Surviving Mars will put players in charge of the first functioning colony on the Red Planet, where resources are thin, the environment is hostile, and human colonists will need to balance productivity with sanity.

Surviving Mars challenges players to plan and build a functioning colony on Mars, balancing inhabitants’ basic survival needs with sanity and quality of life, all while dealing with the hostile environment of the red planet.

Once Surviving Mars, the current free games on the Epic Games Store, has run its course, it will be up to >observer_ and Alan Wake's American Nightmare, both will be gratis starting on October 17 until October 24, 2019.

>observer_ is set in a near future in a grim Cyberpunk version of Cracow, Poland. You play as Dan, a member of a special corporate-funded police unit called Observers, whose purpose is to hack and invade other people minds and memories. Having received a cryptic message from his estranged son, the hero delves into the seedy underbelly of the city, where only horror and madness awaits.

As an Observer you will need to use your augmentations to gather information, interrogate and hack into the twisted minds of criminals and victims alike. Explore the boundaries of humanity and face the consequences of stepping beyond our limits. Face the horrors of twisted minds, blurred by failing memories, entangled and mixed with your own fears.

Key Features

• Observe and Report - You are Dan Lazarski, an elite neural detective known as an Observer, and part of a corporate-funded police unit whose purpose is to hack and invade suspects’ minds. In this future, anything you think, feel, or remember can be used against you in a court of law.
• A Dark Dystopia - The year is 2084. If you somehow survived the Nanophage, odds are you were killed in the War. Those who live have turned to drugs, VR, neural implants— anything to distract themselves from this new reality. But they can’t hide from you.
• Interactive Insanity - As you hack into the unstable minds of criminals and victims to look for clues, you will relive their darkest fears, forcing you to question your own reality -- and your sanity.
• Take the Horror With You! - >observer_ for Nintendo Switch uses all of the unique features of the system, including full Joy-Con support, Touchscreen, and the option to play both in docked and in handheld modes.

>observer_ is currently available on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is a standalone spin-off adventure featuring a thrilling pulp action story mode and an all new “Fight till Dawn” arcade mode.  American Nightmare will shine a new light on the world of Wake while appealing to fans and newcomers alike.

The single player campaign comes from the darkest corners of the ‘Night Springs’, a Twilight Zone inspired fiction. American Nightmare is an exaggerated and gritty rendering of that world – where the horrors of reality have the all too easy habit of coming true. When Wake becomes stuck in the alternate shadowed world of Night Springs, he must hunt down his evil double, Mr. Scratch, to find answers. A supernatural serial killer, Scratch is fixated on Wake’s wife, Alice, and even more horribly, Wake’s demise. To survive and thrive in the darkest of nights, Wake must learn to control reality itself and unravel the secrets of Night Springs with a trusty flashlight by his side and whatever weapon he can find.

The brand new “Fight till Dawn” arcade mode places Wake in the battle of his life. Players are tasked with surviving a full night of brutal onslaughts while racking up their score. With a myriad of new enemies to battle, Wake won’t have any trouble since he’ll have plenty of deadly options within his arsenal: old stalwarts like the flare gun, wild new favorites like the nail gun and old school Remedy favorites like the Uzi. Thankfully, safe havens and unlockable weapons litter the landscape, allowing for a momentary respite from the darkness. Surviving until dawn is only the beginning though, as online leaderboards pit friends head-to-head to see who the real champion of light is.

In Surviving Mars, players will lead a colonization effort on the surface of Mars, from the very first rovers and supply drops to the construction of suitable habitats for brave settlers from Earth. Every colonist will be vital to the mission as the colony struggles to gain a foothold where the environment is hostile and resources are scarce. With each success, however, players will gain the ability to expand further, and even establish a thriving society – and lead a new generation that has never known the Earth.

Couch colonists can look forward to ultra-high-definition visuals for their missions, with 4K support offered on both the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro consoles. For PC players, Surviving Mars will offer community-created modifications with full modding tools and support – including mods available at launch from some of Paradox’s most talented community creators.

Surviving Mars is available on Xbox One, PS4, and Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs for $39.99 on all platforms.