Mars is a frequent destination for much of our video games. And Deliver Us Mars is the latest one to follow that path. But that is not solely limited to Mars. Space travel is another great theme for us here at IndieGala. You can read all about it here.
But Surviving Mars is also one of our favorites that has Mars as a location, and yes. We even did an article about that too. However, there are a couple of big differences when it comes to these two games. Different developers and publishers, sure. However, the biggest one perhaps is the fact that Deliver Us Mars is a game that’s yet to be published.
Indeed. It’s due to come out in September, but until then I think it’s best to have a close look at it. What do you think?
What’s Deliver Us Mars All About?
Developed by KeokeN Interactive and published by Frontier Developments, Deliver Us Mars is bound to be released on 2nd of February 2023. An in its essence, Deliver Us Mars is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure. One that will take you on a suspense-fueled, high-stakes mission to recover the ARK colony ships stolen by the mysterious Outward.
A sequel to the award-winning Deliver Us The Moon, Deliver Us Mars is an atmospheric sci-fi adventure offering an immersive astronaut experience. You get to explore new frontiers on a suspense-fuelled, high-stakes mission to recover the ARK colony ships stolen by the mysterious Outward.
A BOLD NEW MISSION
Ten years after the Fortuna mission, humanity is closer than ever to extinction. After a mysterious distress call from Mars, Earth’s youngest astronaut Kathy Johannson joins the Zephyr and its crew on one last mission: to recover the ARK colony ships stolen by the mysterious Outward, and with them, ensure the survival of the human race.
OUT OF THIS WORLD GAMEPLAY
Board the Zephyr as you journey from Earth to the surface of Mars. Traverse and endure its harsh and unforgiving terrain as you quest to discover the secrets left behind by Outward. Use both brains and brawn to overcome mental and physical challenges, find the ARKs, and uncover the motivations of those behind the distress call that brought you here.
A HANDCRAFTED EXPERIENCE
Experience a highly polished and absorbing narrative experience packed with engaging gameplay. Every moment is handcrafted, delivering a suspense-filled, emotion-fuelled narrative alongside music from award-winning composer Sander Van Zanten, state-of-the-art motion capture, stunning graphics and real-time ray traced shadows and reflections, powered by Unreal Engine.
Deliver Us Mars is available for pre-order here at IndieGala. Don’t miss it for the world.
But Why Is Mars Such A Fascinating Place To Be?
Let’s face it. Mars has been the popular destination in movies, TV, video games and even science-fiction literature for quite some time. Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. However, Before the 1800s, Mars did not get much attention in fiction writing as a primary setting. Although it did appear in some stories visiting multiple locations in the Solar System. Yes. Mars became the most popular extraterrestrial location in fiction in the late 1800s. As it became clear that the Moon was devoid of life. But at the same time, A recurring theme in this time period was that of reincarnation on Mars. Which ultimately saw an upswing in interest in the paranormal in general. And in relation to Mars in particular.
War Of The World Changed Our Opinion On Mars
Yes it did. The 1897 novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, depicts an alien invasion of Earth by Mars in search of resources. And it represented a turning point in Martian fiction. Rather than portraying Martians as essentially human, they have a completely inhuman appearance and cannot be communicated with. Rather than being noble creatures to emulate, the Martians dispassionately kill and exploit the Earthlings like livestock. Which at the time was a critique of the British imperialism.
But the novel also gave us an understanding of the Martians. The inhabitants of Mars, which since then have been depicted as enlightened, evil, and decadent. But the truth is the colonization of Mars became a major theme in science fiction in the 1950s. And in similar fashion, Mars colonies revolting against Earth is a recurring motif since then too. But there’s the terraforming motif as well. Clarke’s The Sands of Mars features one of the earliest depictions of terraforming Mars to make it more hospitable to human life. And terraforming would later become a major theme of Martian fiction in the 1990s. In number of works including the 1990 film Total Recall and the 1992–1996 Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson.
But What Makes Mars So Popular In Fiction?
One of the best answers that exists on this issue comes from Isaac Asimov’s introduction to an edition of H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds. He basically suggests that much of our fascination with Mars and the notion of life on Mars has to do with a matter of translation. Or rather a mistranslation of the Italian word “canali.”
And in 1877, when the Italian astronomer Schiaparelli noted markings on Mars’s surface, dark lines that seemed to crisscross each other, he called them channels. The Italian word for channels is “canali,” and this somehow became “canals” in English rather than channels. That prompted a lot of people, including the American astronomer Percival Lowell, to speculate about intelligent life on Mars. There are, of course, the other facts about Mars. For instance, it’s the closest planet to Earth. And it’s similar to Earth in terms of its physical makeup. And it has moons. So there’s that.
But unlike farcical movies like Total Recall that make the Mars experience lighter for the regular Joe, there are some movie that do it justice. You have Ridley Scott to thank for that, since he directed The Martian a while back.
The Martian: True To The Science?
Yes. For the most part it did. Hey even Neal DeGrasee Tyson had some praise for the movie, and consider it to be the best and most accurate movie about Mars to this day. But you should also give The Martian props for getting the botany mostly right too. Martian soil would, as in the story, be suitable for growing crop. And in at least one study it worked better than ordinary Earthly dirt.
But in general, the appeal to have Mars in the movie, or in the TV series… Or in this case in the video game is the elusiveness and the mystical nature of the planet. It’s so close, and yet to far away from us… We as a humanity haven’t been there to know for sure how it’s actually like, but we love to assume. The science is on our side, and our imagination. The best of both worlds I’d say.
Are You Excited About Deliver Us Mars?
We sure are here at IndieGala.
