Mars terraforming simulator Per Aspera (opens in new tab) has released a new free DLC, Home, to make Mars more livable. The new features expand the terraforming process on Mars to include deeper and wider flora and larger, more livable open-air cities for Earthlings to settle.

Per Aspera's goal has also been moved to post-game, allowing players to continue playing to develop more deeply habitable ecosystems on the red planet once terraforming is deemed complete. There are also new mechanisms such as desertification if Mars is made too hot and dynamic water levels regarding water purity.

Developer updates (open in new tab) also include new buildings such as atmospheric humidifiers and more advanced open-air agriculture. There will also be a huge metropolis city and an open-ocean water treatment plant and pumps to supply the amount of water needed by many humans. A space elevator could also be used to settle new settlers.

Per Aspera combines resource management and city building, with the player as an artificial intelligence (opens in new tab) in charge of terraforming Mars with drones, massive constructions, and planned human settlements. There is a sandbox mode and a narrative mode that tells a branching story about the nature of the AI itself.

In my 2020 review, I quite liked Per Aspera and enjoyed its expansion. I found it to be "one of the most demanding strategy management games I've played in a long time, not only in its complexity, but also in its moment-to-moment action. While playing, my fingers constantly use WASD to pan the camera, numbers to adjust game speed, and function keys to activate overlays for power, maintenance, drone traffic, and survey results. Per Aspera is a 'blink and it's 3 am' game," I said.

Home would be a great reason for me to revisit Per Aspera. I've rarely touched the sandbox mode because I really liked the narrative impact the developers added to the game.

This is Per Aspera's second free expansion, following "Green Mars" in 2021 and the paid expansion "Blue Mars" in 2022.

You can find Per Aspera and Per Aspera: Home on Steam. (Open in a new tab.) The price is $30, with a $15 discount in a day or so.