A great way to determine if you’ll like Star Citizen is to compare it to other similar games. Here is a short list of games that are similar to Star Citizen and are often used in comparisons. We’ve compiled a list of similarities, differences, and some take aways from each game that might indicate you’ll enjoy Star Citizen.
Starfield
Similarities
- Setting: Yes, in fact, both games are set in space in fairly expansive environments.
- Aesthetics: Both games focus on having mostly realistic aesthetics to the feel and look of the game.
- Exploration: Both games allow you to explore. Setting out into the game world and discovering things for yourself is a cornerstone of both games.
Differences
- Multiplayer: Star Citizen is focused on being an MMO and focusing on player interactions. Starfield does not have single player and instead focuses on being a single-player, story-driven game.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Starfield has more traditional RPG elements to include character development, story-driven missions, and interactions with NPCs whereas Star Citizen is more focused on simulation aspects to include life in space experience, ship handling, and economy.
- Looting Mechanics: In Starfield you can loot whatever you find but in Star Citizen you are limited to loot from PC/NPC corpses, containers, and wrecks. In Star Citizen you cannot steal the dirty fork that fell under the table in the rusting pirate bunker in an asteroid.
- Scope and Scale: Star Citizen is planned to have an extensive persistent universe accessible to a massive number of players where players can leave an impact on the game world. Starfield is more of a controlled world where only the player’s own actions affect the copy of the universe they play in.
You’ll enjoy Star Citizen if
- You wished Starfield was multiplayer.
- You didn’t enjoy the loading screens Starfield has.
- You enjoy exploring places that are new to you.
- You wished Starfield was less RPG and more simulation.
- You enjoyed high quality graphics of Starfield but wished there was just a bit more.
- You wished Starfield had better space combat and space trading.
- You are willing to invest time into learning Star Citizen.
No Man’s Sky
Similarities
- Setting: Both games are in space with a science-fiction setting.
- Spaceships: Both games have space ships.
- Exploration: Both games have some form of exploration to them.
Differences
- Player Interactions: No Man’s Sky, while being an MMO, is generally difficult to interact with players. In Star Citizen player interaction is a lot more common by design.
- Gameplay: No Man’s Sky has a focus on exporation, resource management, and survival in a procedurally generated world. Star Citizen is more of a detailed space simulation with physics-based flight, first person shooter elements, and player driven economy in a world that feels more hand-crafted than procedurally generated (it still uses procedural generation tools but not in the way that NMS does.)
- Visuals: No Man’s Sky is more of an arcade style in its presentation whereas Star Citizen is more photorealistic.
You’ll enjoy Star Citizen if:
- You wanted more player interaction from NMS.
- You wanted more than just exploration, resource-management, and survival gameplay from NMS.
- You wanted more realistic looking visuals than NMS.
- You wished NMS had more detailed space simulation.
- You wanted more complex gameplay loops from NMS.
- You enjoy the idea of a living universe.
- You are willing to invest time into learning Star Citizen.
Eve Online
Similarities
- Setting: Both games are definitely set in space.
- Player-driven Economy: Both games allow the players to influence the in-game economy. Eve Online is 100% player driven whereas Star Citizen is roughly 25% player-driven.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Both games have complex gameplay mechanics in their own way. The systems for combat, trading, manufacturing, and exploration are complex processes that afford the player plenty of room to grow and refine their craft.
- Community: Both games have thriving player communities and we commonly see larger player alliances form where players work together for the good of the whole.
- PvP: Both games are very PvP rich. Both games encourage PvP in a way where players are presented with an opportunity and option to conduct PvP engagements.
- Steep Learning Curve: Both games are notorious for their steep learning curves but in different areas.
Differences
- Visuals and Simulation: Star Citizen focuses on graphical fidelity and simulation, aiming for photorealistic visuals and physics-based gameplay. Eve online is not as graphics centric and the visual presentations are more strategic like a Real-Time Strategy game.
- Gameplay Depth and Focus: Eve Online is more of a strategy game where players can conduct long-term planning to establish military or industrial operations in solo or group play. Star Citizen is more broader spectrum including first-person shooter elements, direct ship combat, and personal interactions with a core focus on being an all-encompassing space life simulator.
- Combat and Movement: Eve online is played at a higher strategic level like a real-time strategy game pointing and clicking to tell the ship what to do whereas Star Citizen is more of a flight simulation and first person shooter where you are directly behind the controls of the ship and inside of the game universe.
- Character Progression: In Eve Online player skill training progresses in real-time regardless of playing or not. In Star Citizen the player “unlocks” through reputation gains with NPC factions and building a warchest through funds earned, equipment and ships purchased.
You’ll enjoy Star Citizen if:
- You wished you were at the controls of the ship you were flying or otherwise inside of the ship instead of watching it from a top-down 3rd person camera.
- You wanted better graphics.
- You wanted more gameplay variety.
- You wanted to be part of the universe instead of just looking down on it.
- You handled the steep learning curve of Eve Online without much of a problem.
- You wanted more skill-based PvP from Eve Online.
Elite Dangerous
Similarities
- Space Exploration: Both games offer vast explorable universes to explore. Elite Dangerous is more focused on the vast distances while Star Citizen is more focused on the magnifying-glass discovery.
- Ship Piloting: Both games involve piloting spacecraft with similar mechanics for flying, combat, navigation, and management of the ship systems.
- Economy: Players can engage in trading, mining, piracy, or bounty hunting while participating in a galaxy with economies influenced by player actions.
- Community and Multiplayer: Both games have a focus on multiplayer interaction but Star Citizen does so to a greater magnitude.
- PvP and PvE: Both games support PvP and PvE activities.
Differences
- Simulation Depth: Elite dangerous has more of an arcade-like flight model with a focus more on strategy in combat and economy. It has a better balance between accessibility and simulation.
- Graphical Quality and World Building: Elite Dangerous offers a visually impressive procedural universe but the aesthetic is roughly uniform. Star Citizen focuses on photorealistic graphics and handcrafted environments, aiming for a highly immersive visual experience that varies in aesthetics between locations.
- Player Interaction Frequency: While both games are MMOs the opportunities and frequency of player interaction in Elite Dangerous does not compare to that of Star Citizen.
- Landing and Planetary Exploration: Ground-based content in Elite Dangerous very limited to the experience in Star Citizen.
- Combat and Flight Mechanics: Elite Dangerous uses a flight model where ships can maintain high speeds with combat focusing on maneuverability and positioning. Star Citizen emphasizes interia and momentum with combat that rewards player skill, ship management, strategic thinking in a more simulation-heavy context.
- Progress and Character Development: Elite Dangerous focuses more on ship and rank progression with character development more tired to reputation and wealth whereas Star Citizen is more personal skills and equipment into progress.
You’ll enjoy Star Citizen if:
- You want a deeper simulation into living in space.
- You want more personal interaction with other players.
- You enjoy high quality graphics.
- You are interested in a broader range of activities.
- You want more social experience.
- You want more open PvP opportunities.
Star Trucker
Similarities
- Space Exploration and Cargo Hauling: Both games involve players navigating through space. Star Trucker’s primary focus is hauling cargo from source to destination whereas that is merely one of the available experiences in Star Citizen.
- Simulation Elements: Both games have a fairly similar physics simulation with how ships fly.
Differences
- Game Genre Focus: Star Trucker is primarily a trucking simulation set in space, blending elements of RPGs and space exploration but with a strong focus on the driving experience. Star Citizen is a broader space sim that encompasses combat, trading, exploration, and even first-hand person shooter elements.
- Visual and Design Style: Star Trucker adopts and Americana-infused aesthetic with retro-futuristic vibe, featuring trucks that resemble 1970s American semi-trailers in space. Star Citizen aims for more realistic, high-fidelity sci-fi look with a wide variety of ship designs that don’t necessarily mimic real-world vehicles.
- Gameplay Complexity: Star Citizen offers a more complex gameplay experience with detailed ship management, economy simulation, and player interactions in a persistent universe. Star Trucker simplifies some aspects to focus more on the truck driving experience, with less emphasis on complex ship systems or large-scale player interactions.
- Development and Scope: Vastly different scales and scopes of development. Star Citizen is a massively ambitious project whereas Star Trucker is a smaller-scale project from an indie studio.
- Player Interaction and Multiplayer: Star Trucker is a single player game. Star Citizen is an MMO.
- Physics and Controls: Star Trucker uses driving assist that simplifies space navigation to feel more like traditional trucking with some Newtonian physics but not fully embracing a 6 degrees of freedom movement. Star Citizen attempts to implement more realistic space physics including the complexities of spaceflight like intertia and g-forces.
You’ll enjoy Star Citizen if:
- You appreciate a bast explorable universe.
- You want more interaction with other players.
- You are interested in a more complex simulation than Space Truckers had.
- You enjoy a strong sense of roleplay.
- You enjoy cargo hauling.
X4
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