Being the daughter of Zeus probably comes with a few perks. You’ve got divine blood running through your veins, a pretty impressive family tree, and presumably a father who could throw a lightning bolt at anyone giving you trouble. Unfortunately, it also means getting dragged into the gods’ problems when somebody decides to start killing them.
Thalia is available on Steam today, bringing a fast-paced, mythology-inspired action roguelike from indie developer Dream Stories. You’ll take control of Zeus’ daughter, who has been summoned to a mysterious ancient realm where a godkiller is causing absolute havoc among the gods. Your job is to restore balance, defeat the monsters standing in your way, and work out how to stop a threat powerful enough to make even the immortals nervous.
Death Is Just Another Family Inconvenience
Getting summoned into a realm full of hostile creatures is bad enough. Discovering you’re stuck there, even after being killed, is a whole other problem. Fortunately, Thalia makes that rather unpleasant arrangement work in your favor. Death isn’t the end of your adventure. Instead, the game features an ongoing progression system designed to make Thalia stronger as you continue fighting, falling, and returning for another attempt.
It’s a familiar idea for roguelike fans, but one that fits rather nicely with the game’s mythological setting. After all, being related to the king of the gods ought to come with some advantages, even if immortality apparently doesn’t include a convenient exit. You’ll need that growing strength, too, because the realm isn’t going to be welcoming.
Enemies stand between you and the answers you’re looking for, while enormous bosses promise to put your combat skills to the test.
Sixteen Spells and Plenty of Reasons to Use Them
Thalia may have inherited some impressive powers, but she’s going to have to put in the work if she wants to become a true goddess. Combat revolves around fast-paced action, powerful combos, and sequences of attacks that allow you to take the fight directly to the creatures inhabiting the realm.
Rather than simply hacking away at enemies and hoping for the best, you’ll be able to experiment with different combinations of abilities as you develop Thalia’s fighting style. There are up to 16 spells to discover, giving you a growing collection of supernatural powers to unleash during your adventure.
Exactly how you combine those abilities could make all the difference when you’re surrounded by enemies or staring down a boss much larger than yourself. As the game promises giant boss encounters alongside its regular enemy hordes, there should be plenty of opportunities to find out whether your latest combination is genuinely powerful or just looked impressive against the smaller monsters.
A Little Divine Help Wouldn’t Go Amiss
Of course, spells aren’t the only way to turn Thalia into a force to be reckoned with. You’ll also be able to discover up to 30 relics throughout your adventure, giving you additional ways to strengthen your character as you progress.
For players who enjoy experimenting with builds, that’s a promising collection of tools to play around with. Finding new spells and relics should give you plenty of reasons to keep pushing forward, even when your previous attempt ended with Thalia getting flattened by an enormous monster.
You won’t necessarily have to do everything alone either. Thalia also features companions that you can discover and power up during your journey. These allies can assist you in battle, adding to your growing arsenal as you prepare for the increasingly dangerous encounters ahead.
Between your spells, relics, and companions, there’s a fair amount of potential for turning Zeus’ daughter into the kind of opponent that even a godkiller might regret meeting.
With its pixel-art presentation, mythology-inspired setting, and progression system Thalia is a game we can’t wait to check out.