Indie Developers Shape Shop released their first developed title, Mars First Logistics, on 22nd June 2023. No stranger to gaming, they have a history of publishing several previous puzzle games. They are joining forces with Outersloth to publish this title.

The game’s premise is simple: collect resources and deliver them to a location requested by the Martians building their settlement on Mars, but it is not as simple as it may seem. You are a Mars Rover, and you will need to navigate rough terrains and long journeys with realistic physics coming into play.

You will find yourself rolling, dropping items, and causing general carnage as you attempt to overcome these. But! Luckily for some, there are no damage meters on items for delivery; trust me when I say this would add new difficulty to the process.

The game feels like a Lego builder in that you can customize your vehicles for each delivery. As items can be of different weights and sizes, you must tune into your inner engineer and build the right model for the job. You also must consider delivery, as items can be requested to be placed upright, on a ledge or shelf, so it goes deeper with each delivery.

After watching some background videos on the game, it was so interesting to see people’s imaginations come into play and how they tackled missions differently from me. All parts can be customized and altered in colour to give it an individualized touch; these can be built from base blueprints or your imagination.

But you are limited to begin with, as you will need to earn more funds from deliveries to unlock more parts. There are comparisons with Banjo & Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts regarding the build style and look. I can agree with this. A comparison these days is always helpful for people to understand games, and as the industry continues, you will always see some mechanics in games that you have previously.

The game can be tackled alone or with 3 friends via online cooperative play. If you have friends like mine, a new level of carnage erupts. This is done by inviting people to join you, and there are no lobbies to join. So, you will need to reach out in the community for people to join or convince your friends to purchase the title. It is a fair price as it is indie, so one hurdle should be accomplished.

The graphics are cartoon-style cell-shading and fits well with the aesthetics of the terrain. It is a large open world, and with the day and night cycle to add to the atmosphere around the rocks and sheer terrain, it is a great decision to go down this route. When I say a large world, I encountered no barriers during my playtime.

You have a map to help you navigate and waypoints to help you with your deliveries. You will also learn how to read rocks, cliffs, and hazards when using the map to plan safer routes without huge drops or extreme terrain that will make you lose balance or, I do not say this lightly, roll. You will do this a lot.

Now, the controls—at times, these can be a little frustrating, as expected. You have different elements on your build that you can move, swing, and extend. The premise is simple for driving, but it gets a little more in-depth when you add the moving parts. I say this as a precaution to some, as the more in-depth these builds can get, the more you will put on your controller layout.

Music in the game is synthesized, sometimes adding a nice track to move your head to or relax. But at times, it can be quite silent, adding to the loneliness of being on a planet with no one around you.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Mars First Logistics. I was once told I had an engineer’s brain, but this tested me. You really must consider so much when building your rover. This can overwhelm some or make creativity shine. With the cell shading graphics and soundtrack to match the aesthetic, it is a great title, and it starts from Shape Shop.

Written by: Kevin Lal