[3] New to Super Motherload are underground bases which serve as checkpoints, preventing the need for players to return to the surface each time they fill up their cargo bay.

[5] Super Motherload features a horror science-fiction storyline,[6] in which players play as the pilots of digging machines sent to Mars to harvest precious resources.

[7] As players descend, they begin to learn about "the secrets of Mars and the strange occurrences happening throughout the various Solarus bases".

[8][9][10] Penny Arcade included the game as the subject of a comic strip[11] and blog post.

They thought the game was exciting with increasing complexity, although repetitive, citing the gameplay as instilling a "feeling of zen".