Mars Horizon

Did You Know?

• The development team stayed in facilities in Germany and the Netherlands, receiving firsthand experience on space program development.
• Interviews for the game included staff from the ExoMars mission.
• ESA staff provided technical assistance, gameplay advice, and testing.

Reception

Mars Horizon received mixed reviews on Metacritic. OpenCritic assessed fair approval, with 67% of critics recommending it. Joe Robinson of PCGamesN praised the game for capturing the wonder of space exploration with a hard science fiction approach, comparing it to Kerbal Space Program but noting that Mars Horizon uses screens, menus, and cutscene videos rather than direct ship control. Elizabeth Howell of Space.com praised the aerospace engineering tech tree and the game's adaptation of space history, though she noted it fails to clarify that only the United States and Russia were significant early researchers. She also felt the gameplay conveys the hardships real agencies face, such as the risk of damage to expensive ships.

Sequel

Auroch Digital announced a sequel, Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life, planned for 2024. It would feature rival or allied space agencies and focus on the search for extraterrestrial life. Planetary scientist Konstantin Batygin joined the design team to ensure accuracy regarding real-life Mars life searches. Development was halted in January 2026 due to poor reception of the demo and surveys.