Unveiling the Best StarMade Alternatives for Your Spacefaring Adventures

StarMade, the popular Minecraft-inspired 3D space shooter, offers an incredible blend of exploration, design, customization, and combat within a real-time generated universe. Its ability to let players design their own ships, customize weapons, and engage in full multiplayer experiences has captivated many. However, for various reasons, players might be seeking a fresh experience or different features. If you're looking for a compelling StarMade alternative that still delivers on the promise of space exploration, ship building, and cosmic combat, you've come to the right place.

Top StarMade Alternatives

While StarMade excels in its unique blend of creativity and destruction, the vast cosmos of gaming offers numerous titles that provide similar thrills, often with their own unique twists. Whether you're after deeper simulation, more intense combat, or a broader universe to explore, these alternatives are sure to satisfy your craving for space-based adventures.

Space Engineers

Space Engineers

Space Engineers is a sandbox game about engineering, construction, and maintenance of space works, available on Commercial and Windows (Steam). Similar to StarMade, players can build and design space ships and stations, offering a deep dive into creative construction in a realistic physics environment. While it doesn't list specific features beyond its core gameplay, its focus on engineering and physics makes it a strong contender for those who love the building aspect of StarMade.

Shores of Hazeron

Shores of Hazeron

Shores of Hazeron presents an unscripted, living, and thriving universe, offering first-person action from the ground to the stars. Available on Commercial, Mac, Windows, and Linux, it features Multiplayer, First-person view, Gaming, MMO, MMORPG, Open World, Procedurally generated, and Sci-fi elements. This game expands beyond just space, allowing players to scavenge resources and progress their character within a vast, dynamic universe, making it an excellent alternative for players seeking a broader, more immersive experience than StarMade.

ScrumbleShip

ScrumbleShip

ScrumbleShip focuses on accurate space combat simulation, allowing players to gather resources and construct capital ships out of individual blocks, then pilot them with AI or manually. This Commercial title, available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, is notable for its Portable feature. Its emphasis on detailed ship construction and realistic combat provides a deep, tactical experience that StarMade players who enjoy the engineering and destructive elements will appreciate.

Empyrion

Empyrion

Empyrion is a 3D open-world space survival adventure where players can fly across space and land on planets. Available on Commercial and Windows (Steam), it focuses on Gaming and Survival. This game offers a compelling experience of building, exploring, fighting, and surviving in a hostile galaxy, expanding on StarMade's exploration and combat with a strong survival element.

Evochron Mercenary

Evochron Mercenary

In Evochron Mercenary, players are free to seek their fortune as an independent mercenary in an adventure directed by their choices. This Commercial game for Windows features Gaming, Open World, Simulation, and Trade. It offers a deep, open-ended space simulation that emphasizes player freedom and economic gameplay, a different but equally engaging experience for those who enjoy the expansive nature of StarMade but seek more depth in trading and mercenary careers.

Galaxy on Fire

Galaxy on Fire

Galaxy on Fire is a highly polished space combat and trading simulation available on a wide range of mobile platforms including Freemium, Android, iPhone, Blackberry, Android Tablet, iPad, PlayBook, and tvOS. While primarily a mobile experience, its cutting-edge 3D graphics and deep gameplay (Sci-fi) make it a strong option for players who enjoyed the combat and trading aspects of StarMade but prefer gaming on the go.

Blockade Runner

Blockade Runner

Blockade Runner is a Multiplayer First Person Adventure Space Sim with fully destructible, operational, and crewable 'living' starships. This Commercial title for Windows focuses on Gaming. Its emphasis on crewable and destructible starships provides a highly immersive and dynamic experience, appealing to those who enjoy the multiplayer and ship-to-ship combat of StarMade but with added realism and destructive capabilities.

Avorion

Avorion

Avorion is a procedural co-op space sandbox where players can build their own space ships out of dynamically scalable blocks, fight epic space battles, explore, and mine. Available on Commercial and Windows (Steam), it's a strong Gaming title. Avorion directly competes with StarMade's core mechanics of block-based ship building and space combat, but with its own procedural generation and co-op focus, offering a fresh take on the genre.

Dyxox Pytheas

Dyxox Pytheas

Pytheas is a galactic exploration, vehicle-based construction game where you're sent to find a missing fleet. This Free Windows title offers Gaming. Its focus on exploration and vehicle construction makes it an interesting alternative for those who enjoy the discovery and building aspects of StarMade, especially with its narrative-driven exploration.

Starbase

Starbase

Starbase is a hybrid voxel/vertex-based space MMO with a fully destructible and infinitely expanding universe, focusing on building and designing spaceships. Available on Commercial and Windows (Steam), it's a Gaming title. Starbase takes the concept of building and destruction from StarMade to an extreme with its detailed voxel physics and massive multiplayer online universe, making it a compelling choice for players seeking unparalleled freedom in design and destruction.

Each of these titles offers a unique flavor of space exploration, combat, and construction, making them worthy considerations if you're seeking a StarMade alternative. Whether you prioritize deep engineering, vast open worlds, intense combat, or social multiplayer experiences, there's a game out there to match your specific desires. Dive in and explore the cosmos in a new way!

David Wilson

David Wilson

Has over a decade of experience covering cybersecurity and software development topics.