Space stations should be cool. They’re beacons of human ingenuity, orbiting in space orbuilt on alien planets. These places should be landmarks of accomplishment, and yet for some reason,horrible things keep happening in them. Maybe it’s a higher power trying to drop a hint that humans were never meant to fly, let alone float through the vacuum of space.
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A lot of fictional space stations in media were likely once marvels of modern science and celebrations of the human will, but for whatever reason things keep going south on them. Thankfully, all the space stations that have ever been shown in video games are100 percent safe and certified as great places to be. Nothing bad has ever happened near any of these extraterrestrial homes away from home!
11Zebes Space Coloney - Super Metroid
I’m not sure if you’ve heard this, but the lastMetroidis in captivity. The galaxy is at peace…
That means we can all go home and not worry about what might happen on Zebes!
10The Eye - Citizen Sleeper
The future kind of seems like it sucks. Humans will be selling themselves into years of indentured labour for capitalist mega-corporations, that will upload your conscious to an AI for years until you work off your debt. Yeah, that doesn’t sound fun. The Eye is where the rejects of a dying universe gather to attempt to carve out a peaceful life.
The space station inCitizen Sleeperisn’t actually as bad as other space stations itself, but anyone that winds up living on this converted off-world habitat probably has a deeply depressing story to tell. Whether it’s the protagonist android trying to escape the corporation that stole their life, the sleazebag bounty hunter tracking them down, or just a down-on-his-luck dad and his kid. Nobody winds up on The Eye for a happy reason.
9Talos 1 - Prey (2017)
Preymight be home to the space station that hides the most secrets in its walls, literally. What first appears to be an apartment in a cityscape that Morgan Yu lives in is quickly revealed to be a city-sized spaceship full of lies, deceit, and a particularly dangerous shape-shifting alien species.
Every computer terminal seems to have an inbox overflowing with tales of scientific hubris and corporate maleficence. Worst of all the longer that game goes on you more you’ll realise that the shape-shifting aliens might not bethe most untrustworthy lifeforms aboard.
8The Sphere - Prey (The Other One)
Prey (2006), not to be confused with Prey (2017), or Prey 2 (the cancelled unconnected sequel shown atE32012), was a long-delayed game that’s development is almost as interesting as the finished product. However, while work on the game was apparently nightmarish because Human Head and 3D Realms rebooted it countless times, nothing matches the horrors Tommy Tawodi sees on the alien spaceship.
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Things start off pretty nice with one of the first-ever Native American protagonists in games enjoying an evening at his girlfriend’s bar. However, before you know it you’ll be watching your grandfather (and lots of other humans) be consumed by the aliens as bio-organic material for maintaining the ship. As you walk on ceilings and through cramped halls, you’ll rarely stop hearing human screams… Lovely.
7SC-01 Providence - Vanquish
In the near future, the USA has decided to launch a solar energy microwave transmitter to help deal with the energy crisis on earth. What could go wrong you ask? Well, the bad news is that a coup in Russia means that the space station was violently taken over, and the transmitter was used to wipe out the entirety of San Francisco.
The good news is that the US President has sent a DARPA soldier, Sam Gideon, and a small army to take back the station. Yeah, a lot of people in Vanquish die on and because of Providence. It is truly a bad vibes space station if ever there was one.
6UAC Facility On Mars - Doom (2016)
You know, if your workplace programmed a custom notification that can pop up on your monitor that reads, “Demonic Invasion In Progress” you might want to look for work elsewhere or at least join a union. The whole Union Aerospace Corporation inDoomdoesn’t really seem to care a lot about worker safety if we’re honest, and we aren’t even discussing the pits of molten metal without guard rails on its Mars base.
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The thing that really makes us think this might not be the healthiest workplace is thatSamuel Haydenand Dr. Olivia Pierce are pretty honest about wanting to open portals to Hell. It’s good that the company does have procedures in place if demons do break containment. However, what is less good is that those procedures usually suggest workers die or allow themselves to become possessed by the beings from Hell, so they don’t get in the way of Argent energy production.
5Black Iron Prison - The Callisto Protocol
Does it count as a space station if it is a prison on the moon? We think so. Besides, the Black Iron Prison on Callisto more than makes up for its shortcomings as a space station by being one of the best places to quickly die a horrific, violent, gruesome death in the galaxy.
Whether you are being indoctrinated by a weird cult, mashed by meat grinders, or mauled by monsters, everyone will find a new gory way to go out before you have even gotten your prison jumpsuit on. The good news is there is a surefire way to survive a stay on the station.Just be a somewhat forgotten character actor,let’s say on the level of someone like Josh Duhamel, and those mutants are sure to leave you alone.
4Citadel Station - System Shock
This space station has everything! An evil mega-corporation. Killer mutants. A Bunch of loose wires that could easily electrocute you. And of course,a homicidal AI that has taken a personal disliking to you.
Have fun!
3Sevastopol Station - Alien Isolation
If I were a member of the Ripley family I would make it my business to never board another space station in my life. Whether it’s run by Weyland-Yutani or any other faceless corporation I would just never go to one of these retro-gothicsafe havensever again.
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The one bright side of Sevastopol is that it does have some lovely interior decor. However, that might not be much consolation when your chest is being burst by a baby xenomorph.
2Hermes Station - Mass Effect 2
There are a lot of suspicious and somewhat abandoned space stations and spaceships inMass Effect. Usually arriving at one means saving some scientists, killing a few Geth/Collectors/Reapers, grabbing all the media gel you can, and jetting off again. However, a few are different. Things are pretty bad at Station Peak 15 on Noveria for the Binary Helix workers that have accidentally unleashed the Rachni again. However, that situation can be resolved somewhat peacefully, if you are careful.
There’s no good way to deal with the FUBAR situation at Hermes Station on Aite. Without ruining the surprise, Dr. Archer might be one of the worst siblings in video game history, and we really should have seen Cerberus turning out to be evil by the time Mass Effect 3 came around.
