The Thaumaturge's gritty, demon-taming take on the monster collecting genre is a welcome twist. Taking place in 1905 Poland, there is certainly some language and actions in the game that can feel uncomfortable, but it all works with the overarching theme of struggling with mental health and personal flaws. Despite the sensitive nature of the story, Fool's Theory does well to not over sensationalize traumatic story beats. Gameplay is simple and engaging, and the combat is easy to learn but can be challenging on higher difficulties.
The Thaumaturge, with its unique setting that combines Slavic folklore with a largely unexplored time in world history, is a title that oozes character. It's certainly not without its flaws, but as far as AA titles go this one is as solid as they come.
The Thaumaturge is the best game I've discovered this year. After finishing it, I felt a void and couldn't stick with any other title for a while.Have you tried our Polish game? We play as Wiktor Szulski - a Thaumaturge who sees and feels more than others. Just by touching an object, he can sense the emotions and thoughts of the person who previously held it. We pursue salutors, which are otherworldly beings that cling to human flaws and weaknesses, magnify them, and cause turmoil in the given society or group.
Pros:
+ The atmosphere of the game, set in Warsaw in 1905, playing as a Pole+ We meet historical figures like Rasputin
+ The plot and dialogues, relationships between the characters.
+ Multiple different endings, depending on our choices during the game.
+ The skill tree, which consists of heart, mind, action, and word - we use these in conversations, battles, and finding clues.
+ Great turn-based combat, we attack with Wiktor and the salutors, creating our "deck" of attacks. The abilities impose various negative effects and are interdependent; if we strategize well, even battles on the hardest difficulty level will be almost effortless - I played on the highest level.
+ The ability to change the character's appearance - barber and tailor.+ Humor - the poet Abaurycy is my crush <3
+ The appearance of the salutors, graphics, and the detailed environment.
+ Vividly portrayed scent of Rasputin, nothing else from this game will stick with me as much as that
Cons:-
The environment loaded in front of my eyes - first Wiktor, then everything else.
- No Polish dubbing at launch, although polish names "Grażynka" and "SATAnisław" mixed into English sounded funny - I'm waiting for the dubbing and will definitely play it again <3
- Despite the city being lively, I didn't feel it. The populace always stood in the same places and said the same things, often even different residents had the same speech bubbles over their heads, and I could run through them.
These cons did not detract from my enjoyment of the game at all. I fell into this world and got lost in it, playing for several hours daily, nerding out like I hadn't in a long time.
Some might also dislike that there's a lot of walking from place to place - this only bothered me when it came to collectibles because, for example, when I went to a dance lesson, I really wanted to see Wiktor dance but got only a sketched postcard instead :D 9.47/10.
The Thaumaturge successfully delivers a weird and surprising RPG that is filled to the brim with narrative. Whether you’re chasing down demons, or manipulating the minds of the socially elite, you’ll feel the power of the Thaumaturge. With its complex turn-based combat and choice consequence system, there are plenty of opportunities for replayability.
The Thaumaturge is a slow, text heavy caper that is often curious and sometimes captivating, weaving revolutionary labor politics and mysticism together to create a unique and charming piece of historical science fiction. It is eurojank through and through, filled with criss-crossing systems like gathering observations, Thaumaturge abilities, and combat that are all fun and engaging despite the sometimes hitchy controls, clunky conversations, and odd voice overs that make this journey a bumpy one. But if a little jank didn’t stop you from enjoying RPGs like Vampyr or The Witcher, you’ll be well equipped for this otherwise exciting ghost story.
The Thaumaturge immerses players in a rich urban fantasy set in pre-World War I Warsaw, offering a blend of RPG and detective elements through the eyes of Wiktor Szulski, a mystic with the power to uncover hidden truths. With a story that weaves together political intrigue, historical figures like Grigori Rasputin, and supernatural themes, the game stands out for its detailed world-building and complex mechanics of puzzle-solving, stealth, and combat. Despite its deep narrative and unique gameplay, the game occasionally suffers from overly guided investigations and uneven combat pacing. However, its compelling setting and innovative use of Thaumaturgy ensure a captivating experience, even as some narrative and gameplay aspects feel underdeveloped.
The Thaumaturge is another example of a game whose developers had a good concept in hand, but failed to bring it to fruition. Diving into the world of semi-alternative Russian Empire and Polish nationalists turned out to be an entertaining (albeit specific) experience, which was spoiled by unsuccessful implementation of progression and battles, as well as poor work with Unreal Engine 5.
A good narrative, true grey decissions that make you keep thinking what will you say, a world full of life and a lot to do and explore... and the salutors are a great fresh air
Played it only for a few hours, but the game is mesmerizing, and it's finally slow paced and not giving You the annoying options of modern games where You can do everything from the get-go, which is annoying to figure out, mainly if You're older like me [40yo]. I like characters, dubbing, sounds, effects, the animations are a bit on the low-cost side, but who gives. It's a good game, could use HDR and RayTracing though.
A story-driven RPG set in 1905 Warsaw, Poland with interesting turn based combat. While i liked the setting the bad voice acting took me out of the game multiple times. The combat is interesting but once you found your favorite skills none of the fights become so difficult that you would have to change them ever. Overall enjoyable but also forgettable.
(MY SCORE : 7.9 /10) Quite an exciting Isometric Story-Driven RPG game! With a unique combat system, namely Turn-Based, where we can also use some of the Salutors we get to help us overcome our opponents!This game is set in early 20th century Poland, when Poland was controlled by the Russian Empire, and we play as Wiktor Szulski, a thaumaturge who returns to the city of Warsaw to investigate the mysterious death of his father, Stanislaw **** a thaumaturge, Szulski is able to read traces of emotion in objects and explore the souls and mental weaknesses of people who interact with him. He is also able to recognize "Salutors", metaphysical creatures attached to a person. Szulski himself was accompanied by a Salutor named Upyr. As he explores his family's past and carries out investigations, Szulski is drawn into various plots involving the future of Warsaw. Where he met Grigori Rasputin, a socialist rebel in the city, who was about to rebel against the Russian Tsar, Nicholas II **** finish this game we have to go through Prologue + 3 ACT + Epilogue.
SummaryThe Thaumaturge is an isometric, story-rich RPG with a unique take on turn-based combat, character development features, and investigation mechanics, facing you with morally ambiguous choices set in a world teeming with mysterious powers and strange ethereal beings called Salutors.
The year is 1905. Warsaw lives under the yoke of impe...