Surviving Mars is a sci-fi city builder game where you colonize Mars and must survive the process. Players must choose a space agency for resources and financial support before determining a location for their colony. The game requires you to build domes and infrastructure, research new possibilities and utilize drones to unlock more elaborate ways to shape and expand your settlement. Additionally, players must cultivate their own food, mine minerals, and keep their colonists alive. Each colonist is a unique individual with problems and strengths that influence the needs and behavior of other colonists.

The game features retro-futuristic superstructures that house colonists, factories, and commercial buildings with their own "neighborhood personality." The game also includes randomized research trees that allow for a different experience with each journey through the game. Surviving Mars holds many secrets inspired by the classic sci-fi of Asimov and Clarke. During each playthrough, players may encounter one of Mars' individually crafted mysteries. The game also features a sleek, modern take on the bright futurism of the 1960s, and expansive mod support.