The Thaumaturge is a game that pleasantly surprised me at certain moments and disappointed me at others. At times, it looked like a very solid title with a very interesting story and turn-based combat, and then everything fell apart with repetitive gameplay, ridiculous bugs, and animations. A Thaumaturge is essentially a person with powers who can control people’s emotions, flaws, and virtues using a book, and they are aided by powerful Salutors. This story is further enriched by the context of 19th-century Poland, specifically Warsaw, with a special emphasis on Slavic mythology. Indeed, the game faithfully depicts this time period, and fantastic elements are included which fit in very well.
You assume the role of Wiktor Szulski, a Thaumaturge who is sick and tormented and searching for a cure. At one point, he meets Grigori Rasputin, who is consistently portrayed according to the real historical figure and plays a key role as a supporting character. As a mystic and clairvoyant, Rasputin manages to cure our protagonist through meditation, after which they embark on a journey of redemption together.
In the introductory part and across three chapters, you will experience an intriguing story with many twists and key decisions. The storytelling in the game is top-notch, although it has its ups and downs, connecting all the elements in an excellent way and encouraging you to explore the world more deeply. The “downs” are in the sense that certain story contexts drag on too much or you simply get lost in a sea of text.
You will need a broader context: Wiktor returns to his hometown of Warsaw, where he attends the funeral of his father, with whom he did not maintain the best relationship. At first glance, it looks like his father’s death was an accident, but later you discover the real reason for his death. The main thread of the game is directed toward his father’s black grimoire, a supposedly extremely powerful artifact around which the entire plot of the game will revolve.
Another key figure is Wiktor’s sister, Ligia, who will significantly influence the story’s development at certain moments, making it very important to have her on your side. Without dragging on too much, the story is extremely complex, and if you appreciate a well-told story similar to a real novel, this game is the right choice for you.
The decisions you make during gameplay significantly affect the end of the game and its further course. For example, if you decide to confront Russian/Polish soldiers in the initial phase of the game, helping a spy avoid an unpleasant situation, you won’t make it to your father’s funeral, you’ll end up in prison, and a completely different story development will occur.
On the other hand, if you decide to use magic to redirect the accusations to someone else, the spy will be grateful, and her services will be useful to you later in the game. This is just one of many examples; you may need to save a boy’s life, deceive another Thaumaturge to take a Salutor for yourself, and so on. Therefore, think very carefully before every decision.
In addition, the game is enriched with a dose of humor; the landlady calls you “shitski” because of your surname “Szulski,” expressing her dissatisfaction every time you visit Rasputin. Our protagonist also knows how to crack jokes, especially before fights with various characters. It also provides a dose of nostalgia and detective elements, and faithfully captures 19th-century life through various anecdotes and points of interest.
Your flaw, Pride, plays a major role, which you can cultivate by choosing certain decisions, and it will be crucial during gameplay, unlocking certain parts of conversations. The flaw is marked by a red crown, so you can never overlook it. The only desirable thing would be for the game to show how full the flaw is and at what level, because sometimes you are not aware of its importance until you reach key decisions, where a lack of Pride can cause you to lose the option to choose a certain decision.
A dark atmosphere envelops most of the game, contributing to the serious tone. Detailed depictions of the cities, small elements, and districts vividly portray the world you’re in. Although all of this is very well executed, the graphics and some technical aspects sometimes fall short. Bugs appear, which is understandable due to the abundance of content, such as T-pose characters or strange camera movements. However, perhaps the weakest part of the game is the animations. The graphics, don’t get me wrong, are very good, but not the most finely optimized.
Characters, on the other hand, often fail to convey emotions, which you would expect from a game of this type. The voice acting is very good, especially the main character, although the Slavic accent is not overly prevalent. Animations are often repetitive, whether you’re watching the same punching or rifle-shooting motion, and the appearance of characters and other NPCs is also quite repetitive. You mostly play from a top-down perspective, exploring the world or regions that, while not huge, are spacious enough to explore in 15–20 minutes.
Our protagonist Wiktor simultaneously acts as a true detective, and one of the most fascinating aspects of the game is his perceptive skill as a Thaumaturge, which allows us to read the emotions of various objects and connect a series of events. I personally found great pleasure in reading these stories. The user interface contributes to this, as it is quite simple and allows for easy navigation.
Our Salutors should also be mentioned; each of them possesses unique powers and attributes that affect combat and the ability to “read” emotions associated with objects. Namely, Wiktor wanders the city in a state of empathy, noticing the floating emotions of children, lovers, wanderers, and others in Warsaw. These clues are among the most interesting and emotionally engaging texts in the game. The story of The Thaumaturge flows slowly, but with flashes of brilliance.
The RPG in this game is actually very simplified, with elements that primarily serve its story. The combat is interesting, but somewhat repetitive and doesn’t require any preparation of any kind, as there are no stats, gear, or items relevant to it. You enter combat fully healthy and recover when you finish. There are no shops, no currency, no healing items or the like. Progression mainly happens outside of combat through exploration and is used to gain Thaumaturgy points to fill out a skill tree.
However, sometimes the combat itself feels meaningless. You talk to two ladies who comment on your appearance, and at one point, a character appears behind you, obviously jealous, and draws you into a fight. Another example is a situation at the harbor where fishermen attack you because you don’t have a fishing license and are allegedly stealing their fish?
Combat in The Thaumaturge is turn-based, but it is set within a kind of timeline/timer. Some attacks are faster and deal less damage, while others take more time but inflict greater damage. Most fights against Salutors bring additional challenges, where they can interfere with your moves.
When captured, these demons add depth to various aspects of the game, opening up new dialogue options and providing new combat abilities. You choose between four different attacks, and each of them has three levels; when you use it the first time, the second level can bring significantly different effects. Sometimes it will be better not to attack enemies due to possible counter-attacks, so it’s better to force them to “suffer” each round.
Wiktor not only attacks, but can also select captured creatures to send into battle. These creatures can deal significant damage if used correctly; for example, some have attacks that can heal Wiktor or deal a massive amount of damage. Additionally, they can inflict status effects, and the main thread is to weaken the enemies’ Focus so you can deliver ultimate strikes and quickly change the course of the fight. However, enemies also have their own attributes that must be disabled with the help of Salutors, and each Salutor is suited for something specific.
Social manipulation, significantly more interesting than the combat itself, comes to the fore during various dialogues. When Wiktor bonds with a Salutor, he also takes on its flaw, and then uses the Salutor ally to manipulate that flaw in other people. Sometimes this is shown through dialogue options, while in more important quests, the Salutors will physically appear by Wiktor’s side. It is clear that the team at Fool’s Theory put a lot of love into this project.
Don’t think this is just a regular game about Wiktor’s story. Politics, workers’ rights, and mysticism with an abundance of choices and dialogues—the consequences of which affect your morale—also fit the game excellently and make this title very interesting. The game even depicts the Jewish community with dignity. However, this title won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It involves a lot of reading, you won’t finish it quickly, and some elements are clearly weaker than others.
Given that some dialogue options are locked behind high enough Heart, Mind, Deed, or Word ratings, as you can see in the image above, exploration can sometimes feel rewarding or the opposite, there is a certain gap between them, because until you unlock a specific Salutor, you won’t be able to explore all decisions. The game sometimes pushes you to explore the world to gather as many points as possible, but you won’t practically know until the very end whether you’ll accumulate all the skills or not. Despite its flaws, The Thaumaturge is a very high-quality title and proof that games like this can be extremely accessible to all types of players.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
