A Feeling of Pride
By Eric Getty Gettinger
The Thaumaturge is a unique role playing game which offers a look into the troubled history of Eastern Europe while incorporating supernatural elements. Following the story of Wiktor Szulski who sets out for help and eventually needs to head back home. However the real hook is that Wiktor has the ability to summon forth powerful, esoteric beings known as salutors to fight on his behalf. Not just depending on his salutors for help but also his wits and latent magic ability to influence people Wiktor can become the character you want to play. This amazing feat combined with the skills trees, beautifully sound design, and challenging combat system make for a killer combo.
The setting is 19th century rural Eastern Europe in what would be considered Poland during Russian occupation. Transportation is limited to trains and a carriage to move between areas of exploration. There is plenty of exploration as Wiktor is a bit of an investigator, in the first area he tasks himself with trying to find the salutor who is haunting the people in a village. One of the key systems in The Thaumaturge is skill based dialogue. By examining objects and completing battles experience is gained and there are four skill tracks to invest in. Each of the four tracks will grant battle buffs and will also allow Wiktor to interact with items of the skill which are heart, mind, word, and deed. You can find the items in the environment using a search radar that will also show you the path to the next objective, the sound of the mechanic is the same sound when you connect a joy con to a Nintendo Switch (I had to mention this). Each of the four dimensions will allow you to have different conversations or even use abilities during dialogue.
Combat is a mixed bag of turn based role playing game mechanics and an active time gauge that allows you to see the next actions. It is rarely a fair fight for Wiktor as groups will come at him two or three enemies at a time. Luckily the power of the salutor is ferocious and his initial salutor Upyr gives back health when it damages the enemies. Combat happens on two fronts with direct combat damage or debuffing your enemies to allow for the salutor to do more damage. Basically you can cause your enemies to lose sanity and that’s what really allows for huge damage. Each move will take time to complete and at the top of the screen is a tracker that allows you to see where your move will fall in the order of operations. Sometimes it is better to try and fist fight an enemy if they are taking a long time to act so you can remove them from the fight. Other times like in the big rumble to claim another salutor it becomes a battle of attrition. Combat in The Thaumaturge is something really special and it allows you to vary your playing style, and if you aren’t sure if you like the way it’s going you can change around your skill points at the start of combat.
The attention to detail in The Thaumaturge is probably my favorite part. The way Wiktor will cast spells by drawing on the side of his bag and the terrifying look of the salutors are and experience all their own. When you are exploring and investigating your actions feel impactful like the idea of feeding your flaw. Wiktor is a very proud man and during the course of play you can take actions where he will boast or lean into his pride and it will feed that flaw. I never got far enough along to see what the outcome of it would be but the flaw is also tied into your decision making process. You will also encounter other flaws in your journey and those will also be aligned with salutors so it really gives you the opportunity to become your best or worst self.
Since I was not able to continue in my current playthrough I will still go back and explore more into the world of The Thaumaturge because there is just so much going for this game. Between the history, the power to control powerful monsters, and the mystery and intrigue of what is happening in Warsaw it makes for a gripping narrative. There is still plenty of time to get in on the ground floor of this one and see what The Thaumaturge has to offer. While at times it will not feel very combat heavy you will get to experience more through interactions and exploration. Nothing in the opening chapter felt too far out of reach and the tutorials were well paced to draw you in. If you are a fan of RPGs and want a change of pace or if you are looking to take a break from those big name RPGs I recommend giving The Thaumaturge an opportunity.
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