MARS4

MARS4 is a survival crafting game that drops players into a harsh Martian environment, where resource management, base-building, and exploration are key to survival. The game features a detailed recreation of Mars, built using real NASA data, making it visually impressive and immersive.

At its core, MARS4 challenges players to mine, craft, and adapt in order to endure the unforgiving conditions of the Red Planet. As a stranded astronaut, every decision matters where gathering materials, managing oxygen, and expanding your base all play a crucial role in staying alive.

Gameplay

Landing on the Martian surface in MARS4 is both awe-inspiring and overwhelming. The endless red landscape stretches as far as the eye can see, a harsh and lonely environment where survival is the only priority. With limited resources, players must mine, refine, and craft to build the tools necessary to stay alive. But beyond the thrill of extracting minerals and assembling gear, a nagging question arises: What am I really working toward?

At its core, MARS4 presents an engaging survival crafting system, but lacks a sense of direction. The game offers a tech tree full of blueprints, but without missions, quests, or major objectives, progress feels more like an experiment in survival rather than a journey with a clear goal. Players can build, craft, and explore, but the absence of a compelling narrative leaves much of the experience open-ended and without urgency.

The crafting system in MARS4 is deep and rewarding, offering a sense of accomplishment as players refine resources and unlock new technologies. Every crafted tool or structure feels like a step forward in mastering the Martian landscape.

One of the biggest improvements in the latest version is the expanded inventory system, increasing the number of equipped items from 6 to 10. Additionally, the mining system has seen significant upgrades, with smoother animations and realistic dust effects, making the process feel more immersive and visually satisfying.

But despite these improvements, survival is still far from smooth. Frequent game crashes disrupt progress, and a frustrating bug causes players to respawn while running out of oxygen, often with most of their inventory missing. This results in immediate death, wiping out precious resources and forcing players to start over—a major setback in a game where resource management is key.

One of MARS4's most impressive features is the ability to craft and operate vehicles. These rovers and transport machines are visually stunning, boasting realistic physics and suspension systems that make driving feel authentic. The attention to detail in their design is undeniable, adding a layer of immersion and excitement to the gameplay.

However, beyond the thrill of driving, vehicles serve little purpose. The Martian landscape, while beautiful, remains empty and repetitive, offering no real incentive to explore beyond mining scattered resource nodes. Without unique locations, hidden discoveries, or major objectives, exploration feels more like a long drive across endless terrain rather than an adventure.

A major issue that worsens exploration is the lack of a proper navigation system. Players can mark their bases, but once they exit and reload the game, these markers disappear, leaving them lost with no way to find their home. Worse yet, respawning in a random location upon re-entry further complicates survival, as players may never find their base again. A functional map system with landmarks, permanent markers, or even GPS tracking would make exploration far more rewarding and less frustrating.

MARS4 has taken a major step forward by introducing multiplayer functionality, allowing players to mine, craft, and build together. This adds depth to the experience, as working alongside others makes survival more engaging and strategic. However, multiplayer remains limited, with only an EU server currently available. This means players in other regions experience lag and connectivity issues, making it difficult to fully enjoy cooperative gameplay. Expanding server locations would greatly improve the multiplayer experience and make the game more accessible worldwide.

The building mechanics in MARS4 offer great creative freedom, allowing players to design and construct bases without being limited to preset structures. However, while structures can now be destroyed, they cannot be moved, and materials used in construction are not retrievable. 

Review

MARS4 is shaping up to be an interesting survival crafting game, but it still feels like it's missing something big. The crafting and building systems are fun and rewarding, and the multiplayer feature is a great addition, letting players work together to mine, craft, and survive. The improved inventory system and smoother mining animations also make gameplay feel better. But the lack of direction, whether through quests, missions, or meaningful exploration, makes the game feel like an endless grind with no real goal.

The biggest frustration, though, comes from technical issues. Crashes, respawn bugs, and getting lost with no way to find your base make survival more annoying than challenging. The fact that you can now destroy buildings but not move them or recover materials also adds to the frustration, making mistakes more punishing than they should be. It’s clear MARS4 has a solid foundation, but without stronger progression, a better navigation system, and more things to actually do, it risks becoming just another survival game that looks cool but lacks depth. If the developers fix the core issues and add meaningful content, this game could stand out—but right now, it still feels unfinished.