Surviving Mars During Covid

Surviving Mars (some SPOILERS)

The thought of traveling for months through space so that we can struggle to survive on a lifeless planet is one that many people find difficult to comprehend. Who would want to do that? Lots it turns out, and that is the concept behind Surviving Mars, a city-building simulation game that takes place on Mars, using real data and tomorrow’s technology.

You start your colonization efforts by picking between a generous variety of sponsors. This includes various countries like China, Japan, and Russia, or even corporations like SpaceX(SpaceY ;). Which sponsor you pick will change certain things, such as the cargo capacity of rockets.

Picking what kind of leader you will be is next. Different leader types, just like the corporations, will have different effects, such as specific dialogue options when talking to sponsors and such, and also access to specific buildings and equipment that might not be available otherwise.

Then, after reviewing the selected equipment in your payload,(or change the equipment), your rocket needs to find a suitable landing zone. Pick between carefully selected sites, or pick your own and forge your own destiny.

There isn’t much challenge yet, as your first explorers and builders are drones. These robots that are controlled by you are your first test. Can you keep enough resources to keep your drone base stable? Your drones need power. Things like solar panels and wind turbines require upkeep. This requires resources. Pretty soon you need actual people to create the materials for survival.

But that is only the beginning. Explore the landscape with probes and send your Explorer drones out to investigate anomalies that you uncover. This will lead to things like discovering late-game techs or getting research boosts.

So now you are at the point of wanting colonists. This begins by selecting however many you want, up to a maximum of whatever your shuttle can hold, roughly twelve. Be careful to pick people that compliment each other or don’t have negative traits. Hiring a glutton or two can hurt your food stores quick. Also hiring a hypochondriac can be challenging, or an alcoholic. So pay attention to their traits.

They will need a place to live, and what else do you build, but a dome. You start with some basic designs, some allow spires, which are big central structures, and some don’t. You need to plan your domes carefully so they are self-sustaining and provide enough comforts to your colonists. This can be frustrating if you run out of money or resources, as your colonists will most likely die. Your colonists can have children as well. Little Martians. They die too. So keep an eye on everything.

At some point, events will happen to throw you off. Other than the normal meteor showers and dust storms(and other things), you might uncover a strange object, or have some company on earth want to experiment with your colony. This can have wide-ranging impacts, such as losing billions because an experimental shuttle blew up, or robots running amok through your colony.

In the end, it all it comes down to resource management like most other games. For the colonists, it’s all about oxygen, water, and food, and for everything else, it’s about materials and money. Run out of any one thing and everything can collapse very fast, so keep an eye on your resources.

Don’t forget your neighbors if you get into a bad situation though. Other companies and countries want in on Mars, so don’t be afraid to chat with them, and ask for resources if need be. You can also trade with them if you have a shuttle at your colony site. Espionage is also an aspect of the game, but I will admit I haven’t tried it yet. It is on my list of things to attempt. I haven’t even beaten the game yet.

I recommend Surviving Mars if you are looking for a laid back city-building experience without any combat, but lots of strategic choices

Surviving Mars is available on Epic Games, Steam, Playstation, Xbox, and GOG(possibly other places).

By Tyler Rowe