The Thaumaturge Review: Fulfilling its Eastern Promise

I love a sci-fi or fantasy game as much as the next turn-based RPG fan, but I like something original even more. Welcome to The Thaumaturge—a dark and gritty tale set in 19th-century Warsaw where magic and demons exist.

Atmosphere

While not a horror game per se, The Thaumaturge certainly leans into the exciting yet dangerous city life of the period. In the poorer areas, you see the mud oozing down the streets and the danger lurking around every corner, while in the richer suburbs, it is replaced with arrogance and excess, which are just as dangerous in their own ways.

Weather effects and the ability to wait for different times of day in each area help make Warsaw come alive, as areas genuinely feel different at each time of day. Happy rivalry turns to desperate drunken stumbling, and that into the calm of morning. It is all rounded out with a lilting eastern folk-enthused score that I found quite beautiful, but that can turn sinister in the blink of an eye. 

Score: 4.5/5 Stars

Narrative

You’ll find yourself getting into a lot of fights in The Thaumaturge, but it's the narrative that drives the game. Thankfully, it's excellent. Wiktor, the game’s main protagonist, is a flawed and complex individual. Flaws themselves are a key element of the game, as Wiktor feeds on his main flaw, pride, and those of others to tame the salutors (think demons) he controls. 

The relationships are largely believable and the important ones (such as with his sister and the mystic Rasputin), are complex and well-developed. The game often hints at the importance of your narrative choices without ever giving away their influence. ‘Your sister will remember that’, we’re told. Whether you want to take this as a role-player or a zero-sum gamer, it works either way. 

This is all helped by some largely excellent voice acting. Some accents are a little jarring, as you’ll have Eastern European one minute, American or English the next, and then Jewish or Italian. As this was a port I expect it's an accurate portrayal, but I’d have preferred it if some of the actors had toned it down a little rather than hamming it up. However, the most important characters are very well played. 

Score: 4.5 Stars

Related: The Thaumaturge combat difficulty level guide - Gameplay differences

Combat

As a fan of tactical turn-based combat, I was incredibly impressed with the battles in The Thaumaturge. You’ll always face multiple opponents performing a variety of attacks at differing speeds, and mostly with some kind of defense you need to work around (damage reduction, effect blocking, etc). You chose one attack for yourself and one from any of your chosen salutors. As you level up you gain attack upgrades; the story drip-feeds you more salutors, which allows you to mix and match for a high number of combinations. Better still, you can mix and match as you go, rather than being tied to these decisions. 

Another nice touch is the action bar. This allows you to see when you’ll next be hit, and by whom. You can plan quick or slow attacks, so it's possible to hit multiple times before your enemy does. This brings in a strong element of timing that manages to add tension despite the turn-based nature of each battle. There’s also a simple three-stage difficulty system you can change at any time outside of battles, so those wanting to concentrate on the story can give themselves an easier ride.

One downside is that some of the interactions around them seem a little forced. As if someone decided there should be a fight around now and shoehorned a scenario in to make it happen. I also felt that later fights didn’t scale all that well, as things seemed to get easier. I could’ve done with a few more interesting twists being added to later battles on the enemy side. However, it's preferable to the usual tactical battle game mistake of just making fights last longer as the game goes on. 

Score: 4.5 Stars

Exploration

If the game is going to divide opinion anywhere, it will be on the exploration side of the game. You move around beautifully drawn isometric scenes, with the explorable area increasing as the story develops. You have a perception skill you can use to discover hidden points of interest, with these observations fueling the storyline, opening up optional side quests, and gaining you experience points.  

The system works well but it's also a con. Wiktor puts together clues to piece together puzzles, getting to the bottom of characters’ flaws and motives. I enjoyed exploring the various locations, but you’re hand-held through the entire process, never doing any puzzling for yourself. 

Wiktor will exclaim that no secret is safe when he’s around, but you know you’ve found all the information by clicking the perception button and following the red trail across the screen. In a game that gets so much else right, the lack of any need to exercise your brain outside of combat is a misstep. 

Score: 4 Stars

Related: How to get all Salutors in The Thaumaturge

Progression

As you earn experience in The Thaumaturge you earn thaumaturgy points. These can be spent across four dimensions that open further as you find and capture salutors from those specific dimensions. You’ll want to spread out your points, as higher scores in each dimension give you a higher chance to work out the clues you find through perception. Points also open up new combat attacks and upgrades, giving you more choice when it comes to battling. 

This works well and feeds nicely into both exploration and combat. However, if like me you’re someone who completes all the side quests and explores every corner, you’ll soon find these choices irrelevant. It's simple to get all the experience you need if you go everywhere and do everything, so there are no tough choices or any fear of missing out. 

Those who love inventory puzzles and choosing their gear are also in for a disappointment. While you can add to your wardrobe and get your hair cut, this is purely there for aesthetics and achievements.  Gear is almost non-existent beyond being triggers for side quests, and even then you don’t need to do anything. Again, it's all a little smoke-and-mirrors and I can’t help thinking they’d have been better off not including it at all.

Score: 4 Stars

Verdict - A narrative and tactical treat

The Thaumaturge is an excellent narrative game with a fantastic turn-based combat system. The storyline is compelling, the characters are deep, and the excellent graphic style is complemented with a great score. It is only a little let down by hinting at things it doesn’t deliver on, such as puzzling and deeper choices in terms of gear, which is a shame as it doesn’t need them. Those shortcomings and all, it's a must-play for RPG fans. 

A free copy of the game was provided to PGG by the publisher for review purposes.

If you want to read more about the Thaumaturge, we've got you covered at Pro Game Guides. Check out The Thaumaturge Attack Upgrades Tier List and The Thaumaturge beginners' guide - tips and tricks!