Developer: MuHa Games
Publisher: MuHa Games
Platforms: Xbox One, PC, PS4
Tested on: Xbox One
Thea: The Awakening (Xbox One) – Review
Had enough of all standard RPG’s, first persons shooters and platform games? Dive into the world of Thea: The Awakening! This game is an entirely new look on all your ‘’normal’’ games. It gives an entirely new dimension which is waiting for you to be discovered! So strap on your seatbelts, remove all hats, and get ready for the ride of your life!
Story
Thea: the Awakening is a survival game based on Slavic mythologies. The game is set in a world named Thea. This world was beautiful and good, until the sacred Cosmic tree went up in flames. The darkness took over the land and brought chaos and destruction. The darkness ruled for over a century, before the sun woke from its slumber, and you along with her. You are a god, and you watch over the people of Thea. You start your world with one small settlement called Ostoja. From there on, you decide what will take place and how…
The storyline of this game is made up quite beautifully. But it leaves some questions unanswered, like; why did the sun suddenly rise after all those years? Where did the darkness come from? And so on.
Graphics
The game is typically set in a bird view pseudo-3D setting, which is visually very appealing. It is very detailed, and displays all the different kinds of terrain beautifully. What does bother some people is that the proportions are not done that well. For example: the houses are smaller than the persons standing in your expedition. Also, the styling of the combat phase could use some work. It is way too simple compared to the impressive rendering of the rest of the game. A shame, really. Next to these points, the graphics are well done, the colors are correct and it is visually all very correct.
Sound
Thea has a lot of different musical tracks. Overall the music is great and fits the game well. The main theme is calm, with some flute and calm notes, while during combat, it is underlined with drums and suspenseful music. The music is self produced and is available to download online. The voice acting is done by only one man. It sounds pretty professional, but it would have been better if they used more actors for the different characters. They made only one big mistake in the game, which is that at some points, the music is louder than the narration. It makes it seem sloppy and unprofessional.
Gameplay
Thea is a turn-based strategic survival game. The goal of the game is to discover new lands, finish quests and let your settlement strive!
First of all, you get to choose as which god you want to play. The first time, there are only 2 gods to choose from, the others are yet to be unlocked. Each god has their own opportunities and achievements. A god has 5 levels, and the more levels you get, the more gods you can play as.
You start the first turn in Ostoja, a quiet, peaceful settlement. A very short tutorial teaches that food and fuel is vital to survive. These two are obtained by gathering materials around the settlement and when camping out. In order to do a task, you have to assign a certain number of townsfolk to it. There are three kinds of trades in this game: warriors, gatherers and craftsmen. Your warriors have to split their ranks in this game: you leave a few at the settlement in the case of random events, and you take some with you on an expedition. When going on expeditions, it is of vital essence to take food and fuel along. Without these, your people will die. It is also possible to gather some food and fuel while camping out, but it is a bit slower and you are more likely to be attacked. It is a bit hard to figure everything out at the start, but with a lot of effort you’ll have it figured out before you know it.
Monsters and other random encounters don’t have a fixed place on your map. The creatures around you move on their own and it is never certain when they will walk by or attack you. In case of an attack, you are given two or more choices. It is always possible to run away from a fight, but you will receive one or more wounds. If you choose a non-tactical approach and attack the creatures head-on, you will enter combat. This is done by character cards. Both you and your enemy have the same number of cards as creatures in your pack. These cards are divided in two groups: offensive and tactical. The offensive cards are used to attack and defend, the tactical are used for special abilities. With these tactical cards, you can confuse, shield, support a character and more. These cards support your offensive cards in battle. You have two rounds: a planning round, in which you play your cards, and an attack round, where your cards take effect. This is repeated until one of the opposing parties has no cards left.
The game has several goals. First, you have to survive as long as possible. Second, you have to let your settlement grow bigger and bigger. Third, it is your goal to unlock all the gods!
Conclusion
Thea is a hard game to get into. It has a very short tutorial, in which not every dimension of the game is explained. Furthermore, it was hard to get far in the beginning. If you do not watch your party well enough, all your fighters will die, and you can start over. The game has a lot of great ideas and details, but it is made overly complicated. Having to take everything in account at once, is a very big task. If you are interested in playing Thea, prepare yourself to lose dozens of games before finally understanding it. You might get lost in all the info, tasks and battles, but if you manage to finally master it, the game is actually really relaxing and fun!
Thea: The Awakening (Xbox One) - Review,
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