Science fiction has gifted the world with thousands of realities that excite our imagination and dare us to dream bigger. Many of the games that find themselves inhabiting this genre create expansive universes filled to the brim with interesting lore driven by a wide variety of characters and foreign species.
These races often possess their own unique way of existing in the world and share their own alien culture. People have their favorites, often distracting from the greatness that other creatures in the universe possess. That doesn’t stop them from doing their part to bring these games to life.
10 Elcor (Mass Effect)
The Elcor are one of the first alien races that the player will come into contact with when they start their Mass Effect journey. In this encounter, they will learn all about this race of bulky, gentle giants. Their homeworld has high gravity, they are immensely strong, and their speech is so monotone that they have to preface all of their sentences with their emotional intent when conversing with other species.
They are so lovable, bolstered by the fact they can act as living mounts for artillery. It's hard to think they were just one possibility of many.
9 Faceless (Xcom 2)
Xcom has its fair share of iconic aliens to choose from. However, in terms of being underrated, there is the Faceless. These gelatinous behemoths can disguise themselves as humans in order to infiltrate human instillations. When they are triggered, they shed their disguise and return to their true form.
The appearance of a Faceless can put a real damper on the player's plans whenever they appear. They can ruin stealth, destroy cover, and can deal massive amounts of damage with surprising range. There is very little the player can do to prevent one of their ambushes, making them a truly formidable foe. Xcom still manages to hold many surprises.
8 Mimics (Prey)
The idea of a shapeshifter is weirdly common in alien fiction or fiction in general. The Mimic gives the experience of what it must feel like to not trust anything in the surrounding area. The Mimic is a variant of the Typhon alien species. They are spider-like creatures that can morph into almost any inanimate object.
Once this fact about them is known, the player will be spending a great deal of the early game being wary of every little object in a room, searching for a weapon to deal with it. The horror this alien can instill dissipates as they become more obsolete and easier to predict, but that doesn’t change how truly groundbreaking they are in the first part of the game.
7 Floaters (Subnautica)
These adorable little slime balls are some of the first aliens the player will meet in Subnautica. As the name suggests, these creatures float in the water, but most importantly, they can attach themselves to other objects or creatures, giving them extra buoyancy. They are relatively harmless, only being a threat to the player’s vehicles rather than the player themselves.
The larger, Ancient Floaters are even capable of lifting entire islands. Their utility and potential for creative use make them an endlessly entertaining addition to the game.
6 Engineers (Halo)
One of the short-lived alien species of the Covenant that many people forget about is the Engineers. These things have the ability to boost the shields of anybody around them. For added depth, they are also rigged to explode when killed.
Once the player learns about the true nature of the creatures and their relationship with the Covenant, they quickly become these adorable floating balls capable of matching the sassiness of Sgt. Johnson himself. It is a true shame that in the wider Halo series they have become somewhat forgotten.
5 Vortigaunts (Half-Life)
When people think of the aliens of Half-Life, thoughts usually coalesce around Head Crabs or the Combine. That’s not to say that the Vortigaunts are unheard of. They do play a major part in every entry in the series but compared to their counterparts, they seem to fall toward the wayside.
That doesn’t change the fact that they are some of the coolest beings in the games. They prove time and time again that their magical gifts can contend with some of the most powerful beings in the universe, making them deserving of more praise.
4 Pikmin (Pikmin)
Pikmin is well-loved by those who play it, but not enough people play it. The namesake creatures are little colorful plant people that are capable of achieving great things once the player is able to coordinate them, a feat that would be made better on the Switch OLED.
They possess a wide variety of abilities that help them traverse obstacles, fight off enemies, and lift massive objects. It can be strange to think of Pikmin as a sci-fi game, but it takes place on another planet and the story is led by a little astronaut and his band of tiny aliens, so that probably counts.
3 Kaminoans (Star Wars)
When the prequel Star Wars movies were first being released, they were not met with much enthusiasm. The same cannot be said for the games that came out for that era. One of the coolest additions to the Star Wars lore was the Kaminoans.
They are the tall white aliens responsible for the creation of the clones. Without this species, one of the best aspects of a lot of the prequel games would have never been made. As a result, the world owes a lot to these underutilized characters.
2 Zoltan (FTL)
Each alien race in FTL has its own unique attributes that make them naturally better at doing one task over another. Out of all of those races, the Zoltan do not get enough love. Sure they may not be psychic, expert engineers, or especially great fighters. What they do have is versatility.
A Zoltan can add one bar of energy to whichever room they are in. If placed in the right spot, they can vastly improve a critical system without spending what could be a large number of resources to upgrade. They also possess one of many cool ships in the game.
1 Chozo (Metroid)
Metroid is a series full of mysteries. As such, there is plenty for the player to discover over the course of their journey in each game. Despite that, the Chozo remain a very mysterious race. They are the bird-like creatures that trained Samus, turning her into the super-capable bounty hunter that everyone knows and loves.
Yet, it can be difficult to learn more about these creatures inside the games, or at the very least the player has to work hard to find answers. For creating one of gaming's most iconic female protagonists, the Chozo deserve a little more attention from time to time.