Per Aspera Review Summary

Fun and engaging Mars terraforming sim with a captivating story, but repetitive gameplay, frequent crashes, and tedious manual road upgrades hold it back.

Game is fun and enjoyable: Players consistently report that the game is fun, engaging, and can be played for hours. The gameplay is described as enjoyable, addictive, and well-executed.

Story is captivating and engaging: The story is consistently highlighted as a strong point, described as captivating, compelling, and engaging. Players find the narrative draws them in and keeps them interested.

Visually appealing and well-made: The game is praised for its stunning visuals, attractive graphics, and comfortable interface. Players note that the game is aesthetically pleasing and competently made.

Great Mars terraforming simulation: Players enjoy the game as a Mars terraforming and colony building simulation. The experience of colonizing Mars is described as beautiful and well-crafted.

Interesting AI consciousness theme: The game's unique take on AI consciousness is highlighted as a fascinating element. Players appreciate the well-integrated AI elements in both story and gameplay.

Gameplay is boring and repetitive: Players consistently report that the gameplay is shallow, slow, and unenjoyable, leading to boredom before finishing the game. The repetitive nature and lack of engagement are major detractors.

Game lacks depth and polish: The game is rough around the edges, lacking detail and complexity despite a good concept. It does not deliver the promised depth, leaving players disappointed.

Manual road upgrades are tedious: Upgrading roads requires manual, tier-by-tier actions that are time-consuming and costly, with no option to upgrade multiple roads at once. This process is described as horrendous and a significant source of frustration.

Game pacing is extremely slow: The game is criticized for its slow pace, with long waiting times even at maximum speed. This sluggishness makes the experience feel bogged down and contributes to overall dissatisfaction.

Building limit restricts construction: Players encounter a building limit that prevents further construction, requiring demolition of existing structures one by one. The limit is poorly explained and seen as ridiculous, hindering progress.

Terraforming Mars core gameplay: The game is primarily about terraforming Mars, involving raising temperature, melting ice caps, and managing the transformation of the planet. This is a central and frequently mentioned theme across multiple clusters.

Colony and base building: Players engage in colony simulation, base building, and city building mechanics, constructing structures and managing a settlement on Mars. This is a common gameplay element highlighted by many reviews.

Resource and production management: The game involves managing resources, production chains, and logistics, requiring players to balance consumption and production. This management aspect is frequently noted as a key part of the experience.

Campaign with branching story: The game includes a campaign mode with a narrative and multiple endings, featuring branching story paths and dialogue choices that affect gameplay. This story element is a significant part of the experience.

Logistics and automation systems: Logistics are automated through drones and robot workers, with systems for transport and supply chains. Players must ensure connections and manage drone priorities to maintain efficiency.

Frequent crashes and instability: Multiple players report crashes, including desktop crashes, system crashes, and hard-locks, leading to lost progress. These issues occur at various times, from early gameplay to after several hours.

Performance drops with colony size: As the colony grows, FPS drops drastically, causing freezes and glitches, especially when reaching certain building counts. This suggests scalability issues in the game engine.

Memory leaks cause performance degradation: Players experience memory leaks on Mac, Linux, and as the game progresses, consuming all system RAM and swap, leading to severe slowdowns. This is a critical technical issue affecting long sessions.

Good performance on max settings: Some players report great performance with no technical issues at maximum settings, indicating that the game runs well on certain hardware configurations.

Poor optimization in later stages: From midgame to endgame, FPS drops to 30 and below, with heavy CPU/GPU usage and low FPS at 4K. This indicates a lack of optimization for late-game content.

Recommended for genre fans: The game is recommended for fans of base building, colony sims, and sci-fi simulations. Reviewers highlight that those who enjoy these genres will find the game appealing.

Buy on sale: Many reviewers recommend purchasing the game only when it is on sale, noting that it is not worth the full price but becomes worthwhile at a discount. This sentiment is repeated across multiple clusters.

Mixed recommendation: The game receives both positive and negative recommendations. Some reviewers recommend it despite issues, while others cannot recommend it at all. The mixed sentiment suggests a divisive experience.

Not recommended for everyone: Some reviewers caution that the game is not for everyone, particularly those looking for fast-paced gameplay, complex builders, or precise control. They suggest that only patient players or genre enthusiasts will enjoy it.

Not worth full price: Several reviewers explicitly state that the game is not worth its full price, citing lack of replayability, niche appeal, or quality issues. They suggest waiting for a sale or a steep discount.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 20.0h.

Story completion: 16.0h.

Session length: 24.0h.

Endgame: 16.0h.

The game is enjoyable in its early hours, but becomes a tedious slog in the mid-to-late game, with repetitive tasks and waiting.

Friction: Very slow beginning with limited worker robots; Unclear building visuals (boxes in different colors); Overwhelming UI and slow mechanics.

Chill Terraformer: Slow, patient, story-driven building at own pace. Motivation: Relaxation and narrative immersion in terraforming Mars. Stance: buy.

Logistics Perfectionist: Min-maxing, planning ratios, seeking fine control over resource flow. Motivation: Optimizing production and logistics systems. Stance: no buy.

Disillusioned Realist: Attempted to play, encountered issues, gave up or advises against. Motivation: Seeking a polished, engaging game but encountering design flaws and bugs. Stance: no buy.

Steam Deck: The game exhibits a critical memory leak and performance issues on Linux, the Steam Deck OS. The memory leak consumes all available RAM and swap, and performance drops sharply in later stages, leading to low FPS. These problems render the game unstable and potentially unplayable on Steam Deck.

Frequent comparisons to Surviving Mars: Many reviews compare the game to Surviving Mars, noting similarities in mechanics and setting, though some find this game more fun or unique. The comparisons are frequent and detailed, indicating a strong influence.

DLC content and value concerns: Reviews mention the Blue Mars DLC and other expansions, with some saying they improve the experience while others feel content should be in the base game. The DLC is a common topic, affecting perceived value.

Comparisons to Factorio and production games: The game is compared to Factorio and similar production chain games, but often noted as simpler or with less control. This highlights the logistics and building aspects.

Game length varies widely: Reviewers report playtimes ranging from 16 to 40 hours, with some finishing in a few days. This indicates variable pacing and content depth.

Game not polished at release: Several reviews state the game was released in an unfinished or alpha-like state, with balance and bug issues. This affected initial reception, though patches have improved it.