Explore the remnants of Mars's first scientific colony in this remake of the classic 8-bit MSX2 game, now with a 16-bit look. As a Metroidvania blending Action, Indie, RPG, and Adventure elements, you investigate frozen surfaces, battle mutants, and uncover the fate of the lost outpost. Restore contact while scavenging for suit upgrades like double jump and run abilities, plus weapons including grenade launchers, flamethrowers, machine guns, and plastic explosives.
An energy bar powers all weapons and abilities, recharging over time or via cells collected from enemies and hidden spots. Use workshops to endlessly upgrade gear for faster energy regen and overwhelming power, mastering explosions for chain reactions in non-linear exploration. A colony map reveals secrets, with four difficulty levels shifting from run-and-gun play to tense survival. Old-school fans crave its addictive, retro challenge.
Remake of the 8 bits MSX2 game of the same name, with a 16 bits look.
Genre: Metroidvania (2D Metroid/Castlevania style) with RPG elements.
Explore, investigate, find improvements for your suit, find weapons, upgrade your weapons in workshops, fight incredible mutants...
Discover what happened in the first martian colony.
Story:
Earth has lost contact with the only colony in mars; a scientific colony established to research the existence of life in the frozen waters of Mars.
You will be sent to the planet’s surface with the mission to restore contact with the colony and find out what happened.
Inspired in the 80’s and 90’s sci-fi horror movies, Life on Mars is an old-school game with old school graphics and very addictive playability which will make you feel again the things you only felt 2 or 3 decades ago.
Features:
-4 difficulty levels:
The easier modes can be enjoyed as a “run and gun” kind of game, while the normal and mostly, the hardest level, will make you play it as a real survival game, where every hit counts.
-Weapons and abilities:
You will start with a single rifle, but you will be able to find weapons such as a grenade launcher, a flame thrower, a machine gun and plastic explosives.
There are also abilities for your suit, such as the double jump and the run ability.
-Shield and energy improvements:
You will find modules to extend your maximum amount of shield or your maximum amount energy for your weapons and abilities.
-Energy system:
Instead of an ammunition system, the game uses an energy bar system which decreases with every weapon or ability you use, but it recharges automatically over time.
-Energy cells and workshops:
You will find energy cells around the map or after defeating enemies. You can use those energy cells in workshops scattered all over the colony to upgrade some weapons or your energy generator, so your energy bar reloads faster.
You can also farm for energy cells by revisiting previous areas for as long as you wish.
There is no limit on the upgrade system, so you can end up with incredibly powerful weapons, so no matter how difficult the game gets for you, you can farm and upgrade your weapons to the point where you have no rival.
-Map:
You have a basic map of the colony which shows your location. You can use it to find secret areas in the colony.
-Non linear game style:
You can re-visit any area of the colony and use your new weapons and abilities to access rooms or areas you could not before, so you might find power ups or weapons.
Also, further on the game you can do several objectives in any order you like.
-Explosions:
Who doesn’t like explosions? There are LOTS of explosions!
A big part of the addictive playability is due to the fact that there is a very elaborate combo system with the explosions, chain reactions, friendly fire, etc.
It is really advised for the player to master the explosions dynamics early in the game to make use of them efficiently and improve the game experience.
Welcome back to the past, when you really had fun with videogames.
Welcome to Mars…
