Mines of Mars

About

Mines of Mars is a first-person, procedurally generated adventure game set on the red planet. Players mine for resources, craft and upgrade tools, and battle alien enemies while uncovering the mysteries of Mars' past. With multiple biomes, secrets, and a day/night cycle, survival requires strategy and exploration.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 39 reviews

atmosphere6 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

Mines of Mars features stunning graphics and a captivating atmosphere that immerses players in its mysterious Martian landscape.
The gameplay offers a satisfying blend of exploration, mining, and combat, with intuitive controls and a well-balanced progression system.
The sound design and atmospheric soundtrack enhance the overall experience, making it a memorable journey filled with humor and engaging mechanics.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues, including wonky controls, inconsistent resource generation, and a lack of autosave functionality.
Many players find the gameplay repetitive and tedious, with excessive backtracking and slow progression that can lead to frustration.
The game feels incomplete, lacking sufficient content and variety, which diminishes the sense of discovery and exploration.

gameplay
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The gameplay in "Mines of Mars" combines exploration, mining, and combat, creating an atmospheric experience enriched by storytelling and visuals. However, players note that the gameplay can feel slow and repetitive, with excessive backtracking and limited enemy variety detracting from the overall enjoyment. While the mechanics are engaging, the lack of new features and the tedious nature of certain tasks may lead to a less satisfying experience for some players.
- “Gameplay in Mines of Mars is a blend of exploration, mining, and combat.”
- “Mines of Mars is a compelling and atmospheric game that offers a rich blend of exploration, storytelling, and gameplay.”
- “The captivating narrative, stunning visuals, and engaging mechanics make it a standout title in the genre.”
- “The game is really slow and it's kind of a pain to walk all over the surface after each mining trip. Half or more of your gameplay is spent going to and from places: walk 2 buildings from the teleport to unload your gems from cargo, walk a building over to unload your metals from cargo, walk another 2 buildings over to craft if you need to, walk another 2 buildings over to heal and refuel (which also takes forever while you sit there idle watching your health slowly fill back up), and then walk another building over just to reload your ammo.”
- “Gameplay is a little dull and repetitive, but I was okay with what's there as a game to play while watching videos.”
- “You will be running back and forth a lot (probably 1/3 to 1/2 of the gameplay is just this).”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The story in "Mines of Mars" is described as a captivating blend of science fiction and mystery that engages players, though opinions vary on its depth and coherence. While some find it compelling and atmospheric, others feel it lacks substance and clarity, with minimal plot development and character investment. Overall, the narrative is present but not particularly memorable compared to other titles in the genre.
- “Mines of Mars takes players on a thrilling journey to a mysterious, red-hued planet.”
- “The story is captivating, with a blend of science fiction and mystery that keeps you engaged.”
- “Mines of Mars is a compelling and atmospheric game that offers a rich blend of exploration, storytelling, and gameplay.”
- “The story is... there, not good, but there; Motherload had a better story to it.”
- “There didn't seem to be any new mechanics introduced, there was basically 1 enemy type (its size just changes), and the tiny bit of plot there was made no sense.”
- “That should tell you how invested I became in the story because I don't even know the guy's name, lol.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
43%
The atmosphere in "Mines of Mars" is highly praised for its eerie and enigmatic qualities, enhanced by detailed textures, atmospheric lighting, and exceptional sound design that immerses players in a sense of isolation and mystery. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke nostalgia while providing a compelling blend of exploration and storytelling, making the overall experience memorable.
- “The detailed textures and atmospheric lighting create a sense of depth and immersion.”
- “The sound design in Mines of Mars is exceptional, with an atmospheric soundtrack that perfectly complements the game's mysterious and eerie environment.”
- “The sense of isolation and the unknown perfectly complement the eerie and enigmatic atmosphere of Mars.”
- “The game fails to create a truly immersive atmosphere, leaving players feeling disconnected from the environment.”
- “Despite the potential for a haunting atmosphere, the lack of detail and depth makes it feel flat and uninspired.”
graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The graphics in "Mines of Mars" are widely praised for their stunning, beautifully crafted 2D environments that effectively depict the Martian landscape. While some users appreciate the visuals and overall presentation, others criticize the game for relying on simplistic graphics and repetitive gameplay mechanics. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, despite some mixed opinions on their depth and originality.
- “The graphics in Mines of Mars are stunning, with beautifully crafted 2D environments that bring the Martian landscape to life.”
- “The captivating narrative, stunning visuals, and engaging mechanics make it a standout title in the genre.”
- “The graphics are nicely crafted, sound is decent, the music is very fitting and relaxing, the story is probably not that special but at least it is there and the whole game is spiced with that amusing humor.”
- “It's still lazy and it's the same old copout developers use when they lack the budget/talent to arrange proper graphics.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in "Mines of Mars" is highly praised for its atmospheric and immersive quality, enhancing the game's mysterious environment. Reviewers highlight the relaxing and fitting soundtrack, which complements the exploration experience, alongside the engaging sound design and ambient effects. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's charm and enjoyment.
- “The sound design in Mines of Mars is exceptional, with an atmospheric soundtrack that perfectly complements the game's mysterious and eerie environment.”
- “The ambient sounds and music create an immersive experience, enhancing the feeling of exploration and discovery.”
- “The music is very fitting and relaxing, adding to the overall enjoyment of the game.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be slow, tedious, and often boring, leading to distractions like mobile games or browsing community content while mining. The core gameplay revolves around grinding for materials, which can be frustrating for those lacking patience or stamina, and many feel it detracts from the overall experience, likening it unfavorably to other titles.
- “I had fun, but as I said, it's really slow and tedious. I found myself pulling out my phone to play games while I held down to finally find the ores I needed.”
- “Grinding is boring where I just hold right and shift tab and look at the Steam community artworks while my iron pickaxe hits the iron ore 14 times.”
- “While this one has stuff, it doesn't really feel like very much at all, and you'll spend most of your time just grinding and looking for materials to upgrade to the next pickaxe. Beyond that, there's not really much other than the occasional conversation between the miner and the other guy he works for.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised, featuring funny dialogues and amusing content that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the lighthearted tone, which complements the decent graphics and music, making it a standout title despite its brevity.
- “Loved this game! It is a bit short, but so was its price. Hands down worth the few bucks; one of the best games of the year for me. Good humor and content. Thank you for this gem.”
- “The graphics are nicely crafted, the sound is decent, the music is very fitting and relaxing. The story is probably not that special, but at least it is there, and the whole game is spiced with that amusing humor.”
- “Pros: decent graphics and music, funny dialogues, lots of upgrades and weapons, digging.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, frequently freezing and preventing players from saving or accessing menus, leading to potential loss of progress due to the lack of autosave. Additionally, players encounter numerous bugs, including unresponsive enemies and unclear controls, which further hinder gameplay.
- “It freezes in a way that you can't move, exit, save, or open any kind of menu very often, and you just have to close the game and hope the last time you saved registered because there's no autosave at all, so you lose tons of progress really easily.”
- “Buggy with no instructions on controls, unable to mine in the first area.”
- “Plant enemies are buggy and unkillable while blocking the only path onward.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the emotional impact of the game is hindered by its slow pacing, suggesting that a faster tempo could enhance the overall emotional experience.