Dissent on Mars

About

Dissent on Mars is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Gonçalo Antunes and was released on April 7, 2025. It received neutral reviews from players.

Can you imagine a world without poverty? How about a world where power lies with common people instead of politicians or CEOs? There’s a revolution coming to Mars, and it’s up to you to create a new society unlike anything on Earth. Design your economy and government, build your colony, and experience your choices firsthand by living as a colonist. Be wary though, if your society fails to take car…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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53%

Audience ScoreBased on 17 reviews

graphics3 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

Dissent on Mars offers a unique blend of colony building and life simulation, allowing players to design their society's economy and government while experiencing the effects of their choices.
The game features a cozy art style and a relaxing soundtrack, contributing to an enjoyable atmosphere for players who appreciate detailed simulation mechanics.
There is a lot of depth in the game's systems, encouraging experimentation with various economic models and societal structures, which can lead to engaging gameplay.

The game suffers from a confusing UI and a lack of clear instructions, making it difficult for players to understand how to effectively manage their society and resources.
Many players feel that the game is too simplistic for its price, lacking the depth and complexity expected from a political-economic simulator, leading to a repetitive and shallow experience.
Despite its potential, the game is criticized for its limited options and mechanics, which can feel restrictive and fail to deliver on the promise of a dynamic and engaging simulation.

graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The graphics of the game are praised for their cozy art style and appealing artwork, reminiscent of titles like RimWorld, though some users feel the overall visual quality does not justify the game's price. While the aesthetic is appreciated by some, others find it lacking in comparison to expectations.
- “I love the style and artwork.”
- “The game has a cozy art style that I adore, and the soundtrack is also really good.”
- “Dissent on Mars takes the graphical design similar to RimWorld and decided to make a game that is not in any way, shape, or form similar to RimWorld.”
- “Dissent on Mars takes the graphical design similar to RimWorld and decided to make a game that was not in any way, shape, or form similar to RimWorld.”
- “I'll preface this by saying that this isn't a game for me, but besides that... it's definitely not worthy of the price in any way, both graphically and gameplay-wise.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The gameplay is heavily focused on the 'democratic planning' option, which features detailed mechanics, but is marred by clunky controls, a confusing tutorial, and a lack of engaging elements like animations and sound effects. Many players find the gameplay difficult to grasp and feel that it does not justify the $30 price tag, leading to a generally negative reception.
- “The overwhelming majority of the development effort here seems to have gone into just one of these options, 'democratic planning', which has far more detailed and extensive mechanics than any of the other models.”
- “With clunky, confusing mechanics, a lackluster uninformed tutorial, lack of animations, sound effects, voice acting, or any real mechanics similar to a colony sim game, and then goes and demands you pay 30 dollars.”
- “I’m not sure if it’s the gameplay design, the tutorial, or what, but I simply couldn’t figure this game out.”
- “I'll preface this by saying that this isn't a game for me, but besides that... it's definitely not worthy of the price in any way, both graphically and gameplay-wise.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's music is praised for its relaxing and cozy ambiance, complementing the art style effectively. However, it lacks sound effects, focusing solely on the soundtrack and ambient sounds.
- “The game has a cozy art style that I adore, and the soundtrack is also really good.”
- “There’s ambiance and music, but zero sound effects.”
- “The music is also relaxing.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often derived from its absurd and ironic scenarios, such as the juxtaposition of personal ownership and state control, which leads to comically exaggerated situations. Players appreciate the cleverness of the writing, finding the exploration of economic concepts through humor both entertaining and thought-provoking.
- “Many of these limits are really arbitrary - you can still have all personal property be state-owned even in a free market economy, which means you can have a system where the government owns your toothbrush but you own the toothbrush factory. That's extremely funny!”