A simple but addictive platformer that’s out of this world!

Retro gaming is far from dead and the mobile space has provided a new “platform” (pun intended, albeit slightly) on which platformers may rise in popularity once more.

One of the many platformers that have tried their luck in this novel ecosystem is Mars: Mars. A space-themed side-scroller that, as its name suggests, allows you to tread the red planet, albeit in unconventional ways.

Here, you are relinquished of your ability to freely walk across the surface of the planet, instead having to hop from platform to platform using a jetpack. For some weird, unexplained reason, landing on the rocky surface will warrant instant death, which might help explain why there have been no manned missions to Mars yet!

In any case, the Mars backdrop is just that: A backdrop. You’re given no abstract or log justifying your presence there. You’re there to simply jump until you reach your objective. 

Initially, you’ll play as an ordinary explorer with a red space suit, but you can unlock other explorers as you reach farther platforms, and there are a ton of those!  You can play as an anthropomorphic ape, a space mariachi, or an octopus, among many others (makes total sense, amirite?) Each character will appear in a different scenario for you to explore.

Oh, and did I mention water? Yeah, you also get to play underwater in this seemingly-terraformed Martian environment by choosing Aqualung, one of the most interesting unlockable explorers in the game.

Good thing is, all of this doesn’t have to make sense. The game is fun and challenging enough for me to worry about suspending my disbelief.

Yes, this game is tough. Not only that, but I think it can be unfair at times. It may be that I’m just a lousy player, or it could realistically be the game’s fault. Thing is, it requires you to be exceedingly accurate with your landings, meaning that the slightest offset will immediately trigger sudden death, and by death I mean you get crushed into tiny pieces of food for whatever lives in this otherworldly biome (because, as unbelievable as this sounds, there’s life in this version of Mars, judging from the palm trees and fungi you may encounter here and there).

Back to the gameplay, you rely on fuel to move. The fuel available per move is extremely limited, so you need to plan your hops very carefully, especially if you’re trying to reach faraway platforms. Also, keep a watch on the obstacles you may find. Some landscape features (such as the wildlife I described a moment ago) could give you the necessary push and leeway to reach the next platform more comfortably, so don’t forget to take advantage of those.

The game comes with highly simplistic-yet-intuitive cell-shaded graphics which are pretty to look at. Not only that, but the UI is also very functional and elegant in its futuristic design. It’s not overly convoluted, so it’s fairly easy to navigate through the menus.

Finally, you have a neat “selfie” feature which adds to the suspension of disbelief mentioned earlier. I’m not saying you can’t take a selfie on Mars (because, like, you totally can *sarcasm*) but the way you’re capable of taking selfies while suspended in midair - without consuming any fuel in the process, mind you – should have given testers (if any) some pause . Again, it’s fine. Please don’t mind my nitpicking here.

I would have loved to be able to take selfies anywhere on the map. The game, however, only designates a few spots for this purpose. It’s not a totally immersion-breaking limitation, but it’s still a limitation. Maybe I’m just asking too much!

Verdict

Mars: Mars is a nice little game that doesn’t pretend to be anything else but a fun platformer. Admittedly, it can get repetitive and some backstory wouldn’t have hurt. Regardless, if you’re looking to kill some time while out of work, Mars: Mars is a totally safe choice. Additionally, while you’ll be faced with some in-app purchases, there are no moments in which I suspected that this was a pay-to-win game, which is a big plus for me.

In any case, feel free to hop into the comments section and leave your thoughts about this neat game!