Battlecruiser 3000AD

Battlecruiser 3000AD (1996) is less a game and more a test of faith. Ambitious beyond reason, it promised total control of a massive starship—crew management, planetary landings, space combat, trading, exploration… basically the universe, minus the existential dread. Unfortunately, early versions were so buggy they could have qualified as a new species of lifeform. But beneath the chaos lies a fascinating proto–space simulator, decades ahead of its time. Once you decipher the manual (and the mysteries of its UI), commanding your battlecruiser feels oddly satisfying—like captaining a star destroyer built out of duct tape and ambition.