Destination Ares

Destination Ares is a short-session survival game about an AI guiding a crew on an arduous journey to Mars aboard a colony spaceship assembled from old, worn parts. You manage the ship and respond as its systems break down, trying to keep the crew alive while the vessel gradually loses power and capability.

Control the ship

You design and customize your ship, directly operate its systems and set alarms to get the crew’s attention. You must handle emergencies with simple controls and responsive difficulty that is always hard. A run takes less than half an hour, though mastering the game takes hours, if success comes at all.

Story and crew

The game focuses on internal struggle rather than external threats. There are no aliens or guns, only nonchalant blobs of water named Charlie. You can uncover hidden, branching story arcs with several endings, ponder the meaning of existence, cope with failing systems and watch a woefully incompetent crew.

Your capabilities diminish over time rather than grow. You cannot become stronger, so survival depends on playing smarter.