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Tharsis

A turn based strategy that actually employs strategy, Tharsis is a rougelike you’ll want to keep coming back to.
Tharsis Game Cover
67%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
stability, grinding
70% User Score Based on 2,008 reviews
Critic Score 65%Based on 23 reviews

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Tharsis Game Cover

About

Tharsis is a single player survival role playing game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by Choice Provisions and was released on January 11, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Tharsis is a single-player horror turn-based strategy game set on a doomed Mars mission struck by a micrometeoroid storm. Players navigate disasters, dwindling resources, and psychological strain while unraveling a mysterious signal that may hold humanity’s survival key. Featuring excellent mechanics, a dense atmosphere, humor, and replayability, it delivers a gripping, strategic experience.

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Tharsis screenshot
Tharsis screenshot
Tharsis screenshot
Tharsis screenshot
Tharsis screenshot
Tharsis screenshot
Tharsis screenshot
Tharsis screenshot
Tharsis screenshot
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70%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,008 reviews
story114 positive mentions
stability13 negative mentions
  • Tharsis offers a unique blend of dice rolling and resource management, creating a tense and engaging gameplay experience.
  • The game features a compelling atmosphere with great music and visuals, enhancing the overall immersion.
  • Each playthrough is different due to the random events and crew dynamics, providing good replayability.
  • The game heavily relies on RNG, which can lead to frustrating experiences where players feel they have little control over outcomes.
  • Even on easy mode, the game can be punishingly difficult, often resulting in early failures that discourage players.
  • The tutorial is lengthy and unskippable, which can detract from the initial gameplay experience.
  • story
    574 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "Tharsis" is often described as shallow and repetitive, with many players finding it uninteresting and lacking depth. While the game features a basic narrative about a mission to Mars that goes awry, it is primarily driven by random events and dice rolls, leading to a sense of frustration rather than engagement. Although some players appreciate the atmospheric elements and the potential for storytelling, the overall consensus is that the narrative could benefit from more complexity and variety to enhance replayability.

    • “The story is interesting, and the game is pretty fun once you get the hang of it.”
    • “The atmosphere and story of the game really set you up for an immersive experience.”
    • “Tharsis brilliantly translates the mechanics of a solo board game into digital format and does so with a highly original storyline, tone, and execution.”
    • “The story is basically nonexistent, but gives you a basic framework for the gameplay.”
    • “The entire game feels like a comedy of errors that would be appropriate in Kerbal Space Program, but not at all what a real space mission would be like.”
    • “The plot is mysterious enough to keep you coming back for more ... up until a point.”
  • gameplay
    541 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Tharsis is primarily centered around dice rolling and resource management, offering a mix of strategic decision-making and randomness that can lead to both rewarding and frustrating experiences. While many players appreciate the engaging mechanics and the challenge of overcoming difficult odds, the heavy reliance on RNG can make the game feel punishing and repetitive, often leading to a sense of unfairness. Overall, the game provides a unique blend of board game elements and strategic depth, but its short length and limited content may leave some players wanting more.

    • “The mechanics are challenging and punishing, but consequently, a successful run feels really, really good.”
    • “The gameplay is fun and strategic, simple enough to draw you in but with enough depth and nuance that you can second guess your choices for hours.”
    • “The gameplay is all about rolling dice and allocating them in the best possible way in order to overcome every turn's hazards and activate crew members' skills.”
    • “The gameplay loop is fine, but the game delivers on little else, and it leaves an overall disappointing feeling.”
    • “Unfortunately, the gameplay is more frustrating than anything as random events demolish your ship and crew constantly and repetitively.”
    • “The core gameplay teaches us to accept events which we have no control over, even when they become overwhelming.”
  • replayability
    169 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews on replayability are mixed, with some players praising the game for its high replay value due to various difficulty levels, unlockable characters, and random events, while others criticize it for being too short or lacking substantial content after initial playthroughs. Many players find enjoyment in experimenting with different strategies and challenges, but some feel that the game loses its appeal quickly once the main objectives are completed. Overall, the game's replayability seems to depend heavily on individual player preferences and their willingness to engage with its mechanics.

    • “A very nice game with loads of replayability.”
    • “The replay value is probably the best part of this game.”
    • “Tharsis offers some interesting mechanics, a story with little innovation but plenty of space for the player to create his narrative, and a lot of replayability.”
    • “This leaves no replayability for me, which for a rogue-like, is the one thing a game truly needs.”
    • “Beware, this game is very short; it has some standalone missions, but other than that, it has utterly low replayability.”
    • “The unfortunate part is that once the game is beaten, it loses a fair amount of replay value.”
  • music
    164 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its atmospheric and immersive qualities. The soundtrack, primarily composed by the group Weval, is described as catchy, well-produced, and perfectly suited to the game's themes, enhancing the overall experience. While some players noted a lack of variety, the majority found the music to be a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's mood and tension.

    • “Outstanding soundtrack by weval!”
    • “The music complements the gameplay perfectly.”
    • “The soundtrack is amazing.”
    • “The soundtrack is quite basic as well.”
    • “Sadly, the music is a little annoying and doesn't fit the whole gameplay.”
    • “Being a person who is irritated by repetitive music, I play many video games with the music turned off.”
  • graphics
    161 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many users praising the charming art style, polished visuals, and fitting aesthetics that enhance the overall atmosphere. However, some players noted issues with graphical bugs, particularly on certain systems, and a disconnect between character models and the rest of the visuals. Overall, while the graphics are not groundbreaking, they are considered adequate and contribute positively to the gameplay experience.

    • “The visuals are gorgeous, and I just love the way they represented the ship and dice rolls.”
    • “The graphics are really well made and the soundtrack...oh boy, is marvelous.”
    • “Tharsis blends an interesting board game aesthetic with the tough decision-making and resource-management of the best in turn-based strategy sims.”
    • “The game does not work with newer processors; it crashes almost immediately due to a bug in the graphics engine.”
    • “The bug itself was fixed long ago, but the game has not been recompiled with the new graphics engine; yet it is still for sale.”
    • “The graphics are poor but adequate for the genre.”
  • atmosphere
    64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its immersive and eerie qualities, enhanced by a compelling soundtrack and strong voice acting. Players appreciate the blend of grim themes and tension, which effectively convey a sense of desperation and challenge throughout the gameplay. Overall, the atmospheric design, including visuals and sound, creates a captivating experience that draws players into its unique sci-fi setting.

    • “The atmosphere and story of the game really set you up for an immersive experience.”
    • “It features a fantastic soundtrack and story which produces a uniquely eerie atmosphere and builds the tension as you roll, hoping for the perfect numbers so you can just survive one more turn.”
    • “The game loop in itself is pleasant, but it goes stale quite fast, with the gameplay not fully fitting the grim atmosphere the game tries to build up.”
    • “I get that they wanted to create an atmosphere of constant threat, but you have nothing to prevent it; everything depends on dice rolls, and player skill is not required.”
    • “That combined with the music, and the way they present their story leads to an atmosphere that is thick, heavy, brooding, and tense.”
  • humor
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its dark and morbid tone, often eliciting laughter from players despite the harsh challenges they face, such as poor dice rolls leading to disastrous outcomes. Players appreciate the ironic and absurd labels in the score screen, which add a unique touch to their experience, while the stress mechanic enhances replayability by prompting humorous commentary from characters as they make increasingly poor decisions. Overall, the game appeals to those who enjoy a blend of sci-fi, strategy, and a good dose of dark humor.

    • “It's harsh, unforgiving, gorgeous, and darkly humorous.”
    • “The dice are going to go badly and horrible things are going to happen and then you're going to laugh about it and start again because it is all kind of funny.”
    • “Your crew starts to make hilariously incredibad life choices once they go over the edge, complete with colorful commentary.”
    • “I wanted to like this game; I really did, but the odds are so stacked against you that it's not funny.”
    • “The attempts at humor feel forced and often fall flat, making the experience more frustrating than entertaining.”
    • “While the game tries to be funny, most of the jokes miss the mark and come off as cringeworthy.”
  • stability
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game is a mixed bag, with some players reporting a range of glitches and bugs that significantly impact gameplay, such as freezing issues and unskippable voiceovers. Conversely, others have experienced a smooth, bug-free experience, indicating that stability may vary depending on the system or version. Overall, while some aspects of the game run well, many users find it plagued by issues that detract from enjoyment.

    • “The game runs as it is designed to with no glitches.”
    • “It is mechanically sound and bug-free.”
    • “The game itself looks and runs great!”
    • “The low predictability due to glitches, rather than the nature of the game, makes it much more unenjoyable than it should be.”
    • “This game is missing a lot of 'quality of life' features and is just plain buggy.”
    • “So bug-ridden it is unplayable on iMac 27 from 2013!”
  • grinding
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many expressing that unlocking characters and completing tasks often feels overly repetitive and punishing. While some appreciate the challenge it presents, the grind is often seen as a barrier to enjoyment, detracting from the overall experience. The requirement for extensive playtime to unlock certain features is frequently criticized, making the process feel less rewarding.

    • “However, it quickly becomes tediously annoying.”
    • “Unlocking the hidden characters is kind of tedious.”
    • “The last unlockable character requires a giant leap in plays (about 3 times as many as I did) and is too grindy to be enticing, although it is the best character.”
  • emotional
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players appreciate the intense feelings of loneliness and desperation evoked by the challenging gameplay and atmospheric elements, others find it frustrating and lacking in engaging storytelling. The combination of sound design and visuals contributes to a mood that can oscillate between determination and hopelessness, making it an emotionally demanding experience. However, the game's difficulty and randomness may hinder emotional connections for some players.

    • “When some kind of incident impacts your ship, your crew must desperately move around the ship, using their precious dice rolls to cultivate food, heal themselves physically and emotionally, and repair damage before it kills your astronauts or destroys the ship.”
    • “No other game made me feel this lonely and hopeless in the cold, uncaring vastness of space.”
    • “The OST makes for a stark contrast between being lost emotionally and being determined, setting a special mood for the game.”
    • “The game is frustrating to play, has a boring story, and is not recommended for anyone wanting to relax and enjoy a fun and amusing experience.”
  • optimization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some users noting significant issues, particularly for a visual novel, while others find it enjoyable despite minor performance concerns. While the visuals are generally praised for their polish, players on Mac are advised to wait for further optimization before playing. Overall, the game offers fun optimization tasks but could benefit from improved graphics performance.

    • “For me, it is quite enjoyable - I like optimization tasks, but this game is not for everybody.”
    • “This is a game about risk management and optimization.”
    • “Visuals are quite good, looks well polished and runs smoothly.”
    • “Worst optimization ever, especially for a visual novel.”
    • “The game could do with some graphics optimization.”
    • “All I can say is if you own a Mac, wait until this game is optimized to run on the Mac.”
  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate that while the lead designer excels in ship design, the character development is perceived as a significant failure, suggesting a disconnect between design inspiration and execution in this area.

    • “It's interesting that the lead designer goes on ad nauseum about his design inspirations, because he succeeded in ship design, and failed horribly in character design.”
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65%Critics’ scoreBased on 23 critic reviews
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6h Median play time
6h Average play time
4-10h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 23 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Tharsis is a survival role playing game with horror and science fiction themes.

Tharsis is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing Tharsis.

Tharsis was released on January 11, 2016.

Tharsis was developed by Choice Provisions.

Tharsis has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Tharsis is a single player game.

Similar games include Gods Will Be Watching, FTL: Faster Than Light, Into the Breach, Dungeon of the Endless, Space Food Truck and others.