The Thaumaturge is what if Pokemon was set in a fictional version of Poland with demons and creatures of Slavic folklore instead of cuddly monsters.
The world is filled with stories of monsters; many of these stories act as moral lessons that are supposed to teach you to be a kind and better person to not attract the wrath of the monsters of these tales. As we get older, we come to understand these creatures as nothing more than things of myth, something supposed to scare us into behaving. There’s no way those things could be real… Right? The Thaumaturge shows us what the world would be like if those folk monsters existed and how the consequences may be far more severe if we don’t abide by these moral lessons.
The Thaumaturge is developed by none other than Fools Theory, a relatively unknown studio that was first founded in 2015 but, despite their relative obscurity, shows an immense amount of promise. This does make sense when you realize that most of the developers at Fool’s Theory worked on absolute masterpieces such as The Witcher 3 and Baldur’s Gate 3, two games with a few awards under their belt. The Thaumaturge has some pretty big boots to fill, and in all honesty, it has definitely succeeded in doing so.
In The Thaumaturge, you play as Wictor Szulksi, the titular thaumaturge who seems to have fallen ill with some strange disease, causing the man to slowly waste away. The cause of Wictor’s illness is no germ or parasite but rather his hubris as Wictor tried and failed to tame another Salutor.
For the uninformed, a Salutor is a supernatural being with whom a thaumaturge can form a pact. Usually, a thaumaturge can only have one Salutor at a time, but Wictor is a prideful man who wants to prove a point to his father. Unfortunately, because of this pride, Wictor finds himself in this situation and requires the aid of the miracle worker known as Grigori Rasputin.
The Thaumaturge is an example of historical fiction, and throughout the game, you will encounter many real historical figures and go through genuine historical events; this time around, however, there may be something more mystical behind these events and people, unlike their real-world counterparts.
The Thaumaturge doesn’t use these historical events in a way that is disrespectful but instead uses them in such a way that sheds light on them and teaches players about something they may not be familiar such as the art of thaumaturgy. Which, if you didn’t know, is the art of performing miracles and has appeared across several religions, most notably Christianity. These miracles ranged from healing incurable diseases to something a bit more supernatural.
Now, as for the story of The Thaumaturge, shortly after meeting Grigori, he is cured of his ailment, and Wictor realizes that something is not quite right with the village he has traveled to and senses that a Salutor might be the cause of the issue. Salutors are attracted to Flaws; these powerful negative traits change how a person interacts with the world around them and can even influence how others behave around them.
To capture more Salutors, Wictor will need to figure out who the Salutor has bonded with and expose that person’s Flaw. However, things can become a bit more difficult as whenever you gain a new Salutor, you also gain their respective Flaw. Whenever Wictor gains a new Flaw, whatever Dimension that Flaw was associated with gets stronger. You can also gain Flaws by interacting with the world or through dialogue.
As a thaumaturge, Wictor has the ability to command Salutors. These are otherworldly beings ranging from the spirits of the dead to creatures from numerous folklore and myths. Salutors are usually connected to one of the four dimensions from which Wictor draws his power: Heart, Mind, Deed, and Word.
The Salutors will aid Wictor both in and out of combat, and depending on the strength of Wictor’s bond with them, the more they can help him. When in combat, your Salutor will act as a second teammate and, depending on their ability, can add another layer to your strategy.
When it comes to combat, there are two main things you need to pay attention to: Health and Focus. In most combat scenarios, the main goal is to whittle down the enemy’s health to zero, which is easier said than done. One of the ways to make this easier for yourself is to destroy their Focus; when an enemy loses their Focus, they “breakdown”. This means the enemy will take more damage, and you and your spooky companion can now use a powerful, heavy attack.
Initially, this might seem quite easy: lower Focus and then use heavy attack until the enemy falls over, but things become more complicated when States come into play. Occasionally, an enemy will use an attack that will give Wictor a negative State, and you can remove this State by either using a Salutor’s ability or attaching certain passive abilities to your attacks.
Before you enter combat properly in The Thaumaturge, Wictor can adjust his abilities before engaging in combat. As mentioned before, you can attach passive abilities to your attacks; you unlock these passives by developing your thaumaturge skills, which are connected to your Salutors and the dimensions they are connected to.
You can increase your thaumaturge skills by exploring the world and reading just about everything. It cannot be overstated how important it is to read every little piece of paper or vaguely interesting object you encounter, as each piece of paper gives you experience and increases your thaumaturge level.
Reading isn’t the only way to gain experience, as you will also gain it by completing side quests and correctly revealing the Ties to different pieces of evidence. It should also be noted that you shouldn’t hoard your points and should use them as you need them.
A good example is when gathering evidence, you may not have a strong enough bond with a certain Salutor and their respective Dimensions, which means you don’t get all the evidence you need or don’t get access to all the possible outcomes of the situation.
Dialogue plays a massive part in The Thaumaturge, and what you choose to say directly influences how people perceive Wictor and the relationships they form with him. A good example of this is with his sister, Ligia. Wictor and Ligia did not have the best relationship in the past; she viewed him as an incredibly prideful man who only cared about himself.
Now, depending on what dialogue options you choose, Ligia will either still see Wictor as a selfish, prideful ass-hat or as a changed man who has grown and matured and become far wiser. There are numerous ways of handling dialogue scenarios, and there is no one way of handling it as there are numerous right and wrong answers; it just depends on how right or wrong these answers are. So, much like Baldur’s Gate 3, there is a huge amount of replayability.
The fictional version of Eastern Europe that The Thaumaturge takes place in is just filled to the brim with detail. As mentioned, there are plenty of things to read dotted around the world; while this gives you thaumaturge experience, they also add more lore and context to the world around you.
These little details, such as the Post Master at the train station not delivering certain letters or the village hanging up traditional wards and effigies to ward off evil spirits, show that these are actual people who live in this world and that these people have layers to them. Characters are not always clear in their intentions, and it’s up to you to figure them out and piece together who they really are because sometimes a close friend could be your future downfall.
One of the biggest highlights of The Thaumaturge is its soundtrack, and it has to be heard to be believed. The music that plays in the overworld helps set the mood of your investigation and gives context to how dire the situation is.
The music takes numerous elements from traditional Slavic instruments and throws in the cinematic atmosphere created through high-strung violins and bellowing cellos. The music is a masterpiece in its own right and fits perfectly for the game’s otherworldly elements and intense investigative mystery.
Overall, The Thaumaturge is a masterpiece of a game. The game has a rich story filled with suspense, mystery, and a cast of unforgettable characters. The game uses its historical setting in such a way that is both based on reality and also in a way that melds the supernatural elements perfectly together.
Two of the game’s biggest highlights have to be its combat, which has somehow made turn-based combat easy to understand yet entirely new and fresh with a decent amount of challenge. The second of these highlights is the game’s soundtrack, which works perfectly with the game’s narrative and combat. Fool’s Theory shows they have a ton of potential, and we cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.
