I received Surviving Mars as a free game from the Epic Games Launcher this past weekend. If you hurry, you can also get it until October 17th. They release a new game for free every Friday, so you have a little bit of time to install the client and download the game before they make the switch.
Anyway, I installed Surviving Mars and proceeded to run through one of the tutorials. Pretty reasonable and so I went off to do “Creative Mode” which speeds up the game and allows you to construct most things for free. I played for a good 11 hours, and managed to see just about all there is to see with the base game. The base building and construction are fun, albeit some of the resource management is tedious and slow-going. I like how the terrain is impacted by mining operations, and the graphics look pretty good, but now that I’ve seen everything there is to see, I’m not so sure how much more I’ll be playing.
I have to say though, that Creative Mode also speeds up research and shipments from Earth, which means playing the Single Player game is going to be a long slog to the finish line — if you survive that long. There are plenty of game killing disasters that can wreck your day, specifically the dust storms that last just a little too long. Prepare your water and oxygen stores for those, otherwise you’ll be losing quite a few colonists to suffocation or dehydration.
Overall, I would recommend this if you’re into base-building/city-building games with a science-fiction theme, but be sure you have the extensive amount of time to play it. Get it while it’s free, or at a deep discount, because it may not have the staying power to be played over and over.