Forget The Martian . In this survival sim, you’re more likely to blow up your own oxygen tank than die from a solar flare.
Occupy Mars is hard. It is ugly sometimes. It is tedious. But when you look out of your airlock window, see your homemade greenhouse glowing in the twilight, and hear the hiss of stable oxygen circulation—you feel like you actually beat the solar system.
It is profoundly lonely. There are no aliens. No hostile creatures. Your only enemy is entropy . You will die because you forgot to connect a power cable. You will die because you overcharged a battery bank. You will die because you underestimated how long it takes to drive a rover back to base when you’re low on fuel. As of its current Early Access state, the game has a reputation for being "janky." And that reputation is earned. The UI can feel like navigating a DOS terminal, and the physics sometimes glitch out, sending a carefully placed water tank flying into the stratosphere. Occupy Mars The Game
However, for the niche audience that loved Space Engineers or Stationeers , this jank is part of the charm. The recent "Water & Weather" update overhauled the liquid physics, making hydrology a genuine puzzle. You aren't just finding water; you are melting ice, filtering contaminants, and electrolyzing it into hydrogen fuel. If you want to see Mars, buy Red Dead Redemption 2 ’s photo mode. If you want to survive Mars, Occupy Mars is your ticket.
The tech tree is a love letter to mechanical engineers. You start with basic 3D-printed tools and eventually work your way up to automated drilling rigs and rover garages. But every upgrade comes with a catch: more power consumption, more maintenance, and more pipes that can freeze. Visually, Occupy Mars leans into the stark beauty of the real planet. The sky is a pale butterscotch. The ground is a deep, bloody ochre. There is no music in the traditional sense—only the low hum of your life support system and the haunting whistle of thin wind across the regolith. Forget The Martian
There is a moment in Occupy Mars: The Game that perfectly encapsulates its brutal charm. You’ve just spent three real-time hours building a solar array. You’re low on water. Your suit’s battery is blinking red. And then, a dust storm rolls in—not as a scripted event, but because the planet’s chaotic weather algorithm decided you were having too much fun.
And then a dust storm destroys your comms dish. Back to work, astronaut. Occupy Mars: The Game is available now on PC via Steam Early Access. It is ugly sometimes
As the panels snap off their mounts and tumble into the rusty abyss, you realize: Mars doesn’t want you here.
