- #1 Occupy Mars: The Game
96% matchMostly Positive70% of 3,088 reviews2026
Dev: ▲ Pyramid Games
Windows
Median: 4.4 hrsMean: 34.1 hrs≥1hr: 78%
Survive and colonize Mars in a highly technical, open-world sandbox game. Build and upgrade your base, discover new regions, conduct mining operations, retrieve water, generate oxygen, grow crops, and fix broken parts.
Why similar: Simulation 72.5%, Indie 27.5%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a deep, technical survival experience centered on base building, resource management, and surviving the harsh Martian climate.
- #2 Take On Mars
97% matchMixed55% of 2,032 reviews2017
Dev: Bohemia Interactive
Windows
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 10.8 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Take On Mars places you right in the middle of mankind’s most exciting undertaking. Start out in the seat of a rover operator, finish as the first human to have ever set foot on the Red Planet.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: This is the closest match to the seed game, focusing on realistic rover exploration and scientific simulation of the Martian surface.
- #3 JCB Pioneer: Mars
96% matchMixed42% of 154 reviews2017
Dev: AtomicomPub: GamesCo
Windows
JCB Pioneer: Mars drops you onto the surface of The Red Planet. Your mission: To survive and prepare Mars for future human colonization.
Why similar: Simulation 72.2%, Indie 27.8%
Why You'll Like It: This title emphasizes the vehicular and construction aspects of Martian exploration, mirroring the rover-based gameplay of the seed.
- #4 Astrometica
94% matchVery Positive83% of 3,114 reviews2024
Dev: BeryMeryPub: RockGame S.A.
Windows
Median: 3.7 hrsMean: 16.7 hrs≥1hr: 72%
Astrometica is a space exploration and base-building survival game. After a catastrophic event, explore vast space, gather resources, build bases, and uncover cosmic mysteries. Use advanced technology, craft tools, and discover new blueprints to survive and thrive in the unknown.
Why similar: Simulation 58.3%, Indie 41.7%
Why You'll Like It: A modern survival game that focuses on the technical challenges of surviving in space and exploring planetary surfaces.
- #5 The Solus Project
93% matchMostly Positive80% of 2,620 reviews2016
Dev: HourencesPub: Teotl Studios
Windows
Median: 2.7 hrsMean: 6.6 hrs≥1hr: 72%
The Solus Project is a single player exploration adventure with survival elements. The adventure is set on a mysterious planet and is the spiritual successor to The Ball - 2010 PC Gamer Action/Adventure Game Of The Year...
Why similar: Simulation 72.3%, Indie 27.7%
Why You'll Like It: This game excels at creating a sense of isolation and survival on a hostile, alien planet through exploration and weather management.
- #6 Deliver Us Mars
92% matchMostly Positive75% of 2,961 reviews2023
Dev: KeokeN InteractivePub: Frontier Foundry
Windows
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 6.0 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Deliver Us Mars is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure taking you on a suspense-fuelled, high-stakes mission to recover the ARK colony ships stolen by the mysterious Outward.
Why You'll Like It: This narrative-driven adventure captures the atmospheric and visual wonder of exploring the Red Planet.
- #7 Fort Solis
91% matchMixed67% of 4,065 reviews2023
Dev: Fallen LeafPub: Dear Villagers
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 5.6 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Answer the call from a mining base on Mars as engineer Jack Leary and search for the missing crew. Fort Solis will immerse you with cinematic visuals powered by UE 5 and voice acting of Roger Clark and Troy Baker. Explore the mining complex and reach climax of this narrative thriller experience.
Why You'll Like It: A highly atmospheric thriller that perfectly captures the feeling of isolation and exploration within a Martian facility.
- #8 Starsand
90% matchMixed66% of 1,244 reviews2022
Dev: Tunnel Vision StudioPub: Toplitz Productions
Windows
Median: 2.8 hrsMean: 6.8 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Starsand is a mystic survival game set among the dunes of an arcane desert. An open-world full of danger, vast environments and mysterious happenings await you! Explore, hunt, craft, build – and SURVIVE.
Why You'll Like It: It captures the feeling of being stranded in a vast, arid environment where resource management is key to survival.
- #9 Life Not Supported
89% matchMixed67% of 173 reviews2023
Dev: YETIBYTES
Windows · Linux
You are the lone survivor orbiting a potential new home planet, tethered to what’s left of your ship. Gather nearby debris and assemble a make-shift vessel in an attempt to survive the harsh realities of space. Maybe you'll live long enough to uncover the truth behind the ship's malfunction...
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: A space-themed survival game that emphasizes the struggle for resources and the technical maintenance required to stay alive.
- #10 Mars 2030
89% matchMostly Positive70% of 87 reviews2017
Dev: FMG LabsPub: Fusion Media Group
Windows
MARS 2030 is a virtual reality simulation where players explore the Red Planet and make discoveries across 40 square kilometers of open Martian terrain, accurately-mapped and -modeled using NASA satellite data. Produced in collaboration with NASA.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: A VR-focused simulation that uses NASA data to provide an authentic look at exploring the Martian landscape.
- #11 Empyrion - Galactic Survival
86% matchMostly Positive79% of 34,243 reviews2020
Dev: Eleon Game Studios
Windows
Median: 6.3 hrsMean: 76.9 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Build and explore in a true space sandbox survival adventure. Construct mighty capital vessels, sprawling planetary settlements, and vast space stations in your galactic journey to discover the mysteries of Empyrion!
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: A comprehensive survival game that allows for seamless exploration between space and planetary surfaces with extensive crafting.
- #12 Unearthing Mars VR
87% matchMixed65% of 63 reviews2017
Dev: Light Era StudioPub: Skywalker HK
Windows
Unearthing Mars is a VR adventure game set on the mysterious Red Planet. Unearthing Mars provides hours of unique gameplay experiences, ranging from puzzle-solving to first-person shooting, the game will allow players to resolve challenges from a variety of game genres.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: A narrative-driven VR experience that focuses on the mystery and exploration of the Martian surface.
- #13 Space Engineers
84% matchVery Positive89% of 133,889 reviews2019
Dev: Keen Software House
Windows
Median: 9.0 hrsMean: 96.1 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Space Engineers is a sandbox engineering game where you design and build ships, stations, and planetary bases in a fully destructible environment. Explore planets and space, mine resources, survive hazards, and engage in combat alone or with friends in Creative or Survival modes.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: Offers an unparalleled sandbox experience for building rovers, ships, and bases in space and on planetary surfaces.
- #14 Stationeers
85% matchVery Positive88% of 9,070 reviews2017
Dev: RocketWerkz
Windows
Median: 9.9 hrsMean: 84.1 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Stationeers puts you in control of the construction and management of a space station to run by yourself or online with your friends. Complex atmospheric, electrical, manufacturing, agriculture, and gravitational systems require your thought and management at all times!
Why You'll Like It: A hardcore simulation game that focuses on the complex engineering and atmospheric management required for space survival.
- #15 Space Trash Scavenger
83% matchVery Positive84% of 520 reviews2024
Dev: SquarePlay GamesPub: Paradox Arc
Windows
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 9.0 hrs≥1hr: 76%
Grab your jetpack and explore procedural asteroid fields, derelict spaceships and abandoned outposts. Build and automate your Space Rig to process scavenged trash. Craft, trade and fight your way home in this interstellar, open-world survival sandbox.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: Combines survival and crafting with a focus on scavenging resources in a space-based environment.
- #16 Evospace
84% matchVery Positive83% of 390 reviews2019
Dev: Quantum Rivet
Windows · Mac
Contribute to the colonization of the universe. Get and process resources, develop your technologies. Achieve complete automation and build a portal to include another planet in the chain of worlds.
Why similar: Simulation 71.9%, Indie 28.1%
Why You'll Like It: A simulation game that focuses on crafting and automation in a sandbox environment.
- #17 Utopia Colony
82% matchMixed66% of 111 reviews2026
Dev: GridSky Software
Windows
The year is 2033. You, an ex-Marine with little opportunities left, have signed up with Utopia Arura, a large mining corporation on Mars. They have sent you to a location they have proposed but you have chosen for mining. Everything else is up to you.
Why similar: Simulation 79.1%, Indie 20.9%
Why You'll Like It: A simulation game focused on the mining and survival aspects of establishing a colony on Mars.
- #18 Planet Miner
82% matchVery Positive80% of 61 reviews2021
Dev: Cherniukh Andrii
Windows
Remove fog, look for and mine minerals, construct buildings, upgrade the rover and reach the portal.
Why similar: Simulation 88.4%, Indie 11.6%
Why You'll Like It: A simulation game that focuses on the resource extraction and management aspects of space exploration.
- #19 Mars First Logistics
78% matchVery Positive95% of 3,653 reviews2025
Dev: Shape Shop
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 10.2 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Build physically simulated rovers to transport awkwardly shaped cargo across the rugged terrain of Mars. Earn funds, unlock new parts, and use your ingenuity to help the Martians establish a new home. Playable solo or in online co-op!
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: A physics-based game focused on the challenge of transporting cargo across the Martian surface.
- #20 Moon Mystery
80% matchMixed66% of 701 reviews2024
Dev: CosmoscoutsPub: indie.io
Windows
Median: 2.8 hrsMean: 5.4 hrs≥1hr: 70%
The Moon's haunted - and when an astronaut loses contact with Earth, the adventure begins in full. Fill up your oxygen, load up the guns, and set out on an interstellar FPS adventure across the stars, filled with puzzles, fights, exploration, and strange secrets of the universe.
Why You'll Like It: Focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving in a desolate space environment that feels similar to the isolation of Mars.
- #21 ICARUS
79% matchMostly Positive75% of 64,520 reviews2021
Dev: RocketWerkz
Windows
Median: 10.2 hrsMean: 46.3 hrs≥1hr: 88%
ICARUS is a solo or multiplayer PvE survival game. Explore a savage wilderness in the aftermath of terraforming gone wrong. Complete narrative quests as either Open World operations or Individual Missions. Explore, build, craft and hunt while seeking your fortune and prospecting for exotic matter.
Why You'll Like It: A session-based survival game that emphasizes the dangers of exploring a hostile, alien environment.
- #22 Lifeless Planet Premier Edition
81% matchMostly Positive77% of 3,604 reviews2014
Dev: Serenity Forge
Windows · Linux
Median: 2.2 hrsMean: 6.0 hrs≥1hr: 64%
PREMIER EDITION - While seeking life on a distant planet, an astronaut discovers an abandoned Russian town. He suspects his mission is a hoax until a mysterious young woman saves him from a strange and deadly phenomenon...
Why You'll Like It: An exploration-heavy game that captures the sense of mystery and isolation found in the seed game.
- #23 Under the Sand REDUX - a road trip simulator
79% matchMostly Positive78% of 1,569 reviews2020
Dev: IndieMax
Windows
Median: 2.0 hrsMean: 7.2 hrs≥1hr: 70%
You. Your car. And world under the sand.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: Captures the feeling of driving and exploring a vast, desolate landscape.
- #24 The Martian VR Experience
81% matchMostly Negative27% of 52 reviews2016
Dev: The Third Floor, IncPub: 20th Century Fox Film Corporation
Windows
The Martian VR Experience is an interactive, immersive adventure from the perspective of astronaut Mark Watney. Participants perform tasks for Watney’s survival, fly onto the surface of Mars, steer at zero gravity through space, drive a rover, and experience key scenes from the hit film in an interactive virtual reality environment.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
Why You'll Like It: An interactive experience that places you directly into the shoes of an astronaut on Mars.
- #25 REAL MOON
76% matchMixed68% of 114 reviews2025
Dev: historia Inc.
Windows
Explore a precisely recreated lunar surface built from real data and a JAXA-backed simulation.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #26 Rover Mechanic Simulator
78% matchMostly Positive76% of 664 reviews2020
Dev: ▲ Pyramid GamesPub: Pyramid Games S.A.
Windows
Median: 4.4 hrsMean: 5.9 hrs≥1hr: 93%
As an Engineer - crew member of one of the first Mars colonies - you are responsible for repairing and maintaining Mars Rovers. In this advanced simulator you will learn the internal details of various Mars Rovers and their components.
Why similar: Simulation 71.9%, Indie 28.1%
Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the technical maintenance of rovers, which is a core component of the seed game's simulation.
- #27 Surviving Mars: Pioneer
76% matchVery Positive84% of 81 reviews2025
Dev: Bolverk GamesPub: Impact Inked
Windows
The Red Planet is vast, desolate, and utterly indifferent to your survival. Surviving Mars: Pioneer is the first made-for-VR entry in the Surviving Mars universe, challenging you to carve out an existence in one of the most hostile environments imaginable.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #28 Mars Colony:Challenger
77% matchMixed65% of 119 reviews2014
Dev: HyperKat Games
Windows
Mars Colony: Challenger is a 3D first / third person game that offers you the challenge of setting up a remote base on the surface of Mars. At its core, the game was derived from a simulator where everything is interactively tied together.
Why similar: Simulation 81.6%, Indie 18.4%
- #29 LIMSCAPE : THE LIMINAL SPACE EXPLORER
73% matchVery Positive87% of 156 reviews2025
Dev: SMOOTHEA
Windows
A first-person exploration game where you walk through eerie and realistic spaces, searching for an exit. Powered by Unreal Engine's Lumen, it's perfect for those who enjoy quiet walks or simple games. Use the sandbox feature to create your own space! Requires a DirectX12-compatible GPU.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #30 The Last Caretaker
70% matchVery Positive86% of 11,569 reviews2025
Dev: Channel37 Ltd
Windows
Median: 18.1 hrsMean: 33.9 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Explore a drowned Earth, restore lost systems, and raise the last human seeds in this first-person survival-crafting adventure. Build, scavenge, defend, and launch humanity back to the stars.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #31 Horizon Journey
74% matchMostly Negative26% of 85 reviews2026
Dev: Redivided Studios
Windows
Embark on an epic adventure to Mars in Horizon Journey, an open-world survival game that blends colonization, terraforming, and exploration in both single-player and multiplayer co-op modes. You're tasked with the monumental challenge of making Mars a new home for humanity.
- #32 Under A New Sun
73% matchMostly Positive76% of 388 reviews2023
Dev: New Horizon Games
Windows
While searching for a new home, an unexpected failure in your ship has left you stranded on a planet surprisingly similar to Earth. Discover a vast open world, hunt for food, develop technologies, and build yourself a new home to survive!
Why similar: Simulation 67.5%, Indie 32.5%
- #33 Northern Lights
75% matchMixed67% of 296 reviews2020
Dev: MadGoat Studio
Windows
Northern Lights is an open world survival simulation set in the extreme conditions of the arctic tundra. Clinging to life, you must use real-life survival techniques to gather resources, craft, and hunt while tending to your health and sanity. Can you survive your way out of the mysterious island?
Why similar: Simulation 93%, Indie 7%
- #34 Mars Colony: Frontier
75% matchMixed41% of 58 reviews2015
Dev: HyperKat Games
Windows
In Mars Colony: Frontier you can learn the hard way what life would be like if you were stranded on the red planet. In this open-world simulator, you assume the role of an astronaut who has been sent on a mission to Mars only to have turmoil on Earth extend your stay indefinitely.
Why similar: Simulation 72.1%, Indie 27.9%
- #35 Moons of Madness
72% matchMostly Positive77% of 2,916 reviews2019
Dev: Rock Pocket GamesPub: Funcom
Windows
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 5.6 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Moons of Madness is a first-person, story-driven cosmic horror game where the scientific exploration of Mars meets the supernatural dread of Lovecraft.
Why similar: Indie 100%
- #36 Badiya: Desert Survival
74% matchMixed49% of 342 reviews2016
Dev: Semaphore
Windows
Median: 54 minMean: 2.9 hrs≥1hr: 43%
Badiya is a Sandbox Survival RPG set in the WWI era desert lands. Badiya challenges you to brave the sands, take part in wars, ply the spice routes, or hunt for treasure as you strive to fulfill your ambitions.
- #37 Ostranauts
71% matchVery Positive81% of 2,646 reviews2020
Dev: Blue Bottle GamesPub: Kitfox Games
Windows
Median: 5.7 hrsMean: 31.3 hrs≥1hr: 72%
Navigate your scrappy ship through the boneyard in search of valuable parts in abandoned vessels. Use salvage to upgrade your ship, or sell it for cash to pay down your mounting debt, or restock fuel, air, or food. Fly and role-play aboard your dream spaceship in this hardcore noir space-sim.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #38 The Planet Crafter: Prologue
69% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 10,685 reviews2021
Dev: Miju Games
Windows
Median: 1.4 hrsMean: 3.9 hrs≥1hr: 56%
Experience the first stages of terraforming an entire planet in this space survival open world terraforming crafting game prologue. Explore, survive, collect, build your base then create oxygen, heat and pressure to make an hostile planet livable for humanity.
- #39 Astro Colony
67% matchVery Positive81% of 2,634 reviews2026
Dev: Terad Games
Windows
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 16.2 hrs≥1hr: 78%
Explore endless Universe and create the most efficient constellation of colonies. Build conveyor systems to automate production. Take care of Astronauts and their needs! Establish new colonies as part of intergalactic simulation.
Why similar: Simulation 74.5%, Indie 25.5%
- #40 Breathedge
69% matchVery Positive82% of 16,292 reviews2021
Dev: RedRuins SoftworksPub: HypeTrain Digital
Windows
Median: 3.7 hrsMean: 9.2 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Survive in outer space! Together with your immortal chicken, discover the truth behind your sudden spaceship crash. Craft tools, pilot vehicles, and even control space stations to survive and explore the wreckage.
Why similar: Indie 61.9%, Simulation 38.1%
- #41 StarbaseSim
68% matchVery Positive97% of 60 reviews2025
Dev: AshtorakSimGames
Windows · Linux
Operate the Starship space launch system and learn how to catch a rocket to understand what it takes to colonize Mars in this ever-evolving simulation of SpaceX Starbase Texas.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #42 Solar Expanse - Space Exploration Manager
66% matchVery Positive87% of 1,079 reviews2026
Dev: SpaceOpsPub: Games Operators
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 14.4 hrs≥1hr: 75%
Explore the Solar System. Mine and drop asteroids. Colonize and terraform. Lead the space race and compete with other corporations on your way to profit. Watch the expansion of human race over the centuries.
Why similar: Simulation 74.9%, Indie 25.1%
- #43 Russian Village Simulator on Mars
68% matchMostly Positive78% of 69 reviews2025
Dev: VD Games
Windows
Develop a village colony on Mars, using various resources and bringing the unique flavor of Russian culture to the distant space.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #44 Metaverse
72% matchMixed43% of 77 reviews2016
Dev: Metaware Limited, LLC
Windows · Mac
In Metaverse you will dig, discover, design, deploy, and defend. Explore, build upon, or tear apart your own procedurally generated voxel planet. And now in the early stages of our multiplayer implementation, help conquer or build the planets of others.
Why similar: Simulation 71.2%, Indie 28.8%
- #45 Remains
69% matchMostly Positive76% of 318 reviews2021
Dev: SoloQ
Windows
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 4.1 hrs≥1hr: 79%
Remains - survival in outer space orbiting the planet. Explore the area. Find a way to restore oxygen. Create tools for your needs. Beware of the dangers of outer space. Build your shelter in orbit and try not to die!
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #46 Mars Odyssey
71% matchMostly Positive76% of 50 reviews2016
Dev: Steel Wool Studios
Windows
Mars Odyssey is a single player VR simulator experience. Land on Earth’s sister planet. Walk the surface of Mars in your living room and interact with full-scale, realistic NASA Landers and Rovers. Learn about the Red Planet, its history, and its geography in this interactive experience. Play time: 20 min.
Why similar: Simulation 85.6%, Indie 14.4%
- #47 Tin Can
67% matchVery Positive85% of 1,335 reviews2022
Dev: Tin Can Studio
Windows
Median: 1.1 hrsMean: 6.0 hrs≥1hr: 52%
You've barely managed to escape your exploding spaceship. Now in an old escape pod, you hurtle through space at the mercy of the cosmos. With no knowledge of the pod’s complex systems, your life depends on a technical manual and your own wits. How long can you survive?
Why similar: Simulation 74.1%, Indie 25.9%
- #48 Into the Stars
71% matchMixed41% of 538 reviews2016
Dev: Fugitive GamesPub: Iceberg Interactive
Windows
Median: 3.2 hrsMean: 4.3 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Take the role of Captain in this Space Survival Simulation as you explore a massive star system in search of a new home for humanity. Outfit your ship, hand pick your crew and set off on a journey through an open-world where you must scavenge resources, shelter civilians and outrun a hostile alien force.
Why similar: Simulation 75%, Indie 25%
- #49 Archean
66% matchVery Positive88% of 241 reviews2024
Dev: batcholi
Windows · Linux
Gather resources, craft components, build vehicles, and code their logic in a physics-driven engineering sandbox and full scale space sim.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #50 Drive Beyond Horizons
64% matchMostly Positive78% of 19,125 reviews2025
Dev: Drive Beyond HorizonsPub: Tacty Studio
Windows
Median: 9.8 hrsMean: 18.3 hrs≥1hr: 95%
Explore, survive, and push the boundaries of the horizon in a vast, procedurally generated world. Customize your vehicle, face unpredictable events, gather resources, and embark on a unique adventure, alone or with up to 4 players.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #51 Per Aspera
67% matchMostly Positive76% of 5,717 reviews2020
Dev: Tlön IndustriesPub: Raw Fury
Windows
Median: 5.0 hrsMean: 11.9 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Make Mars your own! Take control of the world’s most sophisticated AI (AMI) and terraform the surface of the Red Planet for a city-building experience on a planetary scale. Transform this barren world into a lush paradise and explore the surface for any ancient secrets that may be waiting.
Why similar: Simulation 100%
- #52 Jitter
65% matchVery Positive86% of 160 reviews2025
Dev: Berko Games
Windows
A sci-fi exploration & survival game where you take on the role of a spaceship’s AI. Explore, fight, and survive across a mining colony in the Main Asteroid Belt. Rebuild your ship. Rescue your crew. Reveal the truth behind your mission.
Why similar: Indie 100%
