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73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews What's this?

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6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 37 Ratings

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  • Summary: Surviving Mars is a sci-fi city builder all about colonizing Mars and surviving the process. Choose a space agency for resources and financial support before determining a location for your colony. Build domes and infrastructure, research new possibilities and utilize drones to unlock moreSurviving Mars is a sci-fi city builder all about colonizing Mars and surviving the process. Choose a space agency for resources and financial support before determining a location for your colony. Build domes and infrastructure, research new possibilities and utilize drones to unlock more elaborate ways to shape and expand your settlement. Cultivate your own food, mine minerals or just relax by the bar after a hard day's work. Most important of all, though, is keeping your colonists alive. Not an easy task on a strange new planet.

    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.
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Surviving Mars - Release Trailer
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Mar 16, 2018
    90
    I’ve enjoyed the freedom to make my own decisions and mistakes, the challenge, the complexity, the attention to detail. It’s been one hell of a ride.
  2. Mar 14, 2018
    81
    Surviving Mars is the best extra-terrestrial city builder currently on the market. Micromanagement-heavy and somewhat obscure, dedicated genre fans will nevertheless love it.
  3. Mar 15, 2018
    80
    If we ever try to colonise our red neighbour, it’s going to be one of the greatest challenges that mankind will ever undertake. Though Surviving Mars makes a game out of it, Haemimont have brilliantly kept that hard edge, as it constantly pushes and tests your ability to plan with survival in mind, especially with the unpredictability of the Mysteries of Mars. There’s plenty of ways to improve it and put more colony control in the hands of the player, but the first landing is already off to a great start.
  4. Mar 15, 2018
    70
    Fun and interesting, Surviving Mars is a kind-of-SimCity in the Mars surface that challenges the player to create his own civilization, buildings and survival system, adding some exploration mechanics.
  5. Aug 24, 2018
    70
    A vast array of technology makes room for endless infrastructure combinations with a wonderful level of detail. A lack of content really brings down the game a few notches because the gameplay begins to feel repetitive after a while. Although the title has a lot of awesome details with science fiction flair, it doesn't bring any new surprises after a single playthrough. Whether players are seeking a challenging simulation or a chill Martian sandbox, Surviving Mars is a title that is worth a try.
  6. Mar 21, 2018
    70
    An enjoyable twist on the usual city building formula, that simulates the dangers of planetary colonisation impressively well – although it could have done with a slightly lighter touch.
  7. Mar 20, 2018
    65
    Surviving Mars is a sci-fi settlement builder which becomes more enjoyable once you have understood its complex mechanics and once you have overcome its poor controls on its PS4 version.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Negative: 3 out of 11
  1. Jun 27, 2018
    10
    I have been finishing Surviving_Mars 9 mysteries, but now they are 3 more to play: so a total of 12 stories-mysteries to figure out.

    This
    I have been finishing Surviving_Mars 9 mysteries, but now they are 3 more to play: so a total of 12 stories-mysteries to figure out.

    This is an AWESOME, very wise-smart & educative game & goes far beyond what we could expect from a City_Builder_Style & challenges a lot gamers' mind.

    No doubt, this game is paving the new City_Builder ways.

    Following a Kotaku's review, I bought it to improve my gaming culture & I am extremely happy.
    The rendering on a PS4 Pro is awesome.
    The infinite perspectives, zoom in & out are impressive. We can zoom in to the scale of a colonist's perspective & see awesome landscapes in & outside the colonies, as we were living on Mars.

    I strongly recommend this enlightening game to Kids-Teens & their parents & adults too.
    This game is full of pieces of gold & very educative: they should integrate it in school programs.

    Surviving_Mars is not an endless game as we could generally expect from this kind.
    It integrates no less than 9 excellent ( now 12), various Reflective-Interactive_Stories & hundred of wise quotes.
    It encourages stepping back from Mars over our own specie & improving understanding ourselves, our strenghts & weaknesses & how our society is currently working.

    Settling on Mars requires building outposts & finding a way to be self-sufficient to ensure conditions for human_reproduction & sustainable development.
    Vital thresholds crossed, fascinating stories happen on the red_uncharted_world: facing them is Surviving_Mars' very aim.

    Surviving_Mars' stories are consistent & also for kids. While struggling surviving various hazards we may face issues as:
    - Sharing resources with aliens,
    - Post-Marsian Hive-Mind,
    - MarsGate,
    - AI challenges Humanity,
    - Mysterious spheres & weather changes,
    - Active_shared_dream,
    ...

    As a simple gamer & old SimCity-Fan, I find a kind of Mass_Effect's soul in Surviving_Mars.
    This is probably why I have been enjoying so much this game & have been exploring all the suspense_stories.

    Radios' Soundtracks & Ads are awesome: my favourite: FREE_EARTH_RADIO

    The game is regularly updated.
    I will absolutely offer this MUST HAVE GAME to my teen_nephews.
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  2. Jul 20, 2018
    10
    I’ve got many many hours of enjoyment out of this game and I’m still having a lot of fun with it. Its by far the best strategy game I’veI’ve got many many hours of enjoyment out of this game and I’m still having a lot of fun with it. Its by far the best strategy game I’ve played on PS4 (and definitely the best controlling one). Its also incredibly deep with a lot of replay value. It does have a steep learning curve and the tutorials aren’t necessarily enough to get going, but a five minute youtube session got me up to speed faster than following a boring tutorial ever could and I was able to jump right in. Excellent game, highly recommended if you like simulation/strategy games. Visually the game looks great (and you can zoom quite close and watch your little guys run around their business), sound and music is decent, controls are fantastic for a complex sim game and the gameplay is open ended, deep, and most importantly fun. Expand
  3. Mar 16, 2018
    9
    Very relaxing game to play from your couch. The game has some nice twists, with random events occurring after some time paying. Only minusVery relaxing game to play from your couch. The game has some nice twists, with random events occurring after some time paying. Only minus would be that it can punish you to hard in the end game for mistakes made in the beginning.

    The controls are really easy to learn and one of the best setups for ps4 building games in my opinion.
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  4. Jul 27, 2019
    8
    Takes a few hours and maybe a few tries to really get into it, but once you do it’s a brilliant game with such fine details, another greatTakes a few hours and maybe a few tries to really get into it, but once you do it’s a brilliant game with such fine details, another great game from Paradox Expand
  5. Aug 23, 2021
    7
    I love the game. it's just most of the time I save the game it crashes and deletes my save.
  6. Feb 16, 2019
    7
    If you want a good alien colony city builder, then Surviving Mars is definitely the one you want. It's better in almost every way than theIf you want a good alien colony city builder, then Surviving Mars is definitely the one you want. It's better in almost every way than the alternatives (specifically Aven Colony).

    To address control system complaints, it's not bad. It's just complex and takes a while to learn. There's always button prompts so you know what buttons do what at all times. It makes almost full use of the PS4 controller. Buttons vary depending on what menu you're in, so that's where the complexity comes from. About half way through my first playthough, I had no issues with it.

    The game is about managing a start-up colony on Mars and is more relevant to current human technology than similar games. In the main game mode, where you can pick one of 6 stories (or have one randomly chosen for you), you'll start out with a rocket from earth with drones and

    prefab buildings to prepare for the first human colonists, who will primarily live in domes. You mine resources, set up your dome, add building inside the dome, and make sure there's electricity, food, and water for your incoming colonists.

    You'll then progress through various stages of resource gathering, research, manufacturing, and expansions (bigger domes) until you've completed the story. At that point, you can continue on forever with that colony if you'd like.

    I've played through 2 of the 6 stories and they're good. One dealt with discovering an alien technology and the other dealt with a corporation on Earth that wanted to weaponize Mars. For each, I had to make decisions with real consequences for my colony. Also, each had special technology and buildings specific to that story.

    There's also a free mode, where you can play without threats, and a challenge mode, where you can set a number of game options and challenges to better adjust the difficulty.

    In the main game mode, you choose your difficulty through choosing a sponsor and site. Better sponsors provide more funding (for more resources from Earth), and various sites on Mars have different levels of resources and threats, such as dust storms, meteors, and cold snaps. Depending on the options you choose, you can make the game very easy or nearly impossible.

    Resource management is great. There's a set number of resources on a site, and you can find more through scanning and research. At first, you'll need to expand your colony in the direction of resources you need most. All resources are important, and are used to make robotics, make buildings, and maintain buildings. Choosing between saving resources to maintain your solar panels and spending them all on a new structure is something you'll constantly need to be thinking about.

    The technology system is also great. There's a lot to research and you can generally pick which ones you want without going in a tree-like fashion. You do have to discover technologies first, by researching sites on Mars or by sending expeditions. The best technologies also solve the limited resource problem, so you'll be able to play forever, if you research those technologies

    Managing colonists is also great. They each have various flaws, perks, and specializations, which you can manage, to some extent. You will choose colonists from Earth from a pool of applicants, and for your first few colonist transports, you'll only want the best, and the game lets you filter colonists by their stats. But eventually, you'll need to pick some with undesirable traits, or new people will be born with undesirable traits. You can manage those with schools (for kids) or though medical research. Specializations, such as scientists, engineers, and botanists, also give your colonists a boost in certain jobs. You'll pick and choose these at first, but you can make colleges later, where colonists can learn a specialization.

    The micro management balance in this game is great. It's not too micro. For example, your drones generally do everything automatically, such as repairing buildings and transporting resources. You just have to make sure they're in range and have the resources they need (you can set spots where they store resources). Colonists will also work where their specialization is needed and will go to college to get a specific specialization if there's open jobs that need that specialization. You'll rarely encounter dumb AI moments, which will give you more time to focus on more important things.

    After playing through through two stories (which took about 70 hours), I'm pretty much done with the game. There is a lot of variety in a single playthrough, but subsequent playthroughs feel a little too similar, even with the story differences. And of course, you'll be able to get much more out of the game if you want to try all of the challenges or fill an entire site with a colony.

    This is a great great game, and I'd confidently say it's currently the best alien colony management game on PS4.
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  7. May 3, 2022
    0
    Never played, guess its a 0.

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    Never played, guess its a 0.

    Mauris lobortis neque lectus. Vestibulum aliquet auctor magna sed tempor. Nunc urna felis, molestie non rutrum ut, vehicula non urna. Phasellus rutrum egestas metus vel pellentesque. Proin at tristique urna, vel porta neque. Sed at magna ultricies, efficitur justo tincidunt, dictum lorem.
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