Surviving Mars (2018)

Developer: Haemimont Games, Abstraction
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Genres: Simulation, Strategy
Rating: 4.0 of 5, 28,630 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 40 hours
Where to get it: Steam

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The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A deliberate, tense colony sim where careful resource planning battles the hostile Mars environment, balanced by a dryly optimistic tone and moments of discovery.

colony buildingsurvivalresource managementstrategictenseatmosphericmethodicalmoderate difficulty

What players say

Players mostly praise the colony sim gameplay but are furious at Paradox for delisting the original game and its DLC, then releasing a buggy relaunched version requiring a full repurchase with no upgrade path for existing owners.

Screenshots

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.