5 Sci-Fi Video Games Everyone Needs To Play At Least Once

Ever since the rudimentary but timeless experiences provided by “Asteroids” and “Space Invaders,” science fiction has been a thriving genre in the video game medium. That prominence has continued and grown in subsequent generations, expanding into a variety of differing gameplay genres. Simply put, as long as there has been a gaming industry, the science fiction genre has been a part of it. With that in mind, there are a handful of games that form the foundation of the genre’s enduring appeal from across the history of the medium.

Whether it’s side-scrolling adventure games, real-time strategy titles, or first-person shooters, sci-fi has been as malleable in gaming as it has in any other medium. There is a cornerstone title for each of these gameplay types that sci-fi gamers really need to check out at least once in their lives. These games have not only largely aged well, but are key in seeing how the entire industry was influenced by their respective success. Here are five sci-fi video games that everyone needs to play at least once, taking advantage of the genre to become some of the best sci-fi games of all time.

After installments on the Nintendo Entertainment System and original Game Boy, Nintendo’s “Metroid” made the leap to the Super Nintendo in 1994. More than just boasting a 16-bit presentation, “Super Metroid” completely upped the ante from its predecessors in every way. The game has returning hero Samus Aran pursue the monstrous space pirate Ridley to the planet Zebes, which she finds full of Metroids. While combatting Ridley and his associates, Samus eradicates the Metroids and the planet’s reigning creature Mother Brain.

From its foreboding atmosphere to more intuitive handling of Samus overall, “Super Metroid” set a new high bar for the franchise. The game heightens the sci-fi horror influences while emphasizing the exploration elements that the series became known for. Other franchises, like “Castlevania,” took notice for its own games, while “Super Metroid” served as the template for the series’ 2D entries. Over 30 years later, “Super Metroid” is a classic SNES game that retro fans agree is a must-play.

While Blizzard Entertainment had found widespread real-time strategy success with its “Warcraft” franchise, it took things to another level with “StarCraft” in 1998. The story of “StarCraft” has humanity, known as Terrans, settling the galaxy before coming into conflict with the voracious Zerg and psionically evolved Protoss. Players choose between these three factions, each with their own unique units and strategies, to build up their bases and wipe out their opponents. Each faction has their own single-player campaign and a multiplayer mode for players to work together or against each other on a variety of maps.

Even with just three playable factions, “StarCraft” offers a deceptive amount of strategic depth that ensures no match ever quite plays out exactly the same. This is highlighted by a strong sci-fi premise, underscored by the vast aesthetic and tactical differences between the factions, especially the Zerg and Protoss. Blizzard remastered the title for modern PCs in 2017, wisely maintaining the original presentation and gameplay mechanics while subtly updating its technical performance. A game from the 1990s that aged flawlessly, “StarCraft” took real-time strategy games to new heights and continues to thrill players decades later.

Any number of “Star Wars” games could make this list, but there’s just something special about 2003’s “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.” In a timeline set millennia before the movies, the game features a galaxy torn apart by a devastating war between the Republic and the Sith. The player character is an amnesiac, caught in the middle of a battle between a Sith armada and the Jedi Order, who crashes on a nearby planet. As the player tries to rediscover their identity, they team up with a small band of Jedi and other characters to combat the Sith and turn the tide of the war.

“Knights of the Old Republic” reimagines what’s possible for the “Star Wars” franchise, both narratively and in gaming. By shifting to RPG gameplay and an ancient setting, the game incorporates familiar elements without being overly concerned by cinematic continuity. This is highlighted by memorable characters, including one heck of a plot twist that rivals anything the “Star Wars” movies ever did. A solid sci-fi RPG, with or without the “Star Wars” license, “Knights of the Old Republic” is one of the best games the franchise has ever produced.

The killer app for the original Xbox was 2001’s “Halo: Combat Evolved,” a first-person shooter with a solid sci-fi story and addictive multiplayer modes. This distinction carried over to its sequel, with the pinnacle of the series being 2007’s “Halo 3” for the Xbox 360. The game has the human super-soldier Master Chief drive back an extraterrestrial invasion of Earth by the interstellar collective known as the Covenant. This is complicated by the arrival of a parasitic race known as the Flood, before Master Chief takes the fight to other Halo installations.

While some may understandably consider the 2010 prequel “Halo: Reach” as the franchise’s best entry, “Halo 3” feels like the culmination of its initial epic story. The game also presents one of the best first-person shooter multiplayer experiences ever made, both locally and online. Master Chief’s outing this time around feels particularly emotionally resonant and has yet to be matched by any of his subsequent appearances. Ranked as the best “Halo” game for good reason, “Halo 3” provides fans with a satisfying conclusion to the franchise’s initial main story.

Bioware created an ambitious galaxy full of interstellar dynamics and action RPG gameplay with 2007’s “Mass Effect,” with major story decisions each carrying unique consequences. With the 2010 sequel “Mass Effect 2,” Bioware doubled down on the third-person action elements for a much darker story. Starting several months after the events of the original game in the “Mass Effect” timeline, the sequel opens with protagonist Commander Shepard ambushed and killed. Resurrected by the sinister paramilitary organization Cerberus, Shepard investigates the Collectors, mysterious aliens who killed him and are now attacking remote human colonies.

“Mass Effect 2” goes deeper with its playable characters than the preceding game, giving each member of Shepard’s main squad their own engrossing arc. The sequel also maintains a much moodier tone, occasionally veering into neo-noir as Shepard delves frequently into the galaxy’s criminal underworld. The RPG gameplay elements are still present, but the game really hones in on the third-person shooter mechanics that were also at the franchise’s forefront, refining them thoroughly. One of the best video game sequels of all time, no matter what genre, “Mass Effect 2” is a stellar sci-fi action title.