Fish ofGanymede

Alternatives

Games like Spore

By the Fish of Ganymede team · 2 min read · Updated

Games like Spore: strange alien fish with horns, plates and crystal crests from Fish of Ganymede

Spore (2008) let you guide a creature from a single cell to a space-faring civilisation, and its creature creator is still loved. No game has replaced it exactly, but several capture part of the magic: evolving creatures, odd body shapes, and the joy of seeing something nobody else has made.

What people miss about Spore

  • Building creatures part by part
  • Watching a species change over time
  • Every player ending up with something different
  • A cosy, playful tone

Fish of Ganymede

A free browser game where every alien fish is grown from its own genome: body plan, fins, tail, mouth, eyes, lures, crests, armour, colours and patterns all come from genes. You don’t draw fish; you breed them, and over generations your line changes shape the way Spore’s creatures did.

With over 650 billion possible fish and 42,840 species, most fish you breed have never existed before, and the first breeder of each species is credited forever. It plays in any browser, even on phones, and you can start right away.

Eight body plans in Fish of Ganymede: torpedo, puffer, angler, mola, boxfish, dragon, gulper and leviathan
Eight of the 17 body plans.

Other games like Spore

  • Thrive: a free, open-source evolution game that starts at the microbe stage; still in development.
  • Niche: a genetics survival game: turn-based strategy where you breed a species to survive on an island.
  • Species: Artificial Life, Real Evolution: an evolution simulator where creatures change over generations.
  • The Sapling: design plants and animals and watch them evolve in an ecosystem.
  • Impossible Creatures (2003): a strategy game where you combine animals into hybrid armies.

Which one should you pick?

If you loved…Try
The cell stageThrive
Evolution as a simulationSpecies, The Sapling
Breeding and genesNiche, Fish of Ganymede
Unique creatures you can show and tradeFish of Ganymede
Mixing animal partsImpossible Creatures

Every fish is different

Each of these was bred or caught in the game, and drawn by the same 3D renderer you play with.

Fish patterns and finishes in Fish of Ganymede: swirl, maze, koi, eye spots, saddle, barred, albino and glass
Eight patterns and finishes, each inspired by a real fish.

Questions

Is there a Spore 2?

No. There has never been a direct sequel to Spore. Games like Thrive, Niche and Species carry on parts of its ideas.

Is there a free game like Spore?

Thrive is free and open source. Fish of Ganymede is a free browser game where creatures grow from real genes and you breed them over generations.

More guides