You woke alone in a Martian base.. only to discover you are not quite alone..

Moons of Madness is a first-person cosmic horror adventure game released in 2019. Set in a near-futuristic Martian research outpost, the game blends hard science fiction with Lovecraftian horror, drawing inspiration from works like The Martian and H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos. The narrative follows Shane Newehart, an engineer tasked with maintaining the outpost until a relief team arrives on the transport ship Cyrano. The game’s depiction of the Martian outpost and its pervasive atmosphere of loneliness and abandonment are central to its immersive, unsettling experience.

The Martian outpost, Trailblazer Alpha, is a meticulously designed, state-of-the-art research facility built by the Orochi corporation to investigate a mysterious signal of intelligent origin detected from Mars. The outpost is a believable blend of scientific realism and eerie desolation, featuring functional areas like a greenhouse, infirmary, research labs, and solar panel arrays, all inspired by real-world Mars mission planning. The environment is detailed with personal touches – photo frames, workstations, coffee machines, and sticky notes – that evoke a sense of lived-in habitation, contrasting sharply with the growing sense of decay and neglect. As Shane navigates the base, he encounters malfunctioning systems, such as a flooded greenhouse filled with strange mist, Martian dust leaking into the infirmary, and alien-like, tentacle-covered vines sprawling across corridors, hinting at an otherworldly presence. The stark, rust-colored Martian landscape outside, with its dust clouds and desolate vistas, amplifies the outpost’s isolation, while the interior’s claustrophobic corridors and flickering lights enhance the feeling of being trapped in a failing, abandoned structure.

Shane, with limited security clearance, is unaware of the outpost’s true purpose and isolated from the broader mission, fostering a sense of disconnection from his colleagues and the world. His team’s absence – unexplained as they fail to return from an EVA mission – deepens this solitude, leaving him to face the outpost’s breakdowns alone. The narrative introduces psychological horror through Shane’s hallucinations and visions, possibly tied to his mother’s mysterious disappearance and his own fragile mental state, blurring the line between reality and madness. Cryptic messages, such as “They Never Turn Away!” scrawled on bulletin boards, and encounters with eerie entities like the “Thing in the Mist” intensify the feeling of being watched yet utterly alone. The outpost’s gradual transformation, with alien growths overtaking its once-functional spaces, mirrors Shane’s descent into isolation, as the environment itself seems to reject human presence.

The game’s pacing reinforces these themes, starting with routine tasks like aligning solar panels or repairing rovers, which ground players in Shane’s solitary duties, before escalating into survival against supernatural threats. The lack of combat mechanics heightens vulnerability, forcing players to confront the outpost’s dangers with only their wits, further emphasizing helplessness. While the story’s later plot twists – such as the revelation of Martian technology stabilizing the moons Phobos and Deimos as dormant elder gods – can feel disjointed, the atmosphere of loneliness and abandonment remains consistent, making Trailblazer Alpha a haunting stage for Shane’s unraveling psyche.

Here is a collection of images from the game, focusing on depiction of the Martian base:

A long night on Mars in "Fort Solis" thriller game

Fort Solis (2023) is a cinematic narrative-driven science fiction thriller game set in 2080 on Mars. During a night engulfed in a severe sandstorm two mining engineers, Jack and Jessica, respond to an unusual emergency alert from a mining and research station "Fort Solis". The station is on lockdown and seems to be abandoned. The pair separately starts to investigate, what has happened in the base, searching for clues throughout the claustrophobic buildings. Piece by piece they unlock both the various parts of the base and the truth behind recent events there. The game starts as a detective and ends as a thriller.

Fort Solis runs on Unreal Engine 5.2 so visually it is really good, especially the character models and animations. The game is not long, you can finish it in 5 to 8 hours even when reading, watching and listening to all of the clues throughout the base. The story will unfold linearly piece by piece, but there are two separate endings possible in the final act of the game.

Visual recap of Fort Solis' STORY

Jack and Jessica are working at a mining rig on Mars

When receiving the emergency allert Jack is driving to the mining station "Fort Solis"

"Fort Solis" is on lockdown

Search for a lost colony on Mars in "Deliver Us Mars" adventure game

Sequel to Deliver Us The Moon (2019), Deliver Us Mars (2023) is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure game set in mid-21st century when the ecosystem of Earth is close to extinction due to the effects of climate change. After a mysterious distress call from Mars, Earth’s youngest astronaut Kathy joins an expedition to recover the ARK colony ships stolen more than decade ago by the mysterious science-oriented organization Outward (Kathy's father Isaac is among the leaders of Outward).

Although the story of Deliver Us Mars is strictly linear and you as a player can't impact it, the story itself is well-written and interesting, revealing the truth about the fate of Outward colonists on Mars piece by piece. Some parts of the game felt like a true detective. The atmospheric visual and audial mood of the scenes complements the story well and the final act of Deliver Us Mars features one of the most compelling representations of a human colony on Mars in video games, feeling almost utopian.. especially comparing it to the dying Earth.

Unfortunately, this aspect also leads to some frustration with the strictly linear nature of the game's storytelling - you can't change the main character's endgame decision, no matter how stupid you think it is. Another source of a frustration with the game for some players will be the clunky wall climbing mechanics. Regardless these small issues Deliver Us Mars is a must-play game for any Mars fan.

Visual recap of Deliver Us Mars' STORY

Be aware of heavy spoilers, revealing major story plots.

Even before getting to Mars the expedition is riddled with severe problems

Game's protagonist (main character) is Earth’s youngest astronaut Kathy searching for her father among the lost colonists on Mars

Kathy lands near an abandoned mining facility

Martian city in "Chaser"

Chaser is an old first-person shooter released on 2003. Today there is no shortage of video games set on Mars, but back then Chaser was one of the few, even if only less than half of the game actually takes place on Mars. It follows a story somewhat similar to that of Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous movie Total Recall (1990) and I reviewed the game here 10 years ago.

Recently I made a second playthrough of the game. Part of Chaser's story takes place in a city on Mars under a large dome and here are some screenshots of the city:

The leader of the colony addressing settlers on Mars

The leader of the colony gives a speech to a crowd of Martian settlers inside a domed meeting hall of a human colony on Mars – game art from Terraformers – Mars colonization turn based strategy game released on March 2023 and developed by indie game developer Asteroid Lab.

Martian city on terraformed Mars

Martian city on terraformed Mars – a gameplay art from Terraformers – Mars colonization turn based strategy game released in early access on April 2022 and developed by indie game developer Asteroid Lab. In about a week the game will get a major update, including the ability to continue your game after achieving a victory condition, thus further expanding your civilization on Mars.

Militech colony on Mars in Cyberpunk 2077

Militech is a megacorporation specializing in weapons manufacturing and private military contracting in the alternate universe of the futuristic dystopian Cyberpunk franchise. It dominates much of the New United States of America's (NUSA) economy and politics, with the last few NUSA Presidents being ex-Militech executives.

We gave a brief insight of the space travel in Cyberpunk world when speculating about possible space-related content in Cyberpunk 2077 - a recent first-person open world role playing video game set in the universe of Cyberpunk. When playing the game we came across a short news segment announcing Militech's plans to construct a new colony on Mars and beginning selling (expensive) residential modules in the residential area of the colony:

Full news segment about Militech's new colony on Mars:

Spaceport on Phobos (concept art for Aliens: Colonial Marines)

Digital paintings of a spaceport on Phobos, the closest of two natural Martian moons. These images are concept art for Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013) - a first-person shooter (FPS) game set in the universe of Alien franchise. Unfortunately this location didn't make to the final game release.

In Alien's universe (depicted in Alien, Predator & Prometheus movies, games and books) Mars is the first planet colonized by humans in mid-21st century. There are many colonies and military bases on the planet established by both national and commercial entities and housing millions of people. On Phobos there is a commercial research facility experimenting with xenomorphs or aliens - a highly aggressive endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species.

Spaceship leaving Phobos' spaceport. Note the partially terraformed Mars below:

New settlers arriving on Mars

New settlers arriving at Martian spaceport – a concept artwork by Canadian illustrator Alexandra Hodgson for upcoming computer game Terraformers. It's a Mars colonization strategy game to be released in Q1 2022 and developed by indie game developer Asteroid Lab. Since October 2021 you can play free prologue of the game.

Design of the spaceship is clearly inspired by the initial design of SpaceX's Starship when it was first presented in 2016 and called Interplanetary Transport System. As we have observed – that first 12m diameter Starship design is quite popular with artists and game developers depicting colonization of Mars.

Mars base in Civilization 6 strategy game

Civilization 6 (Sid Meier's Civilization VI) is a turn-based strategy game released in 2016. The goal for the player is to develop a civilization from an early settlement through many in-game millennia to become a world power and achieve one of several victory conditions. One of the paths to win the game is through science domination where you need to be the first to launch a satellite, land humans on the Moon and establish a Martian colony.

Spaceship approaching Mars to establish a colony there:

Full in-game cinematic for science victory:

Human colony on terraformed Mars by Tiago da Silva

Human colony on partially terraformed Mars - a concept artwork by Portuguese fantasy artist Tiago da Silva (Grafik) created for upcoming computer game Terraformers. It is a Mars colonization strategy game currently being developed by indie game developer Asteroid Lab.

Brutalist architecture in Martian science fiction

Brutalism is an architectural style that emerged in the 1950s and grew out of the early-20th century modernist movement. Brutalist buildings are characterized by their massive, monolithic and "blocky" appearance with a rigid geometric style, large-scale use of poured concrete and a predominantly monochrome color palette. The style was popular in 1960s and 1970s in the West and well into 1980s in communist countries and Latin America.

As Brutalism started with an ethos of social utopianism but ended with associations of being cold, inhuman and totalitarian, no wonder it is the most dominant architectural style in dystopian fiction. But it is present also in general science fiction when envisioning a city in future.

One of the flaws of most Brutalist buildings is associated with weather effects on raw concrete, especially in wet and cold climate. Thus, despite being massive and seemingly long-lasting, most of Brutalist buildings are in poor condition today. But it's not a concern on Mars with its dry climate preserving rocks for billions of years. That is one of the reasons movies, TV series, games and art portraying human colonies and bases on Mars is filled with buildings in Brutalist style. Although the truest reason could be that Brutalist architecture with its simple shapes and monochrome colors can be easily reproduced in art, computer graphics and film sets :)

Here are some examples of Brutalist architecture in movies, TV series, video games and art set on Mars:

In movies and TV series

One of the most famous Martian movies - Total Recall (1990) - has some of the purest examples of Brutalist architecture, although most of them in scenes on Earth (filmed in Mexico City):

Family watching news on terraformed Mars

Family watching news in their room at a human colony on partially terraformed Mars - a concept artwork by Portuguese fantasy artist Tiago da Silva (Grafik) created for upcoming computer game Terraformers. It is a Mars colonization strategy game currently being developed by indie game developer Asteroid Lab.

Note the news ticker below the main story in TV displaying: Carl Sagan National Museum opens new exhibit, "The first missions - Elon Musk" :)

Mars base by Maciej Rebisz

Picture of the Day 20/12/2020 - Exploration rover at human base on Mars by Polish artist Maciej Rebisz - concept art for Space Company Simulator - a management simulation game (2018) where your final goal is to launch the first manned mission to Mars. Maciej Rebisz is currently working as senior concept artist for game developer CD Projekt RED (The Witcher game series, Cyberpunk 2077); more of his art here.

Astronauts returning to Mars colony by Ferdinand Ladera

Picture of the Day 13/12/2019 - exploration team returning to human colony on Mars by Filipino fantasy artist Ferdinand Ladera; illustration for The Expanse role-playing board game.

Orcus Patera base on Mars from Orbiter space flight simulator

Orbiter is a free-to-play space flight simulator developed by a single man Martin Schweiger since 2000 (the last major update was on 2016) and using realistic physics. Originally it's a very bare-bones program, but has a lot of fan-made addons which make the simulator much more enjoyable. One of those addons is Orcus Patera - a fictional human base/spaceport located in Orcus Patera depression on Mars; the addon is developed by Well and DanSteph.

Here are some images of the base modified in New Rome addon (which uses more recent Mars HRSC high-res texture pack and places the base in Valles Marineris):

Human base in a Martian canyon by Colin Geller

Picture of the Day 11/10/2019 - Damaged human base in a Martian canyon - concept art by Colin Geller for "Lazarus labs" exterior in DOOM (2016) computer game.

New cinematic trailer for Occupy Mars simulation game released

The Martian frontier is yours in Occupy Mars - the upcoming (as of today: Coming soon) highly technical open world simulation game about Mars colonization from Polish indie game developer Pyramid Games. In the game you will be able to "build and upgrade your base, discover new amazing regions, conduct mining operations, retrieve water and generate oxygen, grow crops, fix broken parts, learn how to survive on Mars!"

Here is the newest cinematic trailer of the game and beautiful HD images from it. Note the SpaceX's Starman style spacesuit and ITS v2016 Starship.

SpaceX ITS v2016 Starship landing at Mars base:

Assembling Mars base module by module:

Astronaut planting a tree in Mars biodome:

Mars base layout:

Mars city clouded in a sandstorm

Picture of the Day 19/8/2019 - Mars city clouded in a sandstorm; an image of ArcCorp Area 18 cityscape from upcoming massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Star Citizen funded by an unprecedented crowdfunding campaign of over $200 million on Kickstarter. The game is released by modules and is playable for several years now in alpha stage.

Leaving the cradle - incredible trailer of TerraGenesis

The latest trailer of TerraGenesis mobile game made by famous YouTuber MelodySheep is just stunning, reminding the vibes of The Expanse TV series. TerraGenesis is a popular mobile terraforming simulator game where you can establish a colony and gradually terraform other planetary bodies in Solar System.



Here are some images from the trailer: