Winking Entertainment and Step in Future’s Mars Alive will be released for PlayStation VR on June 18 in North America, June 19 in Europe, and June 20 in Asia.
Mars Alive is a sci-fi survival PlayStation VR game which will put you in front of the ruthless weather, days, nights, and challenging natural phenomena on Mars. Just like Ridley Scott’s film The Martian, you must learn to manage your resources carefully if you want to live longer. You will also get to unveil the mystery of a civilization and the conspiracies on Mars as one of the remaining survivors in this planet.
The story is set AD 2045. The program known as Project Monolith III, the third Mars immigration, began with a total of 18 members arriving on Mars. A terrorist attack hits Mars and leaves everything in shambles; cultures, technologies, innovations, everything they once knew, destroyed. You will play the role of John, one of the only two survivors.
Mars Alive showcases a variety of features, such as fighting for survival on Mars. If you want to last long, you need to keep watch of your four statuses, including Oxygen, Food, Water, and Temperature. Once one of your statuses drop to zero, your health will immediately deteriorate. Death will be lurking around and can jump at you at any moment.
If you want to survive and leave this dead planet, you have no other choice but to step out of your space habitat. Although the whole colony has been eradicated, you might run into a few supplies you’ll need, like an oxygen tank and scrap food ingredients, around the facilities. As you scavenge for resources, keep in mind that you must look for clues that will help you get back to Earth.
The content designers for Mars Alive definitely went the extra mile to make this virtual reality experience as realistic as possible. The developers also made their own research just for this project by visiting the Mars Village, where space agencies prepare their missions to Mars. They’ve even contacted a scholar studying planetary science at Brown University. You will be able to experience the fruit of the efforts made by everyone who took part in creating the game. The geographical features like real-time day and night transitions, and severe weather conditions will take you to the red planet itself.
Two types of vehicles exist within the game; the first one is the driven Mars Manned Rover (MMR) and the second one is the remote-controlled Mars Exploration Rover (MER). The content designers made sure to use the designs of NASA as a reference in order to keep the real operating principle of the vehicles intact. NASA’s Mars Exploration Concept is the inspiration of the MMR. It takes its energy from batteries and solar panels, or you can charge it in the facility. You can use the MMR to broaden your exploration areas. You will also need both oxygen and the right temperature in the cockpit of the vehicle through electric energy. MER, on the other hand, takes its inspiration from the NASA Curiosity rover. It has a number of scientific communication instruments. Its energy comes from batteries. Plan a route through the console inside the hab and use the MER to mark the materials and resources it detected across its route. The MER can even collect these materials and resources for you once it has been upgraded.
Once you learn Mars' ways, who knows, you can even be a true Martian like Matt Damon. The moment you’ve collected enough resources, you can try and mix them up to create new items like a backpack-enhanced accessary, batteries, and more. All of these can be made via a 3D printer. Several combinations are waiting to be discovered and crafted. You won’t be scavenging for resources forever, either. As the story moves forward, you will be able to develop your very own self-sustained agriculture system. Yes, just like Matt Damon, who grew his own potatoes, you won’t be worried about food anymore. Just be sure to take care of your crops, water them regularly and wait patiently to harvest them.
Are you ready to experience the lonely and harsh life on Mars? Share your thoughts about Mars Alive below.