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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.
Base-BuildingSpaceColony Sim
$24.99 ~47.1 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 85.8% of 11k
The Squirrel's verdictSpace Haven builds a full campaign around ship design, crew survival needs, resource scarcity, and inter-ship combat, delivering a structured arc from beginning to endgame. Crew-management depth and life-support systems are central to every run. Median playtime is 47.1 hours. Reviewers consistently flag a clunky UI and a tutorial that requires genuine attention — skipping it tends to derail early runs.
Not for you if you want a clean interface and gentle onboarding — reviewers describe the UI as a persistent obstacle even after the tutorial.
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Budget Pick Budget PickThe best game here for the least money.
CyberpunkOpen WorldOpen World Survival Craft
Jank Tolerant Jank TolerantRough edges and bugs — rewarding if you don't mind them.
$19.99 ~59.2 hr median no co-op complexity: heavy 80.6% of 3k
The Squirrel's verdictSolo scavenging and inventory-based repairs on derelict ships are Ostranauts' core loop, swapping Last Starship's crew management and combat for a freeform, single-character simulation. The granular systems focus is comparable, but the experience is less guided and more reliant on player-driven interpretation. Median playtime is 59.2 hours. Reviews describe the game as rewarding in concept but mechanically rough in practice.
Not for you if you want crew management, combat, or mechanics that are consistently explained rather than left for you to piece together.
3
Open World Survival CraftAutomationSurvival
$19.99 ~19.8 hr median no co-op 83.9% of 521
The Squirrel's verdictScavenging physics-based debris and routing materials through conveyor-belt automation are Space Trash Scavenger's defining loop — you collect, process, and expand your vessel piece by piece without crew management or direct combat. The content is complete rather than in progress. Reviews describe a slow, rough early game and a grindy mid-to-late game, and note that object physics can cause items to drift permanently out of reach.
Not for you if you want tight pacing — reviews describe a slow start and a grindy, repetitive mid-to-late game.
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AutomationSpaceBase-Building
$19.99 ~34.6 hr median no co-op complexity: heavy 76.9% of 458
The Squirrel's verdictBoth are single-player logistics-and-building games about optimizing systems inside a growing structure, though Final Upgrade trades starship survival for factory-style resource chains with defined goals rather than an open-ended endgame. Reviews cite a confusing tutorial and cluttered UI early on, with an economy-focused update later reworking systems. Median playtime sits at 34.6 hours.
Not for you if you need a clear tutorial from the start or you want spaceship combat and crew management rather than factory-logistics puzzles.
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Space SimEconomySci-fi
$29.99 ~23.6 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 74.7% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictNewtonian physics and drone-assisted mining are what define Starminer's identity — ships move with momentum rather than direct steering, and mining is handled through deployable drones rather than manual collection. Modular ship construction and combat sit on top of that foundation, similar to Last Starship's building loop. Reviews describe combat as underdeveloped and the tech tree as unrewarding, and several note that mining delivers less depth than the premise suggests.
Not for you if you want dedicated, deep mining mechanics — reviews say mining functions more as a background task than a core system.
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Sci-fiSpace SimOpen World
Moral Weight Moral WeightHard choices with real consequences are central here.
$14.99 ~17.9 hr median no co-op complexity: light 75.8% of 264
The Squirrel's verdictGaia Beyond is a space sandbox built around direct piloting, mining, and combat progression rather than managing ship interiors or internal systems. Released in 2020 with a 75.8% positive Steam rating, it sits closer to Freelancer-style space opera than a construction sim. Reviewers flag a rigid quest line, repetitive NPC dialogue, easy combat, and side quests that break if approached out of order.
Not for you if you want internal ship construction and systems management rather than third-person piloting and quest-driven combat.
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 The Last Starship'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 →