Surviving Mars: Relaunched

It's not just in real life that we think about settling on Mars. In Surviving Mars: Relaunched, we'll get to test whether we have what it takes to populate the red planet. Surviving Mars was originally launched in 2018 and was an exciting city builder. I felt that the original required a lot of micromanagement and lacked variety, however, that doesn't mean it was bad; on the contrary, I thought it was a good mix of setting and game mechanics. A lot has happened since the title was launched, and Relaunched is a remake with the base game and all expansions included. You also get improved graphics, new content, and a better user interface.

In addition to offering all previous content in a single package, Haemimont Games has also developed a new expansion. This expansion comes with the new release at no extra cost, and it's a political system, similar to the UN, where you can vote on laws and shape your colony in detail. However, these laws can be voted down, in which case you need to negotiate with other groups in your colony. At present, this is extremely powerful and may need to be balanced, and two examples are that you can increase the speed of your rockets, allowing them to transport colonists or materials faster between Earth and Mars. With technology upgrades beyond this, it went so fast that I wondered if the game was bugged. Another powerful law increases the speed of scanning the planet's surface, allowing you to see important resources faster than before. This detracts a little from the vulnerability of your colony that the title wants to convey.

The title is about colonising Mars, and initially you get to choose a space programme to finance a trip there. Depending on which country or company acts as the main sponsor, you get different bonuses and conditions. These can include different vehicles, resources, technologies, robots, buildings, and more. This also affects the difficulty level. Some factions are more difficult than others, but they don't differ much beyond the surface, as you will still build infrastructure, gather raw materials, produce goods, and then start shipping people to Mars. Over time, you can terraform the planet, and it's still quite magical to see how the world becomes green and habitable.

You won't be offered a deep story in this title, but it gives you the tools to do what you want with what you have, and that makes your colony more personal with each playthrough. You have full control over which buildings you place, which resources you prioritise, and what the base should look like. This can be compared to Per Aspera, which is another city builder on Mars, but the difference is that in that title, you are offered a well-crafted story. The focus is on following the story and completing various missions along the way and of these two city builders, both are, in my opinion, a clear recommendation. However, I would argue that with Surviving Mars: Relaunched, you get a freer layout and less storytelling in favour of creating and playing at your own pace.

The package feels complete in its current form, with many choices and settings available at the start of each campaign. You can tailor the difficulty level to such an extent that even I am satisfied. This is no small feat, as I often criticise the lack of such options. Thanks to expansions and other extra content, the offering is robust for new players. The new UN system and user interface may not justify a new purchase right now if you own the base game and all previously released content. It may sound a bit contradictory, but the truth is that you get very little if you already own everything.

This remake is primarily aimed at new customers who do not own the base game or lack the expansions. If you fall into that category, this is a good value purchase. Although individual expansions and add-on packs have been slightly reworked, there are no major changes to the gameplay, and aside from that, everything I tested works fine. However, it may be worth noting that if you are interested in expansions and new content, you will need to update your version, otherwise, you will not have access to Martian Assembly and future expansions.

Unfortunately, re-releases mean that older bugs and new ones are included in the package. I discovered minor oddities in the text within the campaign itself and occasional visual textures that appear out of nowhere. The trains in Martian Express have problems picking up and transporting residents, however, I did not discover any major game-breaking bugs or other technical issues that directly detracted from the overall experience. Instead, it's the balance between all the old and new content that does not quite work everywhere. The title is a bit special as Haemimont Games stopped working on the game in 2019, and all expansions after that were created by another developer. However, Haemimont Games has returned and taken over responsibility for the project again, and that is one reason why it was ported to their new game engine. They have planned more content in the long term, which bodes well.

Surviving Mars offers decent 3D graphics and animations, and without contradicting myself, I would like to point out that I still miss certain types of animations. One thing I often thought about when playing the original was that resources, raw materials, and other items teleported themselves, and characters don't even open doors, they just appear or disappear at buildings, and I think that's a bit of a shame. At the same time, I appreciate that the inhabitants are visible inside buildings. I would like to see characters opening doors and drones loading resources with their cranes, as the process in a city-building simulation is important to me.

The sound and music neither elevate nor detract from the title compared to its competitors. It's there in the background and does its job, however, this new edition does add some music and radio stations. It works fine, but it's not something I really think about when I'm building my colonies. There is some good music in the game, where in a genre such as role-playing and action, this might have been a bigger problem. In the context of strategy, simulations, and city builders, it's less problematic if the music does not enhance the experience, as you will often spend so much time in these titles that you will probably have your own music playlist on the side.

Surviving Mars: Relaunched is a robust city builder with a focus on microeconomics where you colonise and terraform Mars. This new edition is aimed at those who have not purchased the title before or are missing content. With improved graphics, user interface, and lots of content in one package, this is the best version of the game. Unfortunately, I am sceptical as to whether this is worth the price for those who already own everything. Despite the improvements, there is not much on offer if you already own everything, as the new expansion is not particularly extensive in size and is currently somewhat unbalanced. However, there are two fantastic Mars-themed city builders on the market, and this is still one of your two options. If Haemimont Games polishes this title a little with new content, reviews the balance, and fixes technical issues, it could be more than good. I can honestly say that I mostly had fun on my journey to colonise the red planet.