20 Best Space Combat Video Games

Space combat games put you in the cockpit of nimble starfighters and heavy gunships and let you dogfight across open space. This list covers story driven sims, arcadey shooters, and open world sandboxes where space battles are a core activity. You will find classics that established the genre and modern entries that refined controls, mission design, and presentation.

Each pick includes useful details on platforms, core systems, and what you actually do moment to moment. If you are looking for HOTAS support, VR options, or a specific campaign structure, skim the entries to match what you need. Everything here focuses on mechanics and features so you can decide what fits your setup and playstyle.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter

Released in 1994 on PC, this sim puts you in Imperial cockpits and progresses through a multi chapter campaign with briefings, debriefings, and secondary objectives that affect rank and medals. Energy management between lasers, shields, and engines is central, and the game assigns roles across interceptors, bombers, and advanced prototypes.

The mission editor and historical missions allow practice with specific loadouts. Joystick support is native and the later Collector’s Edition added improved graphics and optional audio updates. Fan patches enable modern resolutions and compatibility on current Windows.

Star Wars: X-Wing

Launched in 1993 on PC, this entry established the series template with pre mission planning, wingman commands, and detailed HUD information for target tracking and subsystem prioritization. The campaign runs through Rebel operations that emphasize torpedo runs on capital ships and escort duties.

The game features distinct starfighter classes with unique hardpoints and shield profiles. Expansion packs add B wing and A wing content along with higher difficulty scenarios. Modern releases bundle the expansions and support contemporary operating systems.

Freespace 2

Arriving in 1999 on PC, this sim emphasizes large scale fleet battles with beams, flak, and fighter wings operating around destroyers and cruisers. Loadout screens let you configure missiles, cannons, and countermeasures for each sortie, and radio chatter provides situational awareness during complex objectives.

An open sourced engine supports high resolution models, lighting, and extensive mods. Community campaigns add dozens of hours of content and new factions. Joystick and keyboard setups are both fully supported and remappable through in game menus.

Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom

This 1996 PC and PlayStation release pairs branching FMV storytelling with cockpit missions that reflect your choices. Between missions you select routes that change objectives and allies. Ship roles range from light interceptors to heavy bombers with different gun mounts and missile capacities.

The game includes a mission simulator for practice outside the campaign. Difficulty options alter enemy behavior and friendly AI. Later DVD editions upgraded video quality and modern digital versions run on current PCs without extra configuration.

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger

Published in 1994 on PC and later on consoles, this installment introduces full 3D ship models and a persistent carrier hub for loadouts and conversations. Mission types include patrols, strikes on capital ships, and escort operations with failure affecting later scenarios.

Players choose secondary weapons and countermeasures to match objectives like torpedo attacks or dogfights. The branching structure allows multiple end states. Modern releases ensure compatibility and retain joystick and keyboard control schemes.

Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos

Released in 2001 on PC, this space sim uses realistic newtonian style flight with thrust and lateral movement that rewards vector control. The single player experience mixes free roaming piracy with structured missions, and a ship upgrade system lets you install hardpoints, turrets, and cargo modules.

Fleet management includes hiring wingmen and issuing orders during engagements. The game supports custom keybinds and multiple camera options for situational awareness. A skirmish mode enables standalone battles with tuned loadouts.

Star Wars: Squadrons

Launched in 2020 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, this title provides full cockpit dogfighting with power management between engines, lasers, and shields. Multiplayer offers fleet battles and dogfight modes with class based starfighters and unlockable components like hulls, cannons, and countermeasures.

The single player campaign alternates between factions and teaches subsystem targeting and formation flying. VR support on PC and PlayStation provides full head tracked cockpits. HOTAS profiles are available and fully remappable for different peripherals.

Elite Dangerous

Debuting in 2014 on PC and later on consoles, this open galaxy sim features flight assist options and a nuanced thruster model. Combat occurs in resource sites, conflict zones, interdictions, and powerplay battles. Players engineer weapons and modules and fit ships for roles such as interceptors, brawlers, and long range snipers.

Multiplayer brings wing coordination, voice comms, and instanced battles near capital ships and megaships. The game supports HOTAS setups and VR on PC. Regular updates have expanded ship rosters, hardpoint types, and mission templates tied to faction states.

Everspace 2

Released in 2023 on PC and later on consoles, this entry focuses on fast combat, loot progression, and handcrafted locations across star systems. Ships belong to classes like interceptor and gunship and each class carries ultimates and passive bonuses that shape builds.

Players collect modules, craft upgrades, and unlock perks through side content. Combat uses energy and cooldown management for devices and special weapons. The campaign supports quick travel between zones and features optional high risk areas for rare drops.

Everspace

The first entry from 2017 on PC and consoles blends roguelite structure with arcade style dogfights. Sectors are procedurally arranged with resource nodes, enemy patrols, and hazards like mines and lightning fields. Runs unlock blueprints and perks that carry forward.

Loadouts include primaries, secondaries, and consumables with limited ammunition. Encounters encourage hit and run tactics and positional play around asteroids and debris. Difficulty settings adjust enemy density and resource abundance.

Chorus

Released in 2021 on PC and consoles, this single player shooter builds around drift centric maneuvering and a sentient ship that unlocks rites for teleporting, ramming, and disabling enemies. Missions range from station defense to capital ship takedowns with weak points to expose.

The upgrade system grants passive buffs and alternate fire modes. Optional contracts provide materials for ship enhancements. The game uses a third person camera with full roll and sensitivity options that can be tuned for gamepad or stick like control.

Strike Suit Zero

Arriving in 2013 on PC and later on consoles, this combat game features a transformable fighter that switches between standard flight and a strike mode that locks onto multiple targets. Campaign missions emphasize capital ship assaults, bomber interception, and protection of allied assets.

Score thresholds award medals that unlock branching mission paths and equipment. Survival and time attack modes provide quick challenge runs. PC versions support a wide range of resolutions and custom keybinds for HOTAS or keyboard and mouse.

House of the Dying Sun

Released in 2016 on PC, this tactical shooter offers short missions with a command wheel to direct wingmen and a slow motion planning tool. You swap between piloting and issuing orders to coordinate torpedo runs and flanking maneuvers.

Completion unlocks modifiers such as harder enemy variants and new weapons. The game supports VR with cockpit view and head tracking. Mission parameters can be reattempted for higher ratings and additional equipment.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw

Launched in 2019 on PC and later on consoles, this entry moves combat to a two dimensional plane with full yaw and roll simplified into tight dogfights. The economy funds ship purchases and weapon upgrades while contracts spawn bounty hunts, escorts, and cargo runs.

Auto pursuit targeting assists with aim, and optional simulation settings reduce assistance for manual control. A wide range of guns, secondaries, and defense modules enable distinct builds. Stations provide repairs, reputation management, and mission boards.

Star Fox 64

Released in 1997 on Nintendo 64 and later remastered on handheld, this rail and all range shooter has branching routes across a fixed campaign map. Missions include asteroid fields, armadas, and base assaults with wingmen that can be saved or lost for later support.

Power ups upgrade lasers and restore shields while smart bombs clear groups. Medal requirements encourage replay and alternate paths. Rumble feedback debuted with this game and remains supported in later versions.

Colony Wars

Debuting in 1997 on PlayStation, this series opener uses mission outcomes to branch the campaign across multiple endings. Ship selection and weapon loadouts adapt to objectives like convoy protection, station raids, and blockade runs.

Controls provide roll, throttle, and slide for precise positioning around capital ships. Training scenarios teach targeting subsystems and avoiding flak lanes. Memory card saves track your progression across the decision tree.

Starlancer

Released in 2000 on PC and Dreamcast, this team based shooter features squad commands and scripted battlefield events around carriers and destroyers. Mission briefings assign roles such as bomber escort or torpedo strikes and promotions unlock new craft.

The loadout screen offers guns, missiles, and decoys tuned to mission type. Multiplayer on PC includes cooperative and competitive modes. The game tracks kills and accuracy and awards commendations for performance.

Galaxy on Fire 2

Arriving in 2010 on mobile and later on PC and consoles, this open world space game blends dogfights with trading and crafting. Players acquire ships and modules through missions and blueprint hunting and combat includes pirates and faction patrols across multiple systems.

Touch and controller inputs are both supported with aim assistance options. Expansion packs add new regions, gear, and story arcs. The PC edition offers higher resolution assets and adjustable graphics settings.

No Man’s Sky

Released in 2016 on PC and consoles, this sandbox features space combat against pirates, sentinel interceptors, and faction fleets within a procedurally generated galaxy. Ships vary by class and slot count and can be upgraded through technology modules and nanite spending.

Large scale fleet battles occur near freighters and stations, and players can own a freighter to launch squadrons. Updates have added wingmen, improved flight models, and mission varieties tied to guilds and outlaw systems. VR support is available on multiple platforms.

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

Launched in 1998 on PC and Nintendo 64, this arcade style shooter focuses on planetary sorties that include convoy escorts, base strikes, and search and rescue. Craft like the X wing and A wing carry unique weapon loadouts and mission medals unlock secret ships and bonus stages.

Training runs and challenge codes allow quick access to specific scenarios. The PC version supports higher resolutions and joystick input with customizable bindings. Scoring systems reward time, accuracy, and objective completion.

Share your favorite space dogfights in the comments and tell us which cockpit you plan to jump into next.