Upon hearing the news of a remaster for the city-builder game Surviving Mars, one might initially ponder the timing—after all, it feels like it was just released. However, a quick glance at the calendar reveals that it has been seven years since its debut. This timeframe is surprisingly shorter than the interval between the original Resident Evil and its 2002 HD remake, a testament to how our perception of time has shifted, particularly since 2020.
Innovative Features in Surviving Mars: Relaunched
The upcoming Surviving Mars: Relaunched edition promises to be more than just a visual upgrade. While it will indeed enhance the game’s technology and refresh the user interface, it also introduces a groundbreaking political system to the Martian colony. Interestingly, the political maneuvering begins not on the red planet itself, but on Earth. In the early stages of your colony, decisions are made by an Earth-based council that convenes every couple of years to vote on new laws impacting your colonial ambitions. For instance, one of the proposed laws might involve deregulating rocket speed standards, which could expedite resource delivery to Mars but also heighten the risk of creating new craters on the surface.
As the colony expands, players will have the opportunity to establish their own governance by constructing a Martian Assembly. At this juncture, the Earth council will dissolve, allowing players to select a government type from options such as theocracy, liberal democracy, or anarchist commune. This choice will significantly influence the assembly’s role and how political opposition is managed—whether they are tolerated, outlawed, or exiled.
Moreover, the type of government chosen will determine the factions that emerge within the Assembly. With over a dozen factions available, only a select few will manifest in any given game, and these factions can evolve, radicalize, or even dissolve as the colony develops. The ultimate objective is to achieve complete independence for Mars, freeing it from both Earth and the private sponsor that initially funded the mission.
In addition to these exciting new features, the Relaunched edition will include all previously released DLC, which has introduced mechanics such as terraforming, animal farming, and the presence of rival colonies since the original launch. Haemimont has ambitious plans for the future of this edition, with updates aimed at enhancing food production systems and the introduction of robots to populate Mars—mirroring advancements happening in our own world.
