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indielist (beta)

The best sci-fi indie games, ranked by reviews

5 min read for players

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Data report Built from live indielist data on 2026-10-23. Rankings update as data changes.

indielist tracks 161 sci-fi indie games on Steam, holding 4,528,210 reviews at an average of 88% positive. This list ranks them by Steam review count, the most reliable public sales proxy, with a white-box sales estimate behind every title. The most reviewed is ARK: Survival Evolved with 588,535 reviews. Figures are tracked by indielist; sales numbers are estimates that each expand into their full formula.

The ranking

  1. ARK: Survival Evolved · 588,535 reviews · 83% positive · 2017
  2. Lethal Company · 411,982 reviews · 97% positive · 2023
  3. Subnautica · 343,137 reviews · 97% positive · 2018
  4. No Man's Sky · 310,268 reviews · 85% positive · 2016
  5. Satisfactory · 236,679 reviews · 97% positive · 2024
  6. RimWorld · 210,586 reviews · 98% positive · 2018
  7. Stray · 158,661 reviews · 97% positive · 2022
  8. Oxygen Not Included · 136,058 reviews · 97% positive · 2019
  9. Black Mesa · 135,261 reviews · 95% positive · 2020
  10. Kerbal Space Program · 121,715 reviews · 96% positive · 2015
  11. Starbound · 120,658 reviews · 90% positive · 2016
  12. ASTRONEER · 119,232 reviews · 92% positive · 2019
  13. ARK: Survival Ascended · 108,360 reviews · 60% positive · 2023
  14. Outlast · 105,281 reviews · 96% positive · 2013
  15. Subnautica: Below Zero · 99,708 reviews · 90% positive · 2021
  16. Outer Wilds · 87,474 reviews · 96% positive · 2020
  17. Dyson Sphere Program · 83,815 reviews · 97% positive · 2021
  18. Katana ZERO · 66,594 reviews · 98% positive · 2019
  19. FTL: Faster Than Light · 63,006 reviews · 95% positive · 2012
  20. SOMA · 47,207 reviews · 96% positive · 2015

How this list is built

Games are ranked by Steam review count, the most reliable public proxy for sales when actual figures are private. Each title links to its indielist page, where the white-box sales estimate expands into the full Boxleiter formula, so you can audit the number rather than trust a black box. Review counts come from Steam; sales figures are estimates, not official sales data.

Want the underlying estimate for your own game? Try the sales estimator, or browse the full game directory.