Starbound

From the art—an homage to 16-bit, 2-D games—to the exploration, construction and crafting-game mechanics, there’s no denying Starbound is the spiritual successor to 2011’s Terraria. Essentially, it’s Terraria in space, so, yes, it’s glorious. The sandbox world and the story—players begin stranded on an uncolonized planet—present unlimited approaches to how players move through the game. You could terraform a world under your own god-like image or set off into the galaxy, looking for any port in a storm. All the while, irreverent humor finds players outfitted with sombreros and poisonous laser-swords or turtle shells and flamethrowers. Starbound relies more on story and quests than Terraria, but these elements may fail to entice players away from the open world—doing whatever the hell you want for hours on end—because it’s simply too much fun to take complete control. With so many options and ways to play, Starbound is akin to an easel and paint set. The adventure, the enjoyment, it all comes uniquely from the player.