Best Space Survival Games Like Breathedge 2 to Play in 2026

Okay, real talk. I’ve had August 31 circled on my calendar for months. Breathedge 2 is finally dropping into Steam Early Access, and if you’ve followed my posts for any amount of time, you know I’ve been begging RedRuins Softworks for a proper sequel since I finished the first game at 3am, crying-laughing at a chicken that refuses to die no matter what the universe throws at it.

But here’s the thing nobody wants to hear: Early Access means early. The devs have been upfront that launch day is going to feel small — a tight, dense opening zone rather than the sprawling multi-system sandbox we were promised in the trailers. Full base-building, planet-hopping, the whole “manage a ragtag crew across the galaxy” fantasy? That’s coming later, in updates, patch by patch.

So what do you do in the meantime, if you’re anything like me and you’re already jonesing for another hit of oxygen-management dread mixed with absurdist space comedy? You go digging. And I’ve spent an embarrassing number of hours doing exactly that, so let me save you the trouble.

Here’s my personal, opinionated, occasionally ranty list of the games actually worth your time right now.

Why Breathedge Hit So Different in the First Place

Before I get into the list, I want to name what actually made the original special, because I think a lot of “similar games” lists miss it. Breathedge wasn’t just “survival game in space.” It was the tension between two things that shouldn’t work together: genuine, nerve-wracking resource scarcity, and completely unhinged comedy writing. You’d be down to your last thirty seconds of oxygen, heart pounding, and the game would still find a way to make you laugh at a sarcastic AI or a piece of duct-taped garbage you’re using as a spacesuit.

That combo is rare. Most of the games below only nail one half of that equation — either the survival dread or the humor — so keep that in mind as you pick your next obsession.

1. Subnautica (and Below Zero) — The Spiritual Sibling

If you’ve been in any Breathedge discussion thread, someone has already called this game “Subnautica but wet.” And honestly? Fair. Swap the vacuum of space for a genuinely unsettling alien ocean, and the DNA is identical.

What I love here is the pacing. You crash, you panic, you’re desperately rationing oxygen in your first few dives — and slowly, painstakingly, you claw your way up to building submarines that let you explore trenches that used to terrify you. It’s less jokes-per-minute than Breathedge, leaning hard into atmosphere and that low-grade “something’s watching me” dread instead. But the progression high — going from helpless to unstoppable — scratches exactly the same itch.

My honest take: if you only pick one game off this list, make it this one. It’s the closest thing to a masterclass in survival-game pacing that exists right now.

2. Empyrion – Galactic Survival — For the Builders Who Want More Ship

Breathedge 2 is teasing ship upgrades and crew management as headline features, and if that’s the part of the trailer that made you sit up straight, you need to be playing Empyrion today, not waiting for a patch.

You start grounded — literally — scavenging on a hostile planet, fighting off local wildlife, cobbling together basic shelter. Standard stuff. But then the game just… keeps going. You’re designing your own ships block by block, taking off with zero loading screens, flying straight into orbit, and eventually warping between entire solar systems in something you built with your own hands.

A quick breakdown of why this one’s worth the (steep) learning curve:

• No loading screens between planet and space — the immersion is genuinely unmatched
• Deep ship customization, from scrappy fighters to full capital ships
• Multiplayer servers if you want the chaos of building alongside (or against) friends
• Fair warning: the learning curve is brutal for the first several hours

3. The Planet Crafter — For When You Just Want to Chill and Terraform

Not every day calls for combat and panic-breathing. Some days you just want to sit back, mine some minerals, and watch a dead rock slowly turn into a living world. That’s The Planet Crafter in a nutshell, and I think it’s criminally underrated.

You land on a barren planet with one job: terraform it. You start small — basic shelters, oxygen generators — and as your tech improves, the planet itself visibly transforms. Red skies fade to blue. Clouds roll in for the first time. Rain falls. Eventually you’re staring at oceans and forests that exist because you put them there.

It’s got that same addictive Breathedge crafting loop, minus most of the stress. Perfect for a lazy Sunday session.

4. Astrometica — The One Purists Should Know About

This is my “hidden gem” pick, and I genuinely don’t see it mentioned enough. Astrometica drops you into pure zero-gravity debris fields, asteroid clusters, and broken-down stations — no planets, no distractions, just you, your oxygen tank, and a tether line back to your growing base.

The core loop — venture out, harvest resources, drag junk home, expand your little floating outpost — feels almost like a direct homage to Breathedge’s early hours. If what you actually want is the specific feeling of those opening chapters, before the game opened up, this is your best bet.

5. Space Engineers — For the Engineering Nerds

I’ll be honest, this one isn’t for everybody. Space Engineers trades Breathedge’s writing and humor entirely for something else: an obsessively detailed physics and construction sandbox. No jokes, no immortal chicken, no snarky AI companion.

What you get instead is one of the most satisfying “build a machine from scratch and watch it actually work” experiences in gaming. Mining drones, automated rovers, sprawling carriers — you’re managing power grids, hydrogen systems, structural stress, all of it. If Empyrion’s ship-building hooked you but you wanted it turned up to eleven, this is your next stop.

6. Go Back and Play the Original Breathedge

I’ll say this bluntly: if you’re hyped for the sequel but somehow skipped the first game, fix that immediately. The original is a much more linear, story-driven ride than the open sandbox the sequel is shaping up to be, and honestly, that first half is one of the best zero-gravity narrative experiences out there. Duct-taping together absurd tools while investigating who blew up your grandfather’s space hearse — it’s ridiculous, it’s tight, and it sets up everything the sequel is building on.

Breathedge 2 Release Date, Steam Price, and Gameplay Mechanics Explored

Quick Comparison Table

So, Which One Should You Actually Pick Up Tonight?

Here’s my personal cheat sheet, based on what’s actually pulling at you right now:

• Craving that pure “am I going to run out of air” panic? → Subnautica or Astrometica.
• The ship-building and crew-management teasers got you hyped? → Empyrion, no contest.
• Need something low-stress to decompress with? → The Planet Crafter.
• You’re an engineering-brained menace who wants total creative control? → Space Engineers.
• You haven’t even played the first Breathedge? → Seriously, start there.

At the end of the day, none of these fully replace what Breathedge 2 is going to be once it’s out of Early Access and fully built out. But that’s kind of the point — this genre has gotten so good, so varied, that “waiting for one game” doesn’t have to mean twiddling your thumbs anymore. Pick two or three off this list, keep an eye on the Breathedge 2 patch notes, and you’ll be perfectly set up to jump back in once the full sandbox experience lands.

See you out there in the void. Try not to run out of oxygen.

Breathedge 2 | Gameplay Early Access