Space Eploration RPG for PS4 not called Mass Effect?

obin_gam · Jan 4, 2021

Just finshed Andromedas main campaign and am in the mood for more of this stuff. The earlier Mass Effect games cannot be found on PS4 so am I screwed in this search?
I know about and have played both Elite Dangerous and No Mans Sky and sure I c-o-u-l-d start up them again, but I refuse to believe there are only 3 games on this system that lets us fly around in space fairly free.
I tried Star Trek Online but goddamn the menu lag in this made it literally unplayabled.
Last time I played NMS and ED was like two years ago, are there any fun and gamechanging updates to any of those two to make it worth dowloading them to the system again?

#IVEGOTNOTHINGTOPLAY:'(((

Tregard · Jan 4, 2021

I mean, possibly not in quite the same vein, but Outer Wilds is very much a space exploration game worth experiencing.

theAllseeingEYE · Jan 4, 2021

Have you tried:

- The Outer Wilds (awesome space exploration, not so much RPG)
- The Outer Worlds (like Fallout x Mass Effect in Space)

Edit:

Perhaps if you enjoy gameplay-heavy loot focused games, these would appeal as well:

- Destiny 2
- Warframe
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel / Borderlands 3

JackOfSomeTrades · Jan 4, 2021

Tregard said:
I mean, possibly not in quite the same vein, but Outer Wilds is very much a space exploration game worth experiencing.

This so much

It's not an RPG but if you want to explore a solar system with realistic physics, this is a good fit. The core of the game is about amassing knowledge and figuring out a few mysteries so not shooting or combat. It's my favourite game in years, but I know it's not for everyone

texhnolyze · Jan 4, 2021

Starlink is on PS4, right?

I've been playing it thanks to the recent Ubisoft giveaway. Basically, it's a more fun No Mans Sky, plenty of loot, customization and combat. There's actual story and interesting characters too.

Cam · Jan 4, 2021

Outer Worlds aka Firefly the game. That's pretty much my recommendation for sci fi that's not ME and I've been yearning for some cool space shit as well. It's not so much on full exploration, but it's a damn good sci fi story about a cool crew thrust together for a story.

Sir Hound · Jan 4, 2021

The Outer Wilds scratched that space exploration itch though it certainly isn't a Mass Effect style game. 100% something you have to experience, as blindly as you possibly can.

Bushido · Jan 4, 2021

The Outer Worlds was mentioned several times already, but maybe also Rebel Galaxy Outlaw might be something for you:

Kolx · Jan 4, 2021

Outer wilds is pretty cool although not RPG per say. I guess there's outer worlds, but the game is at best average imo.

Ales34 · Jan 4, 2021

There are no good new Space RPGs at the moment. The Outer Worlds isn't much of a space game in my book. It neither feels nor plays like a space game.

Outer Wilds is probably your best bet.

SpotAnime · Jan 4, 2021

Why not go for a classic JRPG like Rogue Galaxy or Star Ocean First Departure R?

SofNascimento · Jan 4, 2021

There isn't any. And not just on PS4, there isn't anything like Mass Effect out there. We have the trilogy and that's it.

I've seen people mentioning The Outer Worlds, but I found it's really light in the "space" part, to the point you can almost forget it's a space sci-fi. So I'm not sure it will match what you want. And although it's a solid game, it not Mass Effect level quality.

obin_gam · Jan 4, 2021

Destiny and The Outer... one of the other are too much FPS than what I am in the mood for.
And the other one not the shooter Worlds/Wilds seem kinda arcady but maybe I'm wrong.

ArchLector · Jan 4, 2021

Yeah, I don't think there are any such games out there. As someone who really loved Freelancer growing up, it's a bummer.

Transistor · Jan 4, 2021

Tregard said:
I mean, possibly not in quite the same vein, but Outer Wilds is very much a space exploration game worth experiencing.

This was what I came to suggest. It's in no way an RPG, but it's some of the best exploration (if not the best) found this generation.

My Blue Heaven · Jan 4, 2021

the answer is the outer wilds but it's an actual exploration game, not like an action game with diet exploration elements like ME

jotun? · Jan 4, 2021

Outer Wilds

Pyke Presco · Jan 4, 2021

It's not really like Mass Effect, but Star Wars:Jedi Fallen Order gives you a planet jumping, story focused action RPG with a (small)crew and a ship. It's definitely not a heavy RPG, but it may fit the bill and give some of the vibes you're looking for.

obin_gam · Jan 4, 2021

Hm... seems in lack of a real rpg in space Outer Wilds is popular. Might give it a try then :)

Xero grimlock · Jan 4, 2021

outer wilds is fucking incredible

Rotobit · Jan 4, 2021

if you're fine with something Maximum Anime there's Star Ocean 4 (The Last Hope, I think is the subtitle). It's the Star Ocean game with the most spacefaring with a bunch of different planets to visit.

The story is very cheesy though, the graphics are very early PS3/360, and the characters range from "okay" to "oh god no". I weirdly love it for how janky it is tho, and oddly I feel it captures the feeling of Star Trek even better than Mass Effect with its "high concept sci-fi of the week" structure.

obin_gam · Jan 4, 2021

theAllseeingEYE said:
Perhaps if you enjoy gameplay-heavy loot focused games, these would appeal as well:

Love looters as well to be frank, Destiny 2 is super fun for a while, until a paywall area stops you haha :P

LuckyLinus · Jan 4, 2021

obin_gam said:
Destiny and The Outer... one of the other are too much FPS than what I am in the mood for.
And the other one not the shooter Worlds/Wilds seem kinda arcady but maybe I'm wrong.

The Outer Worlds is pretty close to Mass Effect in terms of having your own Ship with your crew hanging around and getting to know them all as well as making choices that will impact the story, but its very different in tone and gameplay, much more like Fallout x Firefly.

Outer Wilds is very different, you probably shouldnt compare it to anything else, and if youre planing to play it I would suggest not to look anything up. Its an exploration/detective game where the hunt for clues and reaching new places is the reward.

AndyD · Jan 4, 2021

Bushido said:
The Outer Worlds was mentioned several times already, but maybe also Rebel Galaxy Outlaw might be something for you:

The first one was a lot more fun for some reason.

texhnolyze said:
Starlink is on PS4, right?

I've been playing it thanks to the recent Ubisoft giveaway. Basically, it's a more fun No Mans Sky, plenty of loot, customization and combat. There's actual story and interesting characters too.

Ooh, can you tell me more? It looks interesting, and I also got it from the giveaway.

Fonst · Jan 4, 2021

obin_gam said:
Hm... seems in lack of a real rpg in space Outer Wilds is popular. Might give it a try then :)

I bounced off HARD from O.Wilds. While there is space exploration, there is a big twist that might make it seem like a middle finger to your exploration needs.

Starlink was a fun game. I played it all on Switch with little to no issue so I imagine the PS4 would at least look better. Go seamlessly to a bunch of different planets, help people with tasks on planet, upgrade their compounds which in turn gives you resources so you can upgrade your ship, take down towers and variety of enemys and their bases on these planets, and there is some sweet dog fighting combat in the sky.

No ground walking but your ship turns into a hovertank so yay to that. Also, planets swing how much they are taken over if not left in check.

There were some really awesome stuff in the game and I sunk 30+ hours into the base Switch version (not with the latest update like racing).

AndyD said:
Ooh, can you tell me more? It looks interesting, and I also got it from the giveaway.

Check it out...I mean you already have it for free, what you got to lose?

Dervius · Jan 4, 2021

Bushido said:
The Outer Worlds was mentioned several times already, but maybe also Rebel Galaxy Outlaw might be something for you:

I've had my eye on this

texhnolyze said:
Starlink is on PS4, right?

I've been playing it thanks to the recent Ubisoft giveaway. Basically, it's a more fun No Mans Sky, plenty of loot, customization and combat. There's actual story and interesting characters too.

and this for ages.

OP - It depends what kind of 'free' exploration you want. No Mans Sky is more or less the pinnacle I think of on-foot and in-ship exploration but there are some very cool space games out there.

Elite: Dangerous

- Probably more of a Role Playing game than most mentioned because you really can play a role, bounty hunter, pirate, , miner, trader etc.
- Has On-foot gameplay coming this year
- Best space-sim on consoles

Everspace

- Rogue-lite game with a combination of upgrades, looting, exploration and combat
- Very, very fun with the 'Encounters' expansion
- Beauitful backdrops
- Has a non-rogue open-world sequel due some point this year (?)

AndyD · Jan 4, 2021

Fonst said:
I bounced off HARD from O.Wilds. While there is space exploration, there is a big twist that might make it seem like a middle finger to your exploration needs.

Starlink was a fun game. I played it all on Switch with little to no issue so I imagine the PS4 would at least look better. Go seamlessly to a bunch of different planets, help people with tasks on planet, upgrade their compounds which in turn gives you resources so you can upgrade your ship, take down towers and variety of enemys and their bases on these planets, and there is some sweet dog fighting combat in the sky.

No ground walking but your ship turns into a hovertank so yay to that. Also, planets swing how much they are taken over if not left in check.

There were some really awesome stuff in the game and I sunk 30+ hours into the base Switch version (not with the latest update like racing).

Check it out...I mean you already have it for free, what you got to lose?

I thought there's a physical toys collectible aspect to it.

Fonst · Jan 4, 2021

AndyD said:
I thought there's a physical toys collectible aspect to it.

Yes and no. I think the OT on here even had that in the title that you DON'T need the toys.

You can buy the starter (comes w/one ship, one pilot, two weapons).
You can buy add-on toys.
When connected to the game, toys will give your game 24-ish hours of use with that toy outside the starter ship.

OR...

You can buy digital. There are digital versions that come with everything or you can piece-meal the individual ships, pilots, and/or weapons and own forever. I first played the Switch game 100% digital without a single toy. Extra ships have unique stats and a power weapon (I forget if they are attached to the ship or the pilot, I think pilot) but they also act as lives before you have to pay in-game regular money (like a 100-500 which isn't much) to rebuild ships. There is no premium currency in the game.

But you do want extra ships since there is a lot of ways/things to upgrade/level-up. Pilots levels up with each ship/weapon. The more pieces you level up with each ship/weapon, the more powerful they become and the more points you get to upgrade your character to make them more powerful as well. They really encourage you to try different builds.

Speaking of builds, you get a hull and then you can add up to four wings (2 each side) and 2 weapons. You can decide on which way you orient it so you could have your guns pointing backwards or one back and one forward. There is a limitation on not using duplicate pieces though, so you can't use two flamethrowers.

Weapons range from 5 different types (fire/ice/void/gravity/kinetic or bullets) in a variety of formats and enemies are strong or weak against each the affinities so they want to encourage you to swap out based on what you are facing but you will find favorites quickly. They also have ways of combo-ing one affinity weapon with another to do combo damage...it is pretty deep in the combat aspect.

All that to say, you do not need the toys if you don't want to. The starter set is enough to play but you don't get to see everything if you don't have at almost one of every weapon type (you get fire and ice). You should be able to Platinum with just the starter though if you care about that. And there is local co-op.

obin_gam · Jan 4, 2021

Dervius said:
- Has On-foot gameplay coming this year

okay, this interests me! didnt know that, I have a latent Dolphin Galactic Cruise Captain there I could continue with :) Walking in ED seems it makes the game a "Freelancer 2" game, and who doesnt want that I mean!

AndyD · Jan 4, 2021

Fonst said:
Yes and no. I think the OT on here even had that in the title that you DON'T need the toys.

You can buy the starter (comes w/one ship, one pilot, two weapons).
You can buy add-on toys.
When connected to the game, toys will give your game 24-ish hours of use with that toy outside the starter ship.

OR...

You can buy digital. There are digital versions that come with everything or you can piece-meal the individual ships, pilots, and/or weapons and own forever. I first played the Switch game 100% digital without a single toy. Extra ships have unique stats and a power weapon (I forget if they are attached to the ship or the pilot, I think pilot) but they also act as lives before you have to pay in-game regular money (like a 100-500 which isn't much) to rebuild ships. There is no premium currency in the game.

But you do want extra ships since there is a lot of ways/things to upgrade/level-up. Pilots levels up with each ship/weapon. The more pieces you level up with each ship/weapon, the more powerful they become and the more points you get to upgrade your character to make them more powerful as well. They really encourage you to try different builds.

Speaking of builds, you get a hull and then you can add up to four wings (2 each side) and 2 weapons. You can decide on which way you orient it so you could have your guns pointing backwards or one back and one forward. There is a limitation on not using duplicate pieces though, so you can't use two flamethrowers.

Weapons range from 5 different types (fire/ice/void/gravity/kinetic or bullets) in a variety of formats and enemies are strong or weak against each the affinities so they want to encourage you to swap out based on what you are facing but you will find favorites quickly. They also have ways of combo-ing one affinity weapon with another to do combo damage...it is pretty deep in the combat aspect.

All that to say, you do not need the toys if you don't want to. The starter set is enough to play but you don't get to see everything if you don't have at almost one of every weapon type (you get fire and ice). You should be able to Platinum with just the starter though if you care about that. And there is local co-op.

Thank you for the detailed breakdown. Sounds like something I'd enjoy. I'll give it a go on PC, though I'd like to play something on console too.

Between this on Ubisoft and Elite Dangerous given away on Epic, PC seems the way to go.

YourFriendLevi · Jan 4, 2021

Save us, Starfield

BringBackSonics · Jan 4, 2021

ClassicLevi said:
Save us, Starfield

thats coming for the PS?

br0ken_shad0w · Jan 4, 2021

Sadly your space games are limited in the console space. Rebel Galaxy is probably the closest that will scratch your itch.

Like someone said, majority of the space games are in the PC.

sandboxgod · Jan 4, 2021

Will have to look into Starlink. Just finished CP 2077. I love space games but they are so rare I have just decided to settle for scifi games in general.Next on my list is prob Astral Chain in which I am only half way thru

obin_gam said:
okay, this interests me! didnt know that, I have a latent Dolphin Galactic Cruise Captain there I could continue with :) Walking in ED seems it makes the game a "Freelancer 2" game, and who doesnt want that I mean!

Yeah I await E:D Odyssesy. Like you, I love space games. Got hundreds of hrs in E:D & NMS. Need to get started on rebel Galaxy outlaw.
Also we have Everspace 2 coming out in like 2-3 weeks.

Fonst · Jan 4, 2021

Not PS4 but I just picked up Space Haven, fingers crossed!

BringBackSonics said:
thats coming for the PS?

I highly doubt it. Fingers crossed at least Wolf 3 comes!

Rover_ · Jan 4, 2021

jotun? said:
Outer Wilds

gosh i can't wait to see what the SSD will bring for space games this gen :)

Dervius · Jan 4, 2021

obin_gam said:
okay, this interests me! didnt know that, I have a latent Dolphin Galactic Cruise Captain there I could continue with :) Walking in ED seems it makes the game a "Freelancer 2" game, and who doesnt want that I mean!

Well you're already a veteran bus driver anyway ;)

Odyssey definitely looks interesting, and could add some additional variety to the game. As eith a lot of Elite expansions it could be great a year after its initial release.

I'm more interested in it adding a more seamless experience if they can allow some in-ship or in-station movement on-foot that could be cool.

EDIT:

sandboxgod said:
Also we have Everspace 2 coming out in like 2-3 weeks.

Y'what?? No idea it was that soon.

sandboxgod · Jan 4, 2021

Fonst said:
Not PS4 but I just picked up Space Haven, fingers crossed!

Same here, snagged it on the Steam sale after seeing a streamer playing it. I love the idea of having my own crew.

edit->

Dervius said:
Well you're already a veteran bus driver anyway ;)

Odyssey definitely looks interesting, and could add some additional variety to the game. As eith a lot of Elite expansions it could be great a year after its initial release.

I'm more interested in it adding a more seamless experience if they can allow some in-ship or in-station movement on-foot that could be cool.

Yeah sadly Odyssey wont have in-ship movement.

Afrikan · Jan 4, 2021

jotun? said:
Outer Wilds

Oh boy I'm sure I'm not the only one.. but I thought Outer Wilds was Outer Worlds this whole time 🙃... will revisit it later.

That gif looks sick!

Dervius · Jan 4, 2021

sandboxgod said:
Yeah sadly Odyssey wont have in-ship movement.

That I did know. I can understand the difficulty having to properly render and design every ship's interior, especially the larger ones.

They have said it's an intended post-launch feature.

YourFriendLevi · Jan 4, 2021

BringBackSonics said:
thats coming for the PS?

Forgot that PlayStation was specified, I'm just excited for a new space rpg in general

obin_gam · Jan 4, 2021

In Everspace, can one change how the ship looks? How is the exploration gameplay? Is combat obligatory?

vix · Jan 4, 2021

Hands down Astroneer. Played it over the summer and loved it. Falls and lack of oxygen are really the only things that can kill you. There's a few deadly plants but they can be avoided or destroyed. Dynamite can kill too. But overall it's just a fun little exploration games. There's things to find, Easter eggs I mean. There's only 7 planets to travel between and each one is really different With different elements to mine. The crafting system is really detailed. You can automate everything, even mining.

NMS is constantly evolving and getting better. Though I have played it in forever, I've been following the updates.

Dervius · Jan 4, 2021

obin_gam said:
In Everspace, can one change how the ship looks? How is the exploration gameplay? Is combat obligatory?

Combat is mandatory, thoigh can be creatively avoided at times.

You can customise the colour scheme of your ship, and unlock more palettes and patterns as you go but there's no deeper customisation. There are a handful of ships that look and function drastically different from one another though.

As with rogue-lite games there are persistent upgrades you buy with the money you accrue, some ship specific and some pilot specific.

There is a fair amount of exploration in each zone. Puzzles to solve, derelicts to salvage and odd aliens to scan, but it's not exactly open in the traditional sense. The sequel might be more what you want, but Everspace: Encounters is well worth a look.

vix said:
Hands down Astroneer. Played it over the summer and loved it. Falls and lack of oxygen are really the only things that can kill you. There's a few deadly plants but they can be avoided or destroyed. Dynamite can kill too. But overall it's just a fun little exploration games. There's things to find, Easter eggs I mean. There's only 7 planets to travel between and each one is really different With different elements to mine. The crafting system is really detailed. You can automate everything, even mining.

NMS is constantly evolving and getting better. Though I have played it in forever, I've been following the updates.

I totally forgot Astroneer. It's the fun of exploration distilled. Somewhere between NMS and Minecraft, but designed entirely around the fun of building and exploring.

Space Eploration RPG for PS4 not called Mass Effect?

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