Surviving Mars

Surviving Mars is a city building simulation video game developed by the Bulgarian studio Haemimont Games and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released on Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 15, 2018. The player serves as an overseer who must build a colony on Mars and ensure the survival of the colonists.

Surviving Mars
Developer(s)Haemimont Games
Publisher(s)Paradox Interactive
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
macOS
Linux
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
ReleaseMarch 15, 2018
Genre(s)Simulation, city building
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Surviving Mars is a city builder simulation game that takes place on Mars and is modeled after real Martian data.[1] The player chooses a sponsoring nation, each conferring slightly different benefits and a unique building and vehicle, and then lands on Mars with robotic drones and rovers. These rovers and drones prepare the colony for humans on the red planet by setting up power and water infrastructure, domes, resource depots, oxygen generators, and landing pads. The player's goal is to create a thriving colony on Mars with occasional rockets from Earth, which have limited cargo space, forcing the player to balance bringing resources from Earth and producing resources on the planet. For example, the first human colonists will bring limited food with them on their rocket, so farms are crucial to a thriving colony on Mars. The player can bring electronics, machine parts, food, concrete, metal, prefab buildings, rovers and drones from Earth, or research technologies to manufacture them on Mars.[2] Players must balance expanding the colony with managing oxygen, food, water, and replacement parts. The game also has storylines called mysteries, which add various events to the colony,[3] including plagues, war, rival corporations, AI revolt, alien contact, and others. Rare metals can be exported back to Earth for funds. Landing sites also have various natural disasters like dust storms, meteor storms, cold waves, and dust devils to increase difficulty.[4][5]

Development

Haemimont Games, the developer of the Tropico series, led the game's development.[6] The team studied science and challenges real-life scientists consider when thinking about colonizing Mars, then turned them into gameplay elements. The game's aesthetics were inspired by The Jetsons and Futurama.[5] Describing the game as a "hardcore survival city-builder", publisher Paradox Interactive announced the game in May 2017.[7] The game was released for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 15, 2018 with mod support.[8]

Downloadable content

Surviving Mars has several DLCs, available either separately or as part of the digital season pass available in the game's "First Colony Edition". Space Race, the game's first expansion, was released on November 15, 2018, and introduces rival colonies competing to achieve milestones on Mars.[9] The second, Green Planet, was released on May 16, 2019, and introduces the concept of terraforming Mars into a planet that can sustain human life.[10] Several content packs were also released, including a building pack and the "Marsvision Song Contest" radio station (with the release of Space Race)[11] and "Project Laika", which introduced ranching on Mars as well as pets in the colony (with the release of Green Planet).[12]

The city-builder game Cities: Skylines, also published by Paradox, received a free DLC based on Surviving Mars.[13]

Reception

The game received generally favorable reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic,[14] scoring 80% on PC Gamer, and 78/100 on IGN.[1][2]

References
  1. "Surviving Mars Review". IGN. March 15, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018 – via Youtube.
  2. Shchelochkov, Daniel. ""Surviving Mars review A city-builder with a killer streak"". PC Gamer.
  3. Lathi, Evan (February 3, 2018). "Here's what a late-game colony looks like in Surviving Mars". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  4. Campbell, Colin (March 15, 2018). "Surviving Mars is tough, smart and very dusty". Polygon. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  5. Hafer, T.J. (October 31, 2017). "Surviving Mars wants to inspire the next generation of astronauts". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  6. Osborn, Alex (May 12, 2017). "Paradox Interactive Announces New Space Sim Surviving Mars". IGN. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  7. Plunkett, Luke (May 14, 2017). "Paradox Publishing A "Hardcore" Strategy Game About Mars". Kotaku. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  8. Kim, Matt (January 2, 2018). "Surviving Mars Launches on March 15, Features Day One Mod Support". USgamer. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  9. O'Connor, Alice (November 5, 2018). "Surviving Mars: Space Race expansion blasts off next week". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  10. Boudreau, Ian (April 9, 2018). "Surviving Mars' next expansion introduces terraforming". Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  11. "On Your Marks! Surviving Mars: Space Race Commences Today". Paradox Interactive. November 15, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  12. "Surviving Mars: Green Planet and Project Laika Now Available". Paradox Interactive. May 16, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  13. Hood, Vic (March 8, 2018). "Cities Skylines hits five million sales, celebrates with free Surviving Mars DLC". PCGamesN. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  14. "Surviving Mars for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  15. "Surviving Mars for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  16. "Surviving Mars for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
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