How cool would it be to be something of a detective who has powerful ghosts that help you investigate and be in your corner when push comes to shove? That’s what awaits players in Fool’s Theory and 11 Bit Studios’ RPG The Thaumaturge. With a successful release on PC, the game has now found its way home onto consoles, I want to thank Fool’s Theory and 11 Bit Studios for sending over this copy for me to check out.
The Thaumaturge follows Wiktor (pronounced Victor), a Thaumaturge, a magician who finds spirits, known as Salutors, who attach themselves to flawed individuals. Wiktor returns to Warsaw after his father’s death and soon comes to realize that he must use his powers to investigate what actually happened to him while the city around him slowly gets pulled into revolution.
Now, onto the game itself! The controls for The Thaumaturge are easy to learn and not as complicated as they may appear given the game’s appearance which leads me to the game’s art. I love the designs of the Salutors, who are my favorite things about the game, the look of the world is well done as well as the look of the main characters while the NPCs look a bit more generic.
The soundtrack by Agnieszka Wlazły and Sebastian Syczyński is phenomenal as it mixes traditional folk music into it.
Gameplay-wise, the game is seen in the third-person while you’re in the stages of exploring the world around you and searching for clues using Wiktor’s perception (he snaps his fingers and uses what looks like spiritual echolocation) to find clues to help him solve side objectives or the main story.
You can also choose what Wiktor says during conversations and depending on the Salutors you have with you, Wiktor can manipulate people, the choices made can affect the world around you, and the potential end of the game.
When Wiktor is in combat, it’s turn-based, I normally HATE turn-based combat as visually I find it annoying and frustrating, BUT, the way it’s done in The Thaumaturge it makes more sense and is actually, kind of fun.
Overall, the story, exploration, monster designs, world art, voice acting, and soundtrack make The Thaumaturge a haunting tale of mystery and discovery with a historical background. If you’re into a game with a story to tell, this is it, with the potential for multiple endings and outcomes for situations and missions, I think replayability is somewhat high.
Bland NPC designs, turn-based combat mechanics, and the potential for getting stuck if you don’t update certain traits, mildly affect the score I’m giving The Thaumaturge which is an 8.5/10!
The Thaumaturge is out now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S
