5 Games with a space setting like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter that you should try

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Ranking compiled by Lluis Enric Mayans, Founder & Head of ContentUpdated May 19, 2026How this is calculatedOrdered by an attribute-similarity model, not editorial opinion.

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We filtered the 50 games similar to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter down to the 5 that fit the “Space” category. Outer Wilds, Kerbal Space Program and SpaceEngine top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

iRank83/ 100

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GenreAdventureSubgenreOpen World Action-Adventure

The best games with a space setting like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

5 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Each one has been evaluated across 12 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Outer WildsClosest overall match

iRank90

GenreAdventureSubgenreOpen World Action-Adventure

SoloNarrativeOpen WorldSpaceHorrorExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 102KIGDB85· 7OC85· 61

Year 2019Dev Mobius Digital · Annapurna InteractiveOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Both are open-world adventures — sharing adventure storytelling, puzzle design and horror tension

≠ Stands apart with deep simulation, melee combat and setting scifi, while skipping dark, oppressive atmosphere

Where it drifts furthest from The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: combat.

Released 5 years after The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

Genre100Game mode100World100Progression100Setting84Visuals84

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Steam Epic Xbox

#2Kerbal Space Program

iRank88

GenreAdventureSubgenreOpen World Action-Adventure

SoloOpen WorldSpaceExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 95%· 140KRAWG👍 84%· 408MC88IGDB87· 7OC81· 41

Year 2015Dev Squad · Private DivisionPlaytime ~5hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world adventures: adventure storytelling, open world exploration and setting space

≠ Stands apart with deep simulation, sandbox freedom and punishing difficulty, while skipping puzzle design

How to build a spaceship capable of delivering a human crew into space - and return this crew back?

Where it drifts furthest from The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: tone and world.

Genre100Game mode100Progression73Setting62Visuals53World49

GenreAdventureSubgenreOpen World Action-Adventure

SoloNarrativeOpen WorldSpaceExploration

Steam👍 96%· 16KRAWG👍 89%· 36

Year 2019Dev Vladimir RomanyukPlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Fits the open-world adventures cluster, with strong narrative focus, open world exploration and setting space

≠ Stands apart with deep simulation, sandbox freedom and vibe casual, while skipping adventure storytelling

SpaceEngine is a 1:1 scale science-based Universe simulator, featuring billions upon billions of galaxies, nebulae, stars, and planets, all shown at their full real-world scale.

Where it drifts furthest from The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: visuals and tone.

Released 5 years after The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

Genre100Game mode100Progression100Setting53World42Tone33

GenreAdventureSubgenreOpen World Action-Adventure

SoloOpen WorldSpaceExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 83%· 522RAWG👍 58%· 36MC72IGDB67· 2

Year 2003Dev EgosoftPlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Same family of open-world adventures: open world exploration, setting space and single-player focus

≠ Stands apart with deep simulation, turn-based strategy and sandbox freedom, while skipping adventure storytelling

X²: The Threat is of a new generation of space simulator games, you play the role of Julian Gardna who continues the story set by X: Beyond The Frontier. The updated graphics engine gives the universe a fresher feel with newly designed ships and stations adding to the complexity of the universe.

Where it drifts furthest from The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: combat.

It predates The Vanishing of Ethan Carter by 11 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100Visuals72Setting62Progression62World60

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Steam GOG

#5X: Beyond the Frontier

iRank60

GenreAdventureSubgenreOpen World Action-Adventure

SoloOpen WorldSpaceExplorationFirst Person

Steam👍 75%· 387RAWG👍 56%· 32MC67IGDB30· 1

Year 1999Dev Egosoft · THQPlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Fits the open-world adventures cluster, with open world exploration, setting space and single-player focus

≠ Where it differs: brings deep simulation, sandbox freedom and turn-based strategy, while skipping adventure storytelling

The Human Race had advanced to the point where we could travel among the stars, we developed giant automated machines to help us colonise other worlds, but there was a fault in their programming and they turned and attacked. Forcing us to lay a trap to protect Earth and exiling the Human race to stay on Earth once again.

Where it drifts furthest from The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: combat.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mostly positive, against very positive for The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

It predates The Vanishing of Ethan Carter by 15 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100Visuals72Progression69Setting60World55

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Steam

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Best Open-World Adventure Games Best Adventure Games