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Survive under Mars-ial law.



<span class="bold">Tharsis</span>, a turn-based strategy about braving the inhuman conditions of space, is available now DRM-free on GOG.com for Windows and Mac, with a 50% launch discount.

Space, the final frontier. Of sanity and sanitation. A micrometeoroid storm strikes and cripples the mission sent to investigate a mysterious signal from Mars - your mission. Now you are out of food, out of control, out of hope. But full of desperate ideas.

Your job is to make the tough calls, roll the dice, and hope for the best while expecting the worst. The number of casualties will grow, along with the survivors' anxiety, mutual distrust and tolerance towards questionable eating habits. Humanity is not welcome on the volcanic regions of Mars, but then what is the purpose of these intriguing, enigmatic transmissions? If you are ever going to find out, you must survive long enough and not let your crew be consumed by the brutality of space. Or each other.



Exercise harsh decision-making in the unforgiving conditions of <span class="bold">Tharsis</span>, DRM-free on GOG.com. The 50% discount will last for the duration of the Summer Sale.
I got this when it released on Steam. It's ok, I put a fair amount of time into it, solid 7.5/10 if you like this kinda thing.

It's basically a single player board game played on PC; there are dice and everything, it doesn't even pretend not to be an electronic board game. If you think of it within those terms it is much easier to understand the mechanics and develop a strategy to win. It also makes it easier to accept when you are totally screwed by the RNG and bad rolls. The game is not dissimilar from other PC board games like the Chainsaw Warrior games or Spacehulk, at least in terms of how important the RNG is to the gameplay. A couple good sets of rolls and some luck with the bad events will make a huge difference in whether or not you win.

Make no mistake, though it is a game with strategy and skill, it can also be totally unfair and you WILL lose because the dice rolled against you. For certain. More than once. The skill and strategy comes from hedging yourself against those bad rolls, being as prepared as possible, and dealing with the bad effects. However, if you don't like a game where luck definitely plays a factor in success then you will be frustrated.

I have yet to win but I managed to devise a strategy that got me a single move away from victory and a mistake on my part cost me the game. The story is kinda interesting but I didn't really care that much or trust it to conclude well (I didn't beat it so I dunno if it does or doesn't), and it was not my primary motivation to win. I just wanted to beat the goddamn thing to prove to myself I could, especially after my first couple totally disastrous games. I am confident I will do so eventually.