Indie Game Picks checked out Theseus: Journey to Athens:

Theseus: Journey to Athens

Are you a fan of ancient Greek mythology, with heroes, monsters and bickering gods? How about choose-your-own-adventure games with different options and outcomes? If yes, then Theseus: Journey to Athens is a game you should check out.

It was created by Antiquity Studio, a US based dev consisting of a single person, Adam Delderfield, a criminal prosecutor who in his spare time creates video games based on ancient texts. The artwork and music were contracted to Klaudia Jankowska and Michael Landers respectively.

In Theseus: Journey to Athens, you play as the aforementioned mythological hero, before his trip to Crete and the widely know story of the Maze and the Minotaur. You start in his home village of Troezen and you follow his adventures towards Athens. The story is heavily rooted in classical texts like Pausanias’ Guide to Greece, Plutarch’s Life of Theseus, Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca​, ​and shorter works and fragments such as those of Bacchylides.

The game has three different aspects, exploring, decision making and combat. First of all, the exploration. This is mainly done in classic top-down RPG mode, like the Infinity engine classics. During this you can visit different areas and start conversations with NPCs. The graphics are old-school, but do their job. The only problem was that the walking animation is a bit weird, but, with only one man at the helm, it doesn’t really matter to me.

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All in all, this is an interesting title, complemented with good writing, beautiful artwork and cool music, along with a really low price (less than 10 EUR). Fans of choose-your-own-adventures and ancient Greek mythology should definitely check it out.

Theseus: Journey to Athens has been released:

RELEASED - Theseus: Journey to Athens launches 2/28/2019

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Theseus: Journey to Athens is now available! It is an adventure/rpg game that is heavily rooted in classical Greek texts. The game follows the early life of Theseus, an ancient hero, as he leaves his hometown in search of his father. Theseus grew up in the small town of Troezen with his mother and grandfather, and upon reaching adulthood his mother shared with him the secret story of his paternity…

Gameplay consists of exploration and character dialogue. Choices have consequences and can radically change the plot. Combat is turn-based with party-mechanics and a number of special abilities. Players will face famous bandits and monsters from antiquity, and collect various items during the quest to learn more about Theseus’ heritage.

This is an ideal game for those who appreciate ancient history. The game is rooted heavily in Plutarch’s Life of Theseus, Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca, and Pausanius’ Guide to Greece. It also draws on more obscure materials and fragments, such as the works of Bacchylides.

The Early Access version of Theseus: Journey to Athens is now available:

EA Version Released

I am about a week out from release. To mark the end of the long weekend, I have uploaded a early access version of the game. Content has been cut, it is buggy, and the save/load function does not work. I would recommend waiting another week or so for the final version, but at the same time I wanted to grant access to curious people. 

If you do decide to purchase it ($7.65), you will of course have access to the full, stable release. Additionally, if you message me I will provide you with a steam key. 

Here are the notes for the EA release:

• EA build is missing a lot of audio, the combat is not balanced, and the quest variables have not been properly tested so events may not fire properly.
• - There is missing content/characters who I have kept out of this build. Specifically: if you side with Zeus Lykaios, Poseidon, or the Pallantides, you will run into errors or missing content. The variables are not properly organised and the content will not fire/is not fully implemented. You will run into bugs or otherwise be unable to complete the game. 
• DO NOT USE THE SAVE/LOAD FUNCTION! It won't work until the variables are all in order; basically it records the state of all the variables, but right now the variables are in flux so I can't finalise the save/load system. 
• If you decide to go forward and purchase the EA version, of course you will have access to the release version later this month. Also, I can send you a Steam key, but you'll need to message me directly with your itch details so that I can generate the key manually and send it to you when the Steam version is released.
• Again, this is a buggy EA build with missing content. I appreciate all input and testing, but please be aware that it is buggy and incomplete.
  

The Steam page is up for Theseus: Journey to Athens and the release date is set at around February 14th with the Steam date being incorrect at this time.

About This Game

Old-school Adventure/RPG set in Ancient Hellas. Heavily based on Classical source material. Choices have consequences!

Step into the sandals of Theseus and make your way to Ancient Athens! Your story begins in the small Peloponnesian town of Troezen, where you learn about your father's identity and a dangerous plot against your life. In light of these startling developments, you must leave under cover of night and discover your family heritage.

Key Features:

• Over 20 unique locations to explore, all based heavily on primary source material.
• Beautiful artwork created by Klaudia Jankowska.
• Original music composed by Michael Landers.
• Detailed choose-your-own-adventure style cut scenes, decorated with historical artwork.
• Turn-based combat with many different opponents and items.
• Player stats and party mechanics that have gameplay consequences.

If you appreciate classical antiquity and mythology, then this game will fit the bill.

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On another note, Steam is giving me a headache about changing the release date. It's not possible to release the game shorter than 2 weeks after the launch of the store page. I will therefore release in mid February; it says February 1st right now, but I will push it back another couple of weeks from there once I get the site to cooperate with my browser.

A new demo and video is available for Theseus: Journey to Athens.

NEW DEMO RELEASED 12/22: https://antiquity-games.itch.io/thes…rney-to-athens

Strap on Theseus' sandals and help him explore his birthplace, Troezen. The demo ends when you set out for Athens; the full game will be available in January for under $10 and has approximately 3 times the content.

Major updates to the old demo from 5~ months ago:
- New art assets
- Original soundtrack
- Improvements to gameplay mechanics/interface

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Theseus: Journey to Athens a historical adventure game with RPG elements, is currently available on Itch.io in early access, as the game is still in development and is scheduled to be released later this year.

Set in ancient Greece, this game features old-school adventure and role-playing mechanics.  Your choices will have consequences. The primary goal of this game is to bring the ancient source material to life; if you appreciate classical antiquity and mythology, then this game should fit the bill.

Key Features:

• Over 20 unique locations to explore, based heavily on classical texts like Pausanias' Guide to Greece. 
• Beautiful modern artwork created by artist Klaudia Jankowska
• Detailed choose-your-own-adventure style cut scenes, decorated with historical artwork.
• Turn-based combat with many different opponents and items. Party
  mechanics are included, but will your noble companions be willing to travel side by side with the wretched ones?

The ancient sources tell many different tales about Theseus and his journey to Athens. Now, it is your turn to step into Theseus' sandals. What will you seek to achieve, and how will you conduct yourself as you make your way to Athens?

And here is the trailer: