Choose Surviving Mars
Choose Surviving Mars if it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 79% positive across 10,552 reviews.
Surviving Mars vs Surviving the Aftermath
Surviving Mars and Surviving the Aftermath both land in Strategy, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Simulation on Steam. Surviving Mars (2018) is 3 years older than Surviving the Aftermath (2021). Surviving Mars scores higher on Steam reviews (79% positive) than Surviving the Aftermath (72.4% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Surviving the Aftermath
Choose Surviving the Aftermath if it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 1,821 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Surviving Mars and Surviving the Aftermath sit in Strategy and Simulation on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Surviving Mars |  Surviving the Aftermath | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Genres | Strategy, Simulation | Strategy, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | Price unknown | 8.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 79% positive (10,552 reviews) | 72.4% positive (1,821 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Haemimont Games, Abstraction | Iceflake Studios |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Simulation on Steam.
- Surviving Mars (2018) is 3 years older than Surviving the Aftermath (2021).
- Surviving Mars scores higher on Steam reviews (79% positive) than Surviving the Aftermath (72.4% positive).
- Steam Deck: Surviving Mars is Deck Unsupported, Surviving the Aftermath is Deck Playable.
Surviving Mars vs Surviving the Aftermath — FAQ
- Which is better, Surviving Mars or Surviving the Aftermath?
- On Steam reviews Surviving Mars scores higher (79% positive) than Surviving the Aftermath (72.4% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Surviving Mars is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Surviving Mars or Surviving the Aftermath first?
- If you want chronology, Surviving Mars (2018) came out before Surviving the Aftermath (2021). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Surviving Mars and Surviving the Aftermath similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.