Uncovering the Best Empyrion Alternatives for Space Exploration & Survival
Empyrion - Galactic Survival, developed by Eleon Game Studios, offers a unique blend of space and planetary exploration, building, crafting, and combat within a hostile environment. Players can construct intricate starships, space stations, and facilities, utilizing a block-based system similar to Minecraft. However, if you've exhaustively explored Empyrion's vast universe or are seeking a slightly different flavor of space-faring adventure, it's time to consider an Empyrion alternative. This guide dives into some of the top games that offer similar, or even enhanced, experiences for building, surviving, and exploring the cosmos.
Top Empyrion Alternatives for Your Next Galactic Adventure
Whether you're looking for more in-depth engineering, expansive multiplayer universes, or a unique take on space combat, these alternatives offer compelling experiences for fans of Empyrion's core gameplay.
Space Engineers
Space Engineers is a sandbox game centered around the engineering, construction, and maintenance of space works. Available on Commercial and Windows (Steam), it allows players to build massive spaceships and stations, focusing on realistic volumetric physics and destructibility. While it doesn't list specific features beyond its core premise, its emphasis on detailed construction and engineering makes it a strong contender for those who love Empyrion's building aspects.
StarMade
StarMade is a Minecraft-inspired 3D space shooter that allows players to explore real-time generated space and design their own ships. Available as Freemium on Mac, Windows, and Linux (Steam), StarMade offers robust Multiplayer and Open World features, providing a vast universe to explore and conquer with or against other players. If Empyrion's building and exploration appeal to you, StarMade offers a similar creative freedom with a stronger emphasis on combat.
Shores of Hazeron
Shores of Hazeron presents an unscripted, living, and thriving universe with first-person action from the ground to the stars. This Commercial title, available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, features a persistent Multiplayer experience with MMORPG elements, an Open World, and Procedurally Generated sci-fi environments. If you enjoy the blend of survival, exploration, and building in Empyrion but crave a truly vast and dynamic online world, Hazeron offers an unparalleled sense of freedom and discovery.
Evochron Mercenary
Evochron Mercenary is a Commercial Windows game that grants players the freedom to be an independent mercenary in an adventure shaped by their choices. It’s an Open World Simulation game with a strong focus on Trade and Gaming, offering a deep and flexible economic system. While less about block-based building than Empyrion, its emphasis on freedom, exploration, and dynamic gameplay makes it a great choice for those who appreciate Empyrion's open-ended nature and wish for more nuanced economic and combat simulation.
ScrumbleShip
ScrumbleShip is a Commercial title available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, designed to be a highly accurate space combat simulation. It allows players to gather resources, construct capital ships from individual blocks, and then pilot them, either with AI or manually. Its Portable feature makes it convenient. If Empyrion's ship construction and combat mechanics appeal to you, ScrumbleShip offers a deeper dive into the engineering and tactical aspects of building and fighting large spacecraft.
Dyxox Pytheas
Dyxox Pytheas is a Free Windows game focused on galactic exploration and vehicle-based construction. Players are sent to find a missing fleet, leading to extensive exploration and building. As a Gaming title, it provides a compelling narrative hook for its construction and exploration elements. For a free Empyrion alternative that still offers substantial building and discovery, Pytheas is an excellent option.
Avorion
Avorion is a procedural co-op space sandbox where players construct their own spaceships from dynamically scalable blocks, engaging in epic space battles, exploration, and mining. Available commercially on Windows (Steam), it's a Gaming title that excels in procedural generation and cooperative play. If Empyrion's focus on block-based ship design and space combat resonates with you, Avorion offers a similar experience with a strong co-op focus and infinitely scalable ship designs.
Blockade Runner
Blockade Runner is a Commercial Windows game that serves as an early Multiplayer First Person Adventure Space Sim. It promises fully destructible, operational, and crewable 'living' starships, highlighting its Gaming features. If you enjoy Empyrion's ship design and the idea of a living, breathing starship, Blockade Runner offers a promising avenue for immersive, destructible ship-based gameplay in a multiplayer setting.
Masterspace
Masterspace is a Commercial Windows game (Steam) centered around mining, creating, and exploring, featuring fully destructible smooth terrain and spaceships for interstellar travel. It boasts Gaming and Multiplayer features, along with Mix Music. For players who appreciate Empyrion's mining and exploration with a strong emphasis on terrain destructibility and seamless space travel, Masterspace offers a unique, block-based experience.
Starbase
Starbase is a Commercial Windows (Steam) game that is a hybrid voxel/vertex-based space MMO, featuring a fully destructible and infinitely expanding universe with a core focus on building and designing spaceships and stations. It's a promising Gaming title for those who crave ultimate creative freedom and large-scale multiplayer interaction. If Empyrion's detailed construction system appeals to you, Starbase pushes the boundaries of destructibility and player-driven design in an MMO environment.
Ultimately, the best Empyrion alternative for you will depend on your specific priorities. Whether you seek deeper engineering mechanics, more expansive multiplayer interactions, or a different take on space combat and exploration, the games listed above offer a rich variety of experiences to satisfy your cosmic cravings. Explore their unique features and find your next galactic home!