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"I've already beaten the Mass Effect trilogy and I really enjoyed it," Watershed wrote on ResetEra, itching for more of that space-trotting sci-fi they'd just gotten out of. "The Mass Effect games are the only games that come to mind for me when I think about games that capture some of the qualities of Star Trek. Now, I'm looking for some recommendations."
A lot of players jumped to mention FTL: Faster Than Light, a spaceship simulator with roguelike elements. You're tasked with saving the galaxy but rather than finding yourself in the thick of the action, gunning down Reapers and stopping intergalactic conflicts as amicably as possible, you're ensuring that your ship doesn't fail on the way. You have to keep the shields up, fuel the engines, fight off boarding parties, and more.
Others say that Watershed should go back to Mass Effect and try Andromeda, while also mentioning games like StarCraft, a real-time strategy where you take control of a futuristic military on an alien planet. There are also recommendations to cross lines and go into the world of Star Wars with Knights of the Old Republic, given that it shares Mass Effect's developer.
Other recommendations include Star Trek Online, a free-to-play MMO, and Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity, which is an adventure game from the '90s. But the consensus in the thread is that few games capture the same feeling of Star Trek, with the closest probably being Mass Effect. Given that Watershed came to this thread having played through the series, that hardly helps. But if you need a recommendation, then that's probably your best bet.
A wild card of a choice was thrown out with Guardians of the Galaxy, although it's more focused on the emotional heart of the story than the sci-fi, with the usual Marvel quips thrown in to make it more comedic. Digging into the more obscure, there's Mars: War Logs, a cyberpunk RPG set to the backdrop of, you guessed it, Mars. Or you can go retro and try Star Control 2 and Ur-Quan Masters—there are a few classic sci-fi games worth trying out.