Starflight
Ranked 3 of 9 space simulation games by recommenders
Players praise its vast galaxy of free exploration and the story woven through it, and some call it a forerunner of No Man's Sky. No criticism was recorded.
Players praise its vast galaxy of free exploration and the story woven through it, and some call it a forerunner of No Man's Sky. No criticism was recorded.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Vast galaxy for free exploration
“The embedding of the story within what was almost entirely free-form exploration & adventure across a huge galaxy was masterful.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)” “This was such an amazing game, especially in that you felt like the world was huge with the encouragement to just explore.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)” “It really captured my imagination and immersed me into this seemingly limitless world.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)” - Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)”
Fondly remembered and fun
“After which I spent many happy hours with my friends exploring the Starflight universe.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)” “One of my all-time favourite games.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)” “Loved this game as a young kid.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)” - Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)”
Engaging story and lore
“The embedding of the story within what was almost entirely free-form exploration & adventure across a huge galaxy was masterful.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)” “The lore in the manual was entertaining as well; whoever wrote it was clearly having fun.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Reversed engineered game Starflight (1986)”
Other space simulation games people recommend
The four most recommended other space simulation games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Man's Sky | 97 | 100 | 49% | 7 | 10 yrs16 owners | — |
| Kerbal Space Program | 24 | 9 | 73% | 9 | — | Approved |
| StarflightThis page | 17 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Elite Dangerous | 15 | 5 | 75% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Star Citizen | 11 | 20 | 35% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
14 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I would strongly recommend to play Starflight 1 and Starflight 2”
“unique and fun in so many ways”
“The lore in the manual was entertaining as well; whoever wrote it was clearly having fun.”
“Loved this game as a young kid.”
“After which I spent many happy hours with my friends exploring the Starflight universe.”
“It really captured my imagination and immersed me into this seemingly limitless world.”
“Starflight is the great grandfather of No Man’s Sky, and the first game I availed myself of”
“It felt open world before people used that phrase. Amazing game.”
“the Sega Genesis version of this game is arguably the definitive one”
“One of my all-time favourite games.”
“This was such an amazing game, especially in that you felt like the world was huge with the encouragement to just explore.”
“I loved Starlight but I'm not sure it was procedural world generation.”
“There is still a functioning Forth interpreter implemented in the game.”
“The embedding of the story within what was almost entirely free-form exploration & adventure across a huge galaxy was masterful.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.