Surviving Mars earned generally favorable reviews as a colony-management game built around survival systems, economic planning and the challenge of establishing a settlement on Mars. The 2025 Surviving Mars: Relaunched edition bundles the original’s expansion catalogue with new and reworked features, but its reception is separate—and its value is less clear for people who already own the original and its DLC.
What the reviews say
The original Surviving Mars was generally well received by critics, though the aggregate figures vary by service and should not be combined into a single score. Metacritic lists a 76/100 critic score from 39 reviews, with 59% positive, 41% mixed and 0% negative. Its user score is 7.0/10 from 262 ratings, distributed as 51% positive, 33% mixed and 16% negative.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Surviving Mars - PlayStation 4 | $37.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Surviving Mars (Xbox One) | $29.90 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Surviving Mars (PS4) | $49.90 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Surviving Mars (PS4) | $37.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Surviving Mars (Original Game Soundtrack) | $8.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Epic Games Store presents a separate OpenCritic snapshot for the original: a 77 Top Critic Average, 64% Critics Recommend and a Strong rating. These are different aggregator measures, not alternate versions of the same Metacritic score.
For Relaunched, the available review picture is smaller and more mixed. In the captured Metacritic snapshot, three critic reviews were listed—below the site’s four-review threshold for a Metascore—and four user ratings averaged 7.0. Steam’s English-language listing showed Mixed, with 54% positive among 1,434 reviews. Steam totals and percentages change, so that figure is a dated snapshot rather than a permanent verdict.
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- Futuristic city building - create your own MaRS colony that is not only aesthetically beautiful but also functions as a dominant and prosperous society
- Survival in an unfamiliar land - learn to endure the harsh and unforgiving martian environment, discovering the planet's secrets along the way
- Sandbox exploration - a highly Replay able, open-ended experience allowing you to set your own goals and experiments
- Expansive mod support - deep customization through an expansive and creative community of players
What makes the original compelling
The game’s central challenge is to build a functioning settlement on a world where residents depend on infrastructure that can fail or fall out of balance. Steam’s product description highlights life-support systems, power grids, domes and supply chains, with oxygen, water, power and food among the key resources. Drones construct and maintain infrastructure; colonists have individual needs; and research unlocks structures, production methods and upgrades.
That combination makes the appeal more involved than simply expanding a city. Players must keep essential services running while deciding how to grow, what to research and how to manage scarce resources. Randomized maps, sponsors and Mysteries offer variation between runs. The included Green Planet expansion adds terraforming, while Project Laika introduces animal life; these are features described by the storefront, not independent performance findings.
Rank #2
- Individually simulated colonists: Each colonist is a unique individual with problems and strengths that influence the needs and behavior of the other colonists. Things can get really interesting if your chief scientists develops alcoholism after one too many long nights in the lab. Futuristic Space Dome construction: Retro-futuristic super structures housing colonists, factories and commercial buildings with their own "neighborhood personality".
- Exploration of Mars' secrets: Inspired by the classic sci-fi of Asimov and Clarke, Surviving Mars holds many secrets.
- Randomized research tree: Combine static and random research through experimentation, which allows for a different experience for each journey through the game.
- Unique retro-futuristic aesthetic: A sleek, modern take on the bright futurism of the 1960s. A time of exploration and adventure.
- Expansive mod support Craft your own fantastic buildings, parks or even a mystery to share through Surviving Mars's extensive and convenient modding tools.
PC Gamer’s Fraser Brown gave the original 80% and described it as “a lot of hard work, but managing a burgeoning colony never stops being compelling.” That captures the game’s trade-off: its satisfaction comes from wrestling with interdependent systems, not from a consistently easy or fast-paced path to success.
How Relaunched changes the package
Surviving Mars: Relaunched is a reworked edition, not simply a new score for the 2018 release. Its Steam listing describes the original game and its expansions, improved or reworked, alongside the new Martian Assembly update. The Assembly adds a political governance layer: players shape Martian society through laws and factions, respond to colonist demands, maintain peace and can pursue independence from Earth.
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Rank #3
- UK IMPORT VERSION , REGION FREE WORKS IN USA , DLC CONTENT REQUIRES UK PSN ACCOUNT
PC Gamer’s November 7, 2025 review calls the relaunch “a solid but inessential remaster.” Brown praised more spacious underground maps, a more flexible train system, quality-of-life improvements and improved lighting and textures, but judged the main upgrade non-transformative. That is one reviewer’s assessment, not a consensus score. The review also identifies engine changes and modding tools as part of the relaunch rationale; it does not establish that particular existing mods are compatible.
Which edition makes sense for you?
| Reader | What the evidence supports | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| New to the series | Relaunched is presented on Steam as the all-in-one package, with the original content, its expansion catalogue and the Martian Assembly update. | Consider whether you want a deliberate, systems-heavy management game. A larger bundle does not guarantee that its pace or survival pressures will suit you. |
| Already owns the original and DLC | The relaunch adds the political endgame and reworks or updates features, including underground maps, trains and presentation. | PC Gamer found the value less obvious for veterans. Compare those changes with what you already own and the current purchase price. |
| Deciding based on reviews | The original has larger critic and user samples in the cited snapshots; Relaunched has a small Metacritic critic sample and a larger, changing Steam user sample. | Keep critic aggregates, user ratings and edition-specific scores separate rather than treating them as interchangeable. |
Paradox’s edition and upgrade information says its owner-upgrade offer ended May 10, 2026. The original remains in existing owners’ libraries with previously purchased DLC, but the original base game and additional original-version DLC are no longer purchasable after Relaunched’s release. All DLC released for the 2018 version is included in Relaunched.
Rank #4
- Individually simulated colonists: Each colonist is a unique individual with problems and strengths that influence the needs and behavior of the other colonists. Things can get really interesting if your chief scientists develops alcoholism after one too many long nights in the lab. Futuristic Space Dome construction: Retro-futuristic super structures housing colonists, factories and commercial buildings with their own "neighborhood personality"
- Exploration of Mars' secrets: Inspired by the classic sci-fi of Asimov and Clarke, Surviving Mars holds many secrets
- Randomized research tree: Combine static and random research through experimentation, which allows for a different experience for each journey through the game
- Unique retro-futuristic aesthetic: A sleek, modern take on the bright futurism of the 1960s. A time of exploration and adventure
- Expansive mod support Craft you own fantastic buildings, parks or even a mystery to share through Surviving Mars's extensive and convenient modding tools.
Why the original’s reviews were not unanimous
Positive assessments focused on the depth of the gameplay and the complexity of its economy. The older reviews reproduced on Metacritic also show the limits some critics encountered: The Digital Fix called it a solid strategy game that could feel “a little too dry,” while Power Unlimited noted frustrating bugs, unclear elements and resource-balancing issues even as it found the game fun and full of potential. Those are dated 2018 criticisms; they should not be read as evidence of the current relaunch’s bug status.
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