- Publisher: Raw Fury
- Release Date: Dec 3, 2020

- Summary: Experience city-building as never before — Overcome near-impossible odds to terraform Mars, cultivate the red-planet’s hidden resources, and unravel the past mysteries of those who’ve attempted the unbelievable feat. Humanity's future rests on your shoulders.
- Developer: Tlon Studios
- Genre(s): Strategy, Management, Business / Tycoon
- # of players: No Online Multiplayer
- Cheats: On GameFAQs
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 13 out of 16
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Mixed: 3 out of 16
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Negative: 0 out of 16
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Dec 7, 2020Per Aspera is a very good science fiction driven management and building game. The story will keep fans of the genre engaged and mixes well with the core mechanics. Once that’s no longer interesting a Sandbox mode introduces the freedom to build-up Mars however one wants. The twin challenges of expanding and re-building for greater efficiency are carefully balanced and truly engrossing. Just make sure to take tour time and explore as much as possible before moving through the checkpoints of the campaign. And spend as much time as possible running at the slowest speed, watching how mars can be changed from inhospitable wasteland to a new cradle of humanity. Just don’t forget to ponder whether it’s actually worth it, just as the protagonist A.I. does.
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Dec 7, 2020I will fully admit to getting stuck in a few places. On a few tries, I overextended too quickly or didn’t adapt well to the changing planet. I always mismanage my electrical grid, or my maintenance bots, and build my way into a corner. But I keep coming back. Never before has a strategy game offered me such an involved story in such a staid sandbox. I think I’ll be turning Mars green for a long time to come.
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Dec 5, 2020Hard science, harder simulation, and narrative innovation make Per Aspera a real gem.
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Dec 3, 2020Per Aspera offers a surprisingly emotional narrative that explores the thought process of an evolving AI programmed to assist humans in colonizing Mars. The symbiotic gameloop of creating structures and growing your presence on the surface while hitting key milestones is cathartic. I was easily immersed in this experience, but only after some trial and error trying to understand how it all worked due to a limited tutorial.
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Dec 3, 2020Per Aspera explores the cost of humans' need to conquer, all through the mind of an AI. A smart, sprawling city builder that requires a lot of patience and blurs the line between duty and morality.
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Jan 4, 2021Per Aspera has a bunch of good ideas in it. Adding a narrative element is a slam dunk, but the pacing of it hurts it in the long run, even as interesting as it is. Per Aspera also has a lot of solid gameplay elements, and evolves into a pretty complex package in the end. But a lack of explanation as to what you’re doing impairs the experience, and may cause newer players to give up before the enjoyable gameplay loop kicks in.
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Dec 3, 2020Anyone with city building experience looking for more will be quite pleased, but those new to the genre still might find something of value in Per Aspera's take on a tried-and-true archetype.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 3 out of 7
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Dec 17, 2020
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Dec 5, 2020
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Dec 7, 2020
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Dec 14, 2020
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Dec 12, 2020
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Dec 7, 2020
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Dec 5, 2020
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