Space sims — like flight sims — maintain a niche following. The game genre mixes the fun of flight with the extreme physics involved in sending things to freaking space. Mac (and PC) game Kerbal Space Program manages to scratch the rocket science itch while also being genuinely entertaining and accessible.
This great take on the space simulator is winning praise all over the gaming world and boasts an active community of modders and enthusiasts. Right now you can get a Steam ticket for Kerbal Space Program $13.59.
From the cartoonish alien world of Kerbal Planet, you launch rockets and spacecraft of your own design into orbit, completing missions while keeping your crews from dying. You’ve got a massive menu of functional parts you can use to create a vast range of vehicles, all of which will behave according to realistic physics.
In Sandbox mode, you can endlessly assemble and toss anything you can dream of into space; in Science Mode, you focus more on the technical aspect of completing actual missions; and in Career Mode you run the entire Space Program, for a more large-scale and strategic take on the business of getting into orbit.
Kerbal Space Program can be genuinely challenging and creative, but the game never takes itself too seriously.
Buy now: Download Kerbal Space Program on Steam for $13.59 — that’s 66 percent off the usual price.
