Theseus Protocol
- August 22, 2023
- YueTang(Xiamen)
Get on Steam"Theseus Protocol" is a deck-building strategy roguelike game set in a dystopian world, where you play as Prometheus on a mission to alter humanity's fate. Uncover Mark City's dark secrets through a fragmented narrative, explore branching paths, and engage in challenging turn-based battles with an array of cards and weapons. Efficiently manage your cards, as leftovers can be used as ammunition for Prometheus’ weaponry. NO RELEASE DATE OR DEVELOPER INFORMATION AVAILABLE.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features unique mechanics, such as charging weapons by exhausting cards, which adds depth to the gameplay.
- The visuals and character designs are well-executed, providing an appealing anime art style that enhances the overall experience.
- Despite its current limitations, the game shows promise and potential for future updates, with engaging gameplay that can be enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- The game suffers from balance issues, with many cards and mechanics feeling underwhelming or overly reliant on luck, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The English translation is poor, resulting in confusing narratives and unclear mechanics that detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- Currently, the game lacks sufficient content and variety, making it feel repetitive and short, especially for players familiar with other deck-building roguelikes.
- gameplay44 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Theseus Protocol" is a mixed bag, praised for its innovative mechanics and depth but criticized for balance issues and unclear tutorials. While the roguelite deckbuilder offers unique features like card consumption and character-specific mechanics, many players find the overwhelming number of mechanics and lack of clear guidance detract from the overall experience. Despite its potential, the game requires significant playtesting and balancing to enhance its strategic elements and accessibility for newcomers.
“Consuming cards instead of using them is a nice mechanic unique to this game.”
“Runs are longer, giving you more time to build up and enjoy the power you've earned with a bigger pool of enemies and mechanics they will use against you that test your adaptability.”
“This game has a lot of depth for what looks like fairly simple card mechanics at the start, and keeps building on it as you go through new runs.”
“Good art, bad gameplay.”
“Conceptually, the gameplay of this game is broken.”
“The devs apparently thought that the way to make the game deep was to keep adding more and more mechanics, and the result is that there's no way to know what to do and when because there's just too many things happening at the same time.”
- graphics15 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the stylish anime art style and detailed backgrounds, while others find the overall aesthetic unappealing or overly complicated. While the visuals are generally considered good, with some calling them gorgeous, concerns about gameplay balance and RNG overshadow the positive aspects of the graphics. Overall, the art style is a highlight for some players, but it may not resonate with everyone.
“Theseus Protocol is a roguelite deckbuilder game which I want to like because of its great and amazing anime art style and its nice fast-paced gameplay.”
“While the anime art style may not be for everyone, it's pretty well-done here, with fully detailed backgrounds and unique enemy designs.”
“This is probably one of the better deck builders that has a very cool anime/cyberpunk art style that I've played.”
“Very boring and over-complicated; only the artworks are nice.”
“From the get-go, it's gone the 'nerdy basement incel' route for its aesthetic.”
“While this may appeal to the male middle school demographic in Asia, it's just embarrassing for the rest of us.”
- music10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it pleasant but not particularly memorable, often comparing it to other titles like "Slay the Spire." While the soundtrack is described as chill and well-integrated with the game's art, it lacks the standout quality of more renowned soundtracks. Overall, it is considered good but not exceptional, with some players expressing interest in purchasing it if available.
“I didn't notice a soundtrack being memorable, but it still has some pleasant solutions.”
“It may not be as memorable as the spectacular orchestrated music from Library of Runia or Monster Train, but Theseus Protocol delivers very chill music, similar to Slay the Spire.”
“+ Great music and visual presentation.”
“Art sure, more art for cutscenes, art for doing things, art for endings, dying, etc... music, 50/50, where can you even put new music when everything feels samey.”
“I'd be interested in buying a copy of the soundtrack if it was available as DLC or on Bandcamp.”
“Sound and music: 7”
- story8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story in "Theseus Protocol" is criticized for its poor translation and confusing narrative structure, making it difficult for players to follow. Unlike other games that offer concise and impactful story events, this game presents lengthy, rambling text with unclear choices, detracting from the overall experience. While there is an attempt to integrate the story with gameplay, the execution leaves much to be desired.
“They seem to want to tell a story and I'm all for it.”
“I don't know, but I like this turn-based card game battle system and how it helps to advance the story in some ways.”
“The story is poorly translated, so that's definitely something that needs work, and the cutscenes make no sense.”
“Unlike in Slay the Spire or Monster Train, where an event means you'll get a short bit of text with some story and typically 2-3 options at the end, each of which have a clear impact on what will happen if you pick them; events in Theseus Protocol involve multiple pages of rambling story with no context, that end in several choices with no indication on what they mean.”
“The story is confusing with bad English, translations, and formatting.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game features visually appealing designs that cater to a specific audience, though some players may find the aesthetic unappealing. While the character design and user interface are praised for their attractiveness, the overall depth of character development remains less emphasized in the reviews.
“Character designs, UI, and cards all look nice.”
“I'm always game for a roguelite card battler, but in this case, the character design seems to aim to please a weeb audience, which is not my cup of tea.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report occasional frame rate drops and stuttering, particularly on lower-end hardware. Overall, the game's optimization appears to be a work in progress, with potential for improvement in future updates.
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game is reported to have significant stability issues, with users experiencing numerous bugs that affect gameplay.
“This game is very buggy.”
“The frequent crashes make it nearly unplayable.”
“I experience constant lag and glitches during gameplay.”
