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Tharsis (2016)

Choice Provisions

Mac · Nintendo Switch · PC (Microsoft Windows) · PlayStation 4 · Wii U · iOS

2.99 from 69 ratings

1040 members have it in their collection · 3 playing now · 613 backlogged · 17 wish listed

How long? Main story 2h · with extras 4h (from 2 logged playthroughs)

Tharsis is a turn-based space strategy game. With dice and cannibalism. It puts you in control of humanity's first manned mission to Mars, just as it's struck by a micrometeoroid storm. You must guide your crew through disasters, food shortages, and the unforgiving nature of space - all while maintaining your sanity amidst cryptic signals and warnings from Mars. Defy … Read more
Tharsis is a turn-based space strategy game. With dice and cannibalism. It puts you in control of humanity's first manned mission to Mars, just as it's struck by a micrometeoroid storm. You must guide your crew through disasters, food shortages, and the unforgiving nature of space - all while maintaining your sanity amidst cryptic signals and warnings from Mars. Defy the odds, make the difficult decisions, and embark on the most important mission in human history. Read less
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Details

Developers
Choice Provisions
Publishers
QubicGames S.A.
Genres
Adventure, Card & Board Game, Indie, Puzzle, Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS)
Themes
Horror, Science fiction, Survival
Steam
View on Steam

Release dates

  • Jan 11, 2016 (Worldwide) Mac, PC (Microsoft Windows)
  • Jan 12, 2016 (North_America) PlayStation 4
  • Jan 12, 2016 (Worldwide) PlayStation 4
  • Dec 31, 2016 (North_America) Wii U
  • Jun 27, 2019 (Worldwide) iOS
  • Apr 10, 2020 (Europe) Nintendo Switch
  • Apr 11, 2020 (Worldwide) Nintendo Switch
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Rating distribution

5 stars
7
4 stars
15
3 stars
23
2 stars
18
1 star
6
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Community All Reviews Statuses

asmalljello

Status asmalljello Jun 7, 2023

This has a distinct board game feel. It is is difficult and the dice are unforgiving, but I'm kinda used to this unforgiveness from co-op board games so, after some initial cold shower losses, I found Tharsis somewhat fun. I probably played for about 10h or so before getting bored by the repetitiveness though. I didn't find the game had …

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This has a distinct board game feel. It is is difficult and the dice are unforgiving, but I'm kinda used to this unforgiveness from co-op board games so, after some initial cold shower losses, I found Tharsis somewhat fun. I probably played for about 10h or so before getting bored by the repetitiveness though. I didn't find the game had a nice mix of replayability enough for me to unlock the other characters or explore tactics. To be honest, even if this game was an actual board game, I would probably only play it about 10 or so times, which is about as many as I played it in this pc version. Give it a try if you want to play something boardgamey and the dice are stacked against you.

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2 Comment Permalink
yyninja

Status yyninja Oct 8, 2021

I played this game for a half hour and immediately put it down.

Tharsis plays more like a board game than a video game. It's a turn based strategic game where you have to manage your crew and ship. There are some interesting decisions you can make, like prioritizing the health and stress of the crew or the ship's hull. …

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I played this game for a half hour and immediately put it down.

Tharsis plays more like a board game than a video game. It's a turn based strategic game where you have to manage your crew and ship. There are some interesting decisions you can make, like prioritizing the health and stress of the crew or the ship's hull. But getting a series of bad dice rolls ruins the whole experience. I didn't have any fun with this game.

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2 Comment Permalink
V1CGaming

Review V1CGaming 1/5 · Sep 18, 2021

A sadistic game of chance.

An interesting idea completely shattered by forming the whole gameplay around pure dumb luck. The dice in Tharsis will either make you or break you, creating an unsatisfying experience only a true masochist could enjoy.

3 Comment
anarchistica

Review anarchistica 2/5 · Mar 6, 2019

Too random and too hard

Tharsis is basically a board game. It's very similar to the Battlestar Galactica board game and to FTL (another indie rogue-like). In all three games you play as the crew of a ship and you have to survive various random events. I love BSG. I quite liked FTL. But Tharsis just doesn't do it for me.

Luck is far too …

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Tharsis is basically a board game. It's very similar to the Battlestar Galactica board game and to FTL (another indie rogue-like). In all three games you play as the crew of a ship and you have to survive various random events. I love BSG. I quite liked FTL. But Tharsis just doesn't do it for me.

Luck is far too big a factor and you don't have people sitting next to you to bemoan your bad luck. The game is also simply too hard, even on Easy, even compared to FTL. These two elements combined just lead to a lot of frustration for most people.

Tharsis is by no means a bad game, but it has a very specific audience and doesn't try enough to cater to those who aren't part of that audience.

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5 Comment
grainne6

Review grainne6 2/5 · May 10, 2018

Not Recommended

Tharsis is a very short strategy game, you need to keep your crew alive while travelling to Mars. You roll dice to collect food or repair the ship. The UI is clunky but I got used to it and the graphics are fine. There is no story and your crew has no personality at all so the game is all …

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Tharsis is a very short strategy game, you need to keep your crew alive while travelling to Mars. You roll dice to collect food or repair the ship. The UI is clunky but I got used to it and the graphics are fine. There is no story and your crew has no personality at all so the game is all about the strategy elements. The main game took me around an hour the first time and there are also around 20 shorter missions you can do but they play exactly the same and don't really add anything to the game.

Tharis feels like a demo rather than a completed game. Initially it is fun - figuring out how to complete the main mission takes a while - so I enjoyed it for the first hour or so but I kept waiting for the real game to begin, instead I reached the end. Playing again on hard or playing the shorter missions was a lot less fun - there really is just one best strategy to beat the game and that means it gets very dull.

If you really want to try this then wait for a sale – it’s really not worth full price. Overall not recommended.

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0 Comment