Waking Mars iOS
Waking Mars Image
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Metascore
84 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critics What's this?

User Score
4.8 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: In 2097, an expedition is sent into a cave on Mars to become the first humans to make contact with extraterrestrial life. They discover far more than they ever imagined and with time running out find they must make a crucial decision.

    Waking Mars is an action-gardening adventure in which     you cultivate an alien ecosystem and research mysterious lifeforms.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Quarter to Three
    Apr 23, 2012
    100
    Waking Mars is just about the coolest new thing I've seen someone do with a side-scrolling Castlevania/Metroid exploration game.
  2. AppSpy
    Mar 6, 2012
    100
    Waking Mars mixes human curiosity with a fascinating storyline straight out of the pages of a sci-fi classic; learn to master Mars' complex ecosystem and find out whether or not there truly is sentient life close to home.
  3. Impulsegamer
    Apr 11, 2012
    86
    Even with this failing, there is still a lot going for this game. The game is still a joy to play. The controls are intuitive while the graphics and music combine to form a claustrophobic, lonely atmosphere. In addition, the narrative is intriguing enough to keep you playing. Who would have thought that horticulture would be this much fun? Waking Mars is a game worth playing for its immersive and refreshing gameplay.
  4. Hyper Magazine
    Apr 12, 2012
    70
    The awkward controls hold it back from greatness. [May 2012, p.29]
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See all 18 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Osman
    9
    I actually have the game for the Android operating system but since I could not find that version of the game on Metacritic I entered my review here.

    Waking Mars is a wonderful and creative game which portrays the efforts of a two-person team exploring lifeforms beneath the surface of Mars. The life forms are portrayed as several individuals in a complex ecosystem, a feature that I particularly note for it's creativeness. I feel like this game could be used to engage students in biology classes, at least in the respect that it would give them a (rough) idea of how lifeforms arise and how evolution provides a process for competing organisms to arise, which in turn creates ecological balance. I also feel that it provides a nice counter-point to standard sci-fi video game and movie fare which generally seems to portray nature as a violent, mystical, inexplicable and seemingly always opposed to the existence of man.

    If you are looking for a unique experience amongst the myriad of (often mediocre) independent video games produced for the iOS and Android operating systems I would give this game a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.    … Expand

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