Mars Horizon

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,576 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Mars Horizon Game Cover
Playing Mars Horizon, I realised just how flimsy my moral framework is.
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In Mars Horizon, become a space agency and develop your own space program to reach Mars before other agencies. Build and launch rockets, construct facilities, research technology, and manage resources and personnel. Experience a thrilling narrative with randomly generated events that add challenge and excitement to your mission.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,576 reviews
story111 positive mentions
grinding84 negative mentions
  • Engaging gameplay that combines resource management with historical space exploration.
  • The game features a variety of missions and allows players to customize their space agency.
  • Educational elements are well-integrated, providing historical context and information about space missions.
  • The mini-games for mission execution become repetitive and tedious over time.
  • AI competitors can feel unbalanced, often catching up or surpassing the player unexpectedly.
  • Limited replayability as the game follows a linear progression with little variation in missions.
  • story1,182 mentions

    The game's story revolves around managing a space agency from the early days of space exploration to the goal of establishing a manned presence on Mars. Players engage in a series of missions that are primarily based on historical events, but the repetitive nature of the mission mini-games and the reliance on RNG can detract from immersion and enjoyment. While the game offers a compelling premise and educational elements, many players find the execution of missions tedious, leading to a sense of grind as they progress through similar tasks repeatedly.

    • “The narrative events and the whole space-race theme are well done, the strong links to real missions and agencies make for some satisfying moments.”
    • “The game manages to combine compelling gameplay with historical accuracy, beautiful stylized graphics, immersive mission cinematics, and a challenging (but balanced) experience.”
    • “You compete against other space agencies to complete milestone missions, like landing on the moon, with the ultimate aim of establishing a base on Mars.”
    • “The mini-game used to determine if a mission is successful is repetitive after the third launch and just isn't fun.”
    • “You repeat the same motions over and over, take mission, research for mission, build a payload, build a vehicle, hope you have enough % to successfully launch, launch, if successful, play mini-game that is tedious at best.”
    • “The missions can get quite boring and repetitive, but there's the option to gable the results.”
  • gameplay216 mentions

    The gameplay in "Mars Horizon" is characterized by a mix of simple management mechanics and repetitive mini-games that can become tedious over time. While the core mechanics of researching technology, launching missions, and managing resources are engaging initially, many players find the gameplay loop lacks variety and depth, leading to a sense of monotony as the game progresses. Despite its charming presentation and educational elements, the reliance on RNG and basic puzzle mechanics detracts from the overall experience, making it more suitable for casual players rather than those seeking a complex simulation akin to "Kerbal Space Program."

    • “The gameplay is easy and quick to get into, and completing significant spaceflight milestones as you work toward the ultimate goal, a crewed landing on Mars, is both challenging and rewarding.”
    • “Overall, Mars Horizon excellently balances all its moving parts to make a smoothly polished experience out of fairly minimalistic gameplay, and does it all while perfectly executing its space race themes.”
    • “The game manages to combine compelling gameplay with historical accuracy, beautiful stylized graphics, immersive mission cinematics, and a challenging (but balanced) experience.”
    • “Mars Horizon looks good, but the gameplay is very repetitive and boring.”
    • “The gameplay loop gets repetitive after a while, especially in the mid- to endgame.”
    • “The gameplay here is based on minigames which are extremely painful and boring to do after a few hours into the game.”
  • graphics123 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally described as simplistic and cartoony, with a charming art style that some players appreciate, while others find them lacking in detail and realism. Many reviews note that the visuals are adequate for the gameplay experience, running smoothly even on lower-end hardware, but there are complaints about repetitive animations and occasional graphical bugs. Overall, while the graphics may not be groundbreaking, they are considered pleasant and fitting for the game's casual and strategic nature.

    • “The art style is charming, the music and sound design is top-tier, and the gameplay itself is fun and engaging.”
    • “I really enjoyed the solar system art style and overall graphical level of the game.”
    • “The graphics are simple, yet pretty, and the music is super atmospheric.”
    • “I had a graphical bug every time I launched a rocket; the screen went all pixelated and disfigured with crazy colors.”
    • “In all, a basic game; if you can get by the terrible, and I mean terrible, graphics, like 1980's Tandy terrible, there are some gems hidden in it.”
    • “The graphics hurt my soul for $20.”
  • grinding92 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the repetitive nature of the mission mini-games and research processes to be tedious and detracting from the overall experience. While the game starts off engaging, it often devolves into a grind, requiring players to repeat similar tasks and puzzles, which can lead to frustration and a loss of immersion. Despite some enjoyable elements, the consensus is that the grind becomes overwhelming, especially in the mid to late game, making it feel more like a chore than a fun activity.

    • “Very satisfying gameplay, and not too tedious for those with little time.”
    • “Each aspect of the game has enough complexity and choices to make things interesting and not tedious, without being burdened by being too complex or bogged down in minutiae.”
    • “The game, which initially felt like a fun activity, became a repetitive and tedious chore, comparable to copying and pasting in an Excel spreadsheet.”
    • “I got pretty far in the game, starting the sequence of missions to colonize Mars... suddenly it hit me: I am grinding through these absolutely boring minigames over and over again like an idiot, found the strength to press Alt+F4 and freed myself of the torture.”
    • “As the game progresses into the middle and later stages it begins to get very grindy, especially the puzzles which, although challenging, get very repetitive with 4-5 back to back in some missions.”
  • replayability66 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players noting a lack of substantial content and repetitive gameplay that diminishes long-term engagement. While some appreciate the option to choose different space agencies and difficulty settings, others feel that the linear progression and limited variations in scenarios lead to minimal replay value. Customization features and achievement hunting offer some incentive for replay, but many reviewers agree that the game could benefit from additional content to enhance its replayability.

    • “There seems to be loads of replayability through choosing different agencies or even playing the same agency with different choices, so I can easily see myself spending 100+ hours on this game.”
    • “With five different agencies plus the option to create your own with various options and a branching tech tree, the game has lots of replayability.”
    • “Combined with the ability to play as five real-world space agencies (with the option to customize your own), Mars Horizon offers a ton of replay value, and an educational experience to both space exploration enthusiasts and newcomers alike.”
    • “Replayability is nonexistent.”
    • “The game can get repetitive at the late game phase and I can see the replayability being low, maybe if you are an achievement hunter you could go for first place on the other projects you lost the last time around.”
    • “Not a bad game at all, kind of challenging on the harder levels and all around good fun of researching and building and managing your time, but at the same time I have found after trying to go through again as a different space agency that the replay value on this game at the moment is nonexistent. There is no reason for me to play another agency as I can play them the exact same as the previous game and it loses all its fun.”
  • music26 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its atmospheric and fitting qualities that enhance the overall experience. While some find the soundtrack beautiful and immersive, others criticize it as subpar or suggest it can be muted in favor of personal playlists. Overall, the sound design is generally regarded as good, with specific praise for its ability to complement the game's themes and gameplay.

    • “The art style is charming, the music and sound design are top-tier, and the gameplay itself is fun and engaging.”
    • “The idea is nice, the soundtrack is well chosen for the topic and the execution is enjoyable.”
    • “It's good fun and also very immersive thanks to the spacey-victorious soundtrack and the light-touch and clear art style.”
    • “Graphics are cartoony and the music isn't anything to write home about.”
    • “- Sound design is subpar; the music should be turned off.”
    • “The only shortfalls for me are the sometimes depressing or ominous music, the apparent lack of mod support (I want to make futuristic interstellar missions!), and the oddly low-quality 3D assets in cutscenes.”
  • optimization12 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is well-executed, providing a smooth experience without performance issues, glitches, or bugs. Players appreciate the engaging gameplay loop and the emphasis on decision-making over mere building optimization, although some feel that the tech tree lacks depth in terms of long-term impact on rocket performance. The game is described as an entertaining optimization puzzle, especially at higher difficulty levels.

    • “If you take the time to think about it, you will never fail them, and usually get the performance bonus.”
    • “Well optimized, a nice gameplay loop and...partial historical accuracy.”
    • “Missions will fail more often, and you are less likely to get the performance bonus.”
    • “Using the tech tree is quite similar; it's just a matter of picking research topics that are compatible - read the text on each box - no grand plan, nothing you do will affect your rocket's performance down the road.”
    • “It's mainly an optimization puzzle.”
  • atmosphere6 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a progression from basic aerospace missions to complex space shuttle operations, with a focus on resource management during launches and missions. While the graphics are described as simple yet appealing and the music enhances the experience, some users feel that the overall atmosphere could be improved, particularly due to questionable artistic choices in the depiction of re-entry capsules. A blend of the game's current atmosphere with elements from other titles could elevate the experience significantly.

    • “The graphics are simple, yet pretty, and the music is super atmospheric.”
    • “It just needs a bit more atmosphere to bring it alive.”
    • “If there were an alternative that merged the atmosphere of Baris with the scope of 'Mars Horizon', it would be a much larger success.”
  • humor6 mentions

    The humor in the game is consistently praised, with players finding it amusing and enjoyable, particularly in the context of space exploration and puzzle-solving. Many appreciate the lighthearted approach and the comedic elements involved in building rockets and achieving goals, making it a fun experience overall.

    • “Otherwise a very funny and simple game about space exploration.”
    • “Funny, well-balanced game for space lovers.”
    • “I ended up writing a program to solve the puzzles because I was mostly playing late in the evening; writing the solver was funny.”
  • stability4 mentions

    User experiences regarding stability are mixed; while some report frequent glitches even on high-performance systems, others have not encountered any bugs or performance issues at all. Overall, the stability of the game appears to vary significantly among players.

    • “I have found myself getting annoyed with the all-too-frequent glitches, even when you have a really good system (90+%).”
    • “Launch glitches are better, though I am sure the one failure was just because of the Steam achievement!”
    • “I had no performance issues, glitches, or bugs.”
  • emotional3 mentions

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be deeply engaging, experiencing a mix of satisfaction and heartbreak as they navigate the challenges of the space race. While the game isn't flawless, it effectively evokes strong feelings and nostalgia, making it a worthwhile experience for those who appreciate the emotional highs and lows of space exploration.

    • “It's not perfect, but if you like to be reminded of how emotional the space race makes you, and stop stressing about whether KSP2 will be any good at all, this is a fine way to get that done.”
    • “Made me feel like Elon for 9 hours!”
    • “It is very satisfying to see the failure of another agency, and heartbreaking to lose a craft that was about to beat another agency.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviewers note a lack of character development in the game, expressing that the absence of experience accumulation diminishes the potential for deeper simulation and emotional investment, particularly in high-stakes scenarios.

    • “However, they don't accumulate experience, and there's no character development, which I think would make for an even deeper simulation (and for more desperate situations when your carefully developed crack crew's capsule burns on re-entry because you got your math wrong).”
    • “The lack of character development really detracts from the overall experience; I expected to see my characters grow and evolve, but instead, they feel static and unchanging.”
    • “Without meaningful character development, the game feels flat and unengaging. I wanted to form connections with the characters, but they remain one-dimensional throughout.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

71% average critic score

Buy Mars Horizon

Play time

13hMedian play time
20hAverage play time
8-40hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 24 analyzed playthroughs

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