Mars Attracts

About

Mars Attracts is a single player casual city builder game with comedy, economy, business and science fiction themes. It was developed by Outlier and was released on September 15, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Mars Attracts is a park management sim set in the iconic universe of Mars Attacks. Build rides, hire staff, manage guest needs, and abduct humans to serve as the star attractions. You'll face demanding visitors, environmental hazards, and the ever-looming threat of human escapes!

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94%

Audience ScoreBased on 193 reviews

gameplay15 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

Unique and addictive park management gameplay with a darkly humorous Mars Attacks theme that resonates well with fans of the franchise.
Strong nostalgic appeal, reminiscent of classic theme park simulators like RollerCoaster Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon, and Theme Hospital with creative twists.
Developer is responsive and actively improving the game, adding more content and polishing systems during Early Access.

Currently in Early Access with incomplete features, some bugs, and occasional performance issues affecting user experience.
UI and controls can be clunky or non-intuitive, causing player frustration especially when managing complex park systems.
Limited variety in rides, kiosks, human enclosures, and animations, resulting in some repetitiveness and lack of depth at this stage.

gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
50%
8%
The gameplay of Mars Attracts is generally praised for its easy-to-understand mechanics, addictive management simulation loop, and nostalgic theme park elements reminiscent of classic titles like Theme Park World. While the game introduces some unique mechanics and offers fun, engaging gameplay with a humorous tone, it is currently held back by limited content, occasional bugs, and unfinished features typical of its early access status. Overall, players find it enjoyable with solid potential, especially as future updates promise to expand and polish the experience.
- “While still in early access with animations and some mechanics incomplete, it has the addictive aspects of a good dungeon-keeper style management sim combined with the Mars Attacks humor that fans love.”
- “The research into past titles set the base gameplay in a solid spot while ditching old annoyances and adding modernizations that keep the game flowing smoothly.”
- “Mars Attracts is a theme park/zoo management game that strongly resembles Theme Park World from the PS1 era in gameplay and progression, but with a unique setting and zoo aspect, making it one of my more enjoyed games in the genre recently.”
- “The gameplay itself is fine — nothing offensively bad, but also nothing that felt new or exciting.”
- “The gameplay is extremely boring.”
- “Also, the human exhibition themes are just skins and there is no difference between them in terms of gameplay.”
humor
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its dark comedy, clever writing, and strong alignment with the Mars Attacks franchise’s campy, retro-futuristic tone. Players find the mix of grotesque, pulp-inspired jokes and witty dialogue genuinely funny without being overly grim, making the park management gameplay both entertaining and engaging. While some desire more variety in characters and sound effects to enhance the comedic experience, the existing humor is considered a standout feature that enhances the overall fun.
- “The dark comedy and retro-futuristic humor are consistently highlighted as strong points.”
- “A lot of the dialogue is hilarious, really well suited to the Mars Attacks IP and the pause menu art is even funnier!”
- “Torturing the humans is conveyed with dark humor that's never too grim or gross.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
39%
23%
The graphics receive mixed reviews, with some praising the cartoonish, classic sci-fi comic-inspired art style and its catchy thematic visuals, while others find the visuals inconsistent, unappealing, and lacking polish. Although bright and imaginative, certain character designs and animations are described as weird or uninspired. Overall, the art style's charm and thematic alignment are appreciated despite technical and aesthetic shortcomings.
- “The graphics are cartoonish and simplified but capture very well the original look of the martians in the films that inspire it.”
- “It is a spectacle worthy of our great civilization, and the game’s visuals—the garish rides, the pathetic earthling enclosures—are quite bright and shiny, almost as pleasing as a newly detonated monument.”
- “Lots of funny little tidbits in the graphics if you pay attention.”
- “The graphics are bad and inconsistent.”
- “Graphically mid at best, with poor animations, uninteresting, uninspired landscapes and rather dull and boring rides.”
- “The graphics are cartoonish and simplified but capture very well the original look of the martians in the films that inspired it; however, the humans look weird, even like rabid animals in some of the illustrations.”
story
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The story is engaging and humorous, with progress carried over from previous research enhancing gameplay. However, some users experience bugs that hinder mission progression. Overall, the narrative offers a unique, enjoyable theme with additional context available through developer logs.
- “I love the fact that knowledge of previous research carries forward - you may not have the requirements when starting the mission but at least you do not have to sweat over old ground; it's just there when you are ready to progress in that particular habitat.”
- “For anyone who doesn't know the story, I'd recommend taking a look at the dev logs about the IP on YouTube (lots of quality videos showing the development in general there too).”
- “Story: good and funny.”
- “Bug where missions won't progress unless I leave and re-enter the game.”
- “However, I am on the third mission and I am encountering game-breaking bugs stopping me from continuing.”
- “Played through all available campaign missions (unfinished due to early access) in about 12-15 hours of laid back gaming.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game shows promise with a solid foundation, but stability is currently hindered by various bugs, glitches, and unfinished features typical of early access. While not critically broken, players may encounter choppy animations, UI inconsistencies, and pathfinding issues that are expected to improve in future updates.
- “The problem I face is that the game is extremely buggy and some features are lackluster.”
- “Animations, sound, menus, and even some gameplay functions are still rough; choppy, buggy, or just not working yet.”
- “This game has good bones, but if you don't feel like dealing with glitches or needing to work around missing mechanics, then maybe just wish list and wait a month or two for them to get those ironed out.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
Optimization is mixed, with some users reporting crashes, stuttering, and high CPU usage, while others experience smooth performance, especially on Linux at 1440p. As an early access title, the game still has bugs and non-optimized gameplay that are gradually being addressed.
- “Good system performance and I didn't encounter many bugs; those I did already got patched out!”
- “Game released as early access so be prepared for quite a few bugs, overlooked or left out features, and non-optimized gameplay.”
- “Runs smoothly at 1440p on Linux.”
- “And then there’s the big issue: performance and bugs.”
- “I had repeated crashes, stuttering, and major CPU usage spikes for no clear reason.”
- “Game released as early access, so be prepared for quite a few bugs, overlooked or left out features, and non-optimized gameplay.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is widely praised as exceptional and epic, significantly enhancing the overall experience alongside the art style and gameplay.
- “The music is great and adds a lot to the experience.”
- “The music, art style, and gameplay are all great and I'm excited to see how it develops further.”
- “Martian music, simply epic.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is praised for its vibrant colors and highly creative building designs, creating a unique environment that feels both alien and welcoming.
- “The colors pop, the building designs are super creative, and the atmosphere feels both alien and inviting at the same time.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Mars Attracts, even in early access, offers substantial replayability thanks to its well-developed gameplay and content.
- “Despite being in early access, Mars Attracts is already a pretty fleshed-out game with a ton of replayability.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is praised for its cohesive integration with the retro sci-fi theme, showing strong unity between character design, UI, and park aesthetics. This creates a well-rooted and immersive experience.