signed on again here as co-creator and director, with John Orloff ("Masters of the Air," "Band of Brothers") aiding in the development process.

"Secret Level" creator Tim Miller ("Love, Death + Robots") serves as executive producer with Dave Wilson for Blur Studios, alongside Cavill and Natalie Viscuso. Joining them are Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment and Games Workshop's Andy Smillie.

"'Secret Level' wasn’t conceived simply as an anthology. It was designed as a launchpad for larger stories," said Wilson in a statement. "The response to the 'Warhammer' episode was extraordinary, particularly from fans who understood how much care went into getting the world right. This series gives us the opportunity to build on that foundation and tell a much larger story. I've wanted to tell a long-form story set in 'Warhammer 40,000' for more than twenty years, and I'm incredibly grateful to Games Workshop and Amazon MGM Studios for the opportunity to do it."

Prime Video is knee-deep in gaming adaptations with its acclaimed "Fallout" series and a "Tomb Raider" show starring "Game of Thrones"' Sophie Turner on the roster. Amazon MGM Studios is also hard at work on an epic "God of War" project, with "Guardians of the Galaxy's" Dave Bautista currently topping the list to portray Kratos after Ryan Hurst left the production due to an injury.

No specific release date was unveiled for "Warhammer 40,000's" animated event series, but we’ll keep you briefed on any major details in the coming months!

Microsoft and Xbox are currently facing all sorts of troubles (many of their own doing) in the shape of sweeping layoffs, studio cuts, and calls to boycott their products, to name a few. Extremely talented developers (who deserve much better) still put out exciting video games regardless, and with the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved out now, we look to Gears of War: E-Day, the series' first mainline entry since 2019.

While there are plenty of upcoming space games worth keeping tabs on, Gears of War's return feels special for a number of reasons. Although Gears 5 was not a flop – quite the opposite – there was a growing sentiment among the fanbase that Gears of War needed to reevaluate its future by revisiting its past. After a solid remaster of the original game last year, this next chapter is taking us back to where it all started: Emergence Day.

With gameplay systems, mechanics, controls, and visuals fully rebuilt on Unreal Engine 5, The Coalition aims to deliver the ultimate Gears of War experience with E-Day, and at least the atmosphere and tone seem pitch-perfect. But with nostalgia taking so many beloved franchises a few steps back in recent times, we must wonder if there's more to E-Day than reliving the series' glory days? Here's everything you should know about Gears of War: E-Day ahead of its launch.

When is Gears of War: E-Day coming out?

Gears of War: E-Day launches on October 6, 2026.

After a gameplay-less reveal in summer 2024, The Coalition went silent to continue work on the prequel. It was finally during the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 that we received confirmation Gears of War: E-Day would arrive before the year's end.

Is Gears of War: E-Day coming to PlayStation 5?

No, Gears of War: E-Day won't be releasing on PS5 despite last year's remaster of the first game marking the series' debut on Sony consoles.

Though rumors and leaked materials pointed to Gears of War: E-Day launching on Sony's console alongside Xbox, the full reveal in summer 2026 underlined it was an Xbox Series X/S console exclusive. It will, however, also launch on Windows via the Xbox app and Steam. As usual, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will also get access to it day one.

Three editions will be available at launch, and you can pre-order them already:

• Standard ($69.99 / £59.99 / €69.99) – Base game.
• Premium ($99.99 / £89.99 / €99.99) – Base game with up to five days of early access, Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack, Emergence Customization Pack, Four Seasonal Customization Packs (released post-launch), and 1,000 iron (the game's premium in-game currency). A separate upgrade for Standard will also be sold.
• Collector's ($299.99 / variable regional pricing) – Everything in the Premium Edition plus physical items, including a collector's display box, a 15" statue, replica COG tags, an exclusive steelbook case, an art piece, and an art print & thank-you note from the studio.

All editions also benefit from pre-order bonuses that include open beta early access (on August 6), the Exfil weapon set, and Exfil Dom legendary character skin.

Gears of War: E-Day trailers

Xbox and The Coalition are sharing all sorts of short videos in the lead-up to launch, but if you want to only watch the trailers and gameplay demos, we have them right here:

Is Gears of War: E-Day the first game in the timeline?

Gears of War: E-Day is the first chapter in the Gears timeline. It tells the story of how the humans on the Earth-like planet of Sera came in contact with the bloodthirsty and relentless Locust Horde on what would later be called Emergence Day.

If you're planning to play the Gears of War games in order, this would be the perfect place to start moving forward. Though the original game and Judgment (a spinoff that was released for Xbox 360) gave us information on what happened during E-Day, we never really had a Rogue One-like prequel similar to Halo: Reach. Now, both veterans and newcomers will be able to experience the struggle humanity faced as a new conflict erupted.

Alongside a supporting cast of new and familiar faces, the story follows original trilogy protagonists Marcus Fenix and Dominic 'Dom' Santiago as they battle through the chaos of E-Day and push back against the subterranean invaders. For additional context, the war against the Locust kicks off only a few weeks after the 79-year conflict between human factions known as the Pendulum Wars, which explains why the COG wasn't in the best of conditions when the monsters attacked.

Will Gears of War: E-Day have co-op and competitive multiplayer?

Gears of War: E-Day is a third-person, cover-based shooter in the style of the previous games and, as such, both co-op and competitive multiplayer are back alongside the single-player experience.

The main story campaign can be played in single-player, or with up to four players online or two players locally via split screen. It must be noted the PC version of the game won't feature local co-op. These player counts also apply to the series' famous Horde Siege PvE survival mode, which pits players against waves of enemies as they select different classes and loadouts.

Versus PvP multiplayer for online competition also returns with all-new maps and both Social and Ranked matches. While the post-launch support hasn't been fully detailed, it feels likely more maps will be added in the future at no extra cost.

Is there a Gears of War: E-Day demo?

There's no Gears of War: E-Day demo announced at the time of writing. However, players can look forward to a multiplayer open beta happening in the coming weeks. More specifically, those who pre-order or have active Game Pass Ultimate subs can access the test early, from August 6 to 10. The second – and fully open – weekend will happen at a later date, probably the following week.

While Hardspace: Shipbreaker does an excellent job of capturing the dystopian perils of unchecked hypercapitalism, the real fun in this space game comes from carving up massive capital ships with space lasers and explosives.

Floating in zero gravity, players slice derelict spacecraft into salvageable chunks, while also contending with unruly physics, pressure, and profit margins. It's a compelling fantasy: orbital blue-collar labor, where yesterday's spacecraft become tomorrow's raw materials.

As satisfying as the simulation is, the real-world challenge of space debris removal is both more constrained and more urgent.

Christian Steimle is the Project Manager of the European Space Agency's (ESA) ClearSpace-1 mission, the first ever aimed at removing a piece of debris (in this case, a satellite called PROBA-1) from low-Earth orbit.

We spoke to him to get a sense of how actual space junk removal will happen in the future, and how it stacks up to the representations we see in sci-fi games like Shipbreaker.

The fantasy of orbital demolition

Games like Hardspace: Shipbreaker, ΔV: Rings of Saturn, and other space cleanup simulators tend to emphasize three core ideas: that debris can be dismantled piece by piece, that tools can safely cut or break apart structures in orbit, and that salvage is economically driven and scalable.

While they may be necessary assumptions to make for engaging gameplay, they diverge pretty significantly from current realities.

The main issue is fragmentation. Breaking apart a defunct satellite, even under the most carefully controlled and monitored conditions, risks generating thousands of high-velocity fragments. Some of those generated would be too small to feasibly track, yet large enough to destroy operational spacecraft, satellites, or stations. This is the nightmare scenario behind the Kessler syndrome, a cascading chain of collisions that could render entire orbital pathways unusable.

As Christian Steimle, Project Manager for the European Space Agency's ClearSpace-1 mission, explains, "The common agreement between all of these missions is that objects to be removed shall not be broken up or damaged… especially to avoid creating smaller debris which is more difficult to track."

That means that the core mechanic of many space salvage games (cutting or exploding things into smaller bits) is precisely what real missions are designed to avoid.

How real debris removal works

ClearSpace-1 takes a more holistic approach. Instead of dismantling debris, the mission aims to capture PROBA-1 with as little initial damage as possible, then guide it to destruction in Earth's atmosphere.

"ClearSpace-1 will be launched into a position slightly below PROBA-1 by a dedicated launch," Steimle says. "After successful commissioning, the ClearSpace-1 servicer will inspect PROBA-1 in a number of fly-around manoeuvres."

These inspection passes are not just reconnaissance. They validate visual navigation systems and analyze how the target object is tumbling so the capture vehicle can respond appropriately.

The capture itself is a delicate operation. "The ClearSpace-developed capture system will encompass the client satellite, first forming a cage around PROBA-1, then closing the cage carefully to avoid damaging the client," Steimle explains.

Once secured, the combined spacecraft must be stabilized before any orbital change. Only then can the system lower its orbit, ensuring both objects burn up safely during re-entry. "ClearSpace-1 is designed to demise during re-entry, ensuring on-ground safety and disposal at the same time."

The process more closely resembles a surgical extraction of potentially hazardous material than scrapyard demolition.

What games get right

Despite their liberties, space cleanup games do hit the mark in a number of areas. One is the importance of orbital mechanics. Many games emphasize inertia, momentum, and the difficulty of stopping or redirecting large masses. Real active debris removal (ADR) missions face similar constraints, where even small velocity mismatches can lead to mission failure or damage to the capture vehicle or target.

The danger of uncontrolled motion is also well represented. Tumbling objects are among the hardest targets in space operations. Synchronizing with them requires precise, multi-axis propulsion and control systems. As Steimle notes, future vehicles must "synchronise [their] motion with a potentially tumbling space object and apply the proper control to detumble." One of the main challenges in games like Shipbreaker is avoiding being clobbered by moving debris, especially after you've detonated some explosives, or matching the speed of a rotating component long enough to cut it apart.

Third, specialization is key. Your toolkit and how you use it in games like Shipbreaker is key, and real missions rely on highly tailored capture systems. Each target may require a different approach, from robotic arms to nets, harpoons, or enclosure systems like ClearSpace's.

Where the simulations fall short

The biggest gap between games and reality isn't the tech, it's risk tolerance.

In games, mistakes are recoverable. In orbit, a single error can generate long-lived debris fields traveling at roughly 7–8 kilometers per second, turning tiny fragments into deadly kinetic weapons.

Games also tend to assume an eventual salvage economy, where materials are recovered and reused in space. While in-orbit manufacturing and recycling are active areas of research, current debris removal efforts aren't about profit. They're about mitigation.

"The overarching requirement is to preserve the space environment around the Earth for use by future generations," Steimle says. "Removing large objects before first collisions occur is key."

There are also orbital regime differences that games rarely address. In geostationary orbit (GEO), for instance, debris is not deorbited but moved to a higher "graveyard orbit" due to the prohibitive energy cost of re-entry. This kind of orbital zoning has no real analogue in most gameplay systems.

The future of orbital cleanup

Looking ahead, the field of in-orbit servicing and debris removal is diversifying rapidly. Steimle says agencies and private companies across Europe, the United States and Japan are developing competing capture technologies and mission architectures.

Low-Earth orbit operations will likely favor agile, highly maneuverable vehicles capable of complex rendezvous and stabilization tasks. GEO missions, by contrast, will involve larger, less dynamic spacecraft performing long-duration servicing and relocation.

What remains consistent is the guiding principle: do no harm to the orbital environment. There's little room for the improvisational cutting and explosive decompression you see in most space salvage games. Instead, the future of orbital cleanup will depend on autonomy, precision guidance, and tightly controlled interactions with fragile, often unpredictable objects.

Fiction vs. necessity

Perhaps tellingly, most space cleanup games focus on the economy of salvage. You're tasked with generating profit, or feeding it into a progression system to purchase new tools or more efficient methods of destruction. In reality, the immediate challenge is more conservative and more urgent: preventing a runaway cascade of collisions that could close off access to space altogether.

If anything, the contrast highlights just how precarious Earth's orbital environment has become. The fantasy is not that we can break things apart in space; it's that we can continue to use space safely without cleaning up the vast constellations of trash we've already left behind.

Space is incomprehensibly vast. So huge that the human mind struggles to even conceptualize it. The observable universe spans roughly 93 billion light-years. Even our own humble galaxy, the Milky Way — a few tiny stitches of the universal canvas — stretches across 100,000 light-years and contains hundreds of billions of stars.

It's no wonder, then, that space video games struggle so mightily with anything approaching a "realistic" interpretation of those incredible distances, especially in an age where we have yet to invent a technology that can traverse them in a reasonable time.

The Artemis 2 mission's Orion module got up to speeds of around 25,000 mph during its trans lunar injection burn. Ignoring fuel and safety concerns, at those speeds, it would still take us at least 80,000 years to reach our nearest neighbor, Alpha Centauri.

So how do game developers manage to distill some of the awe of the vastness of space while making it feel like a manageable space? How do they shrink space to a navigable size without making it feel small or claustrophobic?

I spoke to astrophysicist Dr. Jeffrey Bennett, founder of Big Kid Science and author of "The Scale of the Universe", to get a sense of the scope of the problem.

The true scale of space

"On a 1 to 10 billion scale — which makes the Sun about the size of a large grapefruit — Earth is smaller than the ball point in a pen and located about 15 meters (49 feet) away from the Sun," explains Bennett. "On that same scale, the Moon — the farthest a human being has ever traveled — lies only about 4 centimeters (1½ inches) away from us. The planets of our solar system are much farther, though you can still walk to the outermost planets in only 10 minutes or so."

Bennett said most science fiction films and games get the scale wrong by making long-distance travel look too easy. Considering the above 1-to-10 billion-scale representation, for instance, and given that reaching the outermost planets in our system — far further than any human being has ever travelled — would take ten minutes, "to reach the nearest stars, you’d have to walk the distance across the United States."

Just simulating a small part of the existing universe would push current hardware to its limits, even with crutches like procedural generation. Developers use various techniques, like level-of-detail scaling, instancing, and streaming, to create the illusion of vastness without melting hardware.

Bennett also talks about how scale works in the case of interstellar objects like asteroids and maneuvering around them.

Films and games, he says, "tend to make it look very difficult to avoid collisions with asteroids, with spacecraft having to dart this way and that to pass through an asteroid region safely. In fact, while there are many millions of asteroids in the asteroid belt of our solar system, the full region is so large that it would take incredibly bad luck to crash into an asteroid by accident. That is why spacecraft studies of asteroids require careful planning to get a spacecraft close enough to any asteroid to get photos and other data."

The reality is that even in its most populated regions, asteroids are typically hundreds of thousands to millions of kilometers apart in our system's asteroid belt. Standing on one of the asteroids, it would be incredibly unlikely that you'd be able to see even one of the largest other asteroids with the naked eye.

How games cope with the enormity of space

"This absolutely IS a design conflict that all space games have to solve," said Bernd Lehahn, Founder and Managing Director of Egosoft, the company that makes the successful X franchise of space simulators (most recently X4: Foundations).

"On the one hand, space must feel very large, or else players will feel cheated. Space and sci-fi have always been about the dream of infinite distances and exploration in a seemingly endless universe. At the same time, most games, the X games included, do not want to force players through unnecessarily long flight times or, god forbid, boredom."

Lehahn says his studio tries to strike a balance between areas that feel more content dense with regions that feel more like an unsettled frontier, to impart a sense of the true emptiness of space.

"There should be room for both extremes: dense, highly populated regions, often with artificial means of transportation that allow the player to find and visit many important places relatively quickly, but also the empty, remote, fringe areas of space, where the experience is much slower, but where exploration happens, and the uncharted map allows for mystery and secrets."

Finding a solution to modeling and traversing the vastness of space has been an issue for Egosoft from the release of the original X game back in 1999, and continues to be something the studio grapples with today. The reality is that most of space is empty, so empty that you don't even have visual cues to indicate you're moving through it. Traveling through it without some kind of cheat or compression would involve unimaginable stretches of black emptiness with nothing happening, but too much compression begins to feel artificial.

"X4: Foundations probably has the most sophisticated solution to this conflict," Lehahn said. For the latest game, the team combines a number of solutions. It starts with scaled tiers of engine technologies with increasingly limited steering. Faster, more powerful engines allow for increasingly speedy, but more straight-line or on-rails travel.

The team also uses the conceit of "jump gates" to leap across huge swaths of the universe in a blink, as well as teleportation and time acceleration to similarly compress travel. There are also space highways with slipstream acceleration to hurry things along.

Importantly, the X games also often give players things to do during the downtime of space travel. Giving players minor, uneventful tasks or other distractions can help fill out long stretches of uninterrupted travel. Above all else, Lehahn wants to ensure players are enjoying themselves.

"X4: Foundations is still a game. We want it to feel as realistic as possible—allow players to experience the universe and truly believe the 'sectors' are endless, planets are real size, and you can move in relation to planets and even larger celestial objects. But sometimes, if there is a conflict between fun gameplay and realism, then we may have to compromise on realism a bit."

A different approach

Rather than compress space into a manageable slice, the Elite Dangerous team at Frontier Developments takes on a much more ambitious challenge.

"We have a 1:1 scale Milky Way," says Executive Producer Gauthier Verquerre. "Roughly 400 billion star systems."

To create that vast canvas, the team uses a technology called the Stellar Forge, which uses real astronomical catalog data and models phenomena like the collision of stellar systems and the way stars and planets form to procedurally generate systems. The systems are generated once when a system is discovered and regenerated in the same way whenever a player visits them.

One of the most daunting challenges Elite Dangerous faces is that the game doesn't just model the galaxy on a macro scale. It also has to generate planetary surfaces and space station interiors for players to explore.

"Throughout the universe, we have these spectacular stellar phenomena which players are out there discovering every day," said Verquerre. "The flip side of that is that we have players meeting in the same star systems, or on the planetary surface. We have to represent both the huge 1:1 scale of space that we have in the game for interstellar elements like Lagrange clouds or nebulae, and the personal scale of 'I'm on foot in a planetary settlement.'"

Despite releasing way back in 2014, only a tiny fraction of the space the game simulates has been explored by players.

According to Verquerre, "There's still over 99% of the universe out there, waiting to be explored, where any Commander can be the first to add their name to the system and say 'I was the first one to see this'. We also added System Colonisation last year, allowing our players to construct space stations and planetary settlements. That's been really rewarding for us, seeing the rate at which the bubble has expanded."

To empower players to explore that nearly infinite playground, Elite Dangerous (like X4) takes a tiered approach. Three methods of travel provide increasing compression of space/travel time.

"There's Deep Space, where ships move at ‘slow’ speeds (around 300m/s, under Mach 1) to access individual gameplay actions like combat or mining," Verquerre told me, "Supercruise, which is essentially a form of FTL travel within a system useful for scanning systems, and Hyperspace, where players travel between star systems through a tunnel."

The game also recently introduced a fourth tier of movement, dubbed Supercruise Overcharge, which allows players to navigate star systems at a much greater speed. Even with these many systems for speeding up transit, however, traversing such unimaginably vast distances can eat up a huge amount of time, and Frontier has tried to ensure that travel is peppered with events and resource management to keep players engaged.

"It's all about the player," Verquerre explains. "Explorers often want a little solitude, or an unexpected encounter, whilst our traders are considering the risk of what they're carrying. Fuel and heat management tend to be primary considerations; no one wants to be marooned out in deep space! There are also interdictions, where a Commander can be pulled out of a jump and find themselves hunted."

"Additionally, those long trips that our players are taking out into deep space mean that small damage adds up, canopy cracks and moments of tension take the beauty of space and translate it almost instantly into abject fear."

The magic and awe of the staggering scope of space is a core part of the Elite Dangerous mystique, and it's not lost on Verquerre.

"I remember a journey I once made to Beagle Point, one of the most remote star systems found in Elite Dangerous, which I’d consider to be one of the most memorable gaming moments in my life. The sense of achievement in reaching a system that you’ve plotted out at the end of a journey is something very tangible, and it always makes me look forward to the next adventure."

A (nearly) infinite challenge

Space games don't fail to simulate the scale of the cosmos because developers lack ambition or imagination.

The reality is that the universe operates on scales that challenge not only the capacity of the human behind them, but also that of our machines to reproduce them. Bridging that gap requires not just bigger maps, but smarter design, and a recognition that sometimes, the awe of the infinite matters more than the numbers behind it.

"X4: Foundations" and "Elite Dangerous" are both available to play now on PC. You can also pick up Dr Bennett's book, "The Scale of the Universe", on Amazon.

Star Fox 64 is the Nintendo game that refuses to fade away, and we're not complaining, especially when the new Switch 2 remake — simply titled Star Fox — amplifies its replay value and expands the original vision with a bunch of new content.

Roughly a decade ago, Star Fox Zero almost killed the franchise for good. The ill-fated Wii U entry's structure and plot stuck staggeringly close to Star Fox 64 (Lylat Wars for us PAL gamers), but no one could definitely answer if it was a remake, reboot, reimagining, or something else entirely.

It being a remake wouldn't have mattered, except that Star Fox 64 3D (for the little brave 3DS) had already done that with strong results. Now in 2026, we're still flying around the same planets with 'Star Fox'.

Considering Fox McCloud's secondary role in the recent Super Mario Galaxy Movie, you'd expect Nintendo to push onward with an all-new game in the enduring science fiction rail shooter series, yet Star Fox seems fated to play the greatest hits again and again. Fortunately, it nails what made Star Fox 64 so enduring and is the most complete take on Team Star Fox's greatest adventure.

The story is the same: The mad scientist Andross is exiled to the unwelcoming planet of Venom by General Pepper for almost destroying Corneria, the fourth planet of the Lylat system.

When suspicious activity is detected on the doomed world a few years later, Team Star Fox goes to investigate and – spoiler alert – James McCloud is killed by Andross following a betrayal from inside the team. Some time passes, and Andross launches an all-out attack against Lylat's forces, so it's time for Team Star Fox (now captained by Fox McCloud, James' son) to set things right.

And yes, his last name is Fox, and he is a Fox. If you're new to the series, there are no humans in this universe, only anthropomorphic animals.

While Star Fox doesn't sacrifice the original's arcade-y nature (you can 'beat it' in under two hours), it makes space for meatier cutscenes which better define the characters and the high stakes of the story.

It's all simple stuff with no real room for twists and turns that never gets in the way of the game's fast pace, but Velan Studios' effort is a commendable reminder that even extremely faithful remakes can add to a classic formula. Shoutout to the new arrangements of memorable musical themes from the original, too; the orchestral refresh simply sounds amazing.

The character redesigns will no doubt be a point of contention. Fox McCloud doesn't look nearly as stylish as in past Star Fox games — or as he does in this year's Mario Galaxy flick — while team members like Slippy Toad (who seems slippery) and Falco Lombardi land right in uncanny valley territory. There's a distinct charm to Star Fox's art direction — and the conversation surrounding the toons proves it — but the presentation no doubt raises the question of how much realism is too much realism for a property as cartoony as this.

The Arwings, enemy ships, and other vehicles look absolutely dashing and move with a smoothness that would've made Nintendo kids in the 1990s levitate, though. Both during missions and in cutscenes, there's speed and weight to the stars of the show, and smaller touches like laser beams briefly illuminating the environments remind us how far graphics have come.

The same could be said about the colorful levels; from Corneria to Solar, there's a vividness to Star Fox's many space locales that sometimes can be even distracting when the screen is filled with foes and incoming attacks.

Star Fox 64's 'pick up and play' nature remains untouched and only lightly upgraded. The control scheme could be more intuitive, but it's not too complex; moving around the screen, executing evasive maneuvers, and shooting down enemies feels snappy. Some of the latter levels weren't as 'tight' as I'd hoped for, but maybe that's just me still adjusting to the unavoidable nuances that come with a full tech rework under the hood.

The highlight, though, may be Switch 2's unique mouse mode, which is put to great use here; playing through the campaign with it plus the cockpit view feels transformative (It was impressive in Metroid Prime 4). Of course, the action runs at 60 frames per second with sharp image resolution in both docked and handheld modes, helping you achieve high scores, no matter which control option you use.

Blasting through the short (but highly replayable) campaign is just the beginning. There are hidden routes to discover, medals to obtain, new challenges to tackle, and the brutal Expert difficulty to clear. Ultimately, Star Fox is all about perfecting high scores and mastering a new iteration of a classic that's been dominated over the decades by the most dedicated pilots. It's Nintendo offering "one last ride" (hopefully) and inviting vets to reexperience the Lylat Wars in new, more demanding ways beyond the first run. On that front, Star Fox is a resounding success.

But it's hard to usher in a future for a dormant series without betting some chips on the casual crowd and newcomers, and I'd say most folks without an already established connection to the series (rail shooters are incredibly niche nowadays) are likely to go through Star Fox's campaign once or twice and then complain about the price tag.

There's actually a lot to Star Fox, but it mostly boils down to replaying the same missions in different ways. It's a retro sensibility that older gamers find captivating, but times have changed, and you have to wonder whether Nintendo should've gunned for an all-new game instead.

The multiplayer offerings shouldn't be ignored, though. Co-op (local or via the wireless GameShare function) lets two players go through the campaign by splitting the Arwing controls into movement and shooting, which is a nice offbeat bit of fun. Online, things get more interesting with a 4v4 competitive mode across three maps with different objectives and plenty of chaos, with NPC starfighters also fighting for control of objectives alongside players.

Matches are fast and intense, with free flight and plenty of power-ups adding to the spectacle and scale of the action. There's not much variety here, but the bones are strong. If they add more maps and modes, it could be something, but as it stands, it feels like one of those obligatory multiplayer modes every game had in the Xbox 360 era

Players willing to pick up the Switch 2 camera can also 'wear' the look of their favorite Star Fox characters VTuber-style while playing online, which is a silly little extra with incredible comedic potential in the right hands. Hardly a game-selling addition, but it's the kind of playful, family-friendly addition we expect from Nintendo.

Star Fox bets big on already established fans and hopes for the best when it comes to onboarding newbies. Will it pay off? Maybe, but 'nostalgia gains' are declining everywhere, and I'm worried that if this doesn't perform, we may be stuck waiting for a new entry that never comes... again.

Star Fox is available now for purchase on Nintendo Switch 2.

A review code for Star Fox was provided by Nintendo.

Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions might look like a direct sequel to Astroneer on the surface, but it's a space exploration game with very different objectives. While its predecessor focuses (it continues to get updates and content packs) on base-building and creative tools, this second title instead takes players on shorter, breezier trips all about discovery and mission-based tasks.

Even in its early access state, Starseeker has the bones to eventually become one of the best cozy sci-fi games around, yet some Astroneer veterans might walk into a successor that isn't what they expected. This isn't Astroneer 2, System Era's Adam Bromell — the studio's creative director, CCO, and co-founder — explained to Space around Starseeker's launch.

Some quotes have been editorialized and lightly trimmed for better flow.

"I've been jonesing for video games that try to foster a sense of community amongst players. I think that when I play with other people, and you share in an accomplishment together, it's really special," explains Bromell. "This goes all the way back to building something with friends inside of Minecraft. When you finally have that moment where you step back, and you go 'Holy shit, look at what we did.' That's a good feeling."

In a way, the original Astroneer already achieved that as a "chill base-building survival experience", yet Bromell and System Era wanted to build an experience with a stronger community element that connected everyone.

"My original inspiration with Astroneer was to pay homage to that feeling Gene Roddenberry gave me with Star Trek when I was a kid. Some hope for the future and also showing what it means to be selfless and lead with generosity, seek justice... I'm still a Trekkie at heart," he explained, showing me part of the Star Trek collection he keeps in his office as he talked.

Bromell's celebratory June 11 post on Medium explored many of the same ideas we discussed during our conversation, such as the game being defined from the get-go as "hopeful science fiction", a suggestion that's attributed to System Era's COO Veronica Peshterianu. A few hours with Starseeker make it very clear that it's a game about helping other players out versus venturing into the unknown solo or with a group of close space pals.

You can still play at your own pace or create a party of people you know, but what you do out there directly affects the global experience through community goals. In fact, a common occurrence is running into entirely different teams during an expedition.

After a short planetside tutorial, Starseeker takes players to the ESS Starseeker. This space station serves as the game's central hub, where players can meet other explorers before taking on missions that task them with recovering lost tech, scanning materials and life forms, or simply exploring more of a newfound planet.

It's a much tighter loop than Astroneer's by design, one that favors short play sessions over huge base-building marathons, and the roadmap shared around the game's early access launch is promising meaty (and free) updates over the coming months.

"Starseeker at early access is the foundation and the bedrock... We're building ourselves a platform for engagement to our community, to show them their accomplishments and to push them out onto these journeys together," Bromell explained. The early access tag will also enable the team to do playful experiments like "morning announcements on the station" or giving squads special rewards based on their performance out there. It sounds like a fluid process as the team "tries to engage with players in that space" based on the feedback it gets.

"Unlike other games in the extraction genre, which we're a piece of, we let you trade directly on the station. You don't have to go in and risk it. We're interested in themes like 'What does a take a penny, leave a penny system in a video game feel like?' Like, how do we even build for that kind of sense of camaraderie?"

Bromell doesn't shy away from comparisons to the booming extraction genre – commonly tied to shooters – but, as expected, losing the loot you find while adventuring isn't as punishing in Starseeker, as no one is actively trying to hurt you. Still, the natural hazards and alien fauna mean there's some real danger to setting foot on uncharted worlds.

A larger narrative — already teased by the game's opening cutscene — is in the works too, though Bromell was coy about revealing details there. When asked about the 'target window' for the culmination of that narrative arc, he confirmed the intention is to wrap it up by the time the game hits 1.0, even if the journey continues after that point. "Between now and 1.0, you'll be introduced to the different antagonists in this game and some of the more extrinsic motivations which the Astroneers have to keep exploring."

Astroneer's cartoony visuals don't make you think "simulation" at first glance, but despite that playful side, there's room for real-world influences and nods to real science. Bromell explained they made sure to put resources in the game that "are real things you can find in the world," even if they don't look the same when it comes to shape and how "they would physically grow and manifest".

He also brought up an example from the early Astroneer days: "When we first launched it, we just picked any color we thought was cool. And then all of a sudden, players were like, 'You're calling it malachite, but it's not the right color.' We're not trying to teach anybody anything with too much depth, but certainly, when we borrow from those things, we need to not alienate completely from the idea of what they are."

Such an approach also applies to the Astroneers themselves; Bromell and the team borrowed from the basic NASA aesthetic with "the whites and the grays" and some more elevated colors. "The core theming and palette of the Astroneers aren't unlike both the NASA and Russian space programs, because those were on my Pinterest board when I was drawing these things back in 2015." He added that System Era's goal always was to make games that are familiar and approachable, but more like "kids playing with toys" rather than "full-on simulations".

In fact, Bromell was quite vocal during our interview about the need for more "silly games" that aren't afraid of players breaking things: "We aren't afraid of our players exploiting the rules that we're putting in front of you... When we did PAX West, the mission we gave everybody was to bring an altimeter as high as you could go. There was one squad that cheesed the shit out of it with some of the tools, and that was my favorite run. That's how we want players to be thinking about this, not on the golden path that we laid them on."

Starseeker has been brewing for roughly seven years, Bromell told me. "The original year and a half was myself and one or two engineers just playing with the physics sandbox." The concept later grew into this focused experience set in the Astroneer universe that had players going on short treks and completing missions together.

"I feel like Astroneer 2 is always there for us to do. We can always do that. What I don't want to do — and thank God I'm not a business person — is not take a creative swing with the momentum that we have as a team that's learning how to make a game," he added. "We're trying to take the idea of the genre, turn it slightly in our direction, borrowing from games like Helldivers [a co-op shooter full of chaos and destruction], and then building our own thing that wraps it in this connective experience."

The conversation could've gone on for hours, I think, as the creative director's heart and mind are in the right place. It's always encouraging to come across developers happy to veer off the main path during an interview, and that sort of defines what Starseeker is as a cooperative online game; the best adventures usually are the ones you stumble upon, not the ones perfectly laid out in front of you.

The game's full vision might take a while to fully blast off, but it's a refreshing one that dares to dream of a better future for space exploration and humanity as a whole. We can always use more of that.

Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions is now available on PC (Steam & Xbox App), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in early access. A PC code for this article was provided by the publisher, Devolver Digital.

You certainly can't accuse Remedy Entertainment of playing it safe and sticking to what they know.

2019's Control was a third-person shooter, last year's multiplayer spin-off, FBC: Firebreak, was a first-person shooter, and now this year's direct follow-up, Control Resonant, is a melee-focused action game. Despite the genre flip, though, it's undeniably Control — a freaky sci-fi horror mash-up that's dripping with atmosphere.

We played 40 minutes of Control Resonant at Summer Games Fest, and spoke with lead level designer Anne-Marie Grönroos about the new enemy designs, architecture, and sci-fi influences. Here's what we learned about one of this year's most anticipated upcoming sci-fi games.

"Control Resonant" has a new protagonist, but we're keeping things in the family as we take the reins of Dylan Faden, troubled brother of "Control" protagonist Jesse. Dylan Faden wakes up inside the Oldest House — a paranormal, space-defying skyscraper in the center of New York that acts as the headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC).

Jesse promptly stabs Dylan, who wakes up surrounded by blood, death, and the massacred bodies of his FBC jailers. With no idea what's going on, Dylan flees the FBC to find that the Hiss — otherworldly crimson monsters from another dimension — have overrun Manhattan.

To fight these monsters, Dylan wields a unique weapon called the Aberrant (which just so happens to be the bar that Jesse stabbed him with). Much like Jesse's Service Weapon in the original, Aberrant can morph into multiple kinds of weapons, such as dual swords, an axe, and a scythe.

As a third-person action game (or spectacle fighter), Control Resonant feels like a toned-down version of Devil May Cry. It's just a bit slower and a bit more reserved, but it's still exhilarating to pull off combos and beat the snot out of the Hiss.

Combat is usually locked into arenas, locking you into an encounter until you've killed the Hiss. Larger enemies need to be prioritised, as the smaller Hiss will keep respawning until they're destroyed.

The Hiss are even more grotesque than I remembered from the first game; an observation that Grönroos was happy to confirm. "The enemies are a lot more mutated than they were in the first game," he notes. “They aren't just dudes shooting guns at you. A lot less human and more monstrous."

While Jesse was confined to the Oldest House, Dylan now has the freedom to roam Manhattan to find his sister. The first game's aesthetic was defined by the Brutalist architecture of FBC's surreal headquarters, and while you’ll certainly see that style here in place, Resonant pulls from a much wider pool.

"The further away you get from either the Oldest house or the Field Office, the less and less of that you'll see," explains Grönroos. "But when you see Brutalist architecture, that's also a sign that the FBC has a pretty strong presence here."

Manhattan has been well explored in video games — from Insomniac's Spider-Man and Tom Clancy's The Division through to "inspired by" titles like GTA IV — but Control Resonant's version of New York is a much more self-contained, streamlined version of the city that never sleeps.

Instead of an open world, we get a more linear platforming experience as Dylan navigates the rooftops like platforms, climbing, dashing, and double-jumping his way through the twisted landscape. This, combined with the psychedelic colors and trippy atmosphere, creates a uniquely surreal vibe that we really dig.

The Control universe is rife with sci-fi influences, with the fictional SCP Foundation sitting at the heart. The FBC investigates Altered World Events, where supernatural forces descend into reality and warp it. These lead directly to the creation of Altered Items, which are just objects infused with paranormal powers. It's all dressed up in a sort of 60s and 70s retrofuturism aesthetic, reflecting the space age and rise of media like Star Wars.

Beyond those obvious touchstones, though, there are surprising influences for this latest game. During our interview, Director Mikael Kasurinen mentioned Neon Genesis Evangelion as an influence for Control Resonant, with Grönroos adding that it heavily impacted the geometrical patterning in the game. "We also always have Inception as a reference. When you look at the city environments, this is the most Inception that we can get."

My demo ended with me facing off in a boss fight against a giant floating head with its jaw missing. Throughout the fight, it kept trying to sling rocks at me while keeping its distance, but I was able to keep up with its pace. Eventually, I managed to take it down, and then was taken to The Gap, a mysterious hub area where Dylan could upgrade his abilities.

He has plenty of upgrades to choose from, such as being able to telekinetically throw rocks, use them to form a shield, or conjure up this Aberrant into other weapons like a whip and hammer. I took a quick peek at each of the weapons and skill trees, and it seems like the combo system will definitely get more intricate later on.

There's a huge amount of variety in how to mix and match different weapons to dictate the pace and flow of battle. You can start your combo with a flurry of quick attacks from dual swords, and then come crashing down with a slow but mighty hammer at the end.

The action feels so different from the gunplay of the first game, and yet eerily familiar. Control Resonant also takes a page from Kingdom Hearts' playbook with flashy finishers. Dylan has access to a variety of them, our favorite being using the giant hammer to smash the Hiss into pieces.

Grönroos said that the biggest lesson that Remedy learned throughout developing its recent games, from Control, Alan Wake 2, FBC: Firebreak, and now Control, is giving players more freedom and agency. "Before Control, we used to just make these linear games," she explained. "Control was actually our first game where you could even backtrack, and Alan Wake 2 took that a little bit further, and now Control Resonant as well."

One of the highlights of the first Control game was the Ashtray Maze, a level where players had to fight against waves of enemies as they ran through a kaleidoscope of constantly shifting rooms and layouts. It was an adrenaline-fueled combat gauntlet that was equally exciting as it was fantastical. Grönroos was one of the minds behind designing it.

Can we expect something similar in Control Resonant? "There are definitely surprises," teases Grönroos. "Of course, I can't say what they are, but I think what made the Ashtray Maze really work was how unexpected it was. So I think there's stuff like in Control Resonant that's like that for sure."

Control Resonant launches on September 24 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Defying recent live service trends in gaming, Warframe has been going strong for 13 years. It's one of the best space games out there, and it shows no signs of slowing down with the Jade Shadows: Constellations update.

The online sci-fi action RPG has evolved both technically and narratively over the years, changing from a game where the story has blossomed from background to the emotion-driven forefront of every major update. In 2024, Jade Shadows started the process of humanising Stalker - the player's long-term nemesis - by making him a father.

Jade Shadows: Constellations serves the dual purpose of continuing this story, and taking the first steps down the road of reinvigorating the game's space-based content.

At the end of Jade Shadows, players chose one of two names for Stalker's son; Sirius, or Orion. The surprise hook for Constellations is that both came to be… in a way. Bursting onto the scene from parallel timelines, each has come to claim their father for their own. Sirius takes after their mother, while Orion takes after their father. Both are named after notable stellar phenomena: Sirius is the brightest star in the Earth's night sky, while Orion is one of the most prominent constellations visible from Earth (itself named after the legendary hunter in Greek mythology).

Stalker, when he appears during a mission, will relentlessly chase down the player until he or his target dies. What more appropriate name for the son that takes after him, therefore, than the constellation of the Hunter?

"We thought one of the most impactful ways to end a quest would be letting the player name the child," explains Creative Director Rebecca Ford, "and we held that close to our hearts [...] And these names must come from the cosmos, they must come from space. Then we knew we were going to start going divergent paths pretty quickly."

Warframe's missions are spread across the Origin System, which looks very similar to our own solar system. Players jump between planets and moons with real-life equivalents such as Mars, Deimos, Neptune, Mercury, and Earth. The star Sirius and the constellation Orion also exist in the Warframe universe, and factor into the new quest; although exactly how is under wraps at time of writing.

Constellations is also being used as a springboard for refreshing the game's space battle Railjack content. "I absolutely felt that this update would not work without a Railjack component for the post quest content," explains Ford.

"It did not feel to me like you could do all of this grand space cosmos-like effort without giving players somewhere to use their Railjack. That is a very, very difficult choice in this line of work, where you need to be able to do things very well and very quickly.

"Railjack [is] such a complicated feature, like the code, and the streaming… everything about it is hard, it's making Warframe on hard mode," reveals Ford.

"In this case we said all right, let's just commit, because we have help from our partners at Sumo, who are co-developing this update, and they love Railjack. So that helped! We just had the stubbornness to say it has to feel this big, it needs this; because it needs to acknowledge that that is how big of an event this quest is."

For the uninitiated, Railjacks are combat-focused spaceships — interceptors from the Orikin era of technology. They're equipped with powerful weapons, defensive shields, and Void engines that let them explore… well the void.

Mindful of the fact that not everybody who plays through Constellations will have extensive Railjack experience - or perhaps won't have a Railjack of their own at all - the space gameplay has been streamlined and tweaked for the quest.

The smaller, jetpack-like Archwings cannot be used, but players use an NPC's Railjack, so don't need to worry about having their own being a prerequisite. They'll be earning Railjack-related rewards along the way however, so if they later decide to get their own, they'll be well prepared. Making the onboarding ramp wide enough to accommodate everybody is important, because this is just the beginning of bringing ventures into outer space back to Warframe.

"This is like the prologue to Railjack and space content getting more attention," Ford reveals. This isn't something related to Tennocon, she stresses, but it is something she hopes to be able to speak more openly about afterwards. "I think [Railjack is] a beautiful and fun system, despite its flawed history. It does not deserve to die for any sins it might have committed a lifetime ago. There's nothing like it in a pseudo-MMO like ours."

A new story quest means a new Warframe, and here too the game is breaking new ground. Both Sirius and Orion can be unlocked for play, but as the game's first dual Warframe. Players can switch between the two at any time, via an animation that sees one warring brother knock the other out of the way. They are individually customisable and have unique abilities. The fourth ability will see them clash in the air, dealing damage by using up motes; the accumulation of which is represented in the UI by a constellation-like indicator mimicking a part of Orion, motes lighting up where stars would be.

On the surface or among the stars — indeed, in a virtual world or the real one — space is awe-inspiring. Astronomer or philosopher, scientist or office worker, looking up on a clear night into the enormity of space evokes a myriad of powerful feelings. Humanity has always had the desire to understand and attribute meaning to this infinite canvas, and this is something Digital Extremes aims to tap into with Constellations, hence the name.

"With all science," says Ford, "there needs to be a little bit of, I would say, romance to it. Not in the lovey-dovey way, but the romance of looking to the stars 2000 years ago, knowing that those stars were something, but giving them a meaning beyond the fact that they're just balls of gas in the sky. An ancient Greek from thousands and thousands of years ago, looking up and building a story around, well, what does this mean?

"Why is that star Sirius so bright? The dog star in Orion, the hunter. The constellation is that, right? It is the meaning applied to the stars, and in the case of Jade Shadows: Constellations, it's exactly that. It's looking out to the stars and knowing the beauty and the meaning you can add to what, ultimately, ends up being someone else's story."

Warframe Jade Shadows: Constellations is available from June 17 as a free update. You can play Warframe on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Like some enticing interstellar object imminently entering our solar system sometime in the near future, Archetype Entertainment's highly anticipated "Exodus" sci-fi RPG adventure game will eventually land on Earth sometime in 2027 if all the cosmic tumblers align… and we sincerely hope they do!

Chris King, Game Director for "Exodus," recently hosted an extended gameplay reveal during the Future Games Show Summer Showcase 2026, and we were treated to an exhilarating advance peek at some "Mass Effect"-style gunplay and epic side quest drama.

The result was a jaw-dropping tour through the upcoming sci-fi RPG's storytelling, dialogue, combat tactics, weaponry, stealth modes, companions, and diverse denizens of this astonishingly rich universe.

The visuals look razor sharp in this 19-minute preview where Jun and friends are first on a perilous salvage mission. Unsurprisingly, it's giving a lot of "Mass Effect" vibes, but now it's supercharged with even more electrifying imagery, detailed backgrounds, realistic environments, and a brilliant soundscape with distinctive weaponry discharge sounds that put you squarely in the midst of a brutal melee.

In this extended reveal, the action and movement seem extremely fluid; Jun's deployable cover is a sweet touch, and his cat-like movements appear organic. Alongside that, the voice acting sounds superb, leveling up the immersion for the far-future adventure that the development team has created.

In previous community updates we've seen some of genetically modified animals populating "Exodus" and here we spend much more time with Jun's Awakened Wolf called Houston, the cute Awakened Octopus named Salt, and the awesome Awakened Elephant. We also spend added time with C.C. Orlev, the mysterious Traveler character voiced by none other than Matthew McConaughey.

The basic narrative premise and backstory of "Exodus" includes fantastic worldbuilding and layered lore by masterful bestselling sci-fi authors Peter Hamilton and Adrian Tchaikovsky, who were brought in from the game's onset.

We roll out 40,000 years in the future, long after humankind has vacated Earth and set up housekeeping on the moon of Lyden in the Centauri Cluster.

Our main protagonist named Jun Aslan. His world is slowly dying due to some intergalactic virus known as The Rot. Jun and his companions set out to try and save their moon as Travelers leaping into the timestream to uncover ancient secrets and locate powerful alien remnants that will aid them in battling back against evolved human descendants called Celestials.

Along the way, gamers will investigate strange planets, derelict spaceships, Remnant Era Celestial technology, and the nefarious posthumans.

What’s most impressive with the way Archetype Entertainment is handling the regular reports on the game's progress is that we as fans and gamers can clearly see the improvements and fine tuning that’s taking place as they ready "Exodus" for its inevitable mass launch next year.

They're taking their time and respecting their customers' intelligence and loyalty in a way that feels as if we're along for the ride, discovering how much love and care go into a project of this magnitude.

This game hails from the same nest of acclaimed game veterans that brought us the phenomenal worlds of "Mass Effect," "Baldur's Gate" and "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic", and it looks like they're recapturing that old magic here.

Wizards of the Coast and Archetype Entertainment's "Exodus" arrives for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S in Early 2027.

Science fiction is a stalwart genre when it comes to video games, with some of the biggest gaming franchises out there taking us to strange new worlds… or bringing invading aliens down to our world.

The beauty of sci-fi is that it's so versatile; we've got sci-fi shooters, sci-fi racers, sci-fi strategy, sci-fi horror. Want a narrative-driven Among Us spin-off? It's there. How about an X-COM-like strategy game set in the Star Wars universe? Got you covered.

Summer Game Fest was last week, and we scoured the show floor to find the most exciting upcoming sci-fi games coming out in 2026 and beyond. There was a great mix of legacy franchises and fresh blood to experience. I didn't have time to play everything, but these were the seven best sci-fi games I saw at Summer Game Fest 2026.

1. Halo: Campaign Evolved

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a fully fledged remake of the first Halo game's campaign. I played a 30-minute demo and part of the mission, The Silent Cartographer. It’s quite literally the same as I remembered on the original Xbox (as well as the Xbox 360 Anniversary Edition remaster), but that's no bad thing. As soon as I stepped onto those sandy beaches and felt the smooth Warthog driving, the nostalgic memories came flooding back.

The guns feel as snappy as ever, too. The pistol is satisfying to pop headshots with, and of course, I loved getting up and close and personal with the Plasma Pistol to drain enemy shields before finishing them off with a swift melee.

The biggest change is that Master Chief can sprint now — a feature that wasn't added until 2010's Halo Reach. It's a contentious feature among series diehards, but honestly, it feels fine here. From what I played, Halo: Campaign Evolved is still basically the same Halo: Combat Evolved I remember — just much, much prettier.

Halo: Campaign Evolved launches on July 28 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

2. Gears of War E-Day

The next big entry in Microsoft’s iconic third-person shooter series, Gears of War E-Day, takes us back 14 years before the events of the first game. On planet Sera, alien creatures called the Locust have popped up and wiped out entire cities and slaughtered civilians, leading to what’s now called Emergence Day, Sera’s darkest time in history.

We'll once again be jumping into the big stompy boots of series protagonist Marcus Fenix, this time experiencing his first encounter with the Locust threat. Marcus will be joined by his best friend Dominic Santiago, as well as two new faces in the form of Lucas Reyes and Mags Carter. There will be returning favorites, including fan-favorite Tai Kalisto from Gears of War 2.

In terms of gameplay, it's classic Gears action with some cool new iterations. The active reload system — which Gears pioneered — has been upgraded. As ever, you can speed up your reload with a well-timed button press (and slow it down with a mistake), but now some shell-loaded guns, like the iconic Gnasher shotgun, allow you to stop your reload prematurely to get out of a sticky situation. It’s a new twist on gameplay, and we can’t wait to see more of it.

Check out our interview with developer The Coalition, where we talk art direction, series lore, and why the studio chose to do a prequel.

Gears of War E-Day launches on October 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S.

3. Alien: Isolation 2

The king of sci-fi horror games is back! I played about 45 minutes of Alien: Isolation 2, and it was absolutely terrifying. The demo follows a crew consisting of Blake, Cole, and Otto, who find an abandoned spaceship. Convinced that they could search inside it for salvage, they head inside to turn the power back on. Unfortunately, turning that electricity back on meant waking up the horrifying Xenomorph inside.

During my demo, I was completely defenseless. No flamethrower, no nothing. All I could do was hide under tables and behind electronic consoles, hoping to stay out of the Xenomorph’s sight as I traced my steps back to the ship’s entrance.

Whenever you’re hiding, and it comes close, you can literally see the screen shake and the controller vibrating. Plus, it can even crawl into vents. I learned that the hard way when I was cowering in them, hoping to find an opening to escape, only to realize the Xeno was right behind me, lunging at me and giving me the game over screen.

Alien: Isolation 2 shows some incredible potential, and while there’s no established release window, we're eagerly awaiting this one.

4. Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2

While Alien: Isolation 2 is for the survival-horror sickos, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is all about the action. You play as a group of Colonial Marines sent to clear LV-558 of a Xenomorph infestation. I spent about one hour playing the demo and had a great time blasting bugs.

This is a multiplayer co-op game, so you’ll be teaming up with three other people to shoot down waves of Xenos. There are six classes to choose from, each with their own special tools, along with new ammo types that let you target certain Xeno's weaknesses.

Fireteam Elite 2 has some meaningful upgrades too, including a bump from three-player co-op to a full four-team squad. This means you can unleash even more bullet fury onto the Xenos. Its new Specialist class also lets you take abilities from others to create your unique playstyle.

Along with a new campaign and crossplay at launch, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is positioned to be an even bigger hit than its predecessor. Read our interview with Cold Iron Studios to find out more about the new Xenos, expanded sandbox, and all the new tools available for your next bug hunt.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 launches later this year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

5. Gundam Rogue Orbit

Gundam Rogue Orbit is an action game that takes place in a new Gundam Universe.

Now this is what I'm talking about. Big, stompy robots. Gundam Rogue Orbit is an action game set in a brand-new Gundam Universe. It’s meant to introduce Gundam to a wider audience, so those who are unfamiliar with the IP can still enjoy it.

Rogue Orbit follows a young man named Rex, who journeys alongside a mysterious girl named Sophia and his robot companion, Haro VII. Rex pilots a mobile suit called Gundam Helix, who is called upon to defend humanity against an existential threat. How, you ask? With guns, swords, lasers, jetpacks, and all manner of sci-fi weaponry.

While more details are scarce about the gameplay at the moment, I briefly spoke with main producer Yuya Tomiyama and chief producer Shinya Satake. They aim to make piloting Helix like an extension of the human body, saying, “We wanted to have the player be able to really feel like they're in control of the mobile suit[...]what they want the Gundam to do is what's actually happening on screen.”

Gundam Rogue Orbit launches in 2027 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

6. Control Resonant

The latest entry in the Control/Alan Wake shared universe, Control Resonant, is beefing up both the horror and sci-fi elements compared to its 2019 predecessor.

This time, we're playing as Dylan Faden, the brother of Control protagonist Jesse Faden, and where Jesse fought with her shapeshifting pistol, Dylan is much more of a close combat guy. His melee weapon, the Aberrant, can morph into many deadly forms to suit your needs, and you'll be making good use of it as you battle the insidious Hiss that have spilled out of the Oldest House and into New York.

This genre shift-up is a huge gamble for developer Remedy, but it looks to be paying off, because in my 45-minute demo, it felt incredible to play. There are plenty of differences beyond the combat, too. While Jesse could float in mid-air, Dylan utilises double-jumps and dashes to get around. This introduces a lot more platforming elements to the game, making great use of New York City’s verticality.

Control Resonant has a seriously trippy aesthetic too, using distillation and other visual effects to make you feel like you’re in a hallucinatory state. The main enemy faction, The Hiss, looks even more grotesque than before, almost otherworldly. We’ve got an interview with developer Remedy Entertainment coming soon, so stick around for that!

Control Resonant launches on September 24 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

7. Star Wars Galactic Racer

Now that our rebel spies have broken the imperial codes (read: the embargo is up), I can say that Star Wars Galactic Racer is unlike any other racer I've played before.

During my one-hour session, I was amazed at how smooth it felt, racing across the heat-soaked desert planet of Jakku and the frozen depths of Ando Prime. The environments constantly held new surprises, like Ando Prime's underground lava pools. While I was zipping across them, I briefly pondered the ice and lava's contrasting existences, but quickly snapped back into focus as I zoomed to leave my opponents in the dust for first place.

Drifting is an out-of-this-world experience too. As opposed to more grounded racing games like Mario Kart or Need for Speed, I was able to drift my futuristic space vessel completely vertically on its side, allowing myself crucial extra room to cleanly navigate around tricky corners that I would have a hard time pulling off in more realistic settings.

Star Wars Galactic Racer is developed by Fuse Games, a new studio formed from veterans of Criterion Games, the team behind Burnout. I couldn't imagine a team with a better pedigree, and I'm glad to see podracing coming back in the modern age.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer launches on October 6 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

The Alien franchise is doing pretty well right now, and its future looks even stronger for gamers. With Alien Isolation 2 serving the horror-oriented side of the fanbase right now, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is bringing the action. Its predecessor set the foundation for some good old multiplayer fun as you and your buddies shoot down Xenomorphs. Now, the sequel is in a good position to take things even higher with meaningful changes.

At Summer Game Fest 2026, I played about an hour of Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 and spoke with Cold Iron Studios director Chris Cross about all of the new additions in this sequel, including four-player co-op, new Xeno beasties, and the new Specialist class.

In Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, you play as a team of Colonial Marines to check out Storr Boon's Mining Facility on the planet LV-558, which has — big shock — been overrun by Xenomorphs. The level I played was called Rust in Peace, which Cross noted plays heavily into the discovery of what's really going on in LV-558. Each level will help clue players into the mystery.

"I think clarity of narrative and mission was one of the things that we wanted to try and get into with this one," he explained. "It's more than just go here, get to point B, and then shoot the thing. Playing this game, there's an actual throughline with the story."

One change that was immediately noticeable was the inclusion of a fourth teammate. In the first game, squads were made up of three, but a fourth trooper really changes up the dynamic. Not only do you have more offensive and defensive options, but now the levels are wider and more enemies swarm in.

"We pay attention to comments, and that's one of the more frequent ones we got from the first game," Cross explained. "It's 25% more space that you need and 25% more damage. It definitely presented some challenges, but absolutely worth it. [Fireteam Elite 2] is still the same flavor, but it plays better."

There are a total of six classes, and I chose the Hunter, a class that focuses on dealing continuous damage. My other teammates included a Medic, a Machinist, and a Duelist. As I slowed down the waves of Xenomorphs with my electric traps, the Machinist summoned a turret to pick them off. This helped us clear multiple rooms without too many issues. However, if one of us went down, the Medic was always around to patch us up.

Along with the four-player co-op, another big gameplay addition is the new Specialist class. This one actually acts like a "pick-your-own" class, where you can choose which abilities to mix and match to create your ideal build. Does that sound overpowered? Possibly. But more player effort and work are required to build the perfect Specialist, which helps balance it out.

"How we work the Specialist in is that it's like a ping pong between unlocking abilities for your regular classes that then unlocks them for your Specialist," Cross said. "It's actually analysis paralysis to build a Specialist if you haven't been paying attention to the other classes, because there's so many things that you can put in."

Of course, with every new Aliens adventure, you've got to have new Xenomorphs, right? The Harbinger is a horrific Xeno that mostly consists of a mouth (it's like a giant facehugger on legs), while the Siren summons more enemies to the fight. I didn't encounter these during my demo, but Cross went into how designs are typically approved.

"Early on, we went through and wrote down [...] the requirements for creating new enemies and applied them," he said. An example of this is one of the returning Xenos from the first game, the Drone, which only shows up near hives. I came across a few of them in my demo, and they really creeped me out. Not only do they hit hard, but they also disappear into vents, creating an anxious atmosphere. They could come out at any time and strike again, so your entire squad needs to gang up on it.

"In tight cooperation with the IP team at 20th Century Studios, we basically started brainstorming," Cross explained. "Everything has to have a gameplay function, but also we were trying to stay within that classic Aliens look."

To combat these new monstrosities, you'll need to take advantage of the various elemental weapon types, each of which is effective against certain Xenos. Incendiary shots set them ablaze for extra damage, while Cryo can render Xenos frozen and immobile, letting you pile on the hurt. Electric slows down enemies and seems particularly useful against the rogue synthetics that attack you alongside the aliens.

Being able to utilize the different elements tactfully against your enemies can really give you a huge advantage against the Xenos, and can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Additionally, your sidearm pistol now has infinite ammo. This change was made so that players weren't stuck with empty guns if they ran out of ammo for their primary weapons. It also shifted the way I played, too. I'd strategically pick off enemies with headshots from my pistol, and then switch to my more powerful weapons if I needed some extra firepower. This way, I could conserve ammo for the bigger Xenos.

My squad played on the normal difficulty, and even though we were sitting at opposite corners of the room, not talking to each other, we succeeded in repelling the Xenomorph threat. At higher difficulty levels, friendly fire is enabled, so teamwork and communication will be of the utmost importance.

Aliens Fireteam Elite 2 seems to be doing everything that a sequel should. It's got a new campaign, crossplay at launch (which the first game didn't have), and some genuinely game-changing improvements like the bump from three-player co-op to four-player, and the addition of the Specialist class.

The game will also have the fan-favorite Horde mode, where you and your teammates must survive against an endless wave of Xenomorphs. I tried to poke Cross about some of the changes to Horde mode in this sequel, but he wasn't about to spill company secrets.

"I'm not going to talk about the exact changes today, but just know that it's very, very fun," he smirked.

Aliens Fireteam Elite 2 launches later this year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

It's been 12 years since The Coalition took the reins of the Gears of War franchise. After Microsoft acquired the rights to the series from Epic Games in 2014, the team was formed and tasked with remastering the original Gears of War in 2015.

It’s also been a decade since the studio’s first original title, Gears of War 4, and seven years since the studio's last game, Gears 5. Fans were eagerly awaiting the continuation of this story, but instead, The Coalition sought Gears of War: E-Day as a return to the gritty roots of the series. But why?

At Summer Game Fest 2026, Space got a hands-off preview for Gears of War E-Day and sat in a group Q&A with developer The Coalition about the game. We spoke to brand director Nicole Fawcette, creative director Matt Searcy, and art director Aryan Hanbeck about how some of the Gears of War novels were integrated, new gameplay mechanics, and bringing in new characters.

“We did not port any assets. All the animations and movement models were built from scratch, “ Searcy explained. “So this is a game built around the pillars of the original Gears game, but built in 2026.”

According to the team, they wanted to replicate the dark atmosphere that the first three games had, and make a prequel focusing on E-Day, the planet Sera’s darkest moment.

The footage of Gears of War: E-Day starts with series protagonist Marcus Fenix and his best friend Dominic Santiago, 14 years before the events of the first game. In plain clothes, they grab guns to fight off the emerging Locust alien threat, who are bursting out from the ground and slaughtering civilians. The chaos reminded me of the opening hours of The Last of Us, where protagonist Joel has to navigate around town, avoiding the infected as they turn into violent creatures.

Marcus and Dom are younger-looking, but they’re still built like trucks, with massively thick necks and biceps that put Superman to shame. Hanbeck briefly touched on the art style, saying. “Marcus and Dom are quite stylized in their proportions, so we had to work in pre-production quite a bit of back and forth to try to get them to be believable.”

Searcy confirmed that the game doesn’t take place in a single day but across three days, with the story unfolding seamlessly to tell the events of E-Day. The footage also showed off some new gameplay features, including a modernised revision to the active reload mechanic that Gears of War pioneered. As always, players can speed up a reload with a well-timed button press (or slow it down with a bad one).

On some guns, such as the Gnasher shotgun, we can see the individual bullets being loaded into the chamber in the center of the screen. You can stop in the middle of the reload to get out of sticky situations when only a bullet or two is needed to finish the job. The downside is that they’ll have to forgo the active reload bonus, which fully reloads the gun if a button press is timed correctly.

Later in the footage, Macus and Dom head into a grocery store with the other two members of their Bravo squad, Lucas Reyes and Mags Carter. These new members are based on real-life actors (Jake Ryan Lozano and Elizabeth Ludlow, respectively), and since all four of them need to work as a cohesive group, the dev team didn’t want a big visual divide between them.

“We've had to revamp our whole face blend shape system because the themes of this game are quite a bit more serious,” Hanbeck explained. “These guys are talking about burdens and brotherhood. It all really falls flat if they can't pull off really subtle emotions.”

Fans can rest easy because voice actors John DiMaggio and Carlos Ferro are reprising their roles as Marcus and Dom, respectively. Fawcette confirmed that they’ll retain the same voices for the characters as previous Gears of War games, as opposed to sounding different to fit their younger characters. “I think for us it was more important to maintain their iconic voices than to ask them to change or sound a specific age. We had a really good creative discussion about how to approach that.”

In the grocery store, Bravo Squad fights off a swarm of Locusts, but a monstrous and hulking Drone pins Marcus’s neck against a pillar. As he’s about to pass out, a chainsaw rips through the grotesque creature, revealing fan-favorite Tai Kaliso.

He and Marcus have saved each other’s behinds more times than they can count throughout the Gears of War universe, and this moment honored that. In fact, this moment was actually a reference to one of the novels, Gears of War: Jacinto’s Remnant, which depicted the origins of the iconic Chainsaw Bayonet — essentially a chainsaw strapped to an assault rifle.

“We worked really hard to keep the canon and everything. In fact, that one moment of Marcus's bayonet snapping in the grocery store and Tai chainsawing it is lifted directly out of a book, dialogue and everything,” Searcy explained. “It is the moment that was described when somebody used the chainsaw for the first time to cut a drone, and it was really cool to be able to fold that into our E-Day story.”

The alien Locust threat has gone through a bit of a redesign to fit this new prequel entry. The series’s basic fodder enemies, Wretches, usually come decked with armor, but not in E-Day. The wretches here are pale and skinny, like they haven’t seen the sun or eaten anything.

Searcy said, “We played with the idea that it's possible that there were Locusts that were here 14 years before [the first game], so it's possible they were creatures that they fought in the first 10 years that weren’t in Gears of War 1, 2, and 3.”

“I think you'll be surprised by the variants of locusts that we were able to introduce,” Fawcette added.

One of the biggest differences between Gears of War: E-Day and previous games is that the game will take place in a single location: the city of Kalona. “In contrast to Gears 5, where you were globetrotting all over the place, [it’s] quite a departure,” Hanbeck said. “I think it's the right choice for this story because we treat the city itself as a character. The fall of the city is a major theme throughout the game.”

Speaking of Gears 5, we had to ask why E-Day. Why do a prequel instead of finishing the story the team was already telling, especially given that Gears 5 finished on such a cliffhanger ending?

With Gears 5 out the door and the COVID pandemic striking, The Coalition took some time to reevaluate what its next project would be. As opposed to continuing the storyline, the studio decided that it wanted to shape its own Gears of War origin story. The reveal and release of Unreal Engine 5 also played a factor.

“We're going to be starting with an empty hard drive,” Searcy said. “And the opportunity to build out not just our mechanics, but the Locust, our characters, and all those things from scratch, was just too good to pass up.”

Gears of War: E-Day launches on October 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. An open beta will begin on August 6.

Strategy games don't come much bigger than the Total War franchise, and the Warhammer trilogy showed how well the formula worked in a fantasy setting. Now, after three hits in collaboration with Games Workshop, studio Creative Assembly is embracing a grimdark futuristic setting with Total War: Warhammer 40,000.

Warhammer 40K is the most famous miniature wargame in the world, with nearly 40 years of legacy behind it. The 11th edition of the game was released in June 2026. There have been plenty of Warhammer 40K video games in that time, but nothing quite on the scale that 'Total War: Warhammer 40,000' promises.

In the 41st millennium, the Imperium of Man is besieged by extraterrestrial forces of all sorts and even darker threats, but humanity's defenders are brutal and relentless, too.

We covered the basics of the 40K universe a while back, but all you really need to know is that 40K's future is defined by a mix of sci-fi and dark fantasy, often called "grimdark". Oh, and there is only war; that's quite important too.

Now that you're suitably prepared, scroll down and learn everything we know about Total War: Warhammer 40,000 so far (and we'll be keeping this page updated as new info drops).

When is Total War: Warhammer 40,000 coming out?

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 doesn't have a specific release window yet, but we're not expecting it to launch before early 2027 at the earliest.

With a late 2025 reveal during the Game Awards ceremony, publisher SEGA, developer Creative Assembly, and WH40K owner Games Workshop unleashed both striking CG cutscenes and in-game footage, but nothing we've heard suggests Total War: Warhammer 40K is anywhere near done.

We know this strategy behemoth will be playable at Gamescom 2026, with closed beta tests coming later. Those hoping to play the game before its eventual release can sign up for a chance to join the closed beta here.

What platforms is Total War: Warhammer 40,000 launching on?

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is set to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Windows) via Steam.

The Total War franchise had never escaped the confines of PC gaming, but that's about to change with the engine refresh that's powering Total War: Warhammer 40K, which was confirmed to be invading current-gen consoles day one as well.

No doubt, this also means much of the user interface and the control scheme will have to be adapted to the limitations of gamepads, but we're confident Creative Assembly is building a flexible experience from the ground up for all platforms.

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 trailers

Three Total War: Warhammer 40K trailers have been released so far. The debut trailer shown at the 2025 Game Awards was meaty, showcasing CG cutscenes that perfectly set the dark epic atmosphere and gameplay clips that tease a new level of large-scale warfare across the stars.

You can watch it above.

We also got a shorter, CGI-only trailer at Skulls 2026, Games Workshop's annual video game-focused event. The trailer doesn't show much, as it's just a computer display playing an audio log, but the audio is very revealing.

Commissar Yarrick's voice is unmistakable, and that means only one thing: Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is going to Armageddon. Armageddon is one of the most infamous planets in the 40K setting; the site of a never-ending war between the Imperium and the Orks.

Warhammer 40K 11th Edition will be taking the narrative back to Armageddon for its launch in June. We can't wait to be back there, both on the tabletop and in Total War.

More recently, an extensive gameplay video was shown to the public at the Bilibili World 2026 event. Luckily for us, the showcase also made its way online through the official channels. Watch the Astra Militarum and their war machines take on a massive Ork infestation:

What type of strategy game is Total War: Warhammer 40,000?

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is a mix of large-scale, real-time tactical battles and turn-based campaigns. On a basic level, it could be considered a blend of RTS and grand strategy, but the Total War franchise has evolved over the decades, almost becoming a unique strategy video game subgenre.

Like in past Total War games, players must choose an army (and species in this case) and conquer a massive campaign map against a varying number of enemies, which are controlled by the computer and/or humans. This involves turn-based movements — more like in a traditional board game — diplomacy, and basic management of cities, outposts, and massive armies. Of course, the Warhammer 40K setting will add in plenty of sci-fi elements and even fleet management, but we've yet to receive proper details on what's coming.

RPG-like progression has also become a notable part of these games, especially in the fantasy settings of Warhammer, with both units and unique heroes gaining new skills, weapons, equipment, and spells over time. Part of the progression is tied to experience gained during battles, while other upgrades come from specific buildings and resources acquired through the conquest of the map, which in this case includes full star systems.

The real-time battles are widely considered to be the main part of the Total War games. They vary depending on the location of the encounters and the size and composition of each army. While it's possible to have them play out automatically without exiting the turn-based layer of the game, it's advisable to take full control of your armies when the advantage isn't clear. Through smart positioning and tactical moves (plus powers) used at the right times, the goal is to either annihilate or repel the enemy forces.

Needless to say, in the Warhammer 40K setting, ranged firepower and vehicles are at the center of these conflicts; we haven't learned much about those elements yet, though.

When in the timeline does Total War: Warhammer 40,000 take place?

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is set during the Era Indomitus, which is currently the "present period" of the WH40K universe from the point of view of the Imperium of Man. Everyone agrees it began with the Fall of Cadia during the Black Crusade and the formation of the Great Rift – also called Cicatrix Maledictum – across the galaxy.

This tear in reality has also led to a series of warp storms and the emergence of a wave of "ferocious empyric energy and supernatural darkness." The Imperium now remains divided into two halves by the Rift, with the Imperium Nihilus found across the half of the galaxy that's considered "northern" and the Imperium Sanctus covering much of the southern and western part of the original Imperium territory. The latter has access to the psychic beacon of the Astronomican, which is used to correctly navigate the galaxy and the chaos of Warpspace, but in the Dark Imperium (Nihilus), faster-than-light travel has been rendered almost impossible.

During this time, Primarch Roboute Guilliman became the Lord Commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent, and launched the Indomitus Crusade, the largest the Imperium has seen since the Great Crusade of roughly 10,000 years before. Much of this era steps into the 42nd millennium, but the chronology isn't entirely clear.

The second trailer made it clear that we'll be heading to Armageddon as part of the game, with a story almost certainly centered around the epic battles between Commisar Yarrick and Ghazghkull Thraka, which sets the game around the same time as the launch of the 11th edition of the tabletop game.

What factions are available in Total War: Warhammer 40,000?

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 includes four factions at launch: Space Marines, Orks, Aeldari, and the Astra Militarum. Of course, everyone is expecting more to arrive after the game launches*, but unless some surprises are being hidden, only four factions will be available when Total War: Warhammer 40K releases.

The Space Marines are the most iconic military force of the WH40K universe. As the fist of the Imperium, these genetically enhanced warriors are "few" (only hundreds of thousands for a galaxy-spanning empire), but they are among the most powerful weapons that humanity has access to. As hulking figures covered in armor, they strike fear even into the hearts of the most fearsome xenos.

Orks are almost identical to their Warhammer Fantasy counterparts; an unrelenting and largely disorganized species, but now spread across the stars. They simply love war and throwing endless green mobs against every enemy the horde comes across. Ork weapons and vehicles are unpredictable and clanky, but don't underestimate this species.

The Aeldari (Eldar) are essentially "space elves", a race of humanoid xenos that once had almost complete control of the known galaxy, but now their race has fallen into decline. They rely on precision strikes and ancient – almost magic-like – weapons and psyker powers to win conflicts. Elegance feels essential to their governing aesthetic and style of warfare.

Last but not least, the Astra Militarum (aka the Imperial Guard) is the largest fighting force in the galaxy and represents the bulk of the Imperium of Man's military force. Billions of men and women serve, and their primary combat tactic is to "overwhelm the enemy with their endless numbers", while at the same time hammering them into submission with devastating artillery and crushing them with powerful main battle tanks.

*Editor Ian: Give me my Necrons, you cowards!!!

The best sci-fi games are often pigeonholed into specific genres like shooters, strategy games, and RPGs, and for good reason; franchises like Mass Effect, StarCraft, and Half-Life are all-time classics. But sometimes it’s nice to explore the stars in a safer way... a more chill, vibey kind of way that helps you relax and unwind.

Don’t get us wrong, gunning down aliens and blowing up space stations is obviously fun. But sometimes you’re just not in the mood to overthrow intergalactic governments or have intricate dogfights while soaring through the stars. Luckily, there are some great relaxing sci-fi games out there that span the gamut from tranquil and atmospheric to downright cozy.

From walking sims to farming sims, interactive stories and sandbox creations, sci-fi games don’t always have to be epic, sprawling adventures. They can be peaceful and calming, perfect for decompressing after a long day, or snuggling up on a rainy afternoon.

So grab that oversized mug and a chunky, knitted blanket because we’re about to dive into the 11 best cozy sci-fi games this galaxy has to offer.

11. Abzu

Platforms: PC, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S | Developer: Giant Squid | Release date: August 2, 2016

Abzu is routinely cited as one of the best cozy games ever, and for good reason. Players take on the role of a robotic diver who explores the oceans of an alien planet. There’s no dialogue or writing throughout the entire game, just a fantastic orchestral score and the enchanting visuals. Instead, each player will build the story in their mind and probably end up with something slightly different.

Throughout Abzu, you dive through various ocean biomes and swim with orcas, manta rays, and even enormous giant squid. No spoilers here, but in the game’s third act, the sci-fi really comes into full view, and what you thought was just a cozy ocean simulator turns into something truly otherworldly.

Visually, the game is pure artwork, with a pastel gloss coating each oceanic biome. Plus, there’s something so mesmerizing about the size of the animals in the game. It’s one thing to hear that blue whales are the size of three school buses…but it’s entirely another to actually swim next to one.

10. Star Trucker

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox X|S | Developer: Monster and Monster | Release date: September 3, 2024

Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the past five years, you’ve probably noticed that simulator games are everywhere. Planes, trains, and automobiles have been joined by trams, taxis, ships, tractors, and more. If there’s a thing with a seat and a motor, there’s a sim game for it.

With truck sims being so popular, it seems only natural that eventually one would go to space. Enter Star Trucker, where you load up cargo into your trusty space semi and then haul it across the galaxy.

The campy premise is fun, and the chill gameplay of gliding through space as you make your deliveries is both entertaining and low-pressure. There is a bit of a learning curve, since most truck sims have you going left and right, whereas this one adds in the dimensions of up and down too.

There’s even some spaceflight mechanics stuff in there. Thanks to the thrusters, which don’t work the same way as engines, so there’s a bit of delay in everything you do, giving the controls that sliding-on-ice feel. But once you get the hang of it, the rest is smooth sailing. It’s well worth checking out, so 10-4 good buddy, git-er-dun!

9. Verdant Skies

Platforms: PC | Developer: Howling Moon Software | Release date: February 12, 2018

Verdant Skies is a sci-fi take on Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, and the second you start playing the game, you’ll immediately see the similarities.

Your mission is to settle the planet, Viridis Primus. You create farms, go fishing, explore caves, and make relationships (both friendly and romantic) with the other colonists. There are some sci-fi twists, though, including a unique plant splicing machine that turns you into more of a bioengineer than a farmer, but the general vibe is chill.

Fans of the genre know who they are, and if that’s you, then Verdant Skies is a great addition to the pantheon. Plus, the game’s hand-painted art style feels welcoming and comforting, and offers something new compared to Stardew’s iconic pixel aesthetic. If you want a cozy game that lets you farm and fall in love — but in space — this is it.

8. Lost in Space: The First Adventure

Platforms: PC, Switch, Switch 2 | Developer: Scary Robot | Release date: February 19, 2026

Long before Netflix's 2018 Lost in Space show (starring the goddess Parker Posey), and even before the 1998 Lost in Space movie that oddly starred Joey from Friends and Eliza Thornberry, there was the original 1965 show that ran for three seasons. Lost in Space: The First Adventure is stylized to look like the original Lost in Space series.

In the game, you play as Will Robinson, who discovers that his family has gone missing on an alien planet. This isn’t just a visual retro throwback to Lost in Space, though; its style also feels reminiscent of old 90s PC adventure games. A mix of exploration, puzzles, platforming, and inventory management makes this little indie gem feel surprisingly varied yet accessible. It's planned to be the first of a five-part series, too.

Because of its retro influences, Lost in Space: The First Adventure has a wholesomeness to it that I can’t fully describe. It’s almost like an episode of Leave It to Beaver, but in space. For anyone wanting something cozy and chill, I think that’s the perfect vibe.

7. Hardspace: Shipbreaker

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox X|S | Developer: Blackbird Interactive | Release date: May 24, 2022

If you want a cozy game disguised as something a bit more thrilling, check out Hardspace: Shipbreaker. You play as a worker for the Lynx Corporation, and your job is to break apart and salvage old ships to collect useful materials.

There’s a good amount of action for a “cozy” game, and wrong moves can cause detonations, devastating crashes, or explosive decompression. Players can even die, and probably will die numerous times. Luckily, this is a Mickey 17 situation, and the good folks at Lynx own your DNA and clone you every time you die, sending you right back into the mission!

The game expects you to die, and even encourages it, allowing players to have fun, get wacky, and try out experimental techniques to break down the ships. It’s almost like Lego in reverse, as you systematically dismantle ships, figuring out the best way to pull everything apart without damaging the expensive components.

There’s no fail state — you’re just out here trying to do the best you can. This creates some really fun, stress-free gameplay, turning what could have been a tense, dystopic space drama into an easy-going romp.

6. Virginia

Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S | Developer: Variable State | Release date: September 22, 2016

Best described as a cross between The X-Files and Twin Peaks, the narrative walking sim Virginia tasks players with becoming an FBI agent on a missing-persons case. But there’s also a secret side mission, where you’re tasked with watching your partner, who the FBI has flagged for suspicious behavior.

What follows is a series of unexpected events that may or may not be connected, including secret government programs, a demonic cult, scandalous affairs, and an alien abduction. While the premise seems suspenseful and full of mystery, the game is actually surprisingly chill.

There’s no combat, no dialogue, and no need to rush. Each level is essentially a scene, and players are free to roam the space as much as they want before choosing to progress the story. That, combined with the game’s cinematic score performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, makes Virginia a surprisingly deep, yet also calm experience.

5. Lightyear Frontier

Platforms: PC, Xbox X|S | Developer: Frame Break | Release date: March 19, 2024

Look, we’re probably never going to get Titanfall 3, and that’s a damn shame. But for any mech-obsessed gamers out there, Lightyear Frontier is a must-play.

Players explore an alien planet in their trusty mech in this genre-busting title that’s part exploration game and part farm sim. It’s basically a high-tech take on Stardew Valley, but instead of a 2D pixel world, Lightyear Frontier is lush, colorful, and fully 3D, making it really fun to explore the planet.

It’s especially great for anyone who loves farm sims (and I know there are lots of you out there) since a majority of the gameplay is harvesting wild plants, growing your farm, and tending to alien livestock, all inside your giant mech.

4. Return to Grace

Platforms: PC, Xbox X|S, PS4, PS5 | Developer: Creative Bytes Studios | Release date: May 30, 2023

In Return to Grace, players take on the role of a future archaeologist who lands on a frozen alien planet to investigate a giant station that houses the godlike AI entity called Grace. But when you arrive, the station is abandoned, and Grace is offline. Where is everyone, and why has Grace gone dormant? It’s your job to find out.

Return to Grace is a narrative walking sim, so even though there’s a bubbling mystery pushing the game forward, it’s still a super slow-paced, chill adventure. Plus, the station is designed with a retrofuturistic jet age aesthetic, making it a visually stunning space to explore. Despite the leisurely gameplay, Return to Grace has a great story packed with emotion.

3. Europa

Platforms: PC, Switch, Switch 2 | Developer: Novadust Entertainment | Release date: October 11, 2024

There’s lots of talk about Jupiter’s moon Europa, and whether it might have subsurface oceans that contain some form of life. But imagine a realm where Europa has been terraformed into a vibrant world teeming with life. As an android boy, you run, fly, and surf across the planet, discovering mythical alien creatures while trying to figure out what happened to humanity.

Like many games on this list, Europa is so effective because it takes a big, daunting question (like the downfall of humanity) and wraps it up in a relaxing, cozy world. Europa is heavily inspired by the artwork of Studio Ghibli films, and has some definite Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom vibes, but it's less focused on puzzles or combat, and more on the sheer joy of exploration.

2. Astroneer

Platforms: PC, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S | Developer: System Era Softworks | Release date: February 6, 2019

Astroneer is a base-building sandbox game where you — or you and some friends — can settle various alien planets. You can explore the worlds, harvest resources, and build a variety of structures and vehicles. Think of it like Subnautica without all the dangerous animals.

While you can die, the game has a pretty chill Minecraft-style respawn system where you spawn in at your last-used shelter and have all your resources waiting for you at the spot where you died.

Also like Minecraft, it’s got a catchy lo-fi soundtrack that’s great for vibing out to. So I guess the game can best be summed up as Subnautica + Minecraft - combat = Astroneer.

1. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2 | Developer: Northway Games | Release date: August 25, 2022

We love games that blend genres together, but “I Was a Teenage Exocolonist” goes places we were not expecting. It’s a surprisingly cozy story-driven, part visual novel, part roguelite, and part deck-building game with 29 different endings.

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist follows the triumphs and struggles of a young colonist on the distant planet of Vertumna IV. You engage in card battles to tackle the various challenges in your life as you learn new skills, form friendships, and shape the future of the colony. We simply adore the gorgeous art style that’s packed with vibrant colors and sci-fi flourishes.

Unlike in most cozy games, you’re going to die here, and you’re supposed to. With each death comes a different ending, and new unlocks that give you additional options and choices for your next playthrough that help you change outcomes for the better.

Despite all the death, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist still feels surprisingly cozy. You can have romances, make friends, study at school, and take up some odd jobs. For the ultimate example of video game cozification, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist even forces you to slow down and take rest breaks to lower your character’s (and your own) stress levels.

Video games have come a long way since their inception, but you’ll find the furthest they’ve gone (so far) is the depths of space itself. No, we're not talking about video games set in space; these actually went into space.

From individual missions to tours aboard the ISS, video games have featured surprisingly often in the inky blackness of space. Astronauts are pretty busy when they're on a mission — it's quite expensive to get them into orbit, and the taxpayers don't want to spend millions of dollars so Victor Glover can play Halo in orbit — but they do occasionally get to take games into space.

So strap in and prepare to blast off as we look at our brief history of sending video games to space.

1993 — Tetris becomes the 1st game In space (that we know of)

In the early 90s, the newly born Russian Federation was still managing the world’s first modular space station, Mir.

One of the brave cosmonauts tasked with a 196-day mission aboard the world’s pre-eminent space station was Aleksander Serebrov. When Serebrov wasn’t busy setting the world record for the number of space walks (a record later surpassed by Anatoly Solovyev), he found time to enjoy his Game Boy with a copy of the seminal Russian puzzle game, Tetris.

Not only does this make Serebrov the first person to play video games in space, but it also marks a spectacular piece of technological patriotism.

In 2011, Serebrov’s Game Boy and copy of Tetris were auctioned off in New York for $1220 USD, along with a note of provenance reading: "Like all cosmonauts, I love sport. My particular favourites are football and swimming. During flight, in rare minutes of leisure, I enjoyed playing Game Boy."

1998 — And now for something completely different

Keeping things with the Mir station, in 1998, one of the final missions to the station, STS-89, was launched from Kennedy Space Centre.

Onboard was a crew of American astronauts, including mission specialist Andy Thomas. Alongside being an excellent mechanical engineer, aerodynamic scientist, and mission specialist, he’s also a bit of a gamer — at least, if his choice of entertainment aboard the Russian space station is anything to go by. Andy bought with him a PC game called ‘Monty Python’s Complete Waste of Time’.

If you haven't heard of it, consider yourself lucky. It’s basically an FMV mini-game collection that is, aptly, a complete waste of time. We’re not 100% sure why someone would want to lock themselves in a cramped, ageing space station for 6 months with this terrible game, but it cemented itself in history as the second game played in space.

1999 — Folks, we’re going international

The longest continually manned space station in history, the International Space Station (ISS), is a modern wonder of the world. Along with a host of astronauts, it's also briefly been home to one of the greatest space strategy games ever made.

In 1999, space mission STS-96 delivered the first crew to inhabit the station, including Daniel Barry, who brought with him a copy of StarCraft because he happened to be a big fan of the franchise. Where better to enjoy a sci-fi RTS than the cold vacuum of space?

While his mission aboard the ISS only lasted around 30 days, in an interview in 2017, Barry said that part of the reason he chose Starcraft as a way of connecting with his far-flung family.

Barry used to Zerg-rush his partner and daughter back on Earth, so this was a way of taking that bond into orbit. Sadly, he wasn't able to actually play the game, but the copy he took to space now resides in Blizzard’s headquarters.

2001-2005 — A mystery game

Sometimes, kids are given the chance to speak to real astronauts and ask them questions, and even more rarely, they’re allowed to do it with the President of the United States.

Back in 2009, a bunch of school kids and the 44^th President of the United States, Barack Obama, called the crew of the ISS, including one John L Phillips, to ask them questions.

When asked by one of the kids if they were allowed to play video games in space, Phillips admitted that on one of his previous missions, he had brought a PC with him to get some gaming in on his off time.

This means that during his 6-month mission aboard the ISS in 2005, he managed to bring some undisclosed video games with him and spent his free time gaming. Although by the sounds of the interview, his free time was pretty thin on the ground.

2016 — The future of gaming and space

When it comes to the future of gaming, enthusiasts may tell you that it lies in the twin avenues of AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality). While the veracity of those statements is, at best, questionable, the final entry in the saga of games going to space features Microsoft’s AR HoloLens technology.

In 2016, astronaut and former jet pilot Scott Kelly tweeted a picture of himself wearing Microsoft’s AR-enabled HoloLens goggles, with a link to a YouTube video talking about NASA’s ‘Project Sidekick’. This project mostly focused on enabling crews to benefit from ground-based assistance when completing highly technical procedures aboard the ISS or other spacecraft.

While the project is focused on using the goggles as a productivity aid, that doesn’t mean they’re entirely devoid of fun uses as well. While Kelly and fellow astronaut Tim Peake were trying out the headsets, they came under attack from virtual aliens and had to blast lasers from their fingers to fend off the attack.

It’s not immediately clear which game they’re playing, but the likely answer is RoboRaid, a HoloLens game that sees you pinching your fingers to fire lasers at invading aliens.

While news on Project Sidekick has been a little slim over the past few years, outside of a Hologramatic Doctor being beamed to the ISS in 2022, there’s still every chance that the crew aboard the ISS is still blasting alien robo-bugs in space to this day.

And there you have it, all of the times (so far as we know) that video games have made their way into space.

With gaming an ever-more ubiquitous part of our lives, it only makes sense that this trend will grow into the future, and we might even see the fateful day where someone plays FNaF 57: Freddy in Space, actually in space.

It's impossible not to be optimistic about our future among the stars at the moment. The Artemis 2 mission just blasted four astronauts in a loop around the moon, taking humanity one step closer to once again setting foot on our natural satellite.

But, ironically, NASA's achievement doesn't exist in a vacuum, and it’s time for a reality check. As rocket launches become more common, and the goal shifts away from exploration for the good of humanity towards exploitation for the profit of billionaires, interest and excitement around spaceflight is waning.

That's the cold future that the upcoming space game "Lunar Strike" presents. Cognition, the developers behind the game, gave us a sneak peek into the lore and backstory of their upcoming narrative-driven adventure, which sees you step into the boots of a junior archivist sent to document humanity's final lunar settlement.

Set in the year 2119, Lunar Strike imagines a world where humanity's reach for the stars fizzled out with a whimper, as problems at home forced us to refocus our efforts. Global warming led to international tensions, and a mixture of religious fanaticism and failures in governance gave way to nuclear annihilation. Suffice to say, this string of disasters left humanity risk-averse. As an in-universe essay notes, "humanity recoiled and retrenched and withdrew and atrophied".

It's a strangely pragmatic look forward that we rarely see in games. Sure, sci-fi can be bleak — there's no end to the cosmic horrors and savage alien races that game developers can conjure up — but that almost always comes as a result of humanity's success in space. We get to reach for the stars, develop faster-than-light travel, and explore the cosmos … and then run into extraterrestrial nasties.

Despite being set on the moon, Lunar Strike offers problems entirely of our own Earthly creation, and the only solutions are those within our current understanding of science. Given that it's set nearly 100 years in the future, we've made some progress, though, including a lunar base at the moon's south pole.

The lunar south pole is the intended landing sight for Artemis 4, and for good reason. "It offers access to some of the moon's oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds," Artemis lunar science lead Sarah Noble said in a 2024 press release.

With a century to build on our real plans, this settlement will be much more than a few prefabricated habitats, though, with the developers striving to make it feel like a real, lived-in space. We often romanticize our future amongst the stars, but Lunar Strike aims to put the reality of that struggle at the forefront. As humanity's interest in lunar exploration has faded, the moon base has succumbed to the ravages of time. Parts have to be repaired and reused. Maintenance and vigilance are a daily reality for the residents. Some people spend their entire lives on the moon; some people are born on the moon, spending their entire lives inside pressurised corridors, under artificial lights.

It's a far cry from the pomp and circumstance of the Artemis 2 mission and NASA's dreams for sustained, peaceful lunar habitation under the Artemis Accords. A world where our past accomplishments and discoveries are being forgotten, cast aside as survival and pragmatism become the priority. But out of this bleak future, a small light emerges in the form of the ARCK project.

Named for the real-life non-profit founded by Cognition's director, Brian Pope, this fictional organisation has the same mandate as its namesake: to preserve humanity's history. As the developer puts it, "Its mission is to collect and preserve scientific research, technical documentation, cultural records, and traces of everyday human life - not as a retrospective archive, but as a living system that must be maintained, curated, and defended."

And that's where we'll come in as players. As a junior archivist on the moon, our job is to scan, document, and preserve the knowledge and history of humanity's time on the moon … Well, it is when we're not also trying to prevent a terrorist attack, anyway.

Economic and ecological strain have left the public with a cold attitude towards space travel, and in some cases, that disapproval has grown into outright opposition. Earth-first movements have sprung up, and while most are purely political organisations, some have taken to more … extreme measures. One such extremist offshoot — known as the MudBoots — serves as the antagonist during the game. While we can't spoil their plans for you yet, it's ambitious and potentially devastating for the lunar base.

It's not all doom and gloom, though, as Lunar Strike does offer some optimistic looks at how we deal with technological advancement — specifically AI. With the current wave of AI automation, and the real-life discussions around automating the settlement of our solar system, it would seem logical to extrapolate out a future where computers and robots are running the show, but this isn't the case in Lunar Strike. As the devs explain, "AI does not run the colony. It supports the person standing inside it".

We've still yet to get our hands on the game, but we're excited to explore the world of Lunar Strike more as the launch approaches. There is no locked release date yet beyond 2026, but when we know more, you'll know more.

Lunar Strike is coming soon to PC. You can add it to your wishlist on Steam.

Over 20 years after its debut, the “re-imagining” of Battlestar Galactica remains a key part of modern TV and sci-fi as a whole. After some smaller video game adaptations, including the notable turn-based strategy title Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock, developer Alt Shift and publisher Dotemu's take on the bleak universe with Scattered Hopes finally feels like a perfect match.

After barely escaping the annihilation of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol at the hands of the Cylons, a scrappy human fleet tries to survive as it aims to reunite with humanity's last hope — the mighty Battlestar Galactica. Anyone familiar with the show knows what comes next probably won't be pretty, but even diehard fans will be shocked by how brutal Scattered Hopes can be.

The roguelite school of design is in vogue right now, and it comes in many forms. From Saros's live-die-repeat sci-fi shooter action to Balatro's wild take on poker. Whatever the style, the underlying core remains the same: repeating short but punishing runs in an attempt to clear the whole journey in one go.

Usually, failure comes with rewards in the shape of new bonuses, weapons, and tools to overcome obstacles more easily in the future, so dying several times is part of the loop. But of course, no victory is gifted, so you need to improve your skills and make the right choices to secure the ultimate win.

As it turns out, the relentlessly downbeat Battlestar Galactica universe is an ideal candidate for a game infused with failure at its core. Scattered Hopes is packed with high-intensity situations for skilled Admirals to overcome. If you're looking for relaxed fun, though, look elsewhere.

At its core, Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is a "game of menus". You'll spend most of your time clicking through many layers of crew management, resources, and dialogues. The dangerous journey is split into turns, during which you have to deal with a variety of crises, from malfunctioning tech to disagreements between the survivors to off-ship missions that might yield very valuable rewards... or even more early demises.

Normally, you can take as much time as you want weighing options and trying to predict what might happen, but you'll have to learn from your failures to live another day ... either now, or in the next run. And Cylons aren't the only threat to your survival.

Unfortunately for humans, almost every decision comes with downsides. Scattered Hopes is a constant juggling act of resources. Focus on fuel – required to jump to new star systems – too hard and you'll likely run out of the scrap required to fix damaged ship systems; neglect interpersonal drama and pilots will perform below the expected performance levels when the Cylons come knocking. There's a daunting list of things that can go wrong before you even get to space warfare.

Space battles are a thing in Scattered Hopes, but they don't play out as you'd expect. Whenever Cylon ships find you, your goal is not to destroy all of them, but to hold them back and save what you can as the fleet prepares to jump away.

Battles play out in real time, but you can pause at any time to better manage your fighter squadrons and capital ships' cooldown-based weapons, including tactical nukes that can wipe out entire Cylon waves if timed correctly. However, people have pointed out the lore-inaccurate representation of some iconic spacecraft, such as the Raptors, which are mounted with railguns and don't have the ability to FTL jump. They just feel like random sci-fi ships beyond the visuals.

Every battle can mean the loss of ships and lives, both of which are limited resources, so combat never feels like something you'll seek out, at least not until you're confident enough in your pilots and the fleet. It's a simple but oppressive approach to procedural design that Alt Shift has already toyed with for Crying Suns, their previous spaceship tactical roguelite.

Like in FTL: Faster Than Light (roguelite royalty at this point), each run will improve your chances of success as you gain better equipment, ships, and upgrades for the next attempt. And yet, even after tens of hours, I don't feel overpowered. I just have more tools. One wrong decision, one political misstep, and it can still all come crumbling down.

In a way, you could look at Scattered Hopes like "FTL but Battlestar Galactica" and have a blast with the options and different paths to victory (and failure) it gives you. While we love a good space battle, Alt Shift's game excels when it presents sudden events, like a rebellion inside the capital ship, or explores grudges between a generous supporting cast. There's no "right" way out of any of those key moments, but the game will judge you and reshape what lies ahead. Victory can be obtained at any cost, with total destruction being the only "game over" condition.

It all makes for a thrilling adaptation of the TV show, capturing the unpredictability and refreshing focus on human drama and politics at the edge of an apocalypse. Facing the endless Cylon onslaught in the void of space is terrifying even in 2D battles, but many of Scattered Hopes' gut punches happen during unexpected narrative events or tough choices that doom entire ship populations. It's a good reminder that a video game doesn't need to be “cinematic” to deliver riveting stories.

The early hours can be frustrating, since the “metagame” and progression take a good while to take off, and there's also the aforementioned lore-related annoyances, but if you're committed to overcoming that barrier, Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes lands most of its shots and proves there's plenty of fuel left in the FTL-inspired roguelite formula.

So say we all.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is available now for purchase on PC (Steam & GOG).

A review code for Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes was provided by Dotemu.

One of the core tenets of science fiction has always been the unknown, both the promise of mankind exploring vast new frontiers and the dangers of encountering life forms we know nothing about.

Some of the greatest sci-fi of all time, from Alien and The Thing all the way back to Lovecraft, have revolved around the sheer terror of facing something we simply know nothing about. As humans, we find comfort in having control, and stripping that away can reduce us to our basest instincts. That’s the idea at the heart of Directive 8020, the latest entry in the Dark Pictures series by Supermassive Games.

As the “start” of the Dark Pictures second season, Directive 8020 is a pretty astounding success that not only modernizes sci-fi’s fear of the unknown but boils it down and internalizes the idea into actual design mechanics, teasing as to where Supermassive’s series might go next.

Content warning: There's some fairly grotesque body horror in this game (it's an 18+), one image of which can be seen below. If that's not your bag, turn back now.

Be Kind, Rewind

Directive 8020 wears its inspirations quite openly on its sleeve — a general vibe and aesthetic heavily influenced by The Expanse mixed with grotesque body horror in the vein of The Thing. It’s a game not afraid to fully lean into those inspirations and have fun with it, while adding its own unique interpretation as a heavily choice-based narrative experience.

If you aren’t familiar with The Dark Pictures, it’s a series of narrative horror games that are loosely connected by some overarching characters and themes, with each of the four previous games hitting a different sub-genre of horror. For example, The Devil in Me hits the slasher experience, while Man of Medan is more of a psychological ghost story.

With Directive 8020, the series branches out to sci-fi and cosmic horror, focusing on the crew of the colony ship Cassiopeia, on an expedition to find humanity’s new home on the planet Tau Ceti f, in the wake of Earth becoming nearly uninhabitable. In the midst of that journey, the crew encounters an alien lifeform and is forced to crashland on Tau Ceti f. Before long, it becomes clear that whatever this lifeform is, it can copy and imitate humans.

When I talk about the “fear of the unknown” in Directive 8020, the most obvious way that applies is directly in the narrative. Most sci-fi horror has an element of this, where the main characters don’t know what the cosmic horror is, how it functions, or what its goal is. This is an easy way to create tension and stakes — the sheer nature of an otherworldly being digs into primal horror. And even from that most surface-level, Directive 8020 mostly succeeds at what it sets out to do.

These Dark Pictures games are consistently interesting with their setups, because we’re largely dropped into the middle of a story. In Directive 8020, we don’t initially know anything about these characters or who they are, slowly discovering those pieces along the way and making key decisions that shape how you view them.

But there’s something inscrutable about the writing of Directive 8020, with characters occasionally making bizarre decisions that feel a bit off. But I read that as an intentional choice in this case, deliberately playing into the paranoia that the main narrative is supposed to invoke. It could be written off as bad writing, but it feels deliberate. Part of the game's efforts to put you off balance.

All of the Cassiopeia crew was given mental and moral tests before the mission, meant to assess how fit they were, and guarantee they wouldn’t break. But introducing the alien lifeform is an unknown variable, and that fear of the unknown is given a double layer, creating paranoia over both the alien and how other people will react to it.

Although you make decisions for these characters, they are defined characters, and part of the “unknown” quantity of the game is how your decisions might affect their personalities — and you’re essentially guessing in some cases.

The other layer here, of course, is the branching narrative that can split, with every character having multiple chances to die and the story carrying on without them. Previous games have forced you to make decisions, then after the end of the game, you unlock a feature to go back and reload any section, and make key choices to change the narrative. Directive 8020, however, is the first game to give you that ability right from the get-go. While you can choose a mode that locks in decisions, the standard mode now gives you a story web you can view at any time, seeing the various nodes and turning point decisions, and reloading whenever you want.

It’s a fascinating shift in design that changes the entire way you approach the game, largely letting you focus more on piecing together the overall narrative, exploring scenes, and uncovering secrets. The game’s writing accommodates this by packing in more collectibles and stringing out the core mystery — and it works.

But I find that it pairs well with the game’s core theme of the unknown, by creating a story that’s more concerned with overall intrigue rather than visceral moments (even though those are still there). And that’s especially true when you account for the vastly tweaked gameplay, where Supermassive is clearly experimenting with new ideas — exploring what an uncertain future means for The Dark Pictures.

Rewriting the Formula

Up until now, The Dark Pictures games have stuck to the sort of Telltale-style of narrative games, with some very light exploration alongside focusing almost solely on dialogue and choices.

Directive 8020 starts to integrate more “gameplay” elements, namely stealth sections where you avoid creatures, a few puzzles for things like unlocking doors, and the aforementioned collectibles, which reveal how this game is linked to the series at large. The ties are more mysterious and understated than ever, but equally interesting. Mixed with the ability to rewind story choices, these are clear bids to make Directive 8020 more involved than past Dark Pictures games, which have oftentimes been compared to interactive movies.

It’s fascinating to see Supermassive clearly thinking about those criticisms and trying to make Directive 8020 feel more “video game-y,” so to speak. And while I largely feel that the game becomes over-reliant on stealth segments, the sheer fact that Directive 8020 uses them gives me more confidence for the future of the franchise.

Directive 8020, narratively and mechanically, feels quite a bit different from previous games, and it shows a willingness to experiment on Supermassive’s part: a willingness to evaluate what the “Dark Pictures formula” actually is. Therein lies the metatextual context of Directive 8020’s fear of the unknown, an uncertain future for the series where it has to adapt and change to survive.

That makes Directive 8020 far more interesting than it could be as just a standalone horror story, and I can easily see this game taking on even more context as future Dark Pictures games are released. This multilayered approach to Directive 8020’s core theme helps the game punch far above its weight, giving it extra context as both a homage to one of sci-fi’s most important sub-genres and a living piece for the series itself.

Somehow, The Dark Pictures has managed to carve out a successful niche for itself, clearly catering to a playerbase craving a kind of narrative experience that is underserved. With Directive 8020, Supermassive questions why all that worked in the first place, and what the series needs to do to adapt going forward.

It's strangely introspective, but it works, crafting a narrative that can effectively explore that core idea of uncertainty and the hope of a better future.

Directive 8020 is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

A review code was provided by the publisher.

Let’s be honest here, and no disrespect to venerable family board games, but Monopoly is kind of boring. There, we said it. Oh sure, it's iconic — the real estate-hoarding classic has been with us since 1903, when it was called "The Landlord Game" — but have you ever actually enjoyed a game of it?

Behold the potential antidote to Monopoly ennui in the form of Ubisoft's new "Star Wars"-themed spinoff release, "Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs Villains." This new twist on a time-worn game could recalibrate your thoughts on the 90-year-old land acquisition diversion when it lands on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 1/2 and Xbox Series X|S on June 11, 2026.

No, this isn’t Monopoly’s first venture into the galaxy far, far away, as a basic tabletop "Star Wars" edition came out in 1996, followed by a video game adaptation in 1997. However, this latest incarnation has some sensational digital magic attached that has piqued our interest.

"Assemble your team, build your roster of iconic 'Star Wars' characters, and battle with your friends and family for control of the galaxy as you move across storied planets and locations," states the official description.

"Choose from a wide array of 'Star Wars' heroes and villains, each with their own unique abilities. Whether you're teaming up with Luke Skywalker or unleashing Darth Vader, every match is packed with team strategy, surprises, and classic 'Star Wars' moments. No two battles unfold the same way; the fate of your team is yours to shape!"

Based on the trailer and gameplay overview, the game allows teams of two or three to join forces on and offline to take control of the Monopoly board, using specific character attributes and skills found within the greater "Star Wars" canon.

Something called "Dynamic Go Events" promises to infuse an air of unpredictability into the action with fun moments that can "alter the deal” significantly. Plus, thrilling cinematic clips will help bind players to the "Star Wars" franchise while acquiring their "properties."

We know you all were really hoping for EA to deliver "Battlefront 3" or Quantic Dream to accelerate "Star Wars Eclipse" instead of a Monopoly crossover, but while you wait for those upcoming Star Wars games, this new "Star Wars Monopoly" just might be the way to address your lack of faith in that moldy old family game night favorite.

"Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs Villains" launches for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 1/2, and Xbox Series X|S on June 11, 2026.

Following rumors, Nintendo has just announced yet another remake of Star Fox 64 (Lylat Wars in PAL regions), and it's coming sooner than anyone expected.

With a surprise 'Star Fox Direct' released on May 6, Nintendo finally confirmed the existence and arrival of a new Star Fox game on Nintendo Switch 2. The original Nintendo Switch won't be getting this reimagining of the excellent rail shooter, which sports a complete overhaul of its presentation and substantial content additions.

Beyond the shinier, vastly more detailed visuals and overhauled audio, the core journey remains the same, but an extra Challenge Mode and competitive online multiplayer (with free flight) add more replayability and value to the package. There's also an optional co-op mode, which allows two players to split the controls of the Arwing starfighter and other vehicles; one person pilots them while the other shoots at enemies.

Other unique features include mouse aiming with the Joy-Con 2 if you're gunning for the highest possible scores, and a link to Switch 2's video chat capabilities that allow you to “become” a member of Team Star Fox, VTuber-style. Those redesigns might not be everyone's cup of tea, but we think there's an old-school charm to them that reminds us of the original SNES puppets used in marketing materials.

Overall, Star Fox – yes, that's the definitive title – seems like a return to simpler times and the sort of well-calculated reboot the franchise needed after so many ups and downs, and being absent for 10 years following Star Fox Zero's failure.

Its new modes can help it stand out, but for the most part, we're thinking this is Nintendo's attempt at refreshing the fan base with new blood after Fox McCloud's surprise supporting role in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Star Fox will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on June 25, and pre-orders – at a lower price point than usual – are now open. The original Star Fox 64 is playable via the Nintendo Switch Online service.

Saros might be PlayStation's first blockbuster of 2026, but it also feels like a direct answer to the more padded adventures currently flooding the gaming space. It's fast and brutal, but players aren't expected to be stuck on Carcosa for too long. It's a more refined and accessible roguelite third-person shooter... but also one with less bite.

Developer Housemarque is no stranger to choosing an arcade-y rhythm and less typical structure over cinematic or sandbox approaches, and Saros could be a sequel to 2021's Returnal, if it weren't for the completely different setting. There's a human protagonist stuck on a seemingly doomed, faraway world trying to break a time loop. There are lots of sci-fi guns to play with. There's a huge mystery at the center of the adventure... the list goes on.

And why not? Returnal was a fantastic game. The studio was right to be confident about what it did with its first roguelite sci-fi actioner, and it has directly addressed player feedback to improve this follow-up.

A big “problem” with Returnal was that a shockingly low number of players finished it even years after its release. Roguelite games are traditionally hard, but Returnal took things a bit further, as you didn't get many permanent upgrades the more you played.

Each run was also remarkably long, even with the added shortcuts. Some of Returnal's post-launch updates – such as the addition of co-op – softened the ruthless odyssey a bit, but it was a truly demanding roguelite that didn't get easier the more you failed.

Come back stronger

Saros takes a sledgehammer to that approach almost from the get-go. After all, “come back stronger” is the game's tagline. It's Housemarque directly telling players this one is safer to approach. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; the biggest modern roguelites – like Supergiant's Hades – are filled to the brim with meta progression. I don't think it harms Saros too much that it can be played like a more conventional shooter if you want a cohesive story with spicy gameplay... but don't have the time or patience to bang your head against a boss for days or weeks.

On Carcosa, a planet often bathed in the light of ominous eclipses, the Soltari megacorp (you can't have a proper sci-fi horror story without one of those) is looking for the Lucenite resource. Its potential applications are never entirely clear, but Soltari just consumes all it touches. “This is ours now, we'll figure out what it does later.”

In the actual game, the Lucenite allows main character Arjun Devraj — a gruff and determined Soltari enforcer played by Midnight Mass' Rahul Kohli — to become stronger through suit upgrades at Echelon IV's (the last of four groups sent to the planet) base of operations.

The upgrades are applied with a typical skill tree that boosts Arjun's stats and (rarely) adds new abilities like having a “second chance” after falling in combat the first time. This is all fine, and in line with other roguelites' school of design. Push past the second area boss, though, and you'll also get an extra layer of help with boosts that can heavily reshape the overall experience.

From massive damage upgrades to complete health regeneration before bosses, these buffs give you a sizeable advantage in exchange for some minor negatives, like losing more Lucenite when dying or accumulating more corruption, which lowers your max health when hit by certain enemy attacks.

This is the sort of “modifiers package” that's usually delivered after you beat the game, the way it was intended to be played, once. Here, it's a weirdly timed crutch that makes everything after the first two biomes easier, which is an odd choice that dilutes much of what the game is going for and even the story structure. While not engaging with it is an option, the game doesn't tell players it's basically a misplaced difficulty options menu.

A tale of two games

Okay, but let's assume Saros is ideally meant to be beaten in just a handful of seamless runs, landing closer to a traditional third-person shooter than a grueling roguelite. The progression systems in place would support such a vision.

Sadly, the game's plot — an otherwise intriguing cosmic horror tale with psychological thriller elements — gets in the way of the roguelite format that, difficulty complaints aside, worked great in Returnal. By attempting to marry up the classical storytelling of other PlayStation blockbusters with Housemarque's in-house style of retro-ish, direct fun, Saros often ends up as lost as the Echelon IV crew.

Until you hit the credits, Saros is basically broken up into little pieces tied to the story progression. Even if you feel like you're performing well enough and want to push onwards, you'll be forced to return to The Passage (the base of operations) to sit and watch cutscenes that generally aren't near the level of quality expected from first-party PlayStation studios (pre-rendered ones excluded).

Kohli proves to be a great lead who can show both restrained emotion and raw anger as required, but Saros's greatest allure is Carcosa's sun-bathed, hellish environments and the carnage that brings them alive with a dance of lasers, plasma beams, and whatnot.

While hitting Act 3 — essentially the game's epilogue — allows players to do longer runs with the credits rolled, the ultimate final boss requires a return to base since they're in a different area, effectively ending the regular runs and resetting the temporal progression (artifacts, better weapons, etcetera) found during them.

It's yet another odd choice that underlines how the game is at odds with itself, at least structurally. Updates could add more to the experience and provide alternatives, but as it stands, Saros fails to find its footing as a highly replayable, run-based adventure. Shockingly, even the level chunks and weapon selection are poorer and way more predictable than in Returnal; variance is minimal, and it's not long before you recognize map patterns every couple of bite-sized runs or so.

Still, most of these negatives don't matter much when you're in the heat of the action, dashing through walls of colorful energy orbs, blocking and parrying more dangerous attacks, and unleashing hell on twisted, almost demonic monstrosities that answer to a King in Yellow (Ambrose Bierce and Robert W. Chambers are required reading here) who may or may not be behind the reality-bending catastrophe afflicting Carcosa.

The kings of sci-fi action return(al)

I'm sure there won't be a big-budget action game this year that plays as well as Saros. That's the one part where Housemarque fully delivered a straight upgrade over its past games.

Of course, Saros is also yet another stunning showcase of the PS5's more unique features. The worn-down majesty of the environments is stunning, and it never feels cluttered or obscures the action. Likewise, the bullet hell action is pure chaos, but somehow also incredibly readable; it reminds me of Doom: The Dark Ages' more frenetic battles, but taken up to eleven.

Split-second defensive and offensive decisions are informed by the system's 3D spatial audio, which is put to great use by Housemarque alongside the DualSense's haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Returnal was a remarkable showcase of what the PS5 could do in the right hands, and Saros' overall feeling and presentation has the studio telling everyone else to step their game up. Oh, and a special shoutout to Sam Slater's absolute banger of an original soundtrack.

It's a shame Saros' roguelite effort is so half-hearted, but this is what happens when you try to please everyone.

While not super elegant, the story and characters are enticing enough, Kohli convinces as a tormented action hero, and Carcosa's mythology will linger in my memory for a while. Those elements elevate the truly fantastic moment-to-moment gameplay and consistently exciting boss battles, daring to ask whether roguelite games could be more. Whether they can pose the big questions.

It just hasn't fully come together this time around, but this is still a recommendation for sci-fi action game fans… just one with a few big caveats. Hopefully, Housemarque leveled up on this run, and their next one will be better.

Saros is available now for purchase on PS5.

A PS5 review code for Saros was provided by Sony.

Lucasfilm Games is hard at work coordinating with various publishers and developers to craft all sorts of new games set in the galaxy far, far away, but Star Wars: Galactic Racer’s announcement caught everyone off guard in the best possible way. There’s no Force to rely on here, only quick reflexes.

It’s a new era inside and outside the Star Wars universe, which means this spiritual successor of sorts to the previous Racer games — which were all about podracing — needed new tricks and substantial features that could set it apart from the competition. Thankfully, it seems that Fuse Games (a studio started by Burnout veterans) perfectly knew how to shake things up while retaining the speed, danger, and raw excitement of the older Star Wars racing titles. Now this is podracing!

As we march into a new era for Star Wars games defined by more genre-specific pitches and a more varied pool of creative talent, it can be a bit hard to keep track of all the games currently in development, so don’t forget to regularly take a look at our list of every upcoming Star Wars game announced and in the works.

When is Star Wars: Galactic Racer coming out?

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set to launch on October 6, 2026.

How do we know this? Because some poor soul accidentally uploaded a pre-order infographic to the Steam page. Whoopsie daisy. Not long after that snafu, Secret Mode and Fuse Games confirmed the release date with an official press release.

With a late 2025 reveal during the last Game Awards ceremony, Lucasfilm Games, publisher Secret Mode, and developer Fuse Games had quickly confirmed the plan is to launch Star Wars: Galactic Racer before 2026 ends, so this all tracks with expectations too.

What platforms is Star Wars: Galactic Racer launching on?

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Windows) via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

As we approach the tail-end of this generation of consoles, big-budget game projects like this one have left last-gen machines behind. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, the team behind Star Wars: Galactic Racer aims to deliver cutting-edge visuals at high speeds, and while we wouldn’t rule out a Nintendo Switch 2 port at a later date, nothing has been promised on that front yet.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer trailers

Thankfully, there wasn’t an extremely long wait between Star Wars: Galactic Racer’s big reveal trailer and a second one featuring a closer look at the gameplay and more of its racers, including a couple of podracing legends.

We also got the release date trailer on April 30, showing off some more gameplay and all the exclusive racers and skins that come with the deluxe edition.

Watch all the trailers released so far below:

What type of racing game is Star Wars: Galactic Racer?

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a highly competitive but casual-friendly arcade racer in the style of the two previous Star Wars podracing games released over 20 years ago: Episode I – Racer (1999) and Racer Revenge (2002). The key difference is that more vehicle classes — and not just podracers — are allowed in this new era of galaxy-wide racing: land speeders, the smaller speeder bikes, and even the new skim speeders all compete against the podracers from the olden days.

Players are introduced to the Galactic League — “an unsanctioned racing circuit born in the lawless Outer Rim” — through a single-player campaign with a traditional narrative that’s a main part of the package. We can also look forward to online, player-versus-player multiplayer modes that support cross-platform play across consoles and PC for up to 12 players. Ride customization is confirmed, too, but we haven’t seen the system in action yet.

The bigger twist is that Galactic Racer’s campaign follows a roguelite structure, which means it’s highly replayable and will punish failure during minor leagues as you try to climb the ranks.

If you crash too many times or can’t keep up with the competition, you’ll be sent back to try again next season. While you can’t lose all your campaign progress, each league’s races and trials must be done in one go. To help players, power-ups and upgrades are also available and will change in each run depending on their choices.

Though veteran gamers will think of Burnout (developer Fuse Games was founded by Criterion Games veterans after all) almost instantly, Galactic Racer seems to be using lots of ideas from Evolution Studios’ MotorStorm series. That is, there’s a focus on the unpredictable racing and carnage that comes from the mix of different vehicle classes and off-road racing versus well-defined circuits. Of course, “takedowns” of sorts are part of the moment-to-moment mechanics, meaning that you can just take out foes by force as you try to conquer the top of the leaderboards.

When and where does Star Wars: Galactic Racer take place?

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set in the New Republic era, right after the fall of the Empire, who had outlawed podracing and other dangerous vehicular competitions led and organized by criminal syndicates and Outer Rim governments.

With the Empire finished and the New Republic struggling to maintain order across so many inhabited star systems, “gambling, entertainment, and glory” fuel the fires of an underworld on the rise. While other Star Wars stories (such as The Mandalorian) are focused on the remaining threats to the galaxy and difficult politics, Galactic Racer is all about the lawless frontier where the people demand the return of high-speed racing.

So far, both familiar and new planets have been shown in the trailers and promotional materials: Jakku, Tatooine, Sentinel One, Lantaana, and Ando Prime headline the list, but hands-on previews have revealed more.

While Star Wars fans are familiar with the first two, the toxic volcanic planet Sentinel One and the lush Lantaana are among the worlds that were created specifically for this game. Ando Prime, meanwhile, is a returning snow world from the original Episode I – Racer. Stay tuned for more on this front, especially if the game gets substantial post-launch support.

Who are the new and returning characters in Star Wars: Galactic Racer?

Star Wars: Galactic Racer follows “lone racer” Shade as he takes on the villainous Kestar Bool, who’s currently dominating the Galactic League, “an unsanctioned racing league” created and organized by Darius Pax. When Pax fears he’s about to lose control of his creation, he convinces Shade – who has an unknown “personal grudge against the Bool family” – to take down Kestar.

The branching-path campaign includes a colorful roster of supporting characters, with the mechanic Hibi helping Shade out with new upgrades and tools. We also know the troublesome Sebulba and even fan-favorite (but unlucky) Ben Quadinaros are making triumphant returns, though it remains to be seen if they play major roles in the story or are simply part of the playable roster outside the story campaign.

We finally got to see some combat gameplay for "Exodus" — Archetype Entertainment's upcoming sci-fi RPG — earlier this month, but the more conversational side of this "Mass Effect"-inspired sci-fi odyssey has been more elusive... until now.

The talented design crew at Archetype Entertainment is back this week with another interesting Community Update that focuses on the advanced conversation system in "Exodus", which they say allows for natural interactions between characters that shape a player’s chosen path. So far, we're liking what we see.

Here in this work-in-progress demonstration video, "Exodus"'s main Traveler character, Jun Aslan, is engaged in an in-game, real-time conversation with a combat companion named Phaedra while out on a daring mission inside a corroding Celestial facility hunting for Remnants.

It's nice to see this all happening in real-time, and not taking the "Fallout"/"Mass Effect" approach of teleporting us into the conversation pocket universe where everyone stands perfectly still and stares bug-eyed at each other.

Questions and responses flow as a continuous interplay of thoughts instead of operating in abrupt pull-away dialogue boxes. At this point in the gameplay, Phaedra has been infected by a Celestial virus, which has left her blind, but her roaming drone still feeds her environmental data.

An unexpected consequence of her sudden infection has given her an uncanny ability to interface with ancient Celestial glyphs. As the conversation progresses, dialogue options branch in real time as Phaedra shares more intimate details of what she's been going through and how the virus is evolving within her.

According to Archetype, the designers' ultimate goal is "to make every exchange feel immediate, grounded, and reflective of the player’s evolving role in the world."

Heralding from Wizards of the Coast and Archetype Entertainment and arriving sometime in 2027, "Exodus" is an ambitious sci-fi action-adventure RPG created by the same industry veterans who helped deliver the worlds of "Mass Effect," "Baldur's Gate," and "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic."

Its epic storytelling has players facing humanity's evolution some 40,000 years in the future by exploring extraordinary alien worlds and confronting time itself to shape the fate of generations.

"Exodus" is slated to arrive sometime in 2027, but stay tuned for more work-in-progress video updates, including Extended Gameplay Reveals this summer.

SOL Shogunate was one of the most enticing upcoming space games shown at last December's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted. Set in an alt-future solar system, it imagines a Moon ruled by the shogunate where samurai families and ruthless clans battle for dominance.

As impressive as its reveal trailer looked, the project — which is targeting a PC and PS5 release at the time of writing — is still far away from its release. As dev diaries begin to drop, we had the chance to sit down for a chat with Chaos Manufacturing CEO and co-founder Guy Costantini, as well as aerospace engineer Taylore McClurg, who's helped shape this surprising sci-fi universe's science alongside the developers.

Some quotes have been editorialized and lightly trimmed for better flow.

"It's been almost three years," Costantini told us when asked how long the studio has been working on the game, which was still in pre-production when the in-game reveal trailer was recorded and edited.

McClurg was also part of the project almost from the get-go, as she was close to Nate Eckman's (co-founder) wife: "It was just serendipitous. We were looking for someone that could help make our sci-fi more science than fiction. Whenever we have enough questions to warrant it, we have a nice get-together with the game team and Taylore."

Costantini, Eckman, and most of the studio are no strangers to large-scale development, having worked for companies like CD Projekt Red, Skydance Interactive, PlayStation, and more. But the co-founder added that McClurg has actually ended up "inspiring a lot of the technology in this kind of alternative future world."

"This is my first time consulting on a game, so this is new territory for me," McClurg said before confirming that she's still not done "providing some science and physics consulting" as the game evolves and runs towards the finish line. Things have changed, however, as the early days were more about "some bigger concepts and some guardrails around the boundary concepts." Now, it's time to refine those ideas and the science that holds everything together... without disrupting too much what's ultimately a hack-and-slash action-adventure game.

"The way we think about world-building is beyond just one game," Costantini revealed. "We try to lay the foundation for the rules of this world." While 'samurai in space' seems like an outlandish pitch (*cough* Star Wars), the team has tried to avoid becoming too fantastical and magical: "We wanted to make sure that when you drill into why things are the way they are, there's a solid explanation... We will assume progression on some technologies, but it's always starting from a place of 'this is what people are thinking today' or 20 to 30 years ago."

When asked about specifics, Costantini brought up bone density loss when not being in a simulated gravity environment: "Taylore told us you can kind of overcome that having a certain amount of exercises, so that helped inform our world-building. It's something that's a feature of privilege... so life becomes harder for people that don't have it." It's the sort of science-guided creative approach that's enriched SOL Shogunate's universe and the studio's take on how its societies develop off-world.

Space elevators are also part of SOL Shogunate's lunar future, and McClurg explained how those could work: "A port that is orbiting around the Moon and is accessible via space elevator is part of the future we're able to achieve. So we're leaning on the fact that future technologies and strength of materials have advanced to a point where we can enable a space elevator where there's lower gravity and no atmosphere to contend."

Costantini added that if we think about the Moon, "it's kind of the gateway to our solar system." From a creative perspective, it's the perfect 'center of operations' for a space society born on Earth: "It holds a very large position of power to transportation across the solar system... And if we're going to build things on the Moon, we're going to build them mostly out of Moon. So there's a lot of material processing that happens there, and this also creates a lot of power in some of the clans." (Capcom's Pragmata has recently explored some of these ideas, too.)

At this point, we were given a first taste of the game's factions and their dynamics: "The Tennoji are in charge of transportation in the solar system. They're powerful and are in slight conflict with a clan called the Karasuma, who are in charge of mining and material processing. Sort of like frenemies, right?" The ruling shogunate cast is overall this "foundational piece of humanity existing in a multi-planetary capacity", but it's a complex picture once we start exploring the different groups and families.

Of course, we'll be doing a lot of swordfighting and stunning traversal in the game. To create something that was both fun and somewhat believable in the setting, McClurg said they've been looking "at the feasibility of each layer of that use of gravity" and all the "pros and cons" of a lower gravity and "the ways you can use it to your advantage and disadvantage". This informs not just the moment-to-moment gameplay and design of the world and narrative, but also the levels themselves.

Still, for combat, Chaos Manufacturing isn't "trying to make a simulation," Costantini underlined. In that case, "it would probably be more of a puzzle game." He described it as combat-heavy and story-heavy, which is why the studio had to "optimize for fun."

Instead, the game tackles the hard constraints of science as opportunities to "breed innovation" and try new stuff. A good example is the relative lack of guns in favor of melee-based combat.

"There's a good reason to not use kinetic weaponry on the Moon," notes Costantini. "The society in charge would probably choose to outlaw them. That helps us in our fantasy conceit that the right way of solving conflict is through the use of more traditional fighting styles. It also creates a bit of a surreal scenario, which is what we want to go for. A surreal place that feels grounded is a great juxtaposition."

Talking about surreal visuals, the robotic horse is a standout moment in the first look at SOL Shogunate. Costantini pointed out that it came from the idea "the people in charge use the technology available to deliver the fantasy they want... Just how the United States copied the architectural layout of Rome because they idolized that moment in time." Commoners don't have access to such luxuries, but meanwhile, the people in charge "have bioceramic skin that allows them to be exposed to radiation and differences in temperature" and get to ride robotic horses, "slowly trotting along the dunes to oversee their property."

"The one-sixth gravity of the Moon allows for a lot of mechanisms and spring-driven mechanisms to work more efficiently than they could work on Earth... It's not far out of a stretch of my imagination. Seeing something more elegant be achieved in the future and even without a propulsive gravity assist system... it feels pretty achievable to me," added McClurg.

Circling back to ballistic weapons, Costantini wasn't ready to divulge many details yet, but "whenever there are laws, there are those who abide by them and those who break them, and there are those who put them in place so that they could do what they want. I think you're gonna see a combination of that."

Further teases of what SOL Shogunate will offer included a mention that Yuzuki, the protagonist, will be able to "manipulate gravity better than her opponents" with tools that are "an evolution of what astronauts use."

The explanation is simple: the game's aforementioned societal structure establishes that not everyone gets to have the same degree of control over their gravitational environment. "We get to have a little bit of social commentary on what happens when providing people with control over gravity becomes a very expensive endeavor... Only the few can manipulate this."

On the matter of space travel, Costantini confirmed it's "hard" in SOL Shogunate's solar system, but teased "we're definitely showcasing the world in more than just one planet" with this "first game" (it really sounds like the intention is to make more if it's a success). The distance between planets and isolation also allows the people in charge to spread misinformation and propaganda. "How are the problems that we have today going to be reflected in a place where it's a lot harder to get around?"

McClurg cited ongoing conversations while building out the world, just deal with the problems of today and how that "would propagate into the future." Communications and logistics would be especially tricky unless there's some universe-shaking science advancement, and Chaos Manufacturing is working with those limitations.

At the end of the interview, which happened in late March 2026, Costantini confirmed the game was nearing the end of pre-production, with the production targeting "definitely more than a year, maybe two years." In any case — and as confirmed by the recent dev diary — the studio "will continue to show more of it as it gets built."

Before ending our conversation, McClurg made sure to highlight that her experience with the team has been overwhelmingly positive. "Everyone has been so enthusiastic about the science and have come forward with such incredible, interesting questions that I know everyone really cares about getting the science right and grounding this."

Costantini answered by saying a driving force during development has been "working with people who really know what they're talking about" every time a question external to the game design and narrative came up. So far, we think those efforts are paying off and making SOL Shogunate feel special.

SOL Shogunate will launch on PC (Steam) and (at least) PS5 when it's ready. At the time of writing, its tentative release window is 2027.

That Death Star's operational… and extremely clean thanks to this wild new collaboration between PowerWash Simulator 2 and Star Wars.

There's no shortage of exciting Star Wars games in the works, but we'll be honest, we didn't see this one coming, as Lucasfilm Games and FuturLab are teaming up to release PowerWash Simulator 2's Star Wars pack, coming this summer.

While no specific release date or price tag was provided in the short 'announce' trailer, we know it's coming to all platforms where the game is available. That means PC (via Steam & Epic), Xbox Series X|S, PS5 (with Pro support), and Nintendo Switch 2.

From the frozen wastes of Hoth to the Lars Homestead on Tatooine — hopefully without poor Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's charred corpses still lying around — PowerWash Simulator 2's next DLC is focusing on locales from the original Star Wars trilogy. There are even brief hints that an Imperial destroyer and a Rebel cruiser (probably a Mon Calamari one) need to have their space dust and muck washed away.

Though the galaxy far, far away could also accommodate new washing mechanics and systems with bespoke tools (or perhaps astromech helpers), most details are being kept as secret as the Death Star plans for now.

We know the cleaners this time around "take on the role of P0-W2, a Class Five cleaning droid", so a certain degree of immersion is being offered. Here's hoping we can blast stormtroopers away with pressurized water, too.

Earlier this month, PowerWash Simulator 2 received its first level pack, which was based on the animated series Adventure Time, so this might be a tradition for the offbeat 'cleaning simulation' game as it ventures into post-launch support. Much like the original, PowerWash Simulator 2 supports both solo and co-op, local or online.

We just got our first look at "Alien Isolation 2" with an atmospheric trailer… literally, as it looks like we're going planetside for this long-awaited sequel.

After a quieter gap in the post-prequels era, Disney and 20^th Century Studios have been ramping up work on the Alien franchise, and that includes killer new movies and a first streaming series. On the Alien games front, things are even busier, but no project has matched the hype surrounding the long-awaited Alien: Isolation sequel.

First announced in late 2024, the follow-up to the hit first-person survival horror game is being handled by Total War developer Creative Assembly and creative director Alistair Hope once again. Little is known about the story or setting, but April 26's Alien Day surprise teaser has the right oppressive (and very dark) atmosphere to make us equal parts anxious and excited.

Titled 'False Sense Of Security', the short video reveals the torn-down, decaying, and wet interior of what we presume is a Weyland-Yutani base. As the red light on the door goes from red to green, it opens to reveal a shocking view... we're not in outer space anymore.

We don't know which planet this is. It's rainy outside (terraforming is a long process), so it could be a return to Hadley's Hope on LV-426, but it's more likely somewhere new. In any case, the Xenomorphs have made it to a colony, and you know what comes next. Just remember, emergency phones are your save points, but they aren't completely safe.

Though it's logical to assume the Alien: Isolation sequel will directly continue the events of the first game (especially after that cliffhanger), Amanda Ripley and her allies' story has actually been continued over the years through comic books and, surprisingly, 2024's Alien: Rogue Incursion.

Therefore, it remains to be seen how and when the new game will pick things up... unless we're looking at a massive retcon. For now, neither 20^th Century Studios nor Sega has set a release window for the game. With development picking up now, it might be a while before we get official word on the target platforms, too.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this one (and our motion trackers), so stay tuned for more Alien: Isolation 2 news as it appears.

Owlcat Games hasn't shied away from the fact that The Expanse: Osiris Reborn looks and feels a lot like BioWare's Mass Effect series, and after going through the upcoming action RPG's closed beta, we can confirm it really feels like an evolution of those games in a more grounded setting. During the recent Q&A preview session we were able to attend, game design director Leonid Rastorguev didn't ignore such comparisons and instead fully embraced them:

"Obviously, we've played Mass Effect, we love it, most of the team does, and it was an inspiration for the game, but still the game is an Owlcat game in terms of narrative, the choices, the mechanical systems, the combat systems..." After a 50-minute run with the agile closed-beta demo, it's easy to see what he means.

What we played was basically the second main story mission of the game, which kicks off right after an explosive start on Eros. For our protagonist, an officer and a hacker preset were available, but no control over the playable character's (and their sibling's) appearance was given. Still, picking the Belter background made them taller and more slender due to growth in a low-gravity environment — a nice bit of world-building that the TV show couldn't capture.

(Some quotes in this interview have been editorialized and lightly trimmed for better flow)

It's touches like that which make The Expanse: Osiris Reborn a distinct take on space RPGs. It has the advantage of working with a really fleshed-out setting that's been fully explored through novels and an outstanding TV show, yet it takes some of those unique elements to make its visuals and gameplay systems stand out. It feels familiar, yet very forward-thinking.

While it's too early to tell how the entire thing comes together, Owlcat's focus on deeper RPG intricacies and non-narrative decisions that pack a punch were felt during our time with the demo. The skill trees are more complex than anything in the Mass Effect games, and weapon customization feels denser than anything BioWare ever implemented. It remains a breezy action RPG experience, but the studio's cRPG bones are noticeable.

On top of combat and ability-oriented skill trees, there are also social skill trees that unlock "certain rooms or chests", along with extra dialogue choices to open up entire narrative branches.

"Working on the action combat system was, of course, challenging, and keeping the right balance between the action and the RPG parts was really important, and I think we managed to do it right. It took us several iterations to get to that point," Rastorguev admitted. If you look at Owlcat's output so far, it's clear that The Expanse: Osiris Reborn represents a major shift for the developer, yet we came away impressed by its notable set pieces.

After some chit-chat aboard a space station, all hell breaks loose when a bunch of mercenaries come in guns blazing. Only one companion is with the player during this mission, but Rastorguev underlined "most of the missions will include two... and others supporting from the ship."

While we were promised quieter sections back at our ship and narrative threads that let us explore the relationships between the different team members, this demo was all about showing off the visuals and combat system. It's frenetic and punchy stuff, giving us both cinematic highs and more relaxed exploration between gunfights. There's also a bit of decision-making involved, but the full ramifications are impossible to evaluate in a short preview like this.

Like in Mass Effect and similar action-oriented RPGs, tactical pause is a thing, but here, it doesn't actually "pause" time; it only slows it down. During those moments, you can bring up the menu and tell your companion to use specific skills or focus their fire on targets that are especially annoying and/or dangerous. This loop became especially important during the final shootout, when some fully armored-up mercs came in walking directly at us, packing some serious firepower.

A lot of tweaking and tinkering can (and will) happen between now and the tentative spring 2027 release window, but The Expanse: Osiris Reborn already feels more brutal and punishing than its biggest influences. Regular enemies go down easily, but so do you, and reckless character builds that might be rewarded elsewhere seem way riskier in this game.

Again, further progression and the right combination of equipment will surely help us achieve "tanky" status if we want to, but Osiris Reborn's beta pulls no punches. "We really advise you to stay in cover and play from cover," Rastorguev suggested during the Q&A session. He wasn't exaggerating.

As bullets fly, gas pipes are blown up, and mercs are dispatched, we eventually make our way to the station's exterior, which means it's time for a spacewalk with magnetic boots. The sights are pretty, but we're in danger, and more merc goons soon come in with snipers to boot. Lines of sight (and breaking them) become even more important here, as cover is sparser while walking outside a space station, and much of it is ripped apart by the projectiles. Thankfully, we can also tell our sibling to cause some chaos of our own. As one pipe blows up under their feet, two mercs go motionless and begin to drift away into the void. Nice.

It's at this point that Owlcat's work on the visual presentation truly shines, with particle effects making most of the combat actions feel weighty, even in a weightless place. In many other video games, zero-G action can feel too floaty and "fake", but the encounters that are included in this preview build feel adequately dangerous. You're not in full control of your body; the speed changes, and explosives behave differently. It's a surprisingly dizzying experience, and one that culminates with the two leads dodging debris and gunshots as they try to re-enter the station.

After a spot of light puzzling, we break into the final area of the demo and are greeted by the aforementioned "heavy" mercs, along with plenty of the weaker soldiers. Thankfully, our ally is helping... by shooting our ship's guns directly into the war-torn hangar. Those unlucky enough to be targeted first are turned to red mist, and entire sections of the level don't resist the barrages much better. It's a visual spectacle that doesn't disrupt the central mechanics, but makes it all more exciting without taking control away from the player.

By the time the closed beta ended, I was dying to play more of the game, which is a good sign, especially with so much of the final stages of development still ahead. The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is already in a good place, and while it's too early to judge its narrative or the fairly traditional approach to RPG systems and mechanics that may or may not elevate it, we're now certain it's fun as hell to play and a visual stunner.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is releasing on PC (Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S at some point in spring 2027. A day-one Game Pass Ultimate launch has been revealed, too. The closed beta dropped on April 22, limited to those with Miller's Pack and Collector's Edition pre-orders.

NASA's Artemis program is the space agency's plan for returning humanity to our closest cosmic neighbor, the moon. This time, though, the idea isn't just brief contact and exploratory surveys, but a sustained lunar presence, and the agency recently announced a long-term roadmap for building a $20 billion permanent lunar base.

Artemis II just circled the moon and returned home safely, paving the way for future missions to our natural satellite and the introduction of permanent infrastructure alongside Artemis V in 2028.

They may not be directly correlated, but alongside humanity’s increased interest in reaching for the stars, we've also seen a spike in popularity in base-building games in space. There's a spate of dedicated builders like Space Engineers and Oxygen Not Included, and base building has also been cropping up in larger RPGs like No Man’s Sky and Starfield.

The lunar surface is a perfect setting for a base-building sim. After all, you don't need to introduce artificial challenges when you're already grappling with isolation, resource scarcity, engineering constraints, and environmental extremes.

So, which games are best for approximating the challenges Artemis will face in settling the moon's surface? And more importantly, which are the most fun, realistic, or not?

Virtual moonbases: from Starfield to indie sims

Unsurprisingly for a massive, open-space, Bethesda RPG, Starfield's focus is more on fun mechanics than exacting realism. While the base building doesn't feel like an afterthought, it's also not the primary focus of the game, which leads inevitably to some streamlining and simplification.

Starfield lets you build modular outposts and use them as hubs for your further adventures in space. There's very little consideration given to environmental factors and more to practical concerns like how they can serve the game's other systems. As such, they feel less like proper bases or homes and more like industrial outposts. You can extract resources, automate production, and build crafting and upgrade stations (and they're a good place to stash all the mountains of gear/trash that every Bethesda game is virtually awash in). Livability is secondary to finding resources to mine.

There are some management elements, like power requirements and building cargo links if you want to connect multiple bases, but the focus is on approachability and usability. That said, they can be a lot of fun to design and optimize, and the building systems are easy to use and intuitive. If you're looking for a light base-building sim that supports a larger game, Starfield is a great pick, but don't expect a deep approximation of what building a lunar base may actually be like.

For that, a better choice is a game like Moonbase Alpha or, despite the name, Surviving Mars.

Moonbase Alpha is explicitly supported and published by NASA itself. You play the role of an astronaut assigned to a base on the south pole of the moon. Shortly after your arrival, you witness a meteorite impact that cripples the outpost's life support.

Your goal is to repair and restore crucial systems by coordinating a team of up to six players, equipped with rovers, robots, and authentic equipment that an actual research team would have access to during a lunar expedition. While the scope of the game is pretty limited, Moonbase Alpha is probably the most realistic look at what settling the moon (and exploring the lunar surface) would actually feel like.

It features an accurate lunar moonscape, real EVA and oxygen mechanics, and lots of the actual NASA equipment, like solar arrays, power generation systems, and robotics. The construction is already done here, though, so it’s more of a “living in a moon base simulator” than a builder.

For a more complete base-building experience that still retains a reasonable amount of verisimilitude, Surviving Mars is the best choice. However, to reproduce the moon base experience, you'll probably want the Green Planet DLC (which adds lots of terraforming systems) as well as some mods to give yourself the true lunar experience.

Surviving The Moon

Surviving Mars includes realistic systems like modular pressurized domes, life support management, limited power and water resources, and supply dependence on Earth, making it a strong proxy for a Moon base. Its focus on resource scarcity, crew specialization, and critical infrastructure mirrors the challenges of operating a real lunar outpost.

To get as close as possible to lunar conditions, you'll want to choose a map with low temperature and water availability, and high solar exposure. There are also mods available that will let you remove atmosphere effects and flatten the terrain to get closer to the lunar aesthetic.

To truly simulate moon-like conditions, you can also impose some self-enforced limits, like only using domes as pressurized habitats and using solar panels as primary power. You'll also want to minimize wind and build large battery storage, restrict crew to between ten and thirty people, and emphasize logistics and Earth dependency.

With those constraints in mind, progress is slow and deliberate: you’re constantly balancing power, oxygen, and water with almost no margin for error, knowing a single failure can cascade into total loss. Between the tiny crew and heavy dependence on Earth resupply, the experience becomes tense and methodical — closer to running a real-world lunar outpost than a city-builder, where survival hinges on redundancy, efficiency, and careful planning rather than expansion.

Some other good game options are Oxygen Not Included, which has some extremely detailed sim elements like gas pressure, heat transfer, and (surprise) oxygen management, and lets you build on asteroids, similar to the surface of the moon.

Space Engineers is another good choice, with its lack of atmosphere, low gravity, and the ability to build pressurized bases and design airlocks, power grids, and vehicles.

There are also some exciting candidates on the horizon, including Possible One: Lunar Industries, which is being touted as "the first realistic lunar colony management game".

Artemis base camp vs. video game design

So, where do games align with the actual plan for Artemis base camp? NASA's plan for Artemis infrastructure includes habitats on the surface, Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTVs) for traversing the landscape and transporting gear, pressurized rovers and solar power, energy storage, and modular microgrid systems for energy generation/conservation.

A lot of games replicate those systems to one degree or another. The best ones focus on the importance of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), which will be extremely important in real-world lunar colonization, given how labor-, time-, and resource-intensive importing goods from Earth is.

It will be vital for Artemis expeditions to harvest local resources, such as water from polar ice, particularly after NASA announced it is scrapping the proposed Lunar Gateway (a small station meant to orbit the moon) to focus on building a moon base.

Games like Space Engineers and Surviving Mars also do a great job of simulating energy bottlenecks; one of the major challenges of powering a real moon base isn't so much generating enough power as delivering it efficiently and reliably.

Modular expansion is also an element that games tend to get right; it allows the base to grow safely, efficiently, and sustainably in an extreme, resource-limited environment.

In the real world, it means breaches in one area can be contained and not lead to cascading, catastrophic failure. It also means modules can be specialized, allowing for efficient power distribution and redundancies.

Life imitating art

By the time Artemis astronauts begin assembling a real foothold at the Moon’s south pole, the blueprint will feel oddly familiar, at least to those sim addicts who have been dreaming of a functional moon colony for decades now.

The best space settlement games have already trained us to think in terms of power budgets, fragile supply chains, and how we'd survive in a hostile vacuum.

It'll be fascinating to see how closely some of the most realistic games have predicted what an actual lunar base will end up looking like as Artemis gradually constructs humanity's first real off-world home.

2016 doesn't feel like too long ago when it comes to video games and development cycles, but for Nintendo — a publisher that excels at keeping most of its franchises moving and fresh — it's a long time.

Ten years ago, Star Fox Zero was meant to be the triumphant return of everyone's favorite spaceship-flying furball, but it failed to make waves and disappointed longtime fans of the rail shooter series. But now — a full decade later — perhaps we should reevaluate its old-fashioned sensibilities?

Maybe this is just a case of nostalgia being a hell of a drug, but Star Fox Zero's reception wasn't a complete disaster. It was actually the rather poor financial performance that doomed the chances of a follow-up... until now. Fox McCloud's appearance in the Super Mario Galaxy movie has come with strong rumors that another game is on the way.

No matter what Nintendo plans to do next, we believe Star Fox is deserving of another chance, and the timing feels perfect to dust off the Arwing fighter and do a barrel roll.

Why do we fall, Master McCloud?

Star Fox Zero's home console, the Wii U, was a massive failure. There's no denying that. With around 13.5 million units sold worldwide versus the Switch's 155.3 (and still going), it marked a low point for Nintendo that led the company to refocus its future first-party bets to safer franchises like Mario and Zelda.

Thankfully, the Switch improved Nintendo's fortunes so much that in 2026, the entertainment giant can afford to take big swings again. And what's a bigger swing than bringing Star Fox and its unique brand of sci-fi rail shooter back?

With Nintendo fans wondering if the Star Fox series can escape Star Fox 64's shadow, Nintendo is in a position to prove everyone wrong. A few lessons need to be learned, though.

The Wii U's much-criticized awkward gamepad didn't do Star Fox Zero any favors, with its controls being at the center of many of the most scathing reviews, but that wasn't the only problem. There was just a severe lack of originality that doomed Zero from the get-go.

Star Fox's greatest hits, but with better graphics and animations, might sound cool on paper, but that nostalgia hype couldn't carry an entire new game. It was also criminally short, with GamesRadar noting the main campaign can be completed in a few hours.

Fast-forward to the Switch 2 era, and Nintendo is back on track with a hybrid console that's been hugely successful without trying to reinvent the controller. Sure, it's a hybrid console/handheld, but both of those concepts are tried and tested.

Still, with gyro and mouse Joy-Con 2 controls as options (rather than forced features), Nintendo's playfulness isn't gone, and they could be used to great effect on a new Star Fox game… as long as regular controls are an option too. No, this time the controls aren't the issue; it's delivering a great story and plenty of content that feels like the priority.

I've been waiting for you, Star Fox

We get it, Nintendo's largest, safe-bet franchises are Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon, but as the company seeks to entice different types of players and refresh old properties while growing new ones like Splatoon (which is itself over a decade old now), we can't help but notice its vault of science fiction goodness is collecting dust for the most part.

Metroid continues to lead the pack for space adventures on Nintendo consoles, but last year's Metroid Prime 4 was hardly the stunner we were hoping for. It's hard to imagine a future in which Samus Aran doesn't make a 2D or 3D return one way or another, but at the time of writing, the Metroid series has seen better days. And sure, its lifetime sales can't match the might of Nintendo's greatest, but there's hunger from a smaller community for more.

The only other big sci-fi franchise is F-Zero, and things are looking dire there. F-Zero 99 was a fun online diversion, but besides that, we've gotten nothing since 2004's F-Zero Climax.

Even Star Fox has spent less time in a dark hangar. It's disappointing, but at least we're still getting sci-fi racing games from elsewhere; rail shooters are a gap in the current market that no one seems to be covering beyond shy re-releases and remasters like Panzer Dragoon.

That's not to say that a new Star Fox is a guaranteed smash hit. It could still be a colossal misfire — rail shooters are niche, and the franchise has been dormant for over a decade — but we've seen zanier bets like Splatoon find an audience and expand.

With the right story hook, gameplay overhaul, and look, a team of anthropomorphic animals taking on galactic evildoers with agile spaceships in a fun and colorful sci-fi setting feels like an easy win — especially for a company like Nintendo.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has done some heavy lifting

One of 2026's more unexpected cinematic surprises so far is the presence of Fox McCloud himself, voiced by Glen Powell, in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. It's not just a quick cameo, either, with Fox spending much of the movie alongside Mario and other regulars. Moreover, Team Star Fox members Slippy, Peppy, and Falco briefly show up as part of an anime-style 2D flashback sequence.

It's a suspicious amount of Star Fox in a movie that's still about the usual Super Mario cast first and foremost. It's almost as if Nintendo is setting something else up.

It's logical to think a potential Star Fox spinoff movie will happen at some point in the future, but that seems like an even bigger risk than bringing the game series back... unless that happens first. One thing could lead to another, easing the younger fans slowly but steadily into an "all-new universe" they'd only heard about before; brand synergy at its finest.

Never give up. Trust your instincts

It won't be long before we know for sure if a new Star Fox game for Nintendo Switch 2 is happening or not, but looking back at Zero's hits and misses, the path forward is clear and should be easy to navigate.

It's not a mystery to be solved, nor a void Nintendo should stay away from. People like spaceships, arcade-y action, and cool/cute anthropomorphic animals. We dislike miserable control schemes and full-price adventures you can beat in a single sitting.

Let's take it from the top, Nintendo, and this time, with feeling.

2026 is a remarkably stacked year for space and sci-fi games, but Capcom might have just dropped the most relevant one already. Pragmata is a love letter to the sci-fi action games from the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation, yet its updated take on familiar tropes and a vibrant heart make it special.

The marketing and previews sold Pragmata's concise pitch very well: You're on the moon as a system auditor named Hugh Williams. Something has gone wrong, and a mysterious artificial intelligence called IDUS has taken over a "Big Tech" company's installations. Your only ally is a little android girl named Diana. Survive, warn Earth, and return home. The plot never gets more complex than that at any point, but the game's use of these hackneyed story elements and themes is agile and smart.

It's all in service of an action-adventure game that's all killer, no filler. Sure, it borrows more than a few structural and gameplay tricks from modern hits like Dark Souls, yet it sticks to a largely linear progression loop, combat arenas with breakneck pacing and the right amount of weapons to use, and exploration that never overstays its welcome.

The parallel puzzle minigame that has Diana hacking robots to make them vulnerable is the game's sole original idea, and even that feels like an old-fashioned gimmick that does just enough to make the new IP stand on its own.

So why does Pragmata feel so thoroughly invigorating and timely then?

AI as an uncanny imitation of reality

We've had an absolute deluge of AI games that task players with battling through abandoned, torn-down research facilities and space stations. Others throw us into Terminator-like post-apocalypses without a flavor or voice of their own. Then, we've also had sci-fi series like Halo, which focuses on an alien invasion while using the idea of a companion AGI for extra spice and drama.

Pragmata does quite a bit of all that, but its perspective on AI feels more prescient. For starters — and without late-game spoilers — IDUS doesn't (immediately) pose a threat to humanity. It's more of a contained "Big Tech" experiment gone wrong, and thankfully, it happened on the Moon. But that's also a big issue; with comms to Earth shut down and only Hugh's group is aware of what's going down, IDUS has more than enough space and time to grow into a larger menace. It's a rather literal warning on the dangers of unchecked AI.

That menace isn't entirely cold metal optimized to eradicate humanity or a corruption of the human body. Instead, IDUS has produced uncanny copies of animals found on Earth and even humans, but with unique features that always lean into the unsettling and deformed.

The basic killer drones roaming the facilities are oddly elongated, while the latter giants look like the most messed-up maneaters in Attack on Titan. Spider-like invisible robots mix the idea of many arms and a 'ribcage trap' in a way that both makes sense and feels like the delirium of a rogue AI. You can see the underlying vision behind their creation, but it all came out wrong.

Pragmata is, quite explicitly, a game about battling AI slop. IDUS isn't erasing what we represent or replacing humans with something better and different. It's imitating, much like its uninspired living creators. At some point, it took over, but it only iterates on the ideas and corporeal shapes that already exist elsewhere, recreating structures and locations that, while functional, are inaccurate. Creation never comes from nothing, but regurgitation isn't creation. There's no originality in IDUS' creations, only perversion. It's incapable of walking the same fine line that Pragmata's developers have with this unassuming mix of conventional sci-fi concepts.

Humanity, no matter where, is the answer

Pragmata's not-so-secret sauce is, first and foremost, its beating heart. Hugh and Diana are fun to be around, not miserable or hopeless. This is another 'dad game' on a surface level, yes, but there's no repressed trauma to overcome or several deep-cutting emotions twisting them and the journey ahead. As an adopted child, Hugh instantly bonds with a lost child full of innocence, but their resolve is infectious.

Many would tell you a good story needs more friction, but plenty of animated flicks get along fine with a few earnest emotional beats that don't bring down the mood. Pragmata is exactly like that, like an old-timey Pixar movie that never slows down but can deliver effective character moments regardless.

A regular Joe and his adopted android daughter can carry a breezy adventure with only sincerity and optimism in the face of danger. In a life-or-death situation, past and future don't really matter much. Pragmata never feels weighty or downbeat, and that sets it apart from its relatives.

Hugh and Diana represent the only logical answer to everything a soulless AI system stands for: Choosing to believe in ourselves and our imperfections, to dream big even if the data suggests the end could be near. The enemy is that which doesn't feel and only believes it thinks.

Humanity and caring about others will save us. Resident Evil veteran Haruo Murata's script makes sure to point out early on that Diana and the other Pragmatas are different, and it's up to the player to decide whether an artificial person is really a person. The game won't bore you with ramblings we're all familiar with. Instead, you'll get quieter scenes like a heartwarming chat at a man-made beach, a brief respite amid the endless robotic horrors.

To the Moon

The Moon also carries some implicit meaning as the setting. It's barren and lifeless; a perfect place to create life that isn't real. Humans brought plants and animals from Earth without much trouble, but that isn't enough. The Moon must be the home of something different and better. The material known as "luna filament" has incredible properties that enable the 3D-printing of replicas and new technologies, but you can't get rid of fakeness. Of course, that doesn't matter to the corporate machine; it does a briefly cool thing that no one asked for and can increase productivity, so they push the new tech to the limit no matter what.

Pragmata kicks off with a ship approaching our natural satellite, but unlike Artemis 2's recent mission, there's nothing magical about it. For the squad of workers visiting, it's just routine. For the company in charge out there, it's just a safe space to experiment without being limited by concerns of any kind. "It's free real estate," many would say. Looking at budget cuts to NASA and other essential space agencies, I fear we're nearing a similar scenario where the conquest of outer space is outsourced to forces we can't trust.

Despite its anxieties over such matters, Pragmata wants to believe we can do better and regain the lost wonder. Around the halfway point, Hugh and Diana go for a spacewalk and take a good look at our planet. They want to get here, but they also feel fortunate enough just to be there and get a good look at how far we've come. The rest can wait.

Pragmata is now available to buy on PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

If you follow gaming at all, you've likely heard of Crimson Desert by this point. The open-world fantasy action-adventure/RPG hybrid came in hot, riding a tidal wave of hype generated by developer Pearl Abyss and a variety of preview events, promising to be the next great "Everything Simulator".

It landed with somewhat more mixed results: some reviewers praised its openness and seemingly infinite ocean of content, while others took issue with its bizarre control scheme, stunted story, and pervasive jank. With that said, the game has managed to rack up an impressive five million sales in under a month, developing a dedicated fanbase that's been probing and prying at the game's engine, with delightful and sometimes unexpected results.

Given the fantasy setting, we weren't expecting to cover Crimson Desert here on Space (we stick to the sci-fi and space games), but a recent post over at Reddit showcases one of the game's more bizarre features, the ability to stab your way up to the edge of space. In the video, user Jogatina uses a combination of skills to stab their way upwards, eventually piercing the cloud cover and revealing a breathtaking blanket of stars, complete with constellations and other galaxies.

And to think NASA just wasted all that time and money on the Artemis 2 mission, when all they needed to get into orbit was a short sword and a dream.

Now, there is a little bit of trickery being employed here. While it is possible to get some pretty gnarly hang time using a combination of the Aerial Stab skill, which lets you lunge upwards, and Force Palm, which, for some reason, can also be used to propel yourself skyward, you're normally constrained by stamina. To pierce the heavens like the player in the video, you'd need to lean on some mods or other workarounds that unlock infinite stamina.

Two things stood out to us here: Firstly, it's weird and kinda neat that you can get to space at all, but more importantly, why did the developers make space exist in their fantasy game? It's not like you're ever supposed to get there.

As it turns out, Pearl Abyss has some built-in motivation to provide a better-than-average skybox. Not unlike The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom), Crimson Desert features a massive floating plane above its sprawling open world to explore. Called the Abyss, it's a series of interconnected floating islands, from which the player can leap to go gliding down to destinations on the ground; while you're up there, however, you're given an uninterrupted, "close-up" look at the vast expanse of space spreading above you.

There's also gameplay dependent on those aforementioned constellations. Donning an item called the Constellation Helm allows you to hunt down 13 constellations dotted throughout the night sky, each of which counts as an Exploration Challenge. Find all 13 of them, and you'll be rewarded with the Navigator of the Stars trophy/achievement.

Pearl Abyss has been aggressive with post-launch patches, so it's possible that experiencing the stars this way may be a limited-time engagement. With that said, the company has been largely very player-oriented with its patches thus far, adding stuff like additional fast travel points and more storage, so there's a reasonable chance they'll let us continue having our fun.

Artemis II has launched, sending a crew of four astronauts on a mission to circle the moon and back to Earth, the first step toward planned lunar landings and eventual habitation on the lunar surface. The mission will take the crew of the Orion spacecraft farther from Earth than any manned mission in human history and will mark the first time humans have traveled beyond low-Earth orbit since the Apollo program.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the launch has had some digital echoes, not least of which is a massive spike in interest in "Kerbal Space Program". The game, which allows for highly realistic simulations of manned (or Kerballed) missions to space (including lunar landings), has seen its second-highest number of concurrent Steam players ever, only beaten by its full launch way back in 2015.

Numbers began to skyrocket around the time of the Artemis II launch on April 1st, peaking at around 12,434 at time of writing— a huge jump against the game's standard average player count, which hovers around 3,000 to 4,000. The significantly less popular sequel, Kerbal Space Program 2, also saw a modest bump, though only up to 370 concurrents from a prior high of about 118 players a month earlier.

Kerbal Space Program (and KSP 2) is one of the most accessible ways to conduct your own proper space launch, with realistic orbital mechanics and requirements for staging and mission planning. It seems the sheer complexity of Artemis's human‑lunar return mission is inspiring players who want to experience concepts like trans‑lunar injection, landing stages, and orbital rendezvous.

While Kerbal incorporates a lot of advanced concepts that real-world astronauts actually grapple with, it's also delivered in a goofy, approachable shell (the eponymous Kerbals are closer to Minions than real people) that's been key to luring in newcomers.

KSP also does an excellent job of tutorializing all the various steps and considerations that go into constructing a spaceworthy rocket. While the game lets players learn through incremental trial and error, our coverage of Artemis II breaks down how NASA sent humans swooping around the moon, and how the agency plans to eventually settle the lunar surface.

Humanity's return to our closest neighbor has clearly captured our collective imaginations, from civilians and gamers to NASA scientists themselves. Don't be surprised if we continue to see upticks in interest around games like KSP, space flight sims, and space settlement games in the coming months and years, particularly ahead of Artemis III and IV, which plan to develop, test, and finally deploy a lunar lander to the moon's surface.

Kerbal Space Program is available on PC via Steam, MacOS, Linux, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and Xbox One.

Following a surprise announcement last year, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn has quickly become one of the hottest upcoming space and sci-fi games on the horizon. Last year marked the 10th anniversary of The Expanse, and we're still thinking about it as one of the best outer space dramas ever, so it's no surprise to see a renowned RPG developer take on this universe.

If you love classic RPGs that you can sink tens (or hundreds) of hours into, you should be quite familiar with Owlcat Games by now. After two great Pathfinder games, it was 2023's Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader that really put the developer on the map. As they also prepare to unleash a follow-up of sorts with Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, the studio has decided to make a different kind of RPG in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn.

On March 26, 2026, a substantial gameplay trailer (which you can watch below) was released. Ahead of the public reveal, we were able to attend a hands-off preview session where game design director Leonid Rastorguev and game design producer Yuliya Chernenko walked us through the gameplay, feel, and even some of the story before the closed beta arrives on April 22.

Some quotes have been editorialized and lightly trimmed for better flow.

So, what is The Expanse: Osiris Reborn?

"The core of the game is third-person cover shooter," Rastorguev confirmed. While we'd already seen very brief gameplay clips before in the trailers released so far, many players had been wondering about the balance between "chattier" sections with a narrative focus and breakneck action.

From what we were told, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn isn't a watered-down take on real-time third-person action; we can expect environmental destruction, tactical abilities à la Mass Effect, and even opportunities that pop up in the middle of combat.

Fans of the show will be happy to know that Osiris Reborn takes place within the same continuity, with events happening in parallel to the first two seasons of the show. For the most part, it'll be a self-contained story that anyone can enjoy, but Chernenko told us that "a lot of interesting things and events are happening. I can say that we will have some cameos in our game."

The BioWare DNA extends beyond the moment-to-moment gameplay, defining a lot of the game's structure, from the heavy narrative choices and exploration opportunities to the squad system that allows the player to take two companions with them when outside their ship.

"In the final game, you will have six companions with you. They will have different origins; some will be Belters, Martians, and Earthers, and it will affect their personality," Chernenko added. An important goal for Owlcat is to reinforce the idea of being with "a team of professionals" that does stuff on their own, even when you're away on a mission yourself.

When the talking stops, and the shooting starts, combat won't just happen inside space stations or on planetary surfaces, as some of the game's most striking setpieces take place in zero gravity. That introduces several huge challenges for the developers and the player, but Owlcat is striving to keep the "essence" of the combat consistent.

"Most of the weapons, abilities, and gadgets work the same in zero-G. We just designed them to be suitable for both the sections with gravity and without gravity," notes Rastorguev.

This doesn't mean there are no changes, as certain gadgets work and react differently based on physics. Grenades, for example, have "thrusters" while in zero-G that accelerate them towards the target instead of along traditional ballistic trajectories. "We change the effects, because obviously the flame is not something that can be present in the vacuum," explains Rastorguev. In practice, that means that Incendiary grenades become "termite charges" while fighting in space, and so on.

Like in other space games with similar sections, such as Dead Space, "the main difference is how you actually orient and move." We'll be able to walk on surfaces thanks to magnetic boots, but "there's no up direction or down direction," which adds another layer of challenge when things get hectic outside. "The speed you can run there is slightly different, the animations are different, so the feeling is different, but it's not like you will have to learn how to play the game from scratch."

The latest gameplay trailer also showed a quick tease of an outer space section where players must guide a drone through debris. We didn't get to see more of this at the preview, but Rastorguev did give us some exciting info. "It is a thing in The Expanse; you can probably remember that the pilot of the Rocinante, Alex Kamal, also had the drone... In the game, you can use your drone to explore various space environments and find what's behind different asteroids and pieces of broken ships."

Our preview and Q&A session with Owlcat Games yielded more answers and gave us a good sense of what to expect from a sci-fi RPG that seems to be taking cues from gaming classics while sporting a cutting-edge look. We'll be sharing more and discussing its big closed beta in depth later this month, so stay tuned.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is releasing on PC (Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S at some point in spring 2027. A day-one Game Pass Ultimate launch has been revealed, too. There is a closed beta dropping on April 22, limited to those with Miller's Pack and Collector's Edition pre-orders.

Defender is one of the most important arcade games of all time, but in 2026, you’ll have a hard time playing it legally. Released in February 1981 by pinball company Williams Electronics, it was a big risk for the company. But programmers Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar were confident that Defender could sell well, and the gamble paid off massively.

It became one of the first arcade games to sell roughly 60,000 units, an unheard-of figure for a video game around that time. With its five-button control scheme and brutal difficulty, Defender supercharged the ‘one more go’ feeling that Space Invaders began a decade earlier.

But with game preservation increasingly becoming an important aspect in the industry, Defender seems to be a fading memory for older players, as well as an unknown game for younger ones. As Defender passes its 45 year anniversary, here’s why this pioneering space game needs to be preserved and remembered.

Like Pain? You’ll Love Defender

In 1981, arcades were just becoming mainstream. 1978’s Space Invaders had arguably created the scene, but it would take a few more years until other games appeared and players started gathering around a machine to see who could get the new high score. Defender was indeed that game, taking players to the limit in how far their one credit could stretch… or many more credits, if they could afford it.

25 cents was the cost of one go for Defender. In 2026, that’s unheard of. Even ten years later, in 1991, when Capcom’s Street Fighter II debuted in arcades,the price of admission was 50 cents. But the name of the game with Defender was its challenge. You would fly up and down, shoot and avoid as many aliens as possible with the aid of the radar at the top that could pre-warn you about upcoming enemies. But the inevitability of destruction would soon come and your ship would crash, ending your turn. Game over, please deposit 25 cents.

Yet it was the ‘one more go’ factor that made the game shine. Even for 1981, Defender featured impressive graphics by using ghosting effects to its advantage. This meant that watching your ship blast across the screen — as well as the aliens appearing at random intervals — hit harder for players, ramping up the tension and, ultimately, the fun.

Defender was a huge success for Williams, and a sequel was released the same year, called Stargate. Improvements included plenty of new alien ships to battle, as well as an invincibility ability for your ship to make the levels slightly less challenging. It was the better game to be sure, but it’s Defender that many remember more vividly.

Defending the Future

Defender is a great example of a game that was created just for fun — not for spreadsheets, and not to fulfill a financial calendar. It exists because two employees at Williams simply decided that it’d be fun to do, and everyone there reaped the rewards when Defender arrived in the arcades.

But fast forward to 2026, and arcades are slowly dying. Despite a slight growth in 2024, there are only around 9,300 arcades available to visit worldwide. This means that the awe and wonder of seeing a game like retro game Defender, or a modern equivalent, in an arcade in 2026 is incredibly rare.

In the years since, there have been plenty of space games that have managed to unearth that ‘one more go’ feeling, with hits like FTL: Faster than Light and Everspace expanding the concept out into the rogue-like genre. Even others like Star Trek: Bridge Crew, which introduced collaboration via VR headsets, opened up a whole new way to battle against aliens in space. But ultimately, they owe a lot of their heritage to Defender.

A Jump Back To Hyperspace

Defender is a paradox in some ways. It’s a given that the game is one of the best arcade titles of all time, and it defined much of the ‘one more go’ appeal worldwide. But in 2026, it can be a difficult game to play, legally. The most recent release that included Defender, and its sequel, Stargate, was 2013’s Midway Arcade Origins for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which works on a modern Xbox Series X|S console via backwards compatibility.

But on any other console or platform, you’re out of luck, which is a big shame. Recently, we’ve seen some impressive collections, such as Digital Eclipse’s Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection which features a bunch of titles from the series, emulated to a high standard, as well as Tetris Forever. To see a new collection featuring early arcade games from the 1980s, with Defender as its jewel, would be a fantastic way to honor its 50th anniversary in 2031.

Alongside making it available on modern consoles and PC, a re-release could bundle in developer interviews, bonus features, and infinite credits to give this gaming legend a whole new lease on life. 2031 is when Defender reaches its 50th anniversary — a huge milestone for any game — and that could be a perfect time to see a new collection.

As things stand in 2026, if you're not an Xbox gamer, then your best bet is to look on eBay and bid on handheld versions or buy one of the mini Arcade machine versions from Amazon, but it’s not the same.

Defender is one of the best arcade shooters of all time; a defining entry in the pantheon of space games, and for good reason. The intense challenge, impressive graphics, and ‘one more go’ gameplay defined the arcade gaming boom of the 1980s. For game preservation purposes, Defender deserves to return someday in a new collection.

But for now, we're looking back fondly on a gaming icon that attracted countless new players into the arcades, showing them what a space shooter could be capable of, and all for just 25 cents.

Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe is enjoying a lot of success right now, but few recent announcements have made us more excited for its future than "Dawn of War 4". We thought the series was done for after 2017's disappointing threequel, but we're thrilled to be proven wrong.

So far, "Dawn of War 4" is promising a return to the real-time strategy of the original 2004 game. It's even returning to Kronus, picking up plot threads from the excellent "Dark Crusade" expansion pack.

Development falls on a new studio — KING Art Games — this time around, but based on their previous game, Iron Harvest, they've got the tools to nail this.

Space Marines, Necrons, Orks, and the Adeptus Mechanicus will battle for dominance of the ravaged battlefields on Kronus' surface. We've been promised surprises, and some of the trailers released so far have given us deeper looks at the extensive unit roster, plus familiar names we weren't expecting to see here.

Between this and the other upcoming Warhammer 40,000 games on the horizon, 40K fans will be eating good in 2026. But enough yakking; here's everything we know about "Dawn of War 4" so far.

When is "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" coming out?

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 is set to release on December 3, 2026.

Following several trailers and the promise of a September 17 launch, Dawn of War 4 was delayed in August to early December. According to the devs, this is to allow for a higher level of polish. Commander Edition owners will still get access three days earlier, on November 30.

To make up for the delay, Deep Silver and KING Art shared a Year 1 roadmap that revealed players can expect plenty of free content updates, along with a Blood Ravens story prologue and the Aftermath expansion, which also includes a new faction.

Both major content drops will be paid and are included in the Commander Edition.

Is "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" coming to consoles?

"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" is only confirmed to launch on PC (Windows) at the time of writing.

Like the previous games in the series, and despite studio KING Art's experience with consoles, the fourth installment is sticking to PC (Steam) for now. This means the gameplay and interface have been fully designed with a hardcore PC strategy experience in mind. No doubt, this will make diehards of the RTS genre happy.

We wouldn't rule out console ports at a later date if the game turns out to be a massive success, though.

"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" trailers

Since its announcement on August 19, 2025, "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" has received several trailers with both CGI and in-engine gameplay footage.

It seems that Games Workshop and Deep Silver's marketing rollout plans are gradual, leaving us with few gaps with no news on the game. You can watch all of them below (and we'll update the list as more arrive):

What type of game is "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4"?

"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" is a traditional real-time strategy (RTS) game that aims to recapture the gameplay loop and rhythm of the original Dawn of War, which was Relic Entertainment's creation.

It's a solid assumption that the main reason for the studio change was "Dawn of War 3"'s lacklustre reception, with Relic leaving behind the rock-solid style of RTS it nailed with the original game. While the second and third entries weren't bad games, they certainly felt like something entirely different. After nearly a decade, it makes sense that Games Workshop wanted to move forward with a different studio.

The marketing materials talk of "Dawn of War 4" embracing its roots, "with classic Dawn of War gameplay" and a reworked combat system that retains the classic squad system and base-building mechanics the series is known for. The ins and outs of the game systems aren't detailed yet, but we also know there will be a significant story campaign split into parts that focus on each faction available in the game at launch.

What factions are confirmed for "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4"?

Only four factions are confirmed to be part of "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4"'s roster at launch: the Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, and Adeptus Mechanicus.

Each faction packs completely different units and building designs and strategies, so even if one of your favorites hasn't been included, expect a deep and flexible take on RTS warfare.

There are some extra details worth underlining here: Since the original reveal of the game, we've learned the Space Marines will be represented by two factions, the red Blood Ravens and the Dark Angels. In the story campaign, we'll switch between the two Adeptus Astartes chapters, and it's been said that the other modes will treat them as separate entities as well, even though they're allies with many similarities.

As for the Adeptus Mechanicus, they're also servants of the Imperium of Man, but they're focused secret threat lurking below Kronus' surface, Given their rising popularity after a staring role in "Warhammer 40000: Mechanicus" (and the upcoming sequel, "Mechanicus 2"), it no surprise they're finally getting their Dawn of War series debut as a fully featured faction.

Looking at the bad guys, we've got the ever-present Orks — a war-loving race who focus on hordes of Boyz and ramshackle vehicles held together with hope, rivets, and maybe a little magic. Finally, the immortal Necrons have once again awoken on Kronus, and they're as grumpy as ever. Real "get off my lawn" energy from these robotic horrors.

What multiplayer modes are playable in "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4"?

"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" includes both co-op and competitive multiplayer modes. Moreover, the massive campaign supports solo and co-op play from beginning to end and is over 70 missions long.

The three-player, horde survival classic mode Last Stand is also set to make a huge return, though the player count could be higher this time around. On the competitive front, 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 battles are confirmed for online multiplayer.

On top of the aforementioned campaign, solo players can also enjoy customizable AI battles in a traditional Skirmish mode, as well as the replayable, tabletop-like Crusade mode, which returns from the original game’s Dark Crusade expansion. And if you were a big fan of customising your army to match your tabletop scheme, the Painter Tool from previous games is back, too.

Is "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" a sequel to Dark Crusade?

"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4" continues the Dark Crusade storyline, but is set 200 years after the original game. It's led by veteran character Cyrus of the Blood Ravens and psyker Jonah Orion.

Some renowned Warhammer 40,000 figures, such as Lion El'Jonson, also make an appearance. Black Library author John French has co-written the story, so expect meaty lore and a tight understanding of what makes this universe special.

The Space Marines are attempting to reclaim Kronus from the filthy xenos on the planet, leading a heroic charge into a massive Ork army as the Necrons rise again. December 2025's story trailer showed the Blood Ravens having a hard time on the surface, but the Dark Angels answer their call, covering the world in endless war once again. Is victory achievable? Only the Emperor knows.

More will be revealed in the future, and we're particularly curious about the "ancient horror" below that the Mechanicus priests might've awoken. Given the Necrons' presence (and the lack of Chaos factions in the roster), our money is on a C'tan, one of the Necron star gods.

Stay tuned for the latest news on what's guiding this new chapter of the Dawn of War series forward.

Sure, we're painfully aware that Archetype Entertainment's time-dilating interstellar adventure, "Exodus," won't arrive until 2027, but that won't stop them from teasing us with more sneak peeks to keep the sci-fi RPG title at the forefront of our lizard brains.

The latest batch of "Exodus" previews was just unveiled last week, and it's a tempting threesome of short gameplay clips gathered together that highlight the massive project's smooth combat mechanics, exquisite environments, crisp sound effects, and atmospheric ambient score.

What's that? Sounds pretty standard? Well, did we mention it shows off a space grappling hook, too? Yeah, now you're interested.

We're treated to a blistering early-game firefight outside Lyonesse on the planet Lidon with the characters of Jun, Tom, and Elise. It looks like Mass Effect 3, but... slicker, if you know what I mean? It's hard to tell without playing it myself, but I'm getting good vibes from this.

This is followed by a dizzying traversal sequence on a Lyonesse orbital space tower, highlighting the cool “railclaw" grappling gun. It looks sick, though maybe a bit too contextual for our liking. Still, a grappling gun is a grappling gun, and we're here for it.

Finally, we see Jun Aslan on an exploratory trek inside the Sankhara Glyph Shrine, an ancient Celestial temple on Khonsu. Neat.

We "technically" saw gameplay back in December, during the very dubiously named Official Gameplay Trailer at The Game Awards, but that was a few quick flashes interspersed into a bunch of cutscene stuff. This is the first look we've had at some proper gameplay sections, and we're liking what we see.

"Exodus" was conceived by former BioWare developers, which explains the major "Mass Effect" vibes, particularly in the combat sequences, and we're completely at ease with that old-school sensibility and appropriate comparison (especially since the next Mass Effect game has gone weirdly silent). It's still a ways out, but don't worry sci-fi fans; there are still plenty of other upcoming space games to get hyped for in 2026.

"Exodus" lands on Earth sometime in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC (Steam), and Xbox Series X|S.

The Starship Troopers franchise has been enjoying a bit of an upswing in recent years. Terran Command brought it back into real-time strategy, and Extermination threw players into large-scale co-op battles with a hint of Helldivers. Now, Auroch Digital's Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! goes back to basics with a PS2-era-inspired single-player shooter. Would you like to know more?

Released on March 16, 2026, the game takes citizens right into the Bug War from Paul Verhoeven's 1997 sci-fi classic. The narrative is more of a string of flashbacks as told by General Johnny Rico (yes, they got Casper Van Dien back) and new protagonist Major Samatha "Sammy" Dietz, with the developers still taking us to iconic moments like the invasion of Klendathu.

Ultimate Bug War! explores new locales, enemies, and characters too, and rather than doing another nostalgic take on the Doom formula, it goes for broke with a larger scale and open maps that capture the scale of the original movie. It's interesting to see a retro sensibility mixed with the creative thinking found in modern FPS games, and that also applies to the blend of 2D sprites and early 2000s 3D models and geometry. It's weird, but it works.

"It was quite a big shift, both in terms of the workflow for level design and the approach taken to the player experience," David Plant, senior programmer at Auroch Digital, told Space via our Q&A exchange. "You can't tailor the minute-to-minute exploration experience when you give the player that much freedom. You need to have a lot going on, you need to offer lots of choices, you want to reward exploration, but you also need to make sure they don't feel lost."

He's not wrong. The first shocker when we started playing was having so much freedom to tackle objectives from the get-go. Thankfully, the level design never becomes complicated or laborious to explore.

Despite its nostalgic visual style, there is an underlying performance cost of filling wide-open areas with bugs, Mobile Infantry NPCs, and plenty of particle effects. How did the team pull it off? The game's launch being restricted to current-gen consoles and PC half-answers that, but Auroch elaborated on the cost of its vision for this shooter: "We had to design things in a way that kept a lot of things separate, so we could partially load some bits, and make sure that the NPCs and the flow of the level all behaved nicely wherever you decided to go. It's not glamorous, but a lot of work went into making sure that runs smoothly."

Auroch Digital is best known for Boltgun, and there are definitely some similarities here, but as Plant explains, "It's a very different IP and setting, so we needed to honour that and make it feel like its own thing rather than treading the same ground Boltgun did."

Ultimate Bug War! is indeed a different beast. For one thing, you're playing as a blue-eyed grunt instead of an unstoppable killing machine. Sure, Dietz ends up as a hero of the Federation, but back during the Bug War, she was just another soldier thrown into the meat grinder.

"We wanted to have lots of big heroic moments, and novel encounters, and to make each area feel very distinct. We learned which weapons player gravitated towards, and why, and that was a big guiding light in designing the types of weapons we have here," Plant added about the game's overarching design philosophy. It mostly pays off with a steady mix of big "action hero" moments and "just another soldier" sections reminiscent of the defense of Whiskey Outpost.

As the overeager recruits around you are massacred in gory fashion while screaming (special attention has been paid to NPC barks in this one), Dietz never feels overpowered. The bugs are savage, and one wrong decision can lead to death in a few melee hits. Sometimes you don't even need the bugs' help, as in true Helldivers fashion, players can easily blow themselves up with the Federation's biggest explosive weapons and air support. Friendly fire won't result in mission failures, though, so just get the job done, citizen. Sacrifice brings victory!

Getting to that "sweet spot" between chaos and well-calculated power fantasy wasn't easy, as Plant commented on the team's early gameplay tests: "Early on, we definitely had too many NPCs, and they were trying to be too clever. It was overly chaotic... It just felt grindy. Dialling it back to more focused encounters, with a smaller number of NPCs making more predictable decisions... allowed the designers to balance things a lot more effectively."

The in-world Federation propaganda allowed the devs to "play up the heroics and the set pieces without betraying the implied realism."

The titular Ultimate Bug War! is actually a creation of the human government's own developers — a video game used to train children and teenagers. It's a smart framing that instantly elevates the narrative and the surprising amount of cutscenes. Moreover, it allowed Auroch to effortlessly justify the existence of a bonus Bug Mode as another part of the Federation's in-universe research.

It's a bit disappointing that the bugs don't get nearly as much time to shine when you're given control of a new type of Arachnid, as their optional levels are nice breathers and distinct changes of pace if played in between the "war is hell" scenarios Sammy has to push through.

Ultimate Bug War! doesn't force a mixed campaign structure on players, but it clearly feels like the recommended way to play it. Otherwise, the Federation story feels slightly too short. Those who vibe with its premise and loop will no doubt enjoy replaying it on higher difficulties, though.

There's a light strategic twist to the bug levels, as you choose whether to clear smaller groups of enemies yourself or create new spawn points for other Arachnids as they try to attack more fortified outposts. You can fly, rush, and cut down entire groups of Federation soldiers, and even temporarily morph into a more powerful, fire-spewing bug that regenerates its lost health. It's great fun that ultimately feels like a test for something bigger… or at least that's what I'm hoping.

"Multiplayer was never considered," Auroch told us when asked about the project's inception and original scope, noting that neither player-versus-player nor co-op were options. Much of that came down to budget limitations, but the developers also point out an obvious obstacle: "It would have put us into the same competitive space as Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers: Extermination instead of being our own thing."

Even when the team decided it wanted to create a strictly single-player experience, "there were several shifts in tone for the core gameplay" due to the release of those two games. "We wanted to make sure we took our own path to get there," says Plant. "We're happy we've been able to distinguish ourselves as much as we can."

"Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!" is available now for purchase on PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. A PC code was provided by Dotemu.