On paper, The Thaumaturge sounds like a delight. The unique setting of 20th Century Warsaw? Check. A turn-based RPG combat system that changes based on the spirit you use? Check. In practice, everything comes together in a confusing fashion. Let’s dig into it.
A slow start to The Thaumaturge‘s story
The beginning of the demo for The Thaumaturge is as flat as it gets. You’re not given an aspiring introduction, telling you why you should care. The background of the world just flies past your ears into a solace wall behind you. You’re left with a protagonist that isn’t relatable, and voice acting that’s uninteresting across the board. The game’s dialogue isn’t particularly personality-filled and the performances come off as wooden more often than not. To add insult to injury, the story didn’t click with me until perhaps near the end of the demo. While I wasn’t interested in the protagonist’s narrative, it may be fascinating to find out the backstory of these spirits called Saluters and how you acquire their powers. It’s kinda similar to Persona as you can gain their powers in combat after defeating them.
The Thaumaturge combat system is surprisingly cinematic
Speaking of the combat system in The Thaumaturge, I was surprised by how cinematic the game is. You get unique angles on some attacks that look deadly. The main character only punches his way so far in this early point of the game. Eventually, we’ll be able to “use the unique set of their skills to gain an advantage while exploring the world and when bringing your adversaries to their knees,” said publisher 11 bit studios on the game’s Steam page. I’m anxious to see it play out.
The boss was tough but…
When I faced the boss in the demo, I started to turn against the combat system. I thought the only way to heal normally was through the ability Eerie Intoxication, which restores half of what you’ve lost in a round during the attack. Through multiple attempts, the amount of damage incurred on your character makes his healing ineffective at a certain point of the battle. I fell to it three times.
However, I discovered a big mechanic that the developer Fool’s Theory needs to make way more obvious. You can upgrade your attacks with added quirks if you drag and drop certain arrows into place, but the UI is so odd it’s hard to spot. For example, you can get a 60% chance of doubling the strength of one of your attacks. This is massive and changes the complexity of the battle. These essential upgrades are hidden within menus, and the UI should show how important they are.
Additionally, the protagonist has an additional ability called Not of this World, which causes a chunk of damage AND heals your character by half of their health. It unlocks later down the line of battle after you’ve staggered a foe into its breakdown state. You’ll need to eliminate all of their focus to do this. It’s interesting, but poorly setup.
Investigating the area
You won’t just be battling foes in The Thaumaturge. You’ll be exploring locations, picking up items, and trying to figure out what exactly happened before you arrived. There’s a Perception mechanic, that lets you scan the area around you. It’s not as intuitive as I’d like, and at one point in the game, I was running around not knowing where to go next. Sometimes, you may need to head to the other sub-quest to actually complete the one you’re on; keep that in mind.
An aspect of the game that seems to have promise is the dialogue choices. It seems like what you decide will actually make an impact on the narrative. For example, the game teases whether or not you should trust Rasputin on this adventure. The Steam page says the game “allows you to alternate your choices and make you deal with the aftermath.” Hopefully, the developer will pull off that promise.
An early showing of Unreal Engine 5
The Thaumaturge, like Immortals of Aveum, runs on Unreal Engine 5. The environments look pretty with some great Lumen and Volumetric lighting all around. The quality of the monsters’ renders is super detailed as well. Unfortunately, I’m taking an all-expenses paid trip to the Uncanny Valley with the characters. The expressions of the likes of Rasputin and other personalities in the game creeped me out a little. The eyes kinda look dead inside as well. Something just rubbed me the wrong way.
Despite the character models, however, The Thamaturge looks fantastic on my monitor on Epic settings. I can’t wait to see the game’s interpretation of Warsaw in the full title. It will be released on December 5 for PC systems. A PS5 and Xbox Series X/S release is also scheduled sometime in early 2024.
