Surviving the Aftermath, the sequel to Surviving Mars, is out now

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Surviving the Aftermath was announced earlier this month as the sequel to Surviving Mars, the Martian colonization sim released last year by Haemimont Games and Paradox Interactive. Very little was revealed at the time but we got a closer look at the now-underway PDXCON and discovered a few surprises, including that it doesn't take place on Mars—and that it's available today on the Epic Games Store.

This new survival management sim is actually set on Earth, albeit an Earth that's a whole lot more banged up than the one we're used to. Humanity has finally had the biscuit, and all that remains now is the detritus of civilization and a few stragglers who are going to do their best to rebuild, or at least not die immediately.

Customizable apocalypse scenarios can raise or lower the difficulty for those left behind—it's a lot easier to get by in a depopulated wilderness than a scorched radioactive desert, after all. But the ultimate goal remains the same: Attract survivors, collect resources, build your society, and deal with the inevitable messes that result.

Surviving the Aftermath is being made by a different developer, Iceflake Studios, and the Earth-bound setting makes it sound a little more conventional than its predecessor. Based on our hands-on preview though, it sounds like things get rolling fairly quickly—although it's possible that letting the entire colony fistfight for kicks accelerated, well, pretty much everything.

The initial early access release is available now on the Epic Games Store for $20/£16/€20, while the full launch is expected to take place in 2020, and will also be on Steam. A development roadmap and other relevant details can be had at survivingtheaftermath.com.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.