The Thaumaturge Review

When it comes to a historical period of change there are few instances where there was more on the line than in pre–World War I Russia. It was a country that longed to be at the forefront of civilisation but was held back by several issues that plagued their society and the world in general. This is the time period that developer Fool’s Theory set their latest game, The Thaumaturge.

The Thaumaturge sells itself as an RPG adventure with an occult twist, but there is so much more here. On one hand, it is very by the numbers and conservative, but it is also trying to do its own thing and break the mould. While The Thaumaturge does take some risks they usually work out, although the game is held back by a few minor issues and a relatively slow start.

You take on the role of Wiktor, a Thaumaturge, on his journey to uncover the exact circumstances of his father’s death by using his particular skills. These skills are magic of a sort, for Wiktor can make deals with spirits and the emotions of the people around him. The overarching plot is detailed, and the characters are interesting, although there is a fair amount of downtime, and it can slow to a crawl at points. On the plus side, you’ll get to see some historical figures during your journey, most of whom have some pretty unpleasant fates awaiting them.

As I said, the plot takes some time to get going, and the game is sparse with information. That is part of the point, as the game wants you to explore more and delve into its lore, although it doesn’t always tell you the best way to do that. When I started, it took me a while to figure out who I was meant to talk to and even longer to grasp what was happening. However, once it all gets going it is very easy to get invested in Wiktor’s journey and the people he meets. 

All the interesting plot in the world isn’t worth much if the gameplay is dull, and frankly, The Thaumaturge is pretty up and down when it comes to that. There are two gameplay modes here; the first is exploring and investigating, and the second is combat. Exploring is pretty simple: you move around large areas and can travel to others with the help of a cart or subway etc. While it might be a bit of a shame this isn’t a true open world the locales manage to be big enough that it isn’t an issue.

There’s more to the exploring than just walking, though, as this is where you will find all the important clues that you need to decipher. Essentially, as a Thaumaturge, you can read the emotions of the people who held or interacted with the items in the world. For instance, you can hold the shovel that killed someone and feel the anger and sadness of the wielder. However, the trick is that you need to know the people to gauge whoever held the item more accurately.

Let’s take that same murder situation and look at it in the same way the game would. Imagine you have been tasked with finding out who killed the farmer. Your powers allow you to feel the emotion from the item, but you have no idea who those emotions belong to, making the clue pretty pointless. However, if you had spent the time talking to the villagers then you would be able to feel who it had been who held the shovel during the murder. It is an interesting mechanic that helps to make talking to people feel more important. Thankfully you are also helped by your Salutor, a spirit that only you can see and acts as a Pokémon, but with issues.

I’m not kidding about the Pokémon thing; you usually have to catch and bend these beings to your will. Basically, Salutors are drawn to negative emotions in humans, so you need to find the person drawing the Salutor and defeat the monster. However, these are pretty scripted so there’s no real leeway to find the ones you want, but it adds some new mechanics to levelling up as you need to find the Salutor to to add more skill points.

Talking to people is also pretty entertaining, especially when you have the option to fall more into your sin. Essentially, Wiktor suffers from the sin of Pride and can choose to enable that sin more if he chooses to. The dialogue runs the gambit from deep and depressing to light-hearted and funny. However, it can be a pain when the final conversation option won’t unlock until you’ve found everything in the area, especially if you want to use your powers to influence the opponent.

Finally, there’s combat, and this is much more of a mixed bag, at least to me. The way combat in The Thaumaturge works is basically turn-based actions but with a twist. Wiktor has several moves he can make, and the Salutors have their own abilities, but each will take a different amount of time to complete. For instance, you can go with a power attack, but the enemy might be able to attack twice and so forth. Initially, the combat is long and slightly tedious, but that all changes when the Salutors get involved.

Each of the Salutors has their own skills and abilities, like being able to drive someone mad in a fight or drain their HP and leave them open to an attack. The trick is to find the right Salutor and combine its attacks with your own to win. You will need to master this as well, as the combat can be surprisingly difficult. When it comes together, the mechanic is fun and challenging, but it can drag as well, and it is very possible to get stuck in a loop of hurting and healing rather than experimenting with new attacks.

Visually, The Thaumaturge fits with its setting, and it all looks stunning. While it might not have 10/10 graphics, it does what it needs to do. The character models sometimes look a bit shiny and static. However, the designs for the Salutors are all memorable and help to break up the monotony. The music for the game is, unfortunately, quite forgettable, but it sets the scene well enough to be forgivable.

The Thaumaturge is not a hard game to recommend for those looking for a mystery or for something meaty to sink their teeth into for 20 hours, but the slow start might be more of a turn-off, and there is a lot of downtime. Like pre-World War I Russia, The Thaumaturge tries a lot, and sometimes it fails, but it succeeds in many ways as well. If you are a fan of mysteries, the occult, or even just tactical turn-based combat, give it a look.