Surviving Mars is a colony simulation game based on the real geography of Mars. You build and maintain a liveable habitat while balancing resources and researching new ways to adapt to the hostile environment. You receive occasional rockets from Earth which carry more resources to increase chance of survival.

At the start of the game you choose a sponsoring nation, each with different benefits and drawbacks. After landing your drones and rovers on Mars you set up power, water supply, generators and domes ready for the human colonists to arrive. To progress you must balance the expanding colony with oxygen, food, water, and replacement parts.

Various events introduce plagues, wars, rival corporations, AI revolt and alien contact. Valuable metals can be exported back to Earth for funds. Landing sites also have various natural disasters like dust storms, meteors, cold waves, and dust devils that have a chance of randomly happening, increasing the difficulty.

The combination of terraform a new planet and the implications of corporate alliances make this a fascinating game that's unlike other world-taming experiences.