Thistlemine

About

Thistlemine is an indie puzzle RPG where you play as Noa, a rookie in a military group tasked with containing a spreading toxic zone. The world here is warped, space folds oddly, time stutters, and a suffocating fog breeds dangerous creatures. You move through this twisted landscape solving environmental puzzles, scavenging resources, and fending off hostile beings. Combat is fast and tense, blending reflexes with strategy. The twist? Every action feels tied to a deeper mystery about the corrupted land and its alien inhabitants. What sticks is the eerie atmosphere and the way puzzles force you to manipulate time and space in clever ways. The setting mixes grotesque mutations with surreal beauty, creating a place that feels both alien and hauntingly familiar. Early feedback from preview builds highlights the game’s creative use of mechanics to tell its story, with one tester calling it “a brainy survivalist romp through a weird dream.” Released in June 2024, it’s shaping up as a standout for fans of smart, spooky adventures.

Storyline

Long ago, the world was devastated by the miasma, rendering the lands into a poisoned wasteland. Alongside the miasma came the "Anomalis", sentient lifeforms created by the miasma to perpetuate its existence. The game is set in an Anomalis Exclusion Zone, a place where a thick miasma bends both space and time, slowly growing and tearing the fabric of reality. Within await the native anomalis, hostile stalkers, and the many mutated by the miasma. Among those that venture into the exclusion zone are members of the Thistlemine Excavation Corps; a military faction with the sole responsibility of securing and preventing the growth of exclusion zones. As Noa, a young member of the Excavation Corps, you will venture in this hostile environment. Inside you will navigate a dreamlike garden, fight the anomalis, find artifacts, and try to survive until a chance to escape presents itself.