Space explorationand survival are common tropes in video games. However, there are not many games that address the problem of actually surviving on a planet other than Earth (in any way other than constructing a safe habitat such as a base). The more complex solution is to terraform an entire planet so that it can sustain life.
Terraforming a planet would be a huge, complex project. So, it is no surprise that game developers have not often taken on the challenge of creating a game based on changing an entire planet. However, there are a handful of terraforming games available, some of which are really very good andfun to play.
6Terraforming Earth
An Interesting Take On Roguelike Gameplay
Most games that focus on terraforming of some sort sit well within the strategy genre, butTerraforming Earthis different. This is a 2D,side-scrollingroguelike game. Each playthrough is completely different, as almost everything is procedurally generated in this game.
The Earth has suffered a catastrophe, and the player must take control of three funny little robots, guiding them through multiple platform levels andsolving puzzlesas they go. As the player progresses, the terraforming project moves forward. Be warned, though; this is a very hard game. Just because it has cute, almost quirky graphics, doesn’t mean it plays like a simple mobile game.Terraforming Earthoffers a significant challenge.
5Terraforming Mars
Turn The Red Planet Green
InTerraforming Mars, the player takes control of a corporation that is competing — economically and technically — to turn Mars into a viable, livable planet with a fully sustainable ecosystem. Basic goals include establishing a breathable atmosphere and creating oceans. As Mars becomes safer to live on, and terraforming moves forward, settlers will emigrate from Earth to the planet.
The terraforming project is complex, and the player will need to acquire resources and set up integrated production chains to make the required materials. Cities need to be built and agricultural areas designated. Overall,Terraforming Marsis afantastic strategy gamethat is great fun to play.
4Farlanders
Terraform Mars And Establish A Colony
Farlandersis, at heart, an isometriccolony-building game, but with a twist. In order for the player to build and expand a colony on Mars, it first needs to be terraformed. A range of tools are provided to help accomplish this task. As terraforming progresses, additional colony options open up.
The terraforming project requires power, and the player needs to establish a reliable source of energy for this. Additionally, specific resources need to be mined and harvested. And of course, workers are needed. If the player runs out of space on the surface of Mars,Farlandersallows them to start digging below the surface and establishing underground bases. 2D isometric strategy fans might like to give this cool little game a try.
Explore And Exploit Mars
Terraformers
Send your leaders to mysterious locations and uncover rich resource depots, giant crystal caves and stunning natural wonders.Found new cities on craters and in lava Tubes. Make them thrive and meet your population’s rising demands.As the planet is procedurally generated, every new playthrough will be unique.Choose the best buildings from a selection of randomly proposed project cards at the start of every turn.Plan your city layout efficiently and find strong synergies between buildings.Grow your cities into utopian metropolises or industrial settlements automated by robots.Restart a volcano, construct giant space mirrors or nuke the poles to geo-engineer the entire planet.From spreading adaptive bacteria, to planting full-grown forests with bears. Each life form has specific requirements and provides strategic benefits.
Terraformersis a slick, good-looking strategy game that exploits procedural generation to ensure that no two playthroughs are the same. Once again, the player is tasked with terraforming the Red Planet, Mars. Exploration plays a significant role in this game. The player has access to certain hero units — leaders who can be sent to scout the map and uncover natural wonders.
This is a turn-based strategy game, and at the beginning of each turn, the player chooses from a number of randomly selected cards to decide what actions will take place during that turn. This can include constructing colony buildings, assigning orders to leaders, and deciding what resources to harvest.Terraformersis easy to play but has some real hidden depth.
Complex Terraforming Strategy Games
Per Aspera
The surface of Mars is littered with Humanity’s failed attempts to colonize its surface. This time will be different - this time there is no room for human error. Using scientific theories proposed by real space agencies and geographical data directly from NASA, Per Aspera presents life-like conditions and challenges steeped in theoretical science.Per Aspera contains a rich narrative that presents players with difficult decisions with planet-wide consequences. See the world through the eyes of an infant AI as it traverses a complicated ocean of self-discovery and shapes the fate of the human race. Navigate your ever-evolving programming to adapt to morally challenging concepts and forge relationships with the human colonists that look to you for their continued survival. The choices you make will impact how your mission ultimately concludes.Keep your wits about you as this is not the first time humans have tried to tame the Red Planet. Expose long-forgotten relics of Humanity’s failed attempts, learn from their past mistakes, and uncover a looming menace that threatens to see you fail at any cost.
InPer Aspera, Mars is, yet again, the target of a terraforming project. However, this is a game that really gets the complexity and enormity of such a project across. The goal is for the player to make Mars a viable environment to support life — and also to create a massive, interconnected infrastructure that covers the entire planet.
Technologies need to be researched, and materials must be located and acquired to progress with terraforming. The player is free to play either the fully scripted and voice-acted campaign, or simply enjoy arelaxed sandbox experience. A nice addition to this terraforming game is the cooperative mode for up to four players. There are several expansions available forPer Aspera, which can help to keep gameplay fresh for quite a while.
Planet Crafterdeserves its place at the top of this list. It plays very much like a space survival game in first-person mode but with the goal of terraforming a whole planet. Toward this goal, the player will need to track down certain resources and find areas of the map where they can be harvested. This is easier said than done, as the rarer resources are only available in very specific, hard-to-access places.
As the game progresses, the player will begin constructing machinery to terraform the planet. This includes special drills that relieve tectonic pressure to prevent earthquakes and huge heaters that will raise the temperature of the whole planet.
Of course, a viable atmosphere must be created, and the player will need to construct seed nurseries and biodomes to begin spreading genetically engineered seeds across the planet. The terraforming project is further complicated by parts of the planet flooding as water content rises. If the player’s base happens to be in an area that floods, well, it is time to start again somewhere else.ThePlanet Crafteris a great hybrid survival game that offers hundreds of hours of replayability.
