I felt like playing a janky choice-driven RPG on my Steam Deck, and this gritty AA deepcut is hitting the spot for just 99 cents

I felt like playing a janky choice-driven RPG on my Steam Deck, and this gritty AA deepcut is hitting the spot for just 99 cents | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these RPG These are my 20 RPG freak pick must-plays for $10 or less in the Steam Spring Sale RPG After 2 years in early access, Greedfall: The Dying World still feels unfinished RPG The best Fallout game is 99 cents right now RPG This bizarre CRPG features claymation graphics, beat ‘em up combat and the option to send defeated enemies to a prison colony, and it just left early access after a massive final update Strategy Heart of the Machine review: A fascinating grand strategy RPG that starts to buckle under its own ambitions RPG You’ve never heard of it, but a Russian studio made a fantasy take on original Fallout way back in 2001, and it honestly kind of rules RPG Esoteric Ebb isn’t just the best Disco since Disco, it’s the closest anyone’s come to the magic of tabletop D&D in a videogame Survival & Crafting In a year where Obsidian released a pair of RPGs, its best game was an early access survival romp RPG Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy might just have everything I want from a CRPG RPG Our best RPG of 2024 is half off in the Lunar New Year sale, as are the adventures of Charlie Tunoku and countless other Sega series RPG As a Pathfinder 2e sicko, I’m excited for Starfinder: Afterlight after playing an hour of its playtest—but Epictellers has a lot of work to do before demo time this summer Roguelike Battle Suit Aces review: The best spaceship deckbuilder since Cobalt Core RPG You’ve got until Monday to get 80% off 2 of the best dungeon crawlers ever made Sim In defense of Deus Ex: Invisible War RPG It’s only March, but I’m calling it: Esoteric Ebb is 2026’s best RPG and the first worthy successor to Disco Elysium Popular PC Gamer ClipsCrimson DesertMarathonBest PC gearGDCQuizzes Games RPG I felt like playing a janky choice-driven RPG on my Steam Deck, and this gritty AA deepcut is hitting the spot for just 99 cents News By Shaun Prescott published 24 March 2026 Mars War Logs isn’t amazing, but it’s definitely worth investigating. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Spiders) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? 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Nevertheless, some players seem to enjoy it after all these years, so I thought I’d boot it up.I did sample it back in 2013 but was compelled to revisit after playing Greedfall: The Dying World recently. I didn’t love that new RPG, but after fifteen minutes spent with Mars I was completely in my element. This is neither fantasy or rote sci-fi, but something grittier, like a hard boiled ’80s prison film set in an apocalyptic future where everything is unaccountably much browner than a seventh-generation cover shooter. We’re on Mars, you see.It stars Roy, a terse, quippy prisoner of war stuck in a wretched Mars-based prison. The planet remains wracked by a centuries-old disaster that keeps its remaining colonisers locked in a war over water and other resources. It’s engaging and evocative despite Spiders’ clear tech limitations: when prisoners aren’t choking in Martian sandstorms they’re labouring in mines and fending off aggressive overgrown moles, or attacking each other with poles and improvised nail guns.Article continues below You may like These are my 20 RPG freak pick must-plays for $10 or less in the Steam Spring Sale After 2 years in early access, Greedfall: The Dying World still feels unfinished The best Fallout game is 99 cents right now The concept and setting is great, though on the level of detail the writing isn’t amazing, and the voice acting is often laughable. That may make Mars: War Logs a dealbreaker for people raised on bigger budget RPGs, but as with most fun ‘n’ wooly AA RPGs, the game compensates for its shortcomings with soul and quiet ambition. It has some neat tricks up its sleeves: Mid-combat you can throw sand in the eyes of your opponents to effectively stun them for a moment, and not only that, sand throwing ca