The Thaumaturge Reviews
Lurking behind a dated exterior is a limited but sophisticated RPG with a unique setting and some memorable new ideas.
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.
The Thaumaturge might be a bit light for RPG lovers, but it's a gorgeous, incisive look at a world long past.
A historical supernatural role-player whose portrayal of Warsaw under Russian rule is highly compelling but where the combat and simplistic detective elements fail to engage.
That said, The Thaumaturge manages to do a deft job weaving between its supernatural story and the context of its historical setting. Wiktor is an outsider, and his detachment from society means that he can pick a side. I chose to have him back the unions and be a real comrade, but the game has tons of branches — including some where he falls to pride or commits sins that he cannot erase. These are the choices that make The Thaumaturge worth it, even when I’m annoyed by its technical shortcomings. Wiktor’s powers, detective skills, pride, and values are all things that can change the decisions at hand, and when I make a choice, it feels weighty. Since this is an RPG that lasts about 25 hours, I’m already getting amped up to see how a second run changes things. I have the feeling, though, that no matter how hard I try, something is going to go terribly wrong for someone.
The Thaumaturge’s biggest problems are a result of trying to do so many different things at once. It’s a juggling act on the best of days, and if you’re a working-class person in 1900s Poland you aren’t having a bunch of great days. Not consistently, anyway. This is a deeply interesting game with a lot of cool imagery, historical storytelling hooks and complex systems that are a blast to engage with. There are a ton of swings, and not every one is a hit. Sometimes the voice acting is wacky, the protagonist feels underdeveloped, and combat can be annoying and burdensome. But I also accidentally stayed up way past my adult, parent bedtime on multiple nights playing it. I feel and probably look like Wiktor after catching a new Salutor, but it was worth it.
The Thaumaturge is an atmospheric adventure that oozes character and matches sleuthing and combat in an engaging, enjoyable way.
The Thaumaturge shows plenty of promise, but lets itself down somewhat by failing to play to its strengths. Warsaw and its history and culture is a joy to experience when the game properly engages with it, but an insistent focus on a comparatively dull main story ultimately detracts from this for a fun yet frustrating experience.
There are a few rough edges here and there, but The Thaumaturge is a compelling and meaty detective RPG with a rich and reactive plot, and whose branching storylines really let you walk the line between vice and virtue.
The Thaumaturge is a game made with a lot of love and hard work by Fool's Theory. That much is apparent within the first couple of hours and grows more obvious the longer a user plays. Its lack of a way to make searching for clues interesting may lead some players astray, but they will miss out on a demon-fueled magical adventure. It stumbles in other places, but it more than makes up for it with its monster designs and terrific storytelling. The Thaumaturge's mixture of 20th-century technology and magic should prove too fun to pass up, and players looking for a detective mystery with some intrigue and nightmares might have found something they can't find anywhere else.
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.
With a wonderful setting in 20th century Warsaw, The Thaumaturge combines perfectly the fantasy of magic and the rawness of human nature.
The more time I spend with The Thaumaturge, the more I settle into it. When you spend more time with any game you are bound to notice the edges of things, the literal and figurative invisible walls. But The Thaumaturge was more like a pair of shoes. As I learned the restrictions of what you couldn’t do in the game, it focused me towards things I could do, and they were all awesome. If you have been craving a dark fantasy RPG where you get to play as a John Constantine type, I have good news, The Thaumaturge is it. Anyone looking for their next interesting and original RPG, this is it!
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 Unreral Engine 5
Review in Russian | Read full review
The Thaumaturge is an ambitious isometric RPG with an interesting story, which the player can lead to ever-changing and unexpected situations with well-thought-out moral choices.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Thaumaturge is a fairly unique RPG in terms of its setting and the themes it addresses. Narratively quite crazy and engaging from start to finish, it is worthy of a very good fantasy movie or a good gothic tale.
Review in French | Read full review
The Thaumaturge offers a (very) bleak view of alt-history Warsaw at the turn of the 20th century, driven by ambitious narrative systems and a solid combat offering involving the use of metaphysical creatures.
Developer Fool's Theory has crafted a solid RPG set in 1905 Warsaw that, at times, can feel like as much of an awesome documentary as it is a video game.
While the investigation aspect may fall a little short, The Thaumaturge is saved by excellent writing and characters. Not to mention a deeply involved combat and upgrade system. (Review Policy)