The developers from Fool’s Theory, including veterans of CD Projekt RED, postponed their new game more than once according to the long-standing tradition of Polish game development. The first time was from December 2023 to February 2024, and then from February 2024 to March 2024. Then it finally came out, and we had the privilege of looking at it. This is our PC review of The Thaumaturge.
Early 20th century. Empires are coming apart at the seams, socialist beliefs are spreading everywhere, and all sorts of crooks and bandits are taking advantage of the growing chaos. There is turmoil in the revolutionary Russian Empire and peaceful Warsaw, full of internal conflicts.
It is here that a highly unusual man arrived in 1905. Thaumaturge Viktor Shulsky is the son of a recently deceased rich and influential man, a fellow thaumaturge. What does this word mean? To put it simply, a “miracle worker.” But in contextThe Thaumaturge A thaumaturge is a person who is able to cross the boundaries of our reality, influence people with the help of magic, find invisible connections, and also summon monsters. Creatures that serve him and brutally deal with his enemies.
A few years before the game’s events, the hero fell ill: he tried to catch a wild salutator (demon), but it failed. Not only did the creature not deign to be taken alive and refused to add to Victor’s collection, but he also began to lose contact with his first salutator, the Upyr.
I think you have already begun to form an image of what a thaumaturge is. Still, I will add a little: this is a magician looking for otherworldly creatures (those same salutors) and the people into whom they have taken possession. Usually, the carriers are marked by some flaws: pride, ambition, and ardor, which are the negative traits that attract the demon. The thaumaturges find her, take her outside, and take her away with her pocket demon.
It turns out that our main character is a kind of monster hunter. However, these monsters are invisible to the eye and live in people’s heads, so Victor can be called, to some extent, a psychotherapist who deals with internal demons. True, his working methods are unique.
Let’s say it right away: this is an RPG that has its share of problems, but the game really succeeds! So, let’s figure it out. The Thaumaturge contains everything RPG fans need. The ability to choose along the way, different endings, a lot of text (both essential and created only for better immersion), main and side quests, and combat gameplay. Here, it is step-by-step, and to say it is simple or immediately understandable is a lie without blushing.
Some game elements are better implemented, while others could use more polish. And the combat system, which is enjoyable throughout most of the game, is full of bugs. And in general, it doesn’t give the feeling of such a challenge as it did recently.
In The Thaumaturge, we control a hero who can be a skilled detective and psychologist and, in a couple of minutes, fight with bandits or police officers. So, players will experience alternating “peaceful” and “combat” phases.
World
Right from the station, I would like to note how beautiful and picturesque Warsaw was in 1905. The city is divided into districts, and each of them is unique. One has a market and poor people’s shacks, the other a port. Naturally, there are areas with bars, luxury hotels, and residential buildings, as well as areas with squares and churches. Somewhere, there are tiles; somewhere, there is dirt and puddles everywhere, but in the center, there is active construction.
With each act, new city areas open up, but I would not say that it is amazing in size. I think a comparison with Revachol from Disco Elysium — in terms of scale, approximately the same journey awaits us in a single locality. True, you won’t be able to move under your own power from one area to another – that’s what public transport is for.
Players will spend quite a lot of time just running around the world, but it’s not tiring at all! Over time (days pass in the game, and the days are divided into morning, afternoon, evening, and night), the city constantly offers something new: unusual situations, finds, meetings, side quests…
Even an attentive person can notice something in the environment, but a thaumaturge can detect something elusive thanks to his perception. Objects that leave emotional traces. And associated with specific people. Over time, the information about people or events is organized. The game automatically offers a conclusion—some kind of conclusion that moves the plot forward or allows you to discover new lines or actions.
Polish developers from Foolʼs Theory love Warsaw with all its light and dirt. So, in The Thaumaturge, if you wish, you will find many sketches about what you can do in the capital of the Kingdom of Poland: go to clubs, taste delicious street food, enjoy music, and much more.
Detective Thaumaturge
If The Thaumaturge draws you in as much as it did me, you’ll experience local freedom of choice, which in the case of dialogue does not boil down to options like “adequate response” and “sarcasm.” Even one playthrough of a role-playing game allows us to understand that our decisions affect what happens, both globally and in each specific situation.
Should we deceive a person or keep our word? Save a juvenile delinquent or sacrifice him to serve your goals? Support the protesters or their employer? Get involved in an unnecessary fight or avoid bloodshed?..
Moreover, in some cases, you will easily miss favorable opportunities. The game only shows you the primary goal, but that doesn’t mean you should go straight to it. What if you turn not to the left, where the developers indicate, but to the right? Should you be a hero and go towards danger (as the game says), or play it safe and talk to someone who is not the most important but useful? Maybe your life will depend on it. However, the player will easily pass this opportunity if he blindly follows the arrow the developers drew.
But how does it all work? It’s straightforward: he listens to his miraculous abilities! We constantly test the local analog of the witcher’s instincts, examine objects on which shimmering red pollen has appeared, and follow the scarlet thread because it will lead us either to an important plot thing or to a character who owns this very thing and the information we need.
Thaumaturges can read human thoughts and intentions from objects (seeing something like their aura and already understanding the owner’s character from it) and mentally influence others. But to influence a person, you first need to discover his secrets, making observations from which conclusions are drawn (quite obvious, but also very juicily written).
But even here, everything is not as sweet as it seems; there are also holes here, and to describe a small situation, I will give. The driver doesn’t want to take Victor to the cemetery at all, he says, he’s tired. Of course, we believe, but we are conducting our investigation. We examine the rag with sweat lying nearby. Indeed, he seems exhausted. Then we carefully examine the cart wheel and shovel: they are all covered in mud, the poor fellow spent all his strength trying to get out of the earthen mess. Well, it’s time to talk. Exactly what was quoted above (about the shovel and sweat). None of the information we received was helpful to us in the dialogue – we made him change his mind and take us to the right place, relieving fatigue with one button. So yes, everything is not as perfect as it seems. What’s most offensive is that this happens not only with ordinary characters but also in the main plot, where there is only a feeling of choice and not its presence. But to avoid spoilers, I won’t give an example.
Battles
Thaumaturges not only have a keen perception of what is hidden from others, but they can also predict their enemies’ actions- which will come in handy in battle. The battles here are most reminiscent not of classic computer RPGs but of turn-based Japanese ones, with its timeline, which shows all the actions of the participants in the battle, and the Final Fantasy series, namely the eidolons there, protective guards, and astrals, summoned creatures, in other words. In The Thaumaturge, their role is played by demonic salutators, some of which we receive through the plot, and the other part of which must be found. Each of them has its abilities, which take different times to complete, which is important to consider.
Unlike JRPGs, battles here are not so frequent; generally, there are no random encounters. But even though the fights here are not random, when starting a conversation with beautiful ladies on the street, it is worth keeping in mind that this conversation can also end in a brawl with passing workers who do not like your appearance.
The battles in The Thaumaturge are puzzles with multiple solutions. But as if they were encouraging you to get out of the fight without any losses or allowing your opponents to land a single blow! Typically, the player fights several enemies alone. But there are always salutes behind the hero’s back – monsters allowing you to break the enemy’s will and inflict even more damage on him.
In battles, it is important to monitor two indicators: health and concentration. If you lose the first one, you lose. And without the second, the hero and opponents become as vulnerable as possible, so sometimes it makes sense to aim specifically for concentration.
In addition, some hits from the hero and salutator can cause passive effects, such as bleeding or loss of turn. Or give a bonus to defense, heal wounds, and so on.
In addition to health and concentration, enemies also have power-ups. Those traits provide bonuses such as reducing damage by 80%, healing, or protecting against negative conditions. However, such opponents may be left without bonuses if you set the right salutator. Droving your enemies of an advantage makes destroying such scoundrels easier than ever!
Speaking of fireworks. That is monsters in the service of a thaumaturge. Initially, Victor can only summon the Upyr- the product of his flaw, pride. We can feed as the game progresses, which makes us feel a little better, but it can lead to something not-so-good in the long run.
But over time, the player can expand his bestiary to eight salutors. Each has its own fast and slow attacks and a unique finishing move (available when the enemy loses concentration). Some deal incredible damage, others heal, and others inflict negative group effects.
To get a new salutator, you first need to defeat him. And this isn’t easy to do! It would be best if you studied this creature’s abilities, found your “scissors” on his “paper,” and dealt with his minions as quickly as possible. The battles with fireworks become the highlight of The Thaumaturge’s combat system. Because fighting with ordinary enemies becomes boring and surprises you with bugs, maybe over time, the developers will correct the situation, but so far, the final stages of the game in this regard do not seem to be the most fun.
Development
By exploring the world, completing tasks, and winning battles, we gain experience that is transformed into thaumaturgy points. These points can be invested in one of four directions of hero development: “Heart,” “Mind,” “Deed,” or “Word.”
Each of them can provide new combat techniques and attacks, and also allow Victor to reveal increasingly complex secrets or influence skilled interlocutors in dialogues. For example, without a sufficient level of “intelligence”, you do not “consider” evidence, which will remain just useless garbage that does not convey any hidden meaning. Similarly, during dialogues, options that suggest a higher indicator of one or another characteristic will be closed.
But the advantage of The Thaumaturge is that when completing most of the tasks and searching for secrets, the player will receive so much experience that he can easily increase the level of all his characteristics to at least 5. And with such indicators, you are not afraid of almost any tests.
What do we have at the end?
Overall, I was left with a pleasant aftertaste after finishing The Thaumaturge. Yes, I still resent how the game often fooled me by pretending to give me choices, but during my first playthrough, I thought I was making them. Well, the detective part, in my opinion, could have been better.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t dare say there are few investigations into the Thaumaturge. Literally every story task requires detective intervention, and optional quests here also have a touch of mystery. There are no traditional RPG tasks of the same type in the game – each one has a small but unique story. It feels like a senior quest designer had a hand in “Thaumaturge” and “The Witcher“—all are memorable and fill the game world with colorful details.
