Hard sci-fi and space horror RPGs
In some quarters, the genre of “hard sci-fi” has a very narrow definition based on very strict criteria. However, few people are interested in playing games that involve obsessing over the minutiae of actual science all the time. That’s why with respect to games, it’s best to treat the “hard” label as a convenient shorthand for “not space opera”. Rather than cinematic and pulpy, the hard sci-fi RPGs are usually described as gritty, realistic and grounded. Games falling under this umbrella typically feature one or more of the following elements:
- taking place in the near rather than distant future;
- no faster-than-light travel or other fanciful technology;
- confined to our Solar System (or another relatively small patch of interstellar space);
- human-only (no alien races);
- no magic (or its equivalent).
For understandable reasons, the limitations imposed by these conditions make hard sci-fi settings a natural fit for horror scenarios (particularly of the survival horror variety). That’s why this list includes both “pure” hard sci-fi games as well as titles designed specifically with horror-style gameplay in mind. A couple of these horror-centric games fall short of the “hardness” requirement, but were still included for completeness sake.
Hostile (Cepheus Engine)
5 figs out of 5
Orbital 2100 (Cepheus Engine)
5 figs out of 5
Near Space (Cepheus Engine)
5 figs out of 5
Outpost Mars (Cepheus Engine)
5 figs out of 5
GURPS Space
5 figs out of 5
GURPS Transhuman Space
5 figs out of 5
GURPS Terradyne
5 figs out of 5
Eclipse Phase
4.5 figs out of 5
Engines of Babylon (Stars Without Number)
4.5 figs out of 5
Mothership
4.5 figs out of 5
ALIEN
3.5 figs out of 5
Jovian Chronicles
3.5 figs out of 5
Diaspora
3.5 figs out of 5
2300AD
3.5 figs out of 5
Shadows Over Sol
3.5 figs out of 5
The Expanse
3.5 figs out of 5
New Horizon
3.5 figs out of 5
Cthulhu Rising
3.5 figs out of 5
Blue Planet
3.5 figs out of 5
Coriolis
3.5 figs out of 5
Deep Space (Cyberpunk 2020)
3.5 figs out of 5
The Void
3 figs out of 5
Dark Astral (Zweihander)
3 figs out of 5
Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay
3 figs out of 5
M-SPACE (Mythras)
3 figs out of 5
Ashen Stars
3 figs out of 5
Scum and Villainy
3 figs out of 5
Genesys
3 figs out of 5
Nova Praxis
3 figs out of 5
Those Dark Places
3 figs out of 5
Firefly
3 figs out of 5
Cold & Dark
3 figs out of 5
River of Heaven
2.5 figs out of 5
FrontierSpace
2.5 figs out of 5
Star Frontiers
2.5 figs out of 5
Fate Space Toolkit
2.5 figs out of 5
Seven Worlds (Savage Worlds)
2.5 figs out of 5
Mindjammer
2.5 figs out of 5
Buck Rogers XXVc
2.5 figs out of 5
Mutant Chronicles
2.5 figs out of 5
Uncharted Worlds
2.5 figs out of 5
Infinity
2.5 figs out of 5
The Stars are Fire (Cypher System)
2 figs out of 5
Shock: Human Contact
2 figs out of 5
Alternity
2 figs out of 5
Lancer
2 figs out of 5
High Colonies
2 figs out of 5