LogInIf you manage to tame them.
We're so used to fighting menacing monsters in most games, but what if these powerful creatures were ours to control? You will find out in The Thaumaturge, a new RPG developed by Fool's Theory (The Witcher remake, Seven) and published by 11 bit studios (Frostpunk, This War of Mine). This review might contain some spoilers for the beginning of the game, so be warned.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
"The year is 1905. Warsaw lives under the yoke of imperial Russian tsardom. Its inhabitants constitute a diverse group of different ancestries, views, and beliefs with often conflicting interests: Russian soldiers, Jewish merchants, Polish townspeople, and more. Despite the circumstances, the city is a buzzing metropolis, where one can attend a breathtaking party with the high society, and later get robbed in one of the dark alleys of the Praga district. A city of great hopes and dreams on one hand and dark desires on the other."
Image credit: Fool's Theory
Plunge into the atmospheric streets of Warsaw, posh interiors of high society soirées, and smoky shadows of bars trying to solve mysteries but mostly – find yourself.
You play as Wiktor Szulski, a thaumaturge – basically someone who can tame demons (salutors) and use their powers in battle and for manipulation. He is quite troubled at first because he can't connect with his salutor and seeks a wonderous healer – Grigori Rasputin. An interesting choice of character. He will help us take control of other salutors along the way.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
Wiktor comes back home after many years away when he finds out that his father, a famous thaumaturge who didn't see eye to eye with the protagonist, suddenly died. Or was it a murder? It's your job to solve this mystery, meeting suspicious people left and right and "scoping" every area you enter with your magical abilities.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
You can use something like Eagle Vision in Assassin's Creed, which helps you identify objects of interest and, most importantly, feel the emotions of people who touched them. I really like this part of the game as it seems like you're peering into the characters' secret thoughts.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
While you were traveling, the high society was busy with its own intrigues, and now you, as the son of a quite influential person, have to fit in somehow to get to the bottom of not only your father's death but also higher-scale politics. What you say and do matters here, and sometimes, you'll have to make difficult, morally ambiguous decisions to achieve your goals. Oh, and don't (or do) worry: the game will remember your choices.
Speaking of choices, demons stick to people with Flaws tormenting them, and you're no angel as well. Your pride lets you pick certain dialog options, and by doing so you feed it, opening new choices. Not enough Pride? Well sorry, have to be a polite gentleman then. Didn't find enough clues or chose the wrong phrase? Just roll with what you have.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
You can't always resolve everything with words, so here comes combat. It might be that I needed to be in a certain mood for The Thaumaturge, or maybe it just slowed the pace for me, but I tried to avoid it as much as I could, which was not easy as enemies wait for you at every corner, even when some nice ladies are just checking out your behind.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
You fight with your own human abilities as well as your salutors' (whom you collect and upgrade as the story develops.) The developers call the game's turn-based combat unique, and it's true; at least I can't recall ever seeing something like this.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
Each salutor has its own skills and can disable enemies' buffs like healing every turn or receiving less damage. These abilities target either HP or Focus (breaking which enables a special high-damage attack). They can also debuff the opponent or give you a boon. Every skill has a speed parameter determining when you'll perform it. Experiment with them if you want to live.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
You get into a lot of fights, and you can't avoid them all. Of course, more dangerous foes are salutors, who have 3 sets of enemies they control (and awesome designs.) Overall, all encounters in the game can be pretty tough. To be honest, I expected the first handful of battles to be easy, but my first game over arrived much sooner than I expected.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
I'd also like to mention the RPG's sound design, the music is enchanting, and finger snapping is really satisfying, especially since you (I) do it a lot.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
The Thaumaturge is a strangely comforting game to play, filled with beauty, detective work, and a lot of politics (I haven't talked about it, but it's there throughout the whole experience, and the developers' views are pretty clear I think.) If you'd like a rich story and a mystery to solve, give it a chance.
Image credit: Fool's Theory
The RPG is available on PC, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions planned for later this year. Check it out for yourself and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.