Starfield is trying something that has never really been done so it's a bit difficult.

The only games I can think of are Freelancer (considered as an oldie goldie of space games) And Rebel Galaxy Outlaw.

Problem with these games is that you only control a ship. But you can land on planets, trade, go for bounties, free roam etc.. The idea is there but again with have currently no space game that has "everything"

I won't even talk about Star Citizen because first of all, it's a multiplayer game and you can get yeeted by other players at any given time, and 2nd, last time I played it was in January and it was unplayable so :/

Outer Worlds is about as close as you can get to a Bethesda-style game set in space. The scope is much smaller though. There are a handful of hand-crafted planets and no space combat.

Star citizen

DEAD SPACE 2 and Alien Isolation

Elite dangerous kinda maybe. Games similar to any Bethesda game is a tall order. They take decades to make.

Do you guys hate No Man's Sky this much that nobody talked about it?

Okay, if you like these roleplay based games, of course Fallout is the first series you have to go. If you want to stick to space, Mass Effect is a great saga, although it's very different in some aspects.

Now! If you want resource gathering, base creation, different spaceships with their different stats (not player customizable), crafting, MILLIONS of (almost empty) planets where you can put your feet on, fauna/flora encyclopedia, hundreds of weapons, space battles, and an over-epic writing... NO MAN'S SKY

Fallout. If you enjoy the building aspect then Fallout 4. If you want a condensed sci-fi story, then Outer Worlds is a lot of fun.

And of course there’s always Skyrim, but with bows/swords instead of guns.

These two IMHO are at the apex:

* Roman quest -> Skyrim Imperial path FTW
* Apocalypse -> FO4

Beyond that it digresses and opinions multiply... and I will be called wrong.
Why, then, the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open.

For a completely different game play style try Sid Meier's Civilization series.
~K

Take a look at Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

SpaceBorn 2

Starfield looks like what our worlds should have been. I liked outer worlds overall but felt it lacked sooo much and so many elements of it felt unsatisfying to me (I only played the first iteration so maybe it got better), but nothing I looted felt important and the customization didn’t feel useful. But I did like the world and exploration and have been super excited about starfield in particular because I know it’ll have that Bethesda magic that so many RPGs lack (for me).

Freelancer is what i've had at the back of my mind ever since manual spaceflight was confirmed. I can imagine it being very similar. The system Maps will probably be quite different, but i can see starfields space travel playing and feeling quite like freelancer. Or at least more like that then something like Elite.

But we'll find out out in time.

But in all seriousness if you like space games and solving mysteries, do please try out Outer Wilds. It's one of the best games ever made

Sounds alot like star citizen, except the tech is now theoretically possible. That of course assumes decent management which is not what star citizen currently has.

It’s not quite the same but Prey 2017 might scratch a similar itch.

No man's sky, obviously

I like it a lot, it’s like a Bethesda rpg on a much smaller scale. Still lots of choice and exploration but the experience is a bit more concise. I like it a lot

Never played but ironically I would say outer worlds will play similar to starfield as well

No man’s Sky

Try Starsector.

Deliver Us The Moon is really cool in terms of being aboard a ship and exploring.

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 would probably give you a good feel for what the core of Starfield will be like

FTL is the closest I've felt to being a Star Trek captain (but it's pretty combat focused)

Outer Wilds us the closest I've felt to being a scientist exploring new worlds (but it's a one man show)

I genuinely don't think there's anything quite like what you're looking for. I guess I've heard good things about Starbound, maybe try that?

Mass Effect Andromeda is all about exploring a new galaxy. But like all the other games people mentioned, it does have lots of combat. All the Mass Effect games give you the experience of managing your team/crew and interacting with them. Just like Star Trek, you lead the bridge and have people there giving you information and you have video communication with other characters.

They're old-school but Star Trek 25th Anniversary (can be found on GOG) plays so much like episodes of Star Trek. It's even spaced out in an episodic format. It's basically a point and click, but your actions can cause various outcomes, including keeping your red shirt alive!

Maybe something like [PULSAR: Lost Colony] (https://store.steampowered.com/app/252870/PULSAR_Lost_Colony/)

Oddly enough, the oldest of oldschool games - Starflight, is what I would suggest to you here. It was released in 1986, and it's quirky as all hell, to the point where if you don't exit the game properly, not only do you lose your save files, but you need to reinstall the game, but it was hugely ambitious for its time and very influential.

If that's maybe a little too oldschool, Star Control II has more of an emphasis on combat than Starflight, but I wouldn't call it a focus. You can play its open-source version (called The Ur-Quan Masters) for free.

It also is however a shooter with heavy focus on combat, there is no way to negotiate out of combat most of the time.

I can't really think of something that is truly like OP wants, i.e. a plot heavy exploration simulator. I'd totally play it if there was, but given Starfield's demonstrated gameplay, it seems like companies don't think it can sell without being a shooter.

Although it is very far off from being like Star Trek, Outer Worlds at least lets you skip pretty much all combat if you use dialog options to bypass it.

Three upcoming games I would keep my eye on are The Expanse - Osiris Reborn, The Outer Worlds 2, and Exodus.

It will give you an entirely different space based sense of wonder, but Stellaris.

Outer Wilds doesn't have a lot of dialogue, but I've never encountered any other game that captures the beautiful wonder and mystery of space exploration like that game does.

Really hoping the upcoming Expanse game fills this void :')

no mans sky rules

Mass effect trilogy and No Mans Sky

Mass Effect trilogy is always a good shout

I honestly tried Outer worlds but I found it to be pretty boring and repetitive. This coming as someone that plays Skyrim religiously.

Dozens of hand-crafted systems to explore, deep lore, playable with a mouse and keyboard, and a thriving mod scene that's still around today.

The Outer Worlds?

Yeh I may have had tears in my eyes, I just wanna play now! Hogwarts legacy comes out at Christmas so that should keep me busy

Depends on what you're after. Nothing exactly like Starfield exists.

If you want a space sim/RPG hybrid, there's several options, mostly old. I would personally recommend Freelancer, if you can get it.

If you want an action RPG that is set in space, the obvious choice is Mass Effect. There's also The Outer Worlds, which I personally consider to be a perfectly acceptable game.

Starsector. It's not an easy game, but the freedom it offers is worth the time you'll spend learning the ropes. You can be a trader, a fleet commander, an explorer and many more things, and since you're already familiar with FTL, you may find some aspects, like the management side, similar.

Elite Dangerous is immense. It has epic space battles, exploration, you can explore every planet in the galaxy, get involved in the politics or simply live your own life out in the far reaches.

Jump Space is a game that’s releasing next month on the 19th. It’s kinda like sea of thieves in terms of PvE content.

Elite Dangerous

Not released yet but watch out for Expanse:Osiris Reborn. Elite Dangerous is the best we have atm. Star Citizen is in development but quite raw sometimes and will be a few years from release.

First person games with environmental story telling.

Bioshock

Dishonored

Fallout

Elder Scrolls

I think Andromeda was a fun open world space action adventure game, I think if it had no ties to the Mass Effect franchise it would be looked at way more favorably but following up that trilogy just heaped soooo many expectations on that game and did it a disservice.

Rpgs like it, lot of them being Bethesda styled.

Love cyberpunk 2077, borderlands series, Mass effect series (yes andromeda too).

And more traditional JRPGs.

1. Starfield
2. Baldurs Gate 3
3. Kids
4. Wife (love you honey..you made the list)

It did have a really rough launch. The state that you and I love it in did not exist until quite a bit of patching had been done.

There were also some preconceived notions of what a Mass Effect game should be. Andromeda was a whole different type of story compared to the OT. OT was about saving an established galaxy. Andromeda was about exploring and building up a new one. The open world was widely panned. It definitely needed more effort put in but considering the theme of exploration and being a pioneer it made more sense in concept than the semi-linear style of the OT.

And I think people really wanted another Shepard so when they saw Ryder they were disappointed. Shepard is an experienced soldier with a soldier’s attitude. Even by the time of the first game they’ve seen plenty of action and developed into a tough, capable person. Shepard is a leader and a badass right off the bat. The galaxy looks up to them. Ryder is pretty much the polar opposite. They’re young, inexperienced, unready, and no one believes in them. They have to prove themselves over the course of the game. That was a big change that not all OT players liked.

The changes could have been executed better but I believe they’re very solid conceptually. If there ever is a sequel to Andromeda I think they should continue to run with the open world and Ryder’s personal development instead of giving up on them and jsut closing everything off and making Ryder magically a badass

Definitely not the best Mass effect but considering ME1 is my favorite in the franchise and Andromeda took a lot from it I ended up loving it.

Exactly. I even still play Morrowind at least a few times a year. I don't even mod Bethesda games and have still sunk literal 1000s of hours into their games. I love plenty of other games but nothing else really scratchs the same Bethesda itch for me.

Right now I have Bethesda, Rockstar and CDPR as my big three.