7 Sci-Fi Games About Being Stranded on an Alien Planet (2024)

Sci-Fi games are known for presenting players with amazing worlds that they can usually explore to discover the wonders and dangers they hold. While some titles are focused on side-quests, likable NPCs and large-scale military campaigns, others focus on survival and the gathering and management of critical resources.

When a Sci-Fi game has a massive size, it allows players to spend hours exploring to find various points of interest; however, this is only a welcome thing when players get to choose where they're stationed and which planet they're exploring. Otherwise, they could be categorized as being stranded, which can be a fun challenge, but also a risky one. Here are some of the best Sci-Fi games about being stranded on an alien planet.

7 The Solus Project

The Noble Quest To Find A New Home For Humanity

• Platform(s): Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows
• Released: June 7, 2016
• Developer(s): Teotl Studios, Sjoerd De Jong, Grip Digital
• Genre(s): Adventure game
• Players take on the role of a space explorer
• Decent play time for hours of fun

While The Solus Project isn't the best Sci-Fi Indie game released in the last 10 years, it still offers players a wonderful experience that will keep them entertained for hours. Players will take on the role of an explorer who crash lands on an alien planet in the middle of their mission to find humanity a new home.

Throughout the game, players will have to face the many dangers the unknown planet holds for them, challenging them continuously. All in all, it's a wonderful title that vividly represents what being stranded on an alien planet would be like.

6 Planet Nomads

A Beautiful Title With Vibrant Colors

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
• Released: May 3, 2019
• Developer(s): Craneballs Studio
• Genre(s): Simulation Video Game, Indie Game
• Scarce resources that players will have to manage wisely
• Sandbox design that leaves little to be desired

This Sci-Fi sandbox game puts players in the shoes of an astronaut scientist who crash-lands on a strange yet thriving planet. Players will have to hone their survival skills and gather their resources wisely in order to succeed.

Throughout the game, players will have to make an effort to find food, water and building materials to ensure they’re well-nourished and have a way to shelter themselves from the various elements that can harm them. As a sandbox, Planet Nomads can't really be considered an open-world title. However, it offers so many things that players will hardly notice this.

5 Osiris: New Dawn

An Indie Title That Looks As Though It Had A Larger Budget

• Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
• Released: September 28, 2016
• Developer(s): Fenix Fire Entertainment
• Genre(s): Survival game, Indie game
• Players crash-land on an unknown alien planet
• There are some elements of horror that raise the stakes

Osiris: New Dawn is one of those Sci-Fi Indie titles that deserves more attention, as it's not only really fun to play, but also looks outstandingly good for a game without a massive development budget. As players travel through deep space, their spacecraft malfunctions due to the speed of interstellar travel, leading them to crash-land on a deserted planet where they will have to find a way to survive.

The inhospitable planet is full of unpredictable and harsh conditions that will challenge players' survival skills and force them to build bases to withstand them. While not always present, this title also features some elements of horror that add a layer of depth to the gaming experience and make it much more interesting.

4 Empyrion - Galactic Survival

The Lack Of Oxygen Raises The Stakes Considerably

• Oxygen plays a very important role in the game
• Omicron contains various plains, rugged terrain and mountain ranges

Empyrion - Galactic Survival presents players with a survival experience that, among other things, revolves around one of any deep space explorers' biggest fears—suffocating due to landing on a planet that is not meant to sustain human life.

Like other games in this genre that revolve around a similar concept, this title will have players manage their resources and build bases to ensure their survival in this Sci-Fi adventure and protect themselves against the harsh conditions they find themselves in. While it has some things to improve upon, Empyrion - Galactic Survival was generally well-received by critics and players alike, making it a game that any fan of Sci-Fi titles should try.

3 No Man's Sky

One Of The Most Popular Deep-space Exploration Games To Date

• Survival Mode makes resources more scarce and introduces tougher challenges
• No Man's Sky has a devoted fanbase that has only kept growing over the years

No Man’s Sky is arguably one of the most popular deep-space exploration games of the last decade. This title offers players an amazing experience that includes, but is not limited to, procedurally generated planets that host different species of plants, animals, and other elements that they'll discover as they explore.

While some planets might be friendlier to visitors, others will feature harsh and inhospitable conditions that players will have to work around in order to explore and find the resources they so desperately need. Although players are not stranded on an alien planet per se, Survival Mode makes resources much more scarce and enemies much tougher, which directly translates into a more challenging experience. This along with the endless interstellar possibilities makes No Man’s Sky a fine addition to this list.

As a side note, players who are struggling with the game will find great help in looking up starter tips.

2 Stranded: Alien Dawn

Strategic Approaches To Survival Are Required

• Players must guide a group of settlers
• Different starting scenarios to choose from

Stranded: Alien Dawn is yet another wonderful title that will pit players against apparently insurmountable odds in order to survive. Players’ main task will be to guide a group of survivors who are stranded on an inhospitable alien planet. Resources are scarce and survival is not guaranteed.

When the game starts, players will be given several starting scenarios to choose from—each one with their own goals and objectives that they'll have to complete. While the concept of Stranded: Alien Dawn isn’t anything new, it still manages to feel fresh and entertaining.

1 Subnautica

A Struggle For Survival On An Inhospitable Marine Planet

• Players are stranded on a mysterious ocean planet
• Vast ecosystem full of colorful areas and dangerous creatures

In Subnautica, players will take on the role of Ryley Robinson, the sole survivor of a ship known as “The Aurora” after it crash-lands on an unknown marine planet. Like other games on this list, this title requires players to find resources and manage them wisely to survive the various challenges they'll encounter. The flora and fauna found on the mysterious planet can also end players' runs before they know it, so they must be on the lookout for them.

With vast areas to explore, cave systems, volcanoes and coral reefs, Subnautica is one of the most complete survival games that focuses on the concept of being stranded on an alien planet.