WE LOVE SCI-FI TOO!!
Hail friends and welcome back!
I know a lot of what we do on this site is mostly Fantasy/DnD focused but we are also HUGE Sci-Fi Fans too and I wanted to take a moment to get some sci-fi info up and talk about some of the ones that came to mind however there is WAY more we love/talk about and this article will likely be a living/breathing thing updated over time. Anyways, hope you enjoy and chime in here or on the Discord with any thoughts you have about the fandoms mentioned here as well as share others!
*Most of these fandoms cross over to different forms of media (Books, TV, TTGs, Games), below I try to list each fandom with the activity/source material it's predominantly associated with.
SHOWS/MOVIES
Star Trek
This one was always second fiddle to Star Wars when I was younger, it always seemed like the older folks liked Trek and my friends and I liked Star Wars. I was always a big gamer and Star Wars had such cool games with the Battlefront series (the new ones and the old ones) Jedi Academy, KOTOR, whereas it always seemed like Star Trek didn't outside of ST : Online, which was good in its own right. As I've gotten older however. I have learned to appreciate Trek a lot more and have found myself more of a Trek fan. The newer movie trilogy was definitely decent too. Star Trek : Strange New Worlds is also an amazing show, highly recommended for folks who have not seen it.
Star Wars
Star Wars (and Trek honestly) doesn't really need an intro. Set the stage for a lot of scifi. They weren't the very first obv. BUT they were instrumental in bringing scifi into a lot more homes and turning it mainstream.
Mad God
A VERY bizarre and cool movie made by Phil Tippett who is a legendary Director/Producer/Stop Motion Animator who specializes in creature design and this movie is a love letter to the “DieselPunk”/Post Apocalyptic genre.
Alien
Predator franches too
I stand by my statement I've made countless times, but i think Alien, the original, is one of, if not THE most influential sci fi ever made and is the blueprint for so so much of the space (see what I did there)
Robotech
Robotech was my first foray into what you could consider the anime genre. Always liked the art style of the original series, and this and other things like Zoids are still very nostalgic for me.
Babylon 5
I vaguely remember this show, Dad liked it alot when I was younger. I remember seeing it and thinking it was very reminiscent of Trek/BSG. Looking back at it now, Straczynski's take on a space story did a lot to set itself apart and I think it deserves its own place here.
Stargate franchise
The original series, along with all of the spin off shows, were a staple at Dads. Love these stories and the overall world building and stories I remember even still.
The Expanse
This was a cool one that's been recommended to me a bunch and I finally made the time to watch it and like it alot.
Firefly
Serenity
Dad and I have a LONG history with this franchise and the ppl tied to it. Love basically everything about it. Still remember sitting on the floor and watching the pilot on Fox. watching ppl get thrown through a projected hologram window thinking it was the coolest thing I had ever seen lol. Love the stories of the show and the movie, the setting and world that was built and most of the ppl involved with it.
District 9
Elysium
Edge of Tomorrow
The 3 of these movies above I consider the same in terms of style. Very futuristic and amazing visuals with a gritty technology feel. Love them all, Elysium is one of my all time faves.
Underwater
This one’s here as more of an honorable mention. I love the lovecraftian themes of the main antagonist as well as a spin on the setting. The Deep trench acts as a setting very similar to outer space, and for all intents and purposes it kind of is. Loved how different and unique that felt. The acting wasn't awesome but this gets kudos for the setting, creature and environment designs.
The Thing
The greatest body horror movie probably ever, and is a MUST watch for sci fi and horror folks alike. Absolute masterpiece.
Twilight Zone
this one is kind of a curve ball, but I do think the contributions TZ made to sci-fi is a very tangible thing and I’ve always loved the series.
VIDEO GAMES
Killzone
This series is criminally slept on, the setting and lore behind it was SO cool. The guns/settings in this were super cool. I remember Dad and I playing vs. Bots for hours every weekend in the coop horde mode.
Forever Winter
I could go on about this forever…so I will! Be on the lookout for a post that's just about this game/setting bc its VERY VERY cool :)
Eve
This is probably the best Space Sim in terms of details and the control you have over your ship and functionality.
No man's sky
This game is kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum of Eve, what makes it amazing imo is just the discovery aspect of it. The ships are ok and you do have some agency over them, but the real meat of this game is the pure adrenaline you get when landing on a new planet and seeing what the flora/fauna is.
Star citizen (lol)
This is a meme pick, this game asks a premium to just play in playtesting, and there are ships that are hundreds of dollars to even pilot HOWEVER…if this game ever does come out and even HALF of the promises and systems they're talking about are in the game, it could really be something, only time will tell if they deliver.
Fallout
These games have been amazing, especially since Fallout 3 and up. The setting of post apocalyptic america with a flair of the atomic age/50s and all the golden oldies music really nails it as a setting and backdrop for an awesome rpg and a fairly good shooter.
Planetside 1-2
This game gets a nod for the pure scale it delivered, and delivered YEARS before games from other devs got even close to the scale. I remember playing in battles that had hundreds of infantry, tanks, ships on screen with orbital strikes and explosions littering the backdrop. Truly a spectacle and WAY ahead of its time.
Deep rock Galactic
Super fun mix of what you love about dwarves mixed with a horde shooter and mine craft in a fun and stylized universe and fun classes/characters.
GTFO
This game is a super hardcore shooter where you play as prisoners or ppl trying to pay off a debt by doing jobs in shafts called rundowns, and you have to deal with a subterranean species of a mutant race where stealth is really the only way through the level until you have to fight to get out at the end. A punishing level design forces you to restart at checkpoints that are normally WAY back and almost no info in the game make this a very hardcore game.
Den Of Wolves?
GTFO is on maintenance mode, they update it and do bug fixes but 10 Chambers Studios is working on a futuristic cyberpunk-esque heist game that looks super cool, looking forward to that!
Cyberpunk 2077
This game came out as a broken mess but has since been shaped into what I would consider one of the 10 games everyone should play if they can. The scope and scale of this game was unheard of at the time and more than likely responsible for why it was released, after numerous delays, in an incomplete state.
Dead Space Series
Incredible space body horror akin to The Thing. The animated movies that came out of these games were also excellent.
TABLE TOP GAMES
Warhammer 40k
I don't have to go into this, but an absolute treasure trove of tabletop minis, stories, books, games, pure nerd heaven. One of the best stories in sci fi and an incredible setting. I’ve always loved Warhammer Fantasy, 40k has grown on me though and the grimdark setting and gritty hellish future scapes in mega cities and whole worlds just devoted to one task/product (which is sometimes people!) is just such a rich setting for any and all kinds of media.
Mechwarrior
Another one I'm very nostalgic of, I remember playing tabletop Mechwarrior with Dad, and my first mini was a Stinger. I'm not nearly as versed as most in this setting, but remember thinking the Atlas mech was the coolest thing I had ever seen.
BOOKS
*I KNOW that all/most of these franchises have an EXTENSIVE assortment of books and stuff to read. As stated above, I'm trying to list things under the category they predominantly occur in, trying to find sci-fi that are mainly books.
