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Squirrel's Pick Squirrel's PickThe best game on this page. If you only try one, try this. Closest Match Closest MatchThe most similar game to the anchor, by what players say.
SpaceSci-fiBase-Building
$19.99 ~29.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 75.4% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictShip-building and colony systems layered onto crew logistics define The Last Starship, developed by the Prison Architect studio Introversion. It reached 1.0 and holds a Mostly Positive rating at 75.4% positive with a median of 29.2 hours, but reviewers describe thin endgame content, persistent bugs after the 1.0 release, and performance problems as ship and fleet sizes grow.
Not for you if you expect a 1.0 label to mean complete endgame content and stable performance at scale.
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Interstellar Transport Company
PCMacLinux
SpaceTradingEconomy
$24.99 ~17.6 hr median co-op complexity: moderate 66.6% of 410
The Squirrel's verdictInterstellar Transport Company shares the core loop of building trade routes and managing a growing logistics operation, and adds interstellar colonization and co-op play. Reviews identify UI problems including unreadable tutorial text and menu-triggered crashes, and note that drone automation can make manual routes obsolete. Median playtime is around 17.6 hours.
Not for you if a readable UI and stable menus are baseline requirements for you.
3
Colony SimSci-fi2.5D
$14.99 ~18.9 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 62.3% of 1k
The Squirrel's verdictBoth put you in charge of a crew whose individual behavior drives an economy-and-survival sim, with Cosmonautica's ship trading swapped for Starmancer's station-building and colonist management. You don't directly control the AI you play as, just automation and door locks, while colonists handle tasks themselves. Reviews report game-breaking bugs and corrupt saves persisting past launch.
Not for you if you want direct control over your crew rather than managing them indirectly through automation, or need a stable, bug-free colony sim.
4
SpaceSci-fi4X
$29.99 ~58.8 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 55.3% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictStarDrive 2 suits players who want a full 4X space empire experience: ship design, colonization, diplomacy, and combat across sessions that run to a median of 58.8 hours. The defining problem is AI that ignores the fuel and economy constraints the player must follow, letting opponents outpace you in construction and research by a wide margin. Content depth and playtime are not the issue here.
Not for you if you want AI opponents operating under the same rules and constraints as the player.
5
Interstellaria
PCMacLinux
SpaceExplorationDiplomacy
$9.99 ~9.1 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 55.9% of 410
The Squirrel's verdictManual piloting during combat and planetside ground missions are what separate Interstellaria from Cosmonautica's passive crew-and-cargo loop. There is also a guided plot threading through the open universe rather than a pure sandbox. Reviews flag persistent bugs, a rough UI, and heavy grinding. Median playtime runs around 9 hours.
Not for you if grinding through bugs and a clunky UI would outweigh the appeal of active piloting and ground combat.
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Base-BuildingSpaceSurvival
Free ~20.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 50.4% of 1k
The Squirrel's verdictStarship Theory focuses on building and managing a ship as a base, handling colonists and resources in a loop closer to RimWorld than to a trading sim. The entry cost is zero, so the thin endgame and incomplete content carry less risk. Median playtime is around 20 hours, and the Steam rating sits at Mixed with 50.4% positive.
Not for you if you want a trading and smuggling economy rather than a base-building and colonist-management loop.
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SpaceSci-fi
$19.99 ~17.9 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 41.7% of 557
The Squirrel's verdictStarship Corporation centers on designing ship layouts and fulfilling manufacturing contracts, with room placement and system trade-offs as the core puzzle. That replaces Cosmonautica's cargo-hauling and crew management with a design-and-build loop. Reviews rate it Mixed at 41.7% positive, citing incomplete features and bugs that outlasted development, with a median playtime of around 18 hours.
Not for you if you want a dynamic trading economy or expect a finished, polished product at the Mixed rating and price point.
8
Space SimStrategy RPGExploration
$24.99 ~14.8 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 37.1% of 477
The Squirrel's verdictBase One assigns crew to roles aboard a space vessel and has them carry out tasks in real time, similar in structure to Cosmonautica's crew management. The defining problem reviewers identify is pathing: crew members get stuck in doorways and passages, stalling progress entirely. It released outside Early Access but carries a Mostly Negative rating at 37.1% positive and a median playtime of about 15 hours.
Not for you if crew-pathing bugs that halt progress would make the game unplayable for you.
How the Squirrel matches games
Not tag overlap. We compare what players actually say across hundreds of
thousands of reviews about how each game feels to play, then break
the comparison into the mechanics you can see in each card. The mark on
every bar is Cosmonautica's own score, so you can read where a match runs
hotter or cooler than the anchor.
Verdicts are written against a fixed editorial standard, machine-audited,
and human spot-checked. Which games make the cut is a human call. Prices
and review data refresh automatically. Full method & AI disclosure →