You’re a wizard Wiktor
Developed by Fool’s Theory and published by 11-bit studios, The Thaumaturge (pronounced thaw-muh-turj) is a narrative-driven RPG where players take on the role of Wiktor Szulski in 1905 Poland. I was aware of the game’s dark and gritty nature before booting it up; what did surprise me, and I think it may surprise others is that this is a monster collector game as well. Except collecting these monsters requires a heavy price, but more on that later.
$34.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $24.99
So just what is a Thaumaturge besides being just hard to pronounce? Well, a kind of a wizard I suppose; those that are blessed (or cursed) with the ability are able to read the flaws and traces in others which makes them perfect for being detectives. As cool as that sounds though it doesn’t translate to gameplay. Wiktor’s ability to root out hidden items equates to players pressing a button that essentially scans the area and will highlight important items. On more than one occasion I had to run around the entire map just spamming this button to locate the required items to progress the story or quest. I am not going to lie; it got rather boring really quick.
While some of these missions can be tedious the overall story in The Thaumaturge is quite good indeed. Multiple narrative strands weave through the main story and the numerous side quests, and there are quite a few characters that players will meet over the course of their journey which can shape outcomes. There are many surprising turns, it is very entertaining, and the weaving of Wiktor’s detective and mystic abilities into world of 1905, Warsaw helps build that feeling of “what happens next” that will keep pushing players deeper into the mystery. Choices really matter in this game as well; I know that lots of games nowadays use that phrase. But in order for players to experience everything multiple playthroughs will be required as there are choices that will wall off options in the game.
Combat in the Thaumaturge is a turn-based affair, with players choosing attacks for Wiktor or one of his creatures known as Salutor. These demons are attached to human emotion and each of them have some pretty cool if, slightly scary designs. Each of these salutors have various abilities that Wiktor can utilize if he is able to capture them. Upyr, which is the salutor that players will being the game with is a pride demon of sorts, players will quickly learn that his pride is one of Wiktor’s biggest challenges. But Upyr has abilities that can cause an enemy to stop attacking as well as healing Wiktor. The back-and-forth nature of the turn-based battles were always fun and honestly one of the highlights of the game. Weapons like knives, swords and occasional guns help to mix things up, and combined with the supernatural abilities of the salutors, players will have lots of tools at their disposal.
The Thaumaturge is a dark game that deals with some of the darkest depths of human nature. There is uncomfortable language surrounding disabled and homosexual characters, depictions of mental illness and more but these are all time-appropriate; no matter how harsh it may seem to view through the lens of 2024. In the hands of the developers at Fool’s Theory these themes are treated in a way to not glorify the past but it helps to shed the light on the negative stigmas from the past and show how they even still exist in today’s world. While I will admit, I almost checked out early on The Thaumaturge due to its somewhat boring gameplay loop, I am glad I didn’t because the story that it told made up for the moments of boredom.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
