Surviving Mars

There will be challenges to overcome. Execute your strategy and improve your colony’s chances of survival while unlocking the mysteries of this alien world. Are you ready? Mars is waiting for you.

On May 17, 2022, NASA published a document detailing the 50 objectives that upcoming exploration missions will need to meet in order to best prepare for the Mars journey planned between 2034 and 2039. These objectives are split into four main categories: transport and housing, Martian infrastructure, operational objectives, and scientific objectives.

With Surviving Mars, the challenges you’ll face are the same as NASA's, albeit with a few decades' head start on the aerospace firm. It's up to you to organize the life of Earth's colonists on the Red Planet.

The fundamental principle of the gameplay is to create production lines to become self-sufficient, more than 78 million kilometers away from our good old blue planet.

The game starts with the landing of your first rocket, wherever you decide. No humans on board yet, but substantial material reserves, a few prefabricated buildings, and automated vehicles that will let you build solar panels, power concrete extractors, and then structures capable of synthesizing water and oxygen.

Next comes the construction of your first dome, where future colonists will survive. Twelve will land first. Their comfort directly determines the rest, because no other humans will join them if this first group is not satisfied, or worse, if they do not survive.

Life isn’t rosy on the Red Planet!

Yes, we warn you right away, life is not rosy at all on the Red Planet. Between resource scarcity, meteor showers that damage structures, night-time power outages, regular cable breaks between buildings, the adventure won’t be all smooth sailing.

If Surviving Mars is a wonder for fans of complex management games, it’s not as easy to master as you might think. It features subtle mechanics, especially after building several domes.

For example, birth management... We won’t say more here, but keep in mind that children born on Mars don’t miss Earth, and if you handle them well, you’ll hardly need to recruit new colonists.

The game also hides a healthy dose of dark humor, notably with the suicidal colonists!

Published by Paradox Interactive and developed by Haemimont Games (Bulgarian studio known for the Tropico series), Surviving Mars is a long-haul game and every built structure deserves thought and many saves. You shouldn’t act on impulse and you should prepare for all the consequences your choices will bring before diving in.

But what a payoff in the end, when you can finally relax and let your Martian colony thrive, with every supply line already optimized.

Courage and time will be needed.