It was released worldwide in January 2016 for Windows and Mac OS X through the download service Steam, as well as for PlayStation 4, and later in April 2020 for the Nintendo Switch.

The game follows a team of astronauts on the first crewed mission to Mars, in order to track down a signal that is apparently extraterrestrial in origin.

Tharsis allows players to control four astronauts with unique jobs and abilities inside a heavily damaged spacecraft, the Iktomi.

[5] However, halfway through their mission, the ship is suddenly hit by a micrometeorite storm that kills two crew members, Mapiya Musgrave and J.

With limited food supplies and crew, disasters start running rampant throughout the ship, and the astronauts are forced to constantly fight to survive.

Unsure of what to make of this data, they manage to survive until they reach Mars and launch the capsule, while the Iktomi remains in orbit and is destroyed.

If the entire crew makes it safely to Mars, the commander declares the mission accomplished, but advises Earth not to expect survivors.

[6] The game was also inspired by the Apollo 13 mission and the fact that they were forced to use unusual household items to maintain the air scrubber.

[7] The game was also created out of Choice Provisions's desire not to be "typecast" as a studio that only developed the Bit.Trip series or worked in an 8-bit retro style.

[6] Tharsis's art style was based on 70's sci-fi designs such as those used in Space: 1999 and UFO, but which was updated to be realistic in a modern-day context.

[6] A challenge that was noted was the high learning curve of the game, which caused people to abandon it instead of watching the tutorial or delving deeper into the strategic mechanics.

[4] Reviewer Andrei Dumitrescu of Softpedia cited "interesting mechanics" and "a lot of replayability", despite the high difficulty, and that the game showed how humans persevere in the face of hopeless odds.