StrategyFit check
Is Maia worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Simulation players who want to manage survival systems on an alien planet
- Strategy players who prefer indirect control over autonomous colonists
- Science-fiction fans interested in building and researching a hazardous off-world settlement
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking direct control of every colonist rather than autonomous worker behavior
- Players looking for a straightforward city builder without environmental hazards and layered survival management
- Players who prefer military strategy centered on commanding combat units
Our take on Maia
Instead of treating a colony as a set of directly controlled workers, Maia gives colonists independent behavior, personal relationships, illnesses, and mental states. Its base-building structure also makes atmosphere control and heat behavior central management concerns, placing environmental simulation alongside construction.
What is Maia?
Maia is a space-colony simulation set on a hostile world with a toxic atmosphere, solar flares, storms, meteor impacts, and earthquakes.
Players excavate the planet’s crust to build habitats, then manage food, water, energy, airlocks, heating, ventilation, and colonist needs. Colonists act independently, developing skills, relationships, illnesses, mental states, and personal habits. Robots handle excavation and maintenance, while research turns local flora and fauna into potential resources. The game includes a narrative campaign, standalone missions, and sandbox modes across procedurally generated areas several kilometres in size. A first-person mode allows direct control of robots, doors, and cameras. Food systems include hydroponics, livestock, and the capture and domestication of alien animals.
How Maia plays
- 01Simulated Atmosphere
- Air movement and heat behavior affect survival around the colony, requiring equipment such as airlocks, heaters, vents, and atmosphere generators.
- 02Independent Colonists
- Colonists manage their own actions while developing skills, relationships, diseases, mental states, and bodily needs.
- 03Procedural Mission Areas
- Mission locations are generated and simulated across areas described as several kilometres in size.
- 04Multiple Game Modes
- The game combines a narrative campaign with standalone missions and custom sandbox modes.
- 05Robotic Workforce
- An excavation robot gathers minerals and a repair robot performs routine maintenance.
- 06Direct Exploration
- First-person play allows control of robots, doors, and cameras inside the constructed base.
- 07Alien Food Production
- Colonists can grow crops hydroponically, raise livestock, and eventually domesticate local creatures.
Games like Maia
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Alexander SemenovFor:Fans of space-industry simulations who want colony and production managementSkip if:Players seeking frequent direct combat or squad-based tactical encounters
StrategySurviving Mars: Relaunched
Paradox InteractiveFor:Strategy players who want a colony-management game with life-support and supply-chain demandsSkip if:Players who want a short, low-management experience may hit a wall when balancing oxygen, water, food, and power across a growing colony
StrategyUnclaimed World
Refactored GamesFor:Colony-simulation fans who want social decisions alongside resource managementSkip if:Players seeking direct unit control rather than managing colonists indirectlyPicked by overlapping fit notes and genres, not an editorial comparison.
Maia: platforms & release
Is Maia worth it?
It is worth it if: simulation players who want to manage survival systems on an alien planet. Skip it if: players seeking direct control of every colonist rather than autonomous worker behavior.
Where can I download Maia?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Maia's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Maia on?
Windows, macOS and Linux.
