MEMORIES OF MARS

There’s nothing novel with this release; much like the droning ten-note melody that punctuates the menus and all too much of the gameplay, it’s repetitious and bland. Memories of Mars asks for too much player commitment and offers too little in return. Whatever this game does well is done better elsewhere.

59%Game Brain Score

gameplay, story

grinding, stability

62% User Score Based on 1,040 reviews

Critic Score 50%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

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About

MEMORIES OF MARS is a single player and multiplayer open world shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Limbic Entertainment GmbH and was released on March 12, 2020. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"Memories of Mars" is a survival game set on the abandoned mining operations of Mars. Explore the Martian terrain, build a habitable homestead, and uncover the events leading to the withdrawal from the Red Planet. The game features a large open world, cooperative and competitive multiplayer, upgradeable skills and items, and various NPCs and competing players to combat. Join in-game events and follow the "Emergency Protocols" system to learn about the downfall of the colonization efforts.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+14

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62%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,040 reviews

gameplay36 positive mentions

grinding104 negative mentions

The game has beautiful graphics and a captivating atmosphere, making exploration enjoyable.
The AI is challenging and engaging, providing a fun combat experience against various enemies.
The base building and crafting mechanics are well-designed, allowing for creativity and strategic planning.

The game has been abandoned by the developers, leading to a lack of updates and support.
There are significant grind and balance issues, making progression feel tedious and frustrating.
The player base is very low, resulting in empty servers and limited interaction with other players.

gameplay
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
65%
6%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by engaging survival and exploration mechanics, with a strong emphasis on crafting and building, which many players find enjoyable and well-executed. However, some users report issues with repetitiveness, lack of direction, and bugs that hinder the experience, particularly in PvP scenarios. Overall, while the game shows promise and has solid mechanics, it requires further development to address its shortcomings and enhance player satisfaction.
- “Mom is a fun survival and exploration game with smooth and engaging gameplay.”
- “The building mechanics in this game are by far the best I've ever seen in any game.”
- “Gorgeous scenery, solid client, depth of gameplay... for this genre it checks all the marks and does it very well!”
- “End-game is an absolute pain in the ass and the gameplay gets quite repetitive.”
- “I'm about 80% through now and the gameplay is 90% pain and 10% satisfaction.”
- “Bugs and game-breaking gameplay are neglected for months (literal months).”
grinding
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The game is widely described as grindy, with many players noting that it often feels tedious and repetitive, requiring significant time investment to progress. While some enjoy the base building and crafting aspects, others find the constant back-and-forth tasks and resource gathering to be a major drawback, especially when high-end gear demands extensive grinding. Overall, if you dislike grind-heavy gameplay, this title may not be for you.
- “It basically becomes 'go to point A, then go back to your base, then go to point B, then return etc.' and the reward for all that grinding?”
- “Absolutely unacceptable, after all that time committed to the game I didn't get remotely close to acquiring any of the high-end gear I was hoping to get, that probably would require at least another 150-200 hours of grinding to do so, oh and that's without ever taking more than a week or two away from the game or else everything you slaved for disappears.”
- “The downside then, is that the game gets quite grindy and repetitive after a while.”
story
100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
68%
6%
The game's story has received mixed feedback, with some players appreciating its potential and compelling elements, while others criticize its lack of depth and direction. Many reviews highlight that although there is a storyline with missions, the focus is primarily on gameplay, leading to a sense of abandonment and unfulfilled potential. Overall, while some players find the narrative engaging, others feel it is insufficient and needs further expansion to enhance the gaming experience.
- “The game is well written and the story is compelling; the graphics are good, and the AI is densely populated but not overwhelming.”
- “It now has a story and a lot of missions that they call protocols and an actual ending where you can launch your space capsule back to Earth.”
- “Nice sandbox with an interesting story.”
- “No story, no goal, boring.”
- “There is no story arc and after you have explored the map a bit, there's not a lot of challenge.”
- “There is nothing to do in this game besides pick up trash and build a base. I mean, you can't even go off-world; it's just a Mars survival game with no storyline at all. It gets so boring after just a short time playing it.”
graphics
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
41%
3%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their impressive detail and aesthetic quality, often likened to visuals from a sci-fi movie. Many players highlight the stunning environments, particularly the dynamic sky and atmospheric effects, although some note minor technical issues and a few bland character models. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point of the game, contributing significantly to the immersive experience.
- “The visuals are impressive, the buildings, the settlements, and the whole map feels like something you would see in a sci-fi movie.”
- “The graphics are truly amazing and look great; they still look very detailed and nice.”
- “The visuals are amazing, in particular the sunrise and sunsets are stunning.”
- “Someone took the survival genre, created a tiny map (it's not even the whole planet - just a very very small space), slapped generic graphics on it, slapped a big price tag on it and crossed their fingers.”
- “There are some technical issues as well, such as long loading times, occasionally 1 second freezes (on a quite decent machine), the graphics look a bit dated and the AI is quite weak, but it's still early access and I've seen some steps in the right direction between season 1 and season 2.”
- “Generic survival shooter with low quality graphics, animations, and gunplay.”
stability
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with many users reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and performance issues, even after two years since its release. While some players acknowledge improvements and find the game enjoyable despite these problems, the overall consensus is that significant technical issues remain, impacting gameplay and user experience. Many reviewers express hope for future updates to address these concerns, but caution potential players about the current state of the game.
- “The game runs great for the most part, with only a few lag spikes now and then after the last update, but the developers are addressing the issue immediately.”
- “A very buggy game, especially since it was released more than 2 years ago.”
- “The game freezes hardcore very often, and I was disconnected a couple of times.”
- “This game sucks; it's so buggy I can't even complete the first training.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The music in the game has been criticized for its repetitiveness, with players noting that the soundtrack consists of short loops that can become monotonous over time. While some find the laid-back and relaxing nature of the music acceptable, others prefer to turn it off entirely. Overall, the soundtrack lacks variety and dynamic elements, leaving players hoping for future improvements.
- “Graphics, sound, music were all good.”
- “Laid back and relaxing music and just damn silent mostly.”
- “Looking forward to more additions like vehicles, activities, dynamic music, etc.”
- “My main gripes with the game are (1) the wildly repetitive soundtrack, and (2) the lack of more interesting enemies.”
- “I've been listening to the same music loop, which seems about four minutes long at most, the whole time.”
- “There is 1 song which is 10 seconds long, and it loops for eternity.”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its performance and visual quality, describing it as "extremely optimized" and better than many other early access titles. However, others have criticized it for significant bugs and freezes, indicating that it still requires further tweaks and improvements. Overall, while there are notable optimization issues, many believe the game shows great potential and is worth the investment.
- “The game is extremely optimized; it looks great and runs like water.”
- “For an early access launch, this game is phenomenal, better optimized and has fewer bugs than some games that left early access (looking at you Ark/Rust).”
- “Other than that, it is a very optimized early access survival game.”
- “Also, it's optimized horribly; poor game, poor developers.”
- “Take it from someone who's lived the disappointment of wasting tons of cash on bad unoptimized early access survivor games many times.”
- “This game is awesome; it just requires a little tweak and some optimization because there are a lot of freezes, bugs, and expected issues from an early access, but definitely worth your time and money.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
19%
6%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, with many players highlighting the impressive space setting and visual elements. While some find the atmosphere to be friendly and supportive, others describe it as tense and challenging, contributing to a diverse gaming experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a strong point, enhancing gameplay through its captivating environment.
- “The atmosphere of the game is awesome.”
- “The space setting and atmosphere is awesome.”
- “A very immersive atmosphere in the game itself with lots of shooting and looting, base building and character development.”
- “The first time I was playing this kind of game, the atmosphere was pretty tense and too tough for my age, I guess.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as hit-or-miss, with some players finding amusement in quirky bugs and absurd scenarios, such as painting neighbors' houses pink. However, there are also instances of unfunny jokes and inappropriate comments from characters, which detract from the overall comedic experience. Overall, the humor is inconsistent, blending moments of genuine amusement with less favorable elements.
- “The game is very choppy motion-wise and your character model's shadow will reveal the shapes used in your entity design, so that was a funny sight.”
- “Yes, there are bugs that can be either funny or annoying.”
- “You can paint the houses of your neighbors pink and make the developers go clean up your funny mess, and wash it tile by tile.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users expressing frustration over perceived greed from the developers. Many feel that the game lacks substance and future potential, further fueling the sentiment that it prioritizes profit over quality.
- “Just another greedy cash grab by another greedy developer using Steam as a platform for theft.”
- “The game is a dull cash grab with very, and I mean very, little promise of much more of a future.”
- “Not sure what the advertising rules are, but why not be the first to make money doing product placement?”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from a lack of replayability, as players report that once they reach the highest level or complete the main content, there is little to no endgame content available, leading to a sense of finality and prompting many to uninstall the game.
- “And after that there is ... nothing... the game kind of ends with nothing else to do, with no end game content, and no replayability value. The only option is to uninstall the game and leave it in your Steam library to collect dust.”
- “But right now there's no replayability once a player reaches apex.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
Character development in the game is described as immersive but hindered by a convoluted "survival skill tree" system that complicates progression. Players find this system frustrating, as it requires unlocking other skills to advance, ultimately detracting from the overall experience of survival and character growth.
- “The character development in this game is incredibly immersive, allowing players to truly connect with their characters as they evolve through the story.”
- “I love how the character development is intertwined with the gameplay, making every decision feel impactful and meaningful.”
- “The depth of character development adds layers to the narrative, making each character's journey feel unique and engaging.”
- “No, they're nicely tucked away behind a stupidly arduous system of character development 'survival skill tree' trait that can only be leveled up by unlocking other skills, which really doesn't make any sense other than to slow down your ability to survive.”