Keeping people alive on Mars is one thing, but keeping them happy is another challenge entirely. Surviving Mars: Relaunched is taking that idea to the kitchen with the launch of Feeding the Future, a new expansion that turns food into a much more important part of life on the Red Planet.
Available now on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC, Feeding the Future gives colony commanders new ways to grow, prepare and serve food, while introducing fresh traits, laws and commander options to consider. It’s available separately for £8.39 on Xbox, or as part of the Prime Mission expansion pass and Ultimate Edition.
At A Glance
- DLC: Surviving Mars: Relaunched – Feeding the Future
- Price: £8.39
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC
- New focus: Food production and colonist wellbeing
- New buildings: Farms, restaurants, cafes and food-processing facilities
- New traits: Foodie, Coffee Enthusiast and Celebrity Chef
- New commanders: Horticulturalist and Agronomist
- Publisher: Paradox Interactive
- Developer: Haemimont Games
Survival Comes With a Side Of Something Tastier
Food has always been one of the essentials when establishing a settlement on Mars, but Feeding the Future asks players to think beyond simply keeping their colonists fed.
The expansion introduces a broader food system in which delicacies can influence comfort, morale, health and sanity. That means what ends up on the menu can become another part of the wider colony management puzzle.
Different foods can be grown, processed and combined, with production also tied to where crops are cultivated. The Underground and Surface environments offer different agricultural possibilities, giving commanders another reason to think carefully about how their Martian food network is structured.
From Automated Farms To Panoramic Dining
There’s plenty of new infrastructure to play with, too. Feeding the Future adds facilities ranging from a Bakery, Fast Food Restaurant and Gourmet Restaurant to a Barista Cafe and Panoramic Restaurant.
New agricultural options also arrive, including Automated Farms, Insect Farms and Small Farms, alongside Food Processing and Food Packaging facilities for turning basic ingredients into more advanced offerings.
In other words, the Martian menu has just become considerably more ambitious.
Not Every Colonist Wants The Same Thing
The expansion isn’t just about constructing new buildings. Colonists themselves now have more food-related characteristics to account for, including the Foodie and Coffee Enthusiast traits.
The particularly rare Celebrity Chef trait also gives commanders something new to look out for when building their population.
Two new commander profiles join them – the Horticulturalist and Agronomist – offering additional ways to approach the challenge of developing a sustainable food system on Mars.
New food-related laws further expand the choices available to colony leaders, allowing them to influence how their settlement produces and consumes its supplies.
A Fresh Course For Surviving Mars: Relaunched
Feeding the Future arrives alongside a free update for Surviving Mars: Relaunched, bringing additional changes to the wider game, including core system adjustments, a new research system, updated colonist statistics and more.
The expansion itself is part of the Prime Mission pass, which costs £20.99 and also includes the upcoming Machine Utopia expansion. It’s also included in the £49.99 Ultimate Edition, alongside the base game and Prime Mission content.
We gave Surviving Mars: Relaunched 4/5 in our review, calling it “a hardcore sim management game” that remains immensely satisfying despite questions over whether the relaunch was needed as a full new release.
Now, with Feeding the Future, there’s another layer to consider as those Martian domes grow. Keeping everyone alive might be the first priority, but perhaps keeping them well fed is the next step towards building a colony they’d actually want to call home.
