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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 2026-07-24. Rankings update as data changes.

indielist tracks 153 sci-fi indie games on Steam, holding 4,551,418 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 583,081 reviews. Figures are tracked by indielist; sales numbers are estimates that each expand into their full formula.

The ranking

  1. ARK: Survival Evolved · 583,081 reviews · 83% positive · 2017
  2. Lethal Company · 410,693 reviews · 97% positive · 2023
  3. Subnautica · 338,617 reviews · 97% positive · 2018
  4. No Man's Sky · 310,268 reviews · 85% positive · 2016
  5. RimWorld · 243,385 reviews · 98% positive · 2018
  6. Satisfactory · 232,215 reviews · 97% positive · 2024
  7. Stray · 155,602 reviews · 97% positive · 2022
  8. Oxygen Not Included · 142,787 reviews · 97% positive · 2019
  9. Black Mesa · 133,917 reviews · 95% positive · 2020
  10. Starbound · 120,624 reviews · 90% positive · 2016
  11. Kerbal Space Program · 118,802 reviews · 96% positive · 2015
  12. ASTRONEER · 118,359 reviews · 92% positive · 2019
  13. Outlast · 103,251 reviews · 96% positive · 2013
  14. ARK: Survival Ascended · 102,965 reviews · 60% positive · 2023
  15. Subnautica: Below Zero · 98,838 reviews · 90% positive · 2021
  16. Outer Wilds · 87,474 reviews · 96% positive · 2020
  17. Dyson Sphere Program · 83,095 reviews · 97% positive · 2021
  18. Katana ZERO · 65,934 reviews · 98% positive · 2019
  19. FTL: Faster Than Light · 62,406 reviews · 95% positive · 2012
  20. SOMA · 52,031 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.