14 DAY TRIAL // 
I have another three turns to use one of my leader’s special ability to get more plants to ship to Mars. But I might be better served by using another ability to make the species I already have access to better suited to the conditions on the planet. This could greatly help my terraforming efforts, as long as I use my resources to push for a greener and wetter planet.
But maybe I’m better off in the short term with a focus on resource extraction and city building. I have the food and water to create another Martian settlement and there are a few promising spots that can support mines. But city expansion isn’t easy unless I get one of the projects that directly boosts it. More exploration is also required.
And, regardless of the path I choose, I need to shore up support for the Mars project. Maybe I need to get at least one orbital hotel up and running. Or bringing more colonists over is the better idea. The incoming leader might open up more opportunities. But this expedition cannot continue if people don’t support it.
Terraformers is developed by Asteroid Lab, with publishing duties handled by Goblinz Publishing and IndieArk. I played on the PC using Steam. The two companies plan to also bring it to the Nintendo Switch. As the name makes clear, the title takes players to Mars, asking them to explore and tame the Red Planet.
The premise is a familiar one and players will easily guess most of the other core concepts underpinning the universe. Resources are limited, and the environment is unrelentingly hostile, but human ingenuity finds a way. The main antagonist is dwindling public support on Earth, which players will have to counter by making sure everyone who arrives on Mars has amenities and will boost the public’s opinion of the entire effort.
Terraformers offers a variety of scenarios, with different approaches for the Mars expedition. Players can focus on the extraction of resources to keep Earth afloat or can try to create an independent and self-sufficient Red Planet. The narrative greatly benefits from the introduction of leaders, which players will have to constantly cycle through. Their backstories are compelling and determine their three abilities and special bonus.
The game does not easily fit into the city-building or resource management genres, despite having elements of both. Each turn, gamers will get to choose from a range of projects, which can include buildings for the cities, bigger structures to place directly on Mars, special projects to work on, tech advantages, and ways to actually terraform the planet.
To activate one, players have to pay a resource cost. Sustainable Martian development requires a lot of stuff, from basics like food and water to tritium and nitrates. They can be obtained by exploring nodes on the surface of the planet, by setting up mines, or by putting up certain buildings. Exploration is handled by using a leader power, costing energy, or deploying a rechargeable satellite action.
Of course, to speed up exploration the player needs to build more satellites, which are as big of a resource sink as the other big special projects, like importing water for an ocean from another celestial body or putting special hotels in orbit (there are also colonization options for Phobos and Deimos). There are special research unlocks that cost a good chunk of science but offer big long-term benefits.
Failure in Terraformers comes when support for the Martian expedition evaporates. To avoid that, players need to develop cities. Adjacency bonuses are crucial so think hard about the way buildings that support population interact with those that offer support-boosting bonuses. Robots are a good way to boost population and get to extra mining sites but will not help with popular opinion.
So far, Mars is being exploited for resources and living space. And it’s essential to create an industrial base and keep up with the ever increases demands of the people. But it takes a considerable additional effort to change the Red Planet to green and blue.
Players will have to use buildings and projects to move the conditions towards more tolerable ones. At the same time, they will unlock bacteria, flora, and fauna, and create buildings to spread them across the planet and accelerate the terraforming process.
The game creates a complex set of interactions between drawn cards, available resources, city building, planet sites, active leader, and long-term goals. There’s no way to control what cards are drawn, which, alongside the limited hand size, means players will have to make tough choices and can be surprised by how quickly their plans shift.
This lack of control can feel weird for a strategy game and I understand that some fans of the genre will hate it. But, alongside the new randomly generated Mars of each game, it means there’s a constant sense of discovery and surprise that other city builders cannot sustain.
Terraformers features a shiny vision of the future, inspired by classic science fiction ideas. All the cards players work with, from buildings to projects, have lovingly created art and similar care has been used for leaders that players will work with. The one presentation element that’s a bit of a letdown are the Martian cities themselves, which feel a little lifeless. The sound design is equally solid, especially the soundtrack, which is good enough that it does not need to be replaced with science-focused podcasts about Mars exploration.
The Good
- Leaders mechanic
- Terraforming concepts
- Gameplay variety
The Bad
- Some randomness cannot be controlled
- Cities are pretty bland
- Needs more leaders to work with
Conclusion
The card flow might be too random for some players but I find the uncertainty it creates a good way to keep tension and difficulty up. After a while, there’s also a sense that leader abilities repeat a little too often. But these are minor issues with a very good strategy and resource management game. Terraformers captures and translates into gameplay the lofty ideals of Mars-focused science fiction.
A review key was provided by the publisher.
