<s>
Tharsis	B-Application
is	O
a	O
2016	O
strategy	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Choice	O
Provisions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
worldwide	O
in	O
January	O
2016	O
for	O
Windows	O
and	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
through	O
the	O
download	O
service	O
Steam	B-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
later	O
in	O
April	O
2020	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
follows	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
astronauts	O
on	O
the	O
first	O
crewed	O
mission	O
to	O
Mars	B-Application
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
track	O
down	O
a	O
signal	O
that	O
is	O
apparently	O
extraterrestrial	O
in	O
origin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
turn-based	O
game	O
played	O
using	O
simulated	O
virtual	O
dice	B-Language
,	O
the	O
player	O
controls	O
four	O
characters	O
,	O
attempting	O
to	O
fix	O
problems	O
with	O
the	O
ship	O
and	O
keep	O
the	O
crew	O
alive	O
each	O
turn	O
by	O
managing	O
their	O
dice	B-Language
cache	O
,	O
health	O
,	O
and	O
stress	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tharsis	B-Application
allows	O
players	O
to	O
control	O
four	O
astronauts	O
with	O
unique	O
jobs	O
and	O
abilities	O
inside	O
a	O
heavily	O
damaged	O
spacecraft	O
,	O
the	O
Iktomi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
lasts	O
for	O
10	O
in-game	O
weeks	O
,	O
during	O
which	O
time	O
the	O
player	O
must	O
attempt	O
to	O
reach	O
Mars	B-Application
without	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
crew	O
perishing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
can	O
click	O
each	O
astronaut	O
to	O
deploy	O
them	O
to	O
a	O
certain	O
module	O
for	O
that	O
turn	O
and	O
repair	O
them	O
using	O
the	O
astronaut	O
's	O
dice	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
astronaut	O
has	O
their	O
own	O
health	O
points	O
,	O
stress	O
meter	O
,	O
and	O
dice	B-Language
cache	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Every	O
roll	O
of	O
the	O
dice	B-Language
decreases	O
the	O
character	O
's	O
maximum	O
dice	B-Language
by	O
one	O
unless	O
replenished	O
with	O
food	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Problems	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
repaired	O
by	O
adding	O
enough	O
dice	B-Language
to	O
match	O
the	O
indicated	O
number	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
several	O
types	O
of	O
hazards	O
that	O
can	O
hinder	O
dice	B-Language
rolls	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
avoided	O
by	O
gaining	O
"	O
assists	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
using	O
the	O
dice	B-Language
to	O
repair	O
,	O
each	O
room	O
has	O
a	O
bonus	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
activated	O
by	O
rolling	O
a	O
certain	O
dice	B-Language
,	O
or	O
combination	O
of	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Extra	O
dice	B-Language
can	O
also	O
be	O
invested	O
into	O
research	O
,	O
allowing	O
beneficial	O
abilities	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
at	O
a	O
later	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
set	O
in	O
the	O
near	O
future	O
,	O
where	O
Earth	O
has	O
received	O
a	O
mysterious	O
signal	O
from	O
Tharsis	B-Application
on	O
Mars	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
scientists	O
believing	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
sign	O
of	O
extraterrestrial	O
life	O
,	O
the	O
Iktomi	O
is	O
built	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
six	O
crewmembers	O
are	O
sent	O
to	O
Mars	B-Application
to	O
investigate	O
the	O
anomaly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
journey	O
,	O
the	O
crew	O
deciphers	O
data	O
sent	O
from	O
Tharsis	B-Application
and	O
realizes	O
that	O
it	O
shows	O
what	O
seems	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
exact	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
crew	O
of	O
the	O
Iktomi	O
who	O
are	O
in	O
dire	O
straits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unsure	O
of	O
what	O
to	O
make	O
of	O
this	O
data	O
,	O
they	O
manage	O
to	O
survive	O
until	O
they	O
reach	O
Mars	B-Application
and	O
launch	O
the	O
capsule	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Iktomi	O
remains	O
in	O
orbit	O
and	O
is	O
destroyed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
if	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
crew	O
survive	O
,	O
then	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
crew	O
members	O
manages	O
to	O
pick	O
up	O
a	O
rock	O
and	O
throw	O
it	O
at	O
the	O
artifact	O
,	O
destroying	O
it	O
in	O
a	O
massive	O
explosion	O
,	O
with	O
their	O
ultimate	O
fate	O
unknown	O
and	O
Mars	B-Application
now	O
covered	O
in	O
a	O
layer	O
of	O
snow	O
,	O
implying	O
the	O
planet	O
can	O
now	O
support	O
human	O
life	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
an	O
interview	O
with	O
Mike	O
Roush	O
,	O
co-founder	O
of	O
Choice	O
Provisions	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
inspiration	O
for	O
Tharsis	B-Application
was	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
the	O
whaling	O
ship	O
Essex	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
sunk	O
by	O
a	O
whale	O
,	O
forcing	O
the	O
crew	O
to	O
resort	O
to	O
desperate	O
attempts	O
to	O
stay	O
alive	O
,	O
including	O
cannibalism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
also	O
created	O
out	O
of	O
Choice	O
Provisions	O
's	O
desire	O
not	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
typecast	O
"	O
as	O
a	O
studio	O
that	O
only	O
developed	O
the	O
Bit.Trip	B-Application
series	O
or	O
worked	O
in	O
an	O
8-bit	O
retro	O
style	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tharsis	B-Application
's	O
art	O
style	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
70	O
's	O
sci-fi	O
designs	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
used	O
in	O
Space	O
:	O
1999	O
and	O
UFO	O
,	O
but	O
which	O
was	O
updated	O
to	O
be	O
realistic	O
in	O
a	O
modern-day	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
dice	B-Language
mechanic	O
was	O
used	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
perceived	O
resurgence	O
in	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
board	O
games	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
uniqueness	O
of	O
the	O
concept	O
in	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
challenge	O
that	O
was	O
noted	O
was	O
the	O
high	O
learning	B-General_Concept
curve	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
which	O
caused	O
people	O
to	O
abandon	O
it	O
instead	O
of	O
watching	O
the	O
tutorial	O
or	O
delving	O
deeper	O
into	O
the	O
strategic	O
mechanics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
its	O
release	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
,	O
Tharsis	B-Application
has	O
received	O
"	O
mixed	O
or	O
average	O
"	O
reception	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
review	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Patrick	O
Hancock	O
of	O
Destructoid	O
praised	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
graphics	O
as	O
"	O
wonderful	O
"	O
,	O
aside	O
from	O
the	O
faces	O
of	O
the	O
crew	O
members	O
,	O
but	O
criticized	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
relying	O
"	O
too	O
much	O
on	O
dice	B-Language
rolls	O
"	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
the	O
feeling	O
that	O
winning	O
is	O
too	O
dependent	O
on	O
luck	O
and	O
"destroy[ing]	O
one	O
's	O
interest	O
in	O
trying	O
again	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tyler	O
Wilde	O
of	O
PC	O
Gamer	O
called	O
the	O
game	O
it	O
highly	O
"	O
dependent	O
on	O
chance	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
suggested	O
that	O
the	O
difficulty	O
varies	O
widely	O
depending	O
on	O
how	O
good	O
your	O
dice	B-Language
rolls	O
are	O
for	O
that	O
particular	O
playthrough	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
believes	O
this	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
games	O
of	O
chance	O
are	O
usually	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
lazy	O
shortcut	O
to	O
make	O
things	O
harder	O
,	O
or	O
to	O
take	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
money	O
in	O
mobile	B-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
which	O
caused	O
the	O
gameplay	O
of	O
Tharsis	B-Application
to	O
be	O
overlooked	O
.	O
</s>
