Welcome to Project Thea. A new strategy-survival RPG set in a tattered land that is a mix between sci-fi and fantasy. It is a combination of city builder, RPG, and an interesting combat system. Let’s jump in and see how the game is looking so far in Early Access.
In this preview, I will be going over the following topics.
Table of Contents
Setting and Premise of Project Thea
An emergency protocol has prematurely awakened you after a disastrous world event. This, of course, has caused you to have some memory loss. You are attached to an AI that is more than happy to help get you up to speed, though.
You also start your journey with a crew of 3 other characters that are here to assist you. As the only being connected directly to the AI, it is your job to oversee the rebuilding of the colony (Project Thea) and lead expeditions out into the wasteland for supplies and much-needed resources.
Will you be able to rebuild civilization, or will the threats out in the wasteland get to you first?
How Project Thea Plays in Early Access
Project Thea can mostly be broken down into four main gameplay elements. There is the rebuilding of the colony, managing your crew, exploring the wasteland, and combat.
We are going to go over each of these elements at a high level, and then I will let you know my thoughts on where I feel the game is in its current state.
Rebuilding the Wasteland Colony
Rebuilding the city is your character’s main focus. There are many things to do in the wasteland, but it all revolves around you bringing back resources to rebuild the city and create a safe place for people to live.
There are a few different things that you can do while visiting the city. In this preview, we are just going to touch on a few.
At the Tower of Commerce, you are able to recruit and resupply. Both of which are very important. Combat can be quite tough in the wasteland, so it doesn’t hurt to hire a few extra hands to help you out.
Or replace the members of your group you may have lost. Keeping your supplies high is also important because your crew will consume some every day. You can also use supplies in various ways, such as rerolling a skill check.
The Core Development Room is where you will go to select blueprints and construct buildings for the city. Each building meets a certain need of the city and its people. It is up to you to decide which buildings are more important for the city’s needs.
Races, Domains, and Companions
There is a range of different races and domains in Project Thea. At the start of the game, you will select your race, domain, and appearance.
There isn’t much in the amount of customization for your appearance yet, but there might be more options with the full release. Your character is an Alloy, which means you are half human, half something else. Some of those races are elven, folklore, and beast.
Domains have an important role in the game. It affects how people interact with your character. It also has an effect in combat, which I will touch on a bit later. At this point, it seems that your class is dependent on your domain.
Hopefully, there will be more class options included later, though. The different domains in the game are magic, divine, darkness, and technology.
Your starting companions will be based on the domain that you choose. The characters that you hire at the Tower of Commerce, on the other hand, can be of any race and domain. The same can be said about the followers you might gain while exploring the wasteland.
Exploring the Wasteland Around the Colony
Most of your time in the game will be exploring the area around the city you are trying to rebuild. You need to explore each region and go to the points of interest in that region in order to find the resources you need for the city.
Until each region is fully explored and all points of interest in that region have been investigated, enemy units from that region can spawn and attack the city. This means it is important to clear the surrounding area as quickly as possible.
Each round, you have a set of movement points. These points are used to move your team around the map. They are also used for investigating points of interest. Some points even have multiple layers.
You will need to explore each layer to fully resolve that event. Many of the layers will require a specific skill check to be passed. The ability to pass a skill check in Project Thea is actually based on the skill pool of the group rather than just your main character.
You can also use characters to boost your skill even more for a better chance to pass. If you still fail, then you can spend supplies to reroll one more time. Failing a skill check can be pretty bad, depending on the check. It helps to make sure you have a well-rounded team so you can pass any of the skill checks you might run into.
The other thing you will run into at points of interest are combats. There are also enemy units moving throughout the wasteland that can attack you as well, so be cautious. Let’s jump into what combat looks like.
Card-Based Domain Combat System
The combat system in Project Thea is actually quite interesting. The system uses cards that represent the characters in your party, as well as abilities that your character has.
Combat alternates back and forth with each player getting two action points per turn, other than the starting turn. Action points are used to either play a card or move a character.
Cards are played on a two-by-five grid. The goal is to take out the opponent’s main character. At the end of your turn, each of your characters on the grid will attack anyone directly in front of them. If there are no enemy units in front of them, then they get to attack the enemy’s main character.
There is also a rock-paper-scissors-like mechanic based on domain types. Technology beats magic, magic beats darkness, darkness beats divine, and divine beats technology. When a character is attacking a unit directly in front of them, they do bonus damage to the opposing unit if their domain has the advantage.
Early Access Impressions and Wishlist
That is just a high-level overview of some of the main features already in Project Thea. I felt like there was quite a bit of content in the game already and a lot of wasteland to explore.
The combat was interesting and enjoyable. However, it could be quite difficult at times, especially if you get outnumbered by the enemy. The points of interest were also quite interesting. There is a lot of lore and history to uncover as you explore the different regions.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to improve on. Such as more options in character customizations, like class and appearance. Changing the character’s appearance when giving them equipment. Or, adding additional features to the city management portion of the game, such as more interaction with the city council.
It is important to remember that Project Thea is still only in Early Access. That means things will change. Features will be added and even removed before the game is fully released.
There are some interesting mechanics in the game, and I think it is off to a good start. If you are interested in checking this one out for yourself, then feel free to head over to their page on Steam.
A preview copy of the game was provided to us by the Publisher MuHa Games.
