The Expanseis easily one of the best space operas of all time, and there’s no shortage of ways to dive into the series.
The novels by James S.A. Corey kicked offThe Expanseall the way back in 2011. Since then we’ve gotten six seasons of a TV adaptation, a number of comic books, a TTRPG ruleset, anda five-chapter Telltale Games series. All of that hasn’t been enough to satiate my desire for more ofThe Expanse, and I know I can’t be alone. Fortunately there are plenty of other video games that manage to capture the overall vibe of Corey’s series, and if you’re working your way through another re-read, there’s a game that almost perfectly pairs with each book inThe Expanse.
Remember theCant!ΔV: Rings of Saturnis a game that lets you relive the days when the crew of theRocinantewere simple ice haulers. It puts you in the cockpit of a 2D ship and gives you a top down view as you use real physics to pilot through dangerous situations. Prepare to flip and burn while mastering the many technical abilities you’ll need to become a successful space miner.
InCaliban’s Warfighting breaks out on the surface of Ganymede, butRed Faction: Guerillatakes you to Mars instead. There it puts you in the midst of an insurgent battle and lets you take advantage of fully destructible environments as you wage war against the Earth Defense Force. The 2018 remaster is a great way to experience one of the best shooters of the PS3/Xbox 360 era.
Humanity faces alien horrors inAbaddon’s Gate, andPreyforces you to do something similar. Developed by Arkane Studios,Preyis the perfect combination of FPS and sci-fi horror. As a survivor on the lunar-orbiting stationTalos I, you must fight off violent alien creatures in fast-paced action while also trying to solve the mystery of what exactly happened to the rest of your shipmates.
The human race has just begun its climb to intergalactic empire inCibola Burn, butMass Effectstill manages to capture the cough cough expansive feeling of traveling across galaxies to connect with other human settlements. As an RPG it also lets you organically grow and connect with your own space crew in a way that no other game has quite managed.Expansefans turning toMass Effectwill probably end up finding their second-favorite sci-fi series in the games.
A new kind of space warfare has broken out by the end ofNemesis Games, and that deserves a new kind of battle simulator.Children of a Dead Earthboasts that it’s “the most scientifically accurate space warfare simulator ever made,” and I see no reason to argue. If you want to truly dig into the ship engineering and orbital mechanics that goes into every pulse-pounding skirmish inThe Expanse, then this is the one for you.
By this point in the series there’s an all-out war between the inner planets and the OPA.Terra Invictasees humanity being attacked by aliens, but the game also has a focus on factions. The secret to victory in this strategy game is to consolidate power on Earth in order to construct a strong enough fleet to challenge the aliens that are flying toward us from the edge of the solar system. It’s a great depiction of a war that spans the entire Sol system.
Elite Dangerousfeels quite a bit like the world ofThe Expansejust before Duarte launches his invasion inPersepolis Rising. Humanity has spread throughout the stars, and the game is essentially a flight simulator that gives you various jobs like mining, interstellar delivery, and pirate hunting to complete. The galaxy inEliteis actually the Milky Way, and all the small touches that makeElite’s simulation feel so real help make this otherwise simple game incredibly engaging – particularly in VR.
So many characters inTiamat’s Wrathare forced to risk their lives sneaking through dangerous enemy space, and that’s the entire premise ofFTL. In this roguelike you play as a crew, or really a ship, delivering important wartime intel across the galaxy. You’ll need to upgrade your ship and hire new crew members while navigating through space. At every turn you’ll encounter enemies that will try to shoot you down, board you, or otherwise put your mission to an early end.
By the end ofThe Expanse, humanity isn’t just fighting themselves but the very godlike beings that once ended all advanced life in the galaxy.Stellarisis a 4x game that takes things to that scale. You construct an empire from the ground-up, spreading throughout the stars and encountering the mysteries of space while trying to grow your people into a prosperous civilization. This is the perfect space game for people who love the intense management of real-time strategy games with a dizzying array of routes to pursue.
Memory’s Legionis a collection of stories that encompasses the entire timeline ofThe Expanse. Because it focuses on a humans-only future where the species has spread out to the stars that are at least a little close to home,Starfieldfeels like a natural continuation of these stories. Thanks to being a Bethesda-style RPG,Starfieldchecks a number of boxes all while portraying a future that could have been an alternate version ofThe Expansewhere humanity never discovered the protomolecule and the secrets it unlocked.
