Offroad: Dead Planet

Offroad: Dead Planet is an off-roading adventure about a young driver journeying from Mars to Earth. You cross a dystopian planet in vehicles with physically simulated suspensions, deformable tires and damageable parts, carving paths through terrain that changes and retains the marks you leave. Along the way, you help people and work to restore the environment, one piece of litter and planted seed at a time.

Drive across changing terrain

You navigate rocky plateaus, islands, forests, caves and areas above toxic fog, as well as locations on Mars. Rocks, trees, logs and abandoned structures make each route a challenge, and you choose both your line and vehicle. Tire grip, suspension movement and friction across different surfaces affect how well you climb.

The ground reacts to your vehicle, and those changes persist. Tires leave ruts in mud, push aside or compress sand, and tear up grass until the ground beneath becomes soft and muddy. You can adapt your driving to the altered terrain or use repeated passes over deep sand to clear its loose top layer and form a stable, packed path.

Explore and build

You search future Earth and Mars for hidden caves and dangerous cliff paths, and take on missions such as collecting trash, powering signal towers, jump-starting solar panel arrays and activating generators. You also transport logs, paneling, metal plates and supports to build or repair bridges, camps, cabins, gardens and pollinator stations. Plan your trips around nightfall, equip your vehicle for darkness or build a camp near your route to wait out the dark.

Help people and the planet

Starting on Mars, you travel to an Earth where people have mostly been left behind by a space-faring society. You assist characters with different needs, goals and beliefs, all of whom need driving help. As you work to bring nature and humanity into harmony, you learn what is driving the destruction of Earth's ecosystems and begin repairing the damage by picking up litter and planting seeds.

Vehicles and driver physics

Vehicles have different suspension setups, with variations in axle tilt, spring, dampening, angle and resilience. Their suspensions are fully simulated and react when you strike rocks or scrape your axles. Engines, transmissions, chassis, steering and tires can all be damaged: parts may bend, break, hang off, deflate or spark, with mechanical effects on the vehicle. You learn each vehicle's strengths and weaknesses as you tackle different challenges.

Tires are simulated as soft bodies that squish, bend and grip differently across surfaces. They deform around objects, press their sides against surfaces and change shape with momentum in fast turns. Pushing them too hard can damage, deflate or destroy them. Tread depth affects the balance of friction on smooth and rough ground, so some tires suit concrete or asphalt while others grip mud, rock, grass and dirt.

The driver is also fully simulated, flexing their muscles to stay in place and hold the steering wheel. Their air level is hindered in areas filled with trash, and they need nutrition; a lack of it can become serious in a bad situation. A hard impact to the head can knock them unconscious and send the vehicle out of control. Once they wake, they can regain control if they get one hand back on the wheel.

Time trials

In time trials, you race for the fastest time and aim for a perfect lap. You can cut routes through the terrain to find an optimal line, leaving tracks and ruts and changing the ground with each lap as you try to improve your run.