Thea: The Awakening

 PC
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Dec 10, 2015
    Despite the fact that I found most of this pretty dull, Thea is an enormously difficult game to stop playing.

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
72
#72 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 146 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 119 out of 146
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 146
  3. Negative: 11 out of 146
  1. Cablenexus
    Nov 23, 2015
    10
    As an older gamer I see so many games already and so many mechanism past my screen that it's getting more and more difficult to be impressedAs an older gamer I see so many games already and so many mechanism past my screen that it's getting more and more difficult to be impressed by a new game. Heroes of Might and Magic III was one of the first games I played and really liked. It was a turn based game with a big map where you have to search for monsters and treasures on a fantasy setting. Since that moment I played that game it's my favorite genre.
    20 years later many games tried to be successful in the genre. The disciples series for example and the Age of Wonders series managed to make a wonderful collection of games.
    I think I can name another 200 turn based strategy games I played afterwards and many of them did a really good job to copy many parts of those games mentioned and with different succes.
    What confuse me now is that everytime a new game release in the genre it have better graphics but the game mechanism is almost the same every time. It's like most devs are afraid to take a different path and try something new. So for me the genre is stale now and streamlining, tablet games and dumbed down versions of many games released now doesn't make this any better.
    So here start my review of Thea: The Awakening. While developed by a small 4 member dev team they managed to be original in almost every part of the genre and without any compromise. What you get here is a fully rendered random adventure map every time you play. With random resources, random monster lairs and loads of other adventure objects. You can customize the difficulty of how you want to play completely. Like the size of the map, the strength of the encounters and even if you want to play in iron mode you can if you want. You are a god and all gods in the game have a different skillset which unlocks while playing the game. You start with only two gods and when gathering XP you unlock more on the run. The god isn't controlled directly but give direction to your small village somewhere on the map. This village is your main base. From here you start to send expeditions out in the world to gather for resources and to unfold the many, excellent written, storylines in the game. Those resources you use for feed your people and fuel your crafting system. There are 4400 items in game now and the devs plan to extend this number with free only DLC.With those resources you can almost craft an infinite number of items like weapons, but also crafting tools and gathering tools. You can even find other creatures to support you in your quest to victory.
    Your task is to keep your villagers alive, equip them with the many items you find or craft, explore and survive the region. Difference between characters is not only because of gear, but because of a comprehensive skill list as well. More depth then many RPG games you find here while building your characters. Those skills comes in handy when you encounter the numerous quest stories on the map and in your home town.
    When an encounter happens the game change is what the devs call a mini card game, but believe me they are way to modest. This card game have depth, is complex but easy to understand. It looks simple at first, but because the different skills, weapon combinations every fight turns out in a different card game you can easily compare with the big names in the industry. You have a card draw, a reshuffle option and you have to play it out very tactical to survive with two random elements. The stats of the monsters are different every time and the initiative of the characters as well.
    If you want your characters not get involved in a fight most of the time you have another option to play the card game a different way. Like a sneak challenge or a tactic challenge. The difference is the loot is less but it prevent your characters from getting wounded.
    I have 23 hours in the game in 3 days and I'm still hooked to it. It's a fresh new welcome addition to the genre and I expect some big AAA companies are following this title closely at the moment.
    As I said the small dev team, non native English speakers managed to make modern and fresh fantasy storylines within a Slavic Mythology setting. The artwork is really beautiful. The interface is clean, all 4400 items in game have a different clean picture, the map is a hex based 3D landscape with 3D character models all DX11 proof. The card game is more old style like an original paper fantasy card game. The stories are all illustrated with beautiful paintings. Another thing I recognize is that in every different type of challenge or fight the background and sound effects change to the situation you are in. I see many games from tripe A companies that don't manage this very well and this is perfect for ambience and really makes you love this game. I rate this 10/10 without doubt and advice you to read some reviews of the game on the better non commercial gaming sites like Spacesector or eXplorminate. And excuse for my bad English for this long read I'm from Holland myself.    … Full Review »
  2. Macglower
    Nov 24, 2015
    10
    In an era of game creation where you either get a cookie cutter, or a marginally completed beta launch, the makers of Thea: The AwakeningIn an era of game creation where you either get a cookie cutter, or a marginally completed beta launch, the makers of Thea: The Awakening arrive on the scene to restore my faith in the video game industry.

    I've played decades worth of strategy games, from old school blizzard and Lucas arts games, through the heroes of might and magic roller coaster ride (that is still disastrous) to the occasional glimpses of brilliance that was from giants like Total War, Red Alert, and Warcraft/Starcraft. I've seen good games. I've seen far more forgettable games, and I can count on one hand how many games caused me to sit down and lose track of time playing a strategy game. Thea made this list for me.

    The approach for resource management is unique: you have a limited amount around your village, but you have to go out and earn the rest through conquest, dungeon delves, and the like. I found it quite engaging.
    I found myself relishing the victories of my band of warriors, mourning the losses of the fallen, and being dumbfounded when my small band somehow took down a dragon, losing two and nearly 4 others in a random encounter where they fell through a pit in the floor.

    I wish I had noticed the game back on Kickstarter, but I somehow missed it. I haven't been as pleased as I am now, however, supporting this tiny crew of game developers who put out an absolute jewel of a game.

    I will be looking for more from these folks in the future...    … Full Review »
  3. Aiven
    Nov 26, 2015
    9
    It's har to praise this game too much. For 1/4 the price of games like Civilization and the new HOMM games, you get a sort-of-hybrid betweenIt's har to praise this game too much. For 1/4 the price of games like Civilization and the new HOMM games, you get a sort-of-hybrid between the two, that so far seem better than them. Yes I said it, better. This comes from a long-time fan of the Civ games, spending thousands of hours on 2 and 4 and hundreds on 5. Unfortunately they have not managed to renew the concept in a way to my liking over the years. While those games where revolutions in their own time, as HOMM 3, Thea seems like the new wine in 2015. However I am only 50 hours in, so I cannot say anything about the long-term playability yet. At least it's been a total blast so far.

    This makes Thea so good:
    - 1 village, perfect! Basebuilding always got tedious and repetitive in the late-game of other games anyway. It increases the feeling of beeing lonely and lost in a hostile world.
    - Great resource system! You can build a ton of different weapons and other gear. Because the game emphasises several different challenges in addition to regular combat, you want to have specialists in a wide range of areas, like hunting, healing, magic etc. Because of this your characters, that will multiply in numbers after a while, will sport a wide range of differnent gear and abilities. Resources are scarce in the beginning and the game always provides newer and better resources that you can reach for, while providing use also for most of the low-tier ones.
    - The combat system is easy to learn, but hard to master. The lever of potential for micro-management is very high, as in the rest of the game. Protip: When you have learned the system, turn up the animation speed (took me a while to realize this).
    - A limited supply of people. This means that you need to take extra care of all of them, to make sure that they survive. You can give them names, etc. By the way, your camp can attract members of non-human species. Right now my civilization consists of 24 humans and a rock troll by the name of Brick.
    - The icing on the cake is that the game seems virtually bugfree, no crashes, everything works as it should, like a clock. I've tried many indie-games where bugs take away from the experience, not with this one!

    I'll get back to gaming, this game is recommended to all hobby-kings and nerd-rulers. *insert generic addiction warning here*    … Full Review »
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