Do you remember the cult-classic movie ‘Mars Attacks!’ from the 90s? Well, the over-the-top Martians are back, this time reimagined into “Mars Attracts”, which is a theme park management simulator with a darkly comedic twist. Build your Martian amusement empire, abduct humans from different ages in human time and decide whether to study them in their natural habitat or subject them to twisted experiments for your guests’ amusement. It’s quirky, it’s bizarre, and it’s unlike any park builder you’ve played before. The only question is, how far will you go to entertain the Martians?

Mars Attracts strikes a nice balance between accessibility and depth. At its core, it’s about building, managing and expanding, but it never feels overly complicated or intimidating. The pacing is steady, letting you ease into the mechanics without overwhelming you with too many systems off the bat. A massive highlight is the tutorial, which does a great job of showing you the ropes, especially around research, expansion and unlocking new features around your parks.

The game is also guided well if you want to follow along the way, but it never forces you down a single path, so you still have that freedom we all love in this style of game. You can set up the park to start making income and take care of itself, and then if you want, you could go outside and touch some grass and do some yard work, come back in an hour, and you would have made some money without needing to sit there the entire time if you actually wanted.  

The park revolves around research, which was straightforward and gives you a clear sense of progression, letting you unlock new buildings, upgrades and abilities as you expand your colony. The tutorial walks you through the basics, so you quickly understand how to prioritise what to research and how it impacts your overall setup and income. It’s satisfying to see the research translated into great improvements

When it comes to the controls, Mars Attracts keeps things straightforward while letting you feel like you’re in full control the entire time. Your basic camera movements are handled with W, A, S, D, while Q and E will allow you to rotate the camera, so you have full movement. The scroll wheel handles zooming in and out, which works seamlessly when you need a closer look at details or want to pull back for a wider view.

Left-click quickly becomes your best friend, as just about every selection and building action is tied to it, keeping the system consistent and easy to remember. It’s a simple system for new players to pick up and makes the game nice and enjoyable without needing to think too hard about what you’re doing. 

I was caught a little off guard with the graphics, but it was in the best way possible. I went in expecting the usual dusty reds and muted tones you’d normally associate with a Mars setting, but instead was hit with a world that feels surprisingly bright and vibrant. The Martian and human models also impressed me, and I was very surprised by the attention to detail put into them. They’re not photorealistic by any means, but that slightly cartoonish style works super well for this style of game and ties everything together really well.

The UI also deserves some praise; not only does it look super clean and crisp, but it vanishes off to the side and only appears when you’re close to it, which keeps the screen clutter-free and lets the visuals do their thing. There weren’t any traditional cutscenes either; instead, the game has a fixed story panel with a chat narration bubble, which fit the overall aesthetic nicely, but some weird little cutscenes would have been good to see, tying it to the movie. 

The sound design in Mars Attracts does a great job of culminating the whole experience together. The ambient audio sets the tone nicely, with subtle background effects that make the world feel alive without ever becoming distracting and taking away from the experience. I liked how each action had a nice little audio cue from clicks to construction confirmation. The music does loop and can become repetitive over time, but it’s subtle enough in the background that it didn’t become irritating or make you want to turn it off, but you could if you really wanted.

There is a fun nod to the Mars Attacks! Movie, with the Martians dialogue consisting of the iconic “Ak Ak Ak Ak”, don’t worry, though it all gets translated with the on-screen dialogue, so you can read it. It added some nostalgia and humour to the experience.

Overall, Mars Attracts is a charming, darkly comedic twist on the park-building genre that manages to be both approachable and engaging. It balances humour, strategy and management in a way that keeps you invested in wanting to play the game and become the biggest park on Mars.

Between the vibrant graphics, intuitive controls, satisfying research system and subtle yet effective sound design, the game delivers a surprisingly polished experience. It’s the kind of game you can dive into for hours or set up and walk away for a while and come back to a running experience. 

Written by: Hayden Nelson