1
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 keeps the free exploration and scavenging that Stardeus reviews say was removed from that game — you travel, find derelicts, and gather resources without a rationed warp system. Interior ship building, life support, and crew management are all present. The tradeoff is a UI and control scheme reviews consistently call a slog, especially coming from games like Rimworld. Median playtime sits at 47.1 hours.
Not for you if a clunky interface and slow early controls would stop you before the ship-building loop opens up.
2
Budget Pick Budget PickThe best game here for the least money.
Base-BuildingAutomationResource Management
$19.99 ~40.6 hr median co-op complexity: moderate 80.9% of 3k
The Squirrel's verdictAstro Colony's first-person perspective separates it from most ship-management games: you walk through structures you build, connect asteroids, and set up automation chains yourself rather than directing colonists from above. Co-op is supported. Reviews flag uneven tech progression — stairs require roughly half the tech tree — and wiring quirks, but the automation-and-expansion loop is the clear focus.
Not for you if you want colonist survival management and a top-down perspective rather than first-person building and resource automation.
3
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 verdictFirst-person inventory and salvage work defines Ostranauts: you manage your ship's systems and survival in granular detail, but the scale is one person doing manual work rather than overseeing automated colony production. Reviews describe rich atmosphere and worldbuilding alongside persistent bugs and a steep friction curve. Median playtime reaches 59.2 hours for those who stick with it.
Not for you if you want colony-scale automation and research trees rather than solo, manual salvage and inventory management.
4
Sci-fiSurvivalColony Sim
$9.99 ~37.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 78.5% of 316
The Squirrel's verdictSame colony-management spine as Stardeus: dig out rooms, research a tech tree, gather resources to keep survivors alive on an alien world. Mercury Fallen skips the ship-travel and pole-wiring layers entirely, focusing purely on base-building and research. Suits players who want Stardeus's early survival-and-build loop without the transport or power-routing systems.
Not for you if you need active development, since the developer moved to another project after the June 2024 update and late-game balance issues can leave you stuck.
5
SpaceSci-fiBase-Building
$19.99 ~29.2 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 75.4% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictThe Last Starship focuses on ship construction and combat with less emphasis on research depth and exploration. It reached 1.0 release but reviews describe missing or unfinished content, limited quest progression beyond early missions, and no working endgame. Players who prioritize Stardeus's colony-sim and research layers over direct ship-building will find less of that here.
Not for you if an absent endgame or thin content past the early missions would prevent you from getting value from the playtime.
6
Space SimEconomySci-fi
$29.99 ~23.6 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 74.7% of 2k
The Squirrel's verdictBoth put you assembling ship components and managing resource extraction in space, but Starminer trades Stardeus's colony automation and research trees for direct piloting, Newtonian flight physics, and combat. Mining is a small sub-system here, not the core loop. Suits players who want to fly and fight their ship rather than manage crew and wiring.
Not for you if you came to Stardeus for automating colonists and research chains rather than piloting a ship yourself.
7
The Spatials: Galactology
PCMacLinux
City BuilderColony SimBase-Building
$12.99 ~15.8 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 68.9% of 257
The Squirrel's verdictGalactology shares Stardeus's core loop: build up a station, automate systems, and manage resource chains over time. It swaps ship survival and wiring puzzles for tourist-establishment management, run mostly through a mouse-driven UI with no keyboard shortcuts. Median playtime sits at 15.8 hours, with reviews reporting shallow repetition once the early systems are mastered.
Not for you if you need keyboard shortcuts for core actions or expect the management loop to stay fresh past 15-20 hours.
8
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 scales the logistics concept outward: instead of managing one ship's interior systems, you run trade routes and colonization efforts across multiple star systems, with co-op support. Reviews flag poor AI, UI transparency problems, and a tutorial some players couldn't complete, which limits how far the core concept carries. Suits players who want logistics strategy at interstellar scale rather than hands-on ship building.
Not for you if UI bugs, unreliable AI, or an incomplete tutorial would stop you from engaging with the underlying systems.