Theresia (テレジア), known in Japan as Theresia: Dear Emile, is a psychological horror visual novel adventure game developed by WorkJam and published by Aksys Games, released exclusively for the Nintendo DS.
"[2] Theresia is a psychological horror visual novel adventure game from a first-person perspective, consisting of two stories, each sharing a common background: an unnamed country, presumably under strict martial law by the time the game takes place, is engaged in a fierce and bloody war with an unspecified opposing nation.
No further details are provided: the player is then thrust directly into the role of Leanne, the protagonist of the first half of the story.
Featuring an unnamed protagonist, it provides a deeper insight into the overarching background narrative.
Throughout the course of the game, both characters have to explore their confinements, trying to escape and learn the details of their past, avoiding traps and coming face-to-face with personal demons and other psychological dilemmas along the way.
Only careful observation or usage of a found 2x4 can reveal them to the character to prevent harm.
The first areas of the game instruct the player on the controls, set the atmosphere and introduce the survival aspect.
In the upper levels, more of the setting and Leanne's background are revealed: the country is losing the war, and the prison is part of a military installation which includes a testing laboratory, run by a woman named Maylee, who Leanne has seen in flashbacks.
She also has flashbacks of a young man named Sacha and a silver-haired woman drenched in blood.
Evidence reveals that the testing was of an enemy's bioweapon, known to cause uncontrollable bleeding, high fever, madness, amnesia, and ultimately death as the body swells and turns purple.
When Emile discovered Sacha embracing Leanne, she ran at him with a knife, killing another church member who got in the way.
Emile was restrained and taken to the underground part of the facility and was no longer allowed to visit Leanne.
Maylee and a group of scientists created a cure from Emile's blood, called "Theresia" after her last name.
Eventually, the military ordered mass executions to finally stop the virus.
Martel buries the dead children without fear of being infected herself, and the fact that she doesn't eventually leads to the creation of the vaccine Theresia from her blood.
When his mask fell off, he killed himself by ramming his face into the axe embedded in the wall.
She ultimately survived, going on to try and create more of the vaccine as shown in Dear Emile's story.
A sequel to the original game, entitled Theresia II: Dear Lizst, was released in Japan for mobile phones.
[7] Alex Lucard of diehardgamefan.com gave Theresia a positive review, saying that “[Theresia] features one of the best stories you’ll find in a game this year, some amazing hand drawn art, creepy puzzles, and an atmosphere second to none.” Daemon Hatfield of IGN gave it a 7.1/10 or “good” review, explaining that “Theresia offers a mature, high-concept Nintendo DS experience that, while frustrating at times, might provide adventure gamers with the fix they need.” Henry Gilbert from GamesRadar+ was very critical of the game, rating it a 4/10.
He comedically noted that the best part of the game was “finally solving some annoying puzzle, putting down DS and staring at clouds.”