IMHO.

Games like Mars Horizon

If Mars Horizon is your kind of game, the closest matches are Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life, Take On Mars and Kerbal Space Program — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its agency traits shape playstyle, auto resolve prevents grind and diplomatic relations matter. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.

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Mars Horizon is a strategy simulation released in 2020 by Auroch Digital, available for $19.99 USD and playable on Steam Deck. Players manage a space agency, navigating research branching, launch-window optimization, mission minigames, diplomatic relations, and random events while racing to establish a presence on Mars. Reviewers highlight that agency traits meaningfully shape playstyle, while diplomatic relations carry strategic weight throughout campaigns. Players describe the experience as epic and contemplative, finding particular tension in launch-window timing and appreciating the historical authenticity woven into mission design. The game earned an 83% positive rating from over 1,400 Steam reviews, with a Metacritic score of 71, and is regarded as challenging with a medium-length campaign designed for solo play.

About Mars Horizon: Lead a major space agency as you guide humanity to Mars in this strategy simulation game. Construct a base, design and build rockets, conduct missions throughout the Solar System, and write your own history of Space exploration. Created with support from the European Space Agency.

2020StrategyIndieSimulation19.99 USDDeck PlayableMetacritic 71Windows · macOSby Auroch Digital
Mars Horizon — Steam game cover
Players highlight
Agency traits shape playstyleAuto resolve prevents grindDiplomatic relations matterChallengingContemplativeEpic

Players who liked Mars Horizon also play

Steam players who put hours into Mars Horizon also tend to own these titles — a signal called collaborative filtering. imho.run cross-references millions of library ownership patterns to surface games whose real audiences overlap, regardless of whether their genre tags match.

  1. Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life

    WHY THIS

    Top pick for Mars Horizon fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Lead your space agency in The Search for Life in this authentic strategy simulation game. Investigate the solar system and collect evidence of life. Manage base building, rocket designing, launches, and mission planning to Mars and beyond, leading the way in the future of space exploration.

    StrategySimulationSteam ↗
  2. Take On Mars

    WHY THIS

    Shares a challenging mood with Mars Horizon.

    Second-strongest match for Mars Horizon fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Take On Mars places you right in the middle of mankind’s most exciting undertaking. Start out in the seat of a rover operator, finish as the first human to have ever set foot on the Red Planet.

    2017Simulation9.99 USDSteam ↗
  3. Kerbal Space Program

    WHY THIS

    Shares rocket building and a challenging mood with Mars Horizon.

    Third-strongest match for Mars Horizon fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    In Kerbal Space Program, take charge of the space program for the alien race known as the Kerbals. You have access to an array of parts to assemble fully-functional spacecraft that flies (or doesn’t) based on realistic aerodynamic and orbital physics.

    2015IndieSimulation9.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  4. Enter The Moon

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #4 for Mars Horizon fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Space simulation moon game. Explore the moon, mars, venus and mercury in breathtaking real-time 3D. Explore their geological aspects. Battle against spaceships or a secret lunar base. Enter the ISS. Measure the moon. And get in the cockpit.

    2018ActionSimulation6.49 USDSteam ↗
  5. Rover Mechanic Simulator

    WHY THIS

    Shares a contemplative mood with Mars Horizon.

    Ranked #5 for Mars Horizon fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    As an Engineer - crew member of one of the first Mars colonies - you are responsible for repairing and maintaining Mars Rovers. In this advanced simulator you will learn the internal details of various Mars Rovers and their components.

    2020IndieSimulation11.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  6. Mars First Logistics

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #6 for Mars Horizon fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Build physically simulated rovers to transport awkwardly shaped cargo across the rugged terrain of Mars. Earn funds, unlock new parts, and use your ingenuity to help the Martians establish a new home. Playable solo or in online co-op!

    2025IndieSimulation19.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  7. Meco Rocket Simulator

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #7 for Mars Horizon fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Meco Rocket Simulator is a realistic physics game where you play as an underpaid rocket scientist working for Mecodyne to design and test rocket engines without regard for your safety.

    2025SimulationEarly Access39.69 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  8. PlanetMars3D: Spirit Mission

    WHY THIS

    Ranked #8 for Mars Horizon fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Explore Mars in 3D through real Pancam photographs from NASA's Spirit rover. Glide between images with detail that sharpens as you approach, and skim thousands of rover photos at a glance — manual mode, slideshow, or automated flythrough. Photo credit: JPL / NASA / Cornell / ASU

    2026IndieAdventureSimulationSteam ↗

Cheaper alternatives

Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below Mars Horizon at current Steam store prices.

  1. Terraria

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~50% under Mars Horizon on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Dig, fight, explore, build! Nothing is impossible in this action-packed adventure game. Four Pack also available!

    2011ActionIndieAdventure9.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  2. Garry's Mod

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~75% under Mars Horizon on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Garry's Mod is a physics sandbox. There aren't any predefined aims or goals. We give you the tools and leave you to play.

    2006IndieSimulationCasual4.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  3. Lethal Company

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~50% under Mars Horizon on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    A co-op horror about scavenging at abandoned moons to sell scrap to the Company.

    2023ActionIndieAdventure9.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  4. People Playground

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~50% under Mars Horizon on Steam right now. Shares Indie and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Shoot, stab, burn, poison, tear, vaporise, or crush ragdolls in a large open space.

    2019ActionIndieSimulation9.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  5. Undertale

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~50% under Mars Horizon on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    UNDERTALE! The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone.

    2015IndieRPG9.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  6. Vampire Survivors

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~75% under Mars Horizon on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Be the bullet hell!

    2022ActionIndieRPG4.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  7. PEAK

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~60% under Mars Horizon on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    PEAK is a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. Either solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island is to scale the mountain at its center. Do you have what it takes to reach the PEAK?

    2025ActionIndieAdventure7.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  8. Sid Meier's Civilization® V

    WHY THIS

    Priced ~63% under Mars Horizon on Steam right now. Shares Strategy with Mars Horizon.

    Create, discover, and download new player-created maps, scenarios, interfaces, and more!

    2010Strategy7.49 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗

Free alternatives

Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.

  1. Steam Engine Simulator

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    The Steam Engine Simulator shown on AngeTheGreat's YouTube channel.

    2023SimulationFreeDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  2. Magic Archery

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Train a commoner to become the greatest archer in this short incremental game! Increase your stats, gather wealth from quests, buy upgrades, and infuse your arrows with magic.

    2024IndieSimulationRPGFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  3. DORONKO WANKO

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    『DORONKO WANKO』 is a DORONKO Action Game. In this game, You can become a cute, innocent Pomeranian, make your master's home messy and dirty. "Will the master be angry with me?" Don't worry. Because you are a sweet doggie.

    2024ActionSimulationFree To PlayFreeSteam ↗
  4. Landfall Archives

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Strategy and Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Break into the Landfall Archives to steal and play previously unreleased games, demos, interactive slide shows, and even an unreleased version of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator from 2017!

    2023ActionStrategyIndieFreeSteam ↗
  5. SuchArt: Creative Space

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie and Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Paint on any surfaces with numerous tools in Creative Space — a free sandbox version of SuchArt: Genius Artist Simulator. Create masterpieces, complete commissions, and decorate your studio in the most advanced artist sim!

    2021ActionIndieAdventureFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  6. Lily's Well

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    It is a rainy night in the Spring of 2005. Lily is left home alone after her Papa put her to bed. She is awoken by a cry for help outside her window. It is coming from the well. Help Lily gather rope to go down the well and save the poor soul trapped down there.

    2022IndieAdventureFree To PlayFreeDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  7. South Scrimshaw, Part One

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    South Scrimshaw is the story of a newborn whale in a vast alien ocean. It is a richly illustrated experimental visual novel, written in the style of a nature documentary.

    2023IndieCasualFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  8. The Riftbreaker: Prologue

    WHY THIS

    Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Strategy and Indie with Mars Horizon.

    The Riftbreaker: Prologue allows you to experience the events taking place before the story campaign of the main game. Explore an entirely new world. Gather resources. Build up a base. Defend yourself from thousands of alien creatures.

    2020ActionStrategyIndieFreeDeck PlayableSteam ↗

More from Auroch Digital

Other recommendable Steam games by Auroch Digital, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.

  1. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

    WHY THIS

    Shares an epic mood with Mars Horizon.

    Another title from Auroch Digital, the studio behind Mars Horizon. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Load up your Boltgun and unleash the awesome Space Marine arsenal to blast your way through an explosion of sprites, pixels and blood in a perfect blend of Warhammer 40,000, frenetic gameplay and the stylish visuals of 90’s retro shooters.

    2023ActionIndie21.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  2. Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!

    WHY THIS

    Shares an epic mood with Mars Horizon.

    Another title from Auroch Digital, the studio behind Mars Horizon. Shares Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Lock and load into the Starship Troopers universe and join the Mobile Infantry in the most realistic depiction of war ever made! Experience an original story in this action-packed, first-person retro shooter. Would you like to know more?

    2026ActionIndieAdventure19.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  3. Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator

    WHY THIS

    Another title from Auroch Digital, the studio behind Mars Horizon. Shares Simulation with Mars Horizon.

    Brew your perfect beer in this relaxing home brewing sim. Use a realistic chemistry simulation to brew hoppy IPAs to creamy stouts. Customise your brewing space, create recipes and label your beer, unlock new equipment and enter competitions. Learn to brew, refine your craft and become a Brewmaster!

    2022Simulation17.99 USDDeck VerifiedSteam ↗
  4. Dark Future: Blood Red States (Classic)

    WHY THIS

    Shares a tense mood with Mars Horizon.

    Another title from Auroch Digital, the studio behind Mars Horizon. Shares Strategy and Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Step into the extraordinary, dystopian world of Dark Future, filled with danger, chaos and adventure. A game of both action and strategy unlike any other, featuring a unique time dilating command mode to help you make tactical decisions on the dangerous highways of this world.

    2019StrategyIndie24.99 USDSteam ↗
  5. Chainsaw Warrior (Classic)

    WHY THIS

    Shares a tense mood with Mars Horizon.

    Another title from Auroch Digital, the studio behind Mars Horizon. Shares Strategy and Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Chainsaw Warrior from Games Workshop is the classic game for one strong-nerved player! It's 2032 and spatial warping has opened a hole into another dimension in the midst of the old municipal buildings at the heart of Manhattan. Bizarre and dangerous creatures are flooding into our dimension.

    2013StrategyIndieAdventure4.99 USDSteam ↗
  6. Ogre

    WHY THIS

    Shares a contemplative mood with Mars Horizon.

    Another title from Auroch Digital, the studio behind Mars Horizon. Shares Strategy and Indie with Mars Horizon.

    The official adaptation of the legendary wargame from Steve Jackson Games. Engage in futuristic warfare with armored hovercraft, superheavy tanks, infantry, and giant cybernetic war machines called "Ogres".

    2017StrategyIndie24.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  7. Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics

    WHY THIS

    Shares a tense mood with Mars Horizon.

    Another title from Auroch Digital, the studio behind Mars Horizon. Shares Strategy and Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Challenge the horrifying reign of Nazi terror and battle an immortal evil in Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics; a turn-based tactical strategy game set in the award-winning Achtung! Cthulhu universe.

    2018ActionStrategyIndie24.99 USDDeck PlayableSteam ↗
  8. Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night (Classic)

    WHY THIS

    Shares a tense mood with Mars Horizon.

    Another title from Auroch Digital, the studio behind Mars Horizon. Shares Strategy and Indie with Mars Horizon.

    Based on the 1987 Games Workshop classic, a battle vs zombies cultists & time! Fight against hordes of Aztec Zombies, and the clock, to save reality from Darkness. Lords of the Night introduces an upgraded combat system, new weapons, powers, equipment and unique mini bosses.

    2015ActionStrategyIndie5.99 USDSteam ↗

Frequently asked about Mars Horizon

Does Mars Horizon run on Steam Deck?
Mars Horizon is rated Playable on Steam Deck — it runs, but expect some manual adjustments (control remapping, text size, or graphics settings) for the best experience.
How much does Mars Horizon cost?
Mars Horizon is listed on Steam at 19.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
What games are most similar to Mars Horizon?
Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Mars Horizon are Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life, Take On Mars, Kerbal Space Program.
Who developed Mars Horizon?
Mars Horizon was developed by Auroch Digital.

imho.run ranks Steam game alternatives using a mix of collaborative filtering (ALS / iALS / EASE / LightGCN), content scoring over genres, categories, Steam tags, developers, and publishers, plus AI-extracted vibes mined from review text. The page above is generated in seed mode anchored on Mars Horizon.

For library-aware picks tuned to your specific taste, sign in with Steam on the home page.