Mars: Mars for iPhone

Free platformer that lets you explore Mars

Mars: Mars is a free fun action mobile video game that puts you in the shoes of an intrepid newbie astronaut. Developed by Pomelo Games, Mars: Mars is a platform-hopping type of game wherein you have to control your jetpack’s thrusters to safely reach the next landing pad. Offering endless challenging levels, the game also features over 60 unique characters you can unlock and control as an astronaut exploring Mars.

Hop around Mars

The gameplay on Mars: Mars is fairly simple and the levels are really short. You tap the screen to launch your astronaut into the air, then tap and hold either the left or right part of the screen to activate the jetpack’s thrusters and steer. Holding them both at the same time slows down your descent so you can safely land. Each level is simply a landing pad a small distance away from where you currently are and you win them by just reaching them without crashing upon impact. 

They have indicator lights: yellow for the unreached, blue for the landed ones, and a beeping red that means you’re falling too fast. The placement of the landing pads will vary depending on the terrain so there’s always a challenge in getting to them. After all, your jetpack only has a limited amount of fuel that is used up by the thrusters. It doesn’t regenerate while you’re in mid-air and only refuels on each landing platform. 

Aside from the rocky terrain, there are also other obstacles you need to watch out for after several levels. Some are springy trees you can bounce off—allowing you to cross large distances and even skip over a landing pad to the next. There are some black holes after level 100, as well, and will reset you back to your last platform. You’ll also come across selfie areas where you have to hover for a moment to unlock a snapshot.

Great design

You’ll come across floating coins you can collect while you traverse to the next pad—which will thankfully return if you botch your landing. If you successfully complete a number of jumps without dying, you can earn coins, too. Plus, optional ads that pop up in every few levels or so also give them. Collecting 60 coins lets you buy a new random astronaut. The wait time for them to arrive will keep growing longer. Once they do, just reach a few level pads to where their ship has landed. 

There are over 60 unique astronauts available, each with their own sound effects and soundtracks—even the environment will sometimes switch to their theme. Unfortunately, you can’t choose which one you’ll get but you can buy some of the special characters offered. You can access these by tapping the top-right corner button when you’re on a landing pad, which shows a drop-down menu containing the characters, selfies, achievements, settings, and more. 

Gameplay-wise, Mars: Mars can be pretty addicting since the levels are in short bursts and endless. There are no major level endings, however, so it may get boring after a while since there aren’t any enemies to avoid. The graphics are cute, the background environments can be breathtaking, and the sound effects are cool. However, whenever you unlock a new character, it won’t ask you and will automatically switch to them.

Needs a bit more

All in all, Mars: Mars is a fun game that’s great to play when you have a little break, as you can easily leave in-between levels. It could really use some new obstacles, though, or even new game modes to shake things up a little. Nevertheless, this is a highly recommended game to try out.