The best science games

15 hours ago, by Enzo

What if video games were much more than just entertainment? From space exploration to the theory of evolution, including physics, biology, and scientific puzzles, there’s something for everyone. This theme brings together games with a wide variety of approaches. You’ll find challenging simulators, interactive experiments, puzzle games, and even narrative adventures based on scientific principles. Let’s check out our selection!

Released without much fanfare in the summer of 2025, The Alters has won over the hearts of players who’ve tried it. A true space, biological, and even social experience, somewhere between survival, management, and even a sort of choose-your-own-adventure narrative, this title is definitely worth checking out.

Let’s stay in space a little longer with Space Engineers, which lets you build spaceships, orbital stations, and bases by interacting with a space environment where physics plays a central role. Mass, inertia, propulsion, energy, and mechanical constraints directly influence the design and operation of these structures. With Kerbal Space Program, building a rocket is one thing, but successfully launching it into orbit is quite another! The goal is to manage a space program while taking into account gravity, thrust, fuel consumption, and orbital trajectories.

Now, let’s go back to Earth… to wipe out humanity with a biological attack. Plague Inc: Evolved offers a strategy game in which you must evolve a pathogen and understand how it spreads across the globe. Transmission, symptoms, resistance, and public health responses influence the progression of the epidemic, with mechanics inspired by epidemiological concepts.

In The Planet Crafter, you find yourself stranded on a barren planet and must gradually make it habitable by developing infrastructure and modifying its environment. Progress relies in particular on raising the temperature, producing oxygen, and creating water, before plant life begins to flourish.

Finally, The Talos Principle blends environmental puzzles, artificial intelligence, and philosophical reflection. To advance, you must manipulate lasers, connectors, and various mechanisms by reasoning about trajectories and physical interactions.

This selection also demonstrates that science may offer a wide range of experiences: some are based on relatively accurate scientific principles, while others focus on reflection, popular science, or fiction. After all, sometimes the best way to learn is to have fun figuring out how things work.