Per Aspera review - a city builder that's serene yet terrifying

When I begin my terraforming mission on Mars, I am nothing but a voice inside my own head. I have a small base with a few resources and one plucky little worker who's ready to obey my every command. I am AMI, a machine sent to Mars. I have one purpose, one drive, one task: to make Mars habitable for human life.

I can't help but think of Prometheus - the Alien movie no one seems to like - and David the android's complexities, his need to imitate and understand. AMI is the sole entity on Mars, and she speaks to herself through what she understands as 'reflections', making Per Aspera more than a city builder. It's darker, more chilling than it appears at first. I get started on building my base, but there's always something lurking in the back of my mind, like a presence just out of view.

Per Aspera's economy is built on resources and the balancing act of ferrying those resources to different structures as and when they are needed. You start off small, but gradually sweep across craters and unruly terrain, taming Mars into a habitable haven for the incoming humans. AMI may be alone on Mars, but she is not alone - on the other end of a communicator is Doctor Nathan Foster, the scientist that constructed her, and who dubs her the most intelligent machine ever created.

Read the rest of the story...