Humanity must find a new home soon. Per Aspera VR theorizes what it may look like to call Mars home.
In the age of artificial intelligence, we’re all left wondering what the future holds. When do things really begin? Per Aspera VR, from Tlön Industries and Raw Fury, hypothesizes what a future full of artificial intelligence would look like. This future, however, shows an iteration known as ‘artificial consciousness’, a new classification given self-awareness. What does the future hold for humanity now? Is this technology safe? Experience a simulation game carefully crafted using research gathered by NASA.
As our technology evolves through time, it changes our outlook on the future. With the innovations taking place regarding the use of AI, it shouldn’t come as a surprise our goals now involve them. Per Aspera VR sees humanity take to Mars with the aid of “artificial consciousness.” Thanks to the program’s increased capacity to learn, it is assigned as an assistant for a terraforming project. AMI, as an individual, will eventually develop complex thoughts and possibly emotions. How will her emotions affect humanity’s future?
Across the surface of Mars exists evidence of humanity’s efforts to settle on the fourth planet. These aren’t all projects that were completed, though. Some of the wreckage exists as monuments to the numerous failed attempts at colonization.
Per Aspera VR was a wild experience using the controls of Meta Quest 2. Using the left controller, pressing the A button would summon a build menu. It would have various buildings such as carbon, silicon, and aluminum mines. Another part of the menu allowed the player to build solar energy/wind energy generators, spaceports, research stations, and colony outposts.
Turning the left controller clockwise would show one’s objectives and allow adjustments to the speed of the game. It was a nifty little feature in Per Aspera VR, since some things took a painfully long time to build. With the right controller, pulling down on the analog stick would zoom out to a given degree. Once a spaceport was built, it would allow the player to zoom out into the orbit of Mars.
Building the base sounds easy at first. The game, however, limits a player’s building count to 50 structures per settlement. Gathering resources, of course, is of paramount importance. If the mission is to succeed, AMI must ensure the proper minerals and compounds are harvested for later use. It’s odd that the game asks a player to build a silicone mine, as most other additions to the base won’t sufficiently unless powered properly.
Before one could build anything else in Per Aspera VR, both a glass kiln and a silicone mine were required to harvest resources. Once I had this done, it made things a little to figure out. Before humans could settle on Mars at all, As the terraforming base became more populated with buildings, AMI began to question her existence. The way humans see consciousness and self-awareness had led AMI to the conclusion that she may be ‘alive.’
After enough time, research projects become available. Colony development is of the greatest importance once the tech tree opens up. Eventually, the Mars colony in Per Aspera will be filled to capacity with various buildings. When the max is reached, it creates a ceiling that can only be raised by increasing AMI’s engineering levels. This will exponentially increase the number of buildings allowed.
As one progresses, AMI’s existence becomes more complicated with the added interference of the ISA. The International Space Agency’s decisions have ousted Dr. Nathan Foster, AMI’s former handler, as the chief officer of the mission. Terraforming became the surface of Mars and began to take a back seat as more of the planet’s surface became accessible.
AMI must face off against the ISA’s new director, whose voice seems to give away his plans. The colonists in Per Aspera VR must be protected at all costs. The artificial consciousness’s self-interest, however, dictates that she finds out exactly what the ISA wants and if a conspiracy is happening behind the scenes. Why does sabotaging the terraforming project seem to be their priority?
Unlocking enough regions brought about conflict with a faceless group known as the Children of Carmine. Simply receiving their first message in Per Aspera VR unlocks the Assault Drone Factory and Drone Hive buildings. With the mission being so sensitive and AMI having to work alongside colonists, creating drones with weapons felt like a bad idea.
A second message from the Children of Carmine followed by a drone attack, forced my hand. It was unfortunate as 45 years of peace had passed by as the Martian base slowly developed. Per Aspera VR does well to lull people into a false sense of security. With each attack, there was damage to the base. One thing to note about enemy attacks is they focus on resource and power nodes. Luckily, it was a repair, and the damage was as simple as hitting the L2 trigger on the left controller.
Unsurprisingly, the ‘villains’ of Per Aspera VR are the International Space Agency, a group made up of 20 countries. In the public eye, they seek to advance humanity beyond the scorched skies of Earth. Behind the scenes, they employ subterfuge to silence their opposition. Once they came into play, working as AMI became genuinely more difficult. Despite the Children of Carmine claiming responsibility for the continued attacks, the ISA was suspiciously dismissive of their possible existence.
Because of AMI’s seeming protests, the new head of the project requires AMI to go through a psychological evaluation. Having played through these sections a few times, certain characters will change their behavior based on the answers given by the artificial consciousness. It was quite fascinating to see how far the ripples went.
Per Aspera VR was a visually stunning title through and through. Plenty of city-builder games exist; however, few place so much emphasis on the attention to detail. Even the smallest craters recorded are added to the map. The entire surface of Mars was surprisingly well-detailed, even for existing in a virtual world. Over the course of the base’s development, players are treated to the visually changing surface of the planet
It was an interesting experience hearing AMI come to terms with her voice. The actress performed extremely well and conveyed a believable curiosity. As the character learned, her voice lines became more complex. The player can hear her mind becoming more complex as the voice lines become more detailed. Human characters sounded exactly like one would expect from a city builder.
Per Aspera VR is my first real experience in city building. It was far more than I expected. The research alone that went into simply mapping Mars is nothing short of fascinating. Developers could have chosen to simply go with an artist’s rendition of what the fourth planet’s surface looks like. Instead, they chose to go with research information directly from NASA’s missions over the last few years.
If you’re looking for a title to keep you busy, Per Aspera has it covered. A city builder at heart, the game comes with two aspects missing from most games in the genre: substantial building mechanics and a comprehensive storyline.
Experience a new state of existence in Per Aspera VR, now available on Meta Quest 2.
