The Thaumaturge is an isometric role-playing game from Fool’s Theory and 11 bit studios, set in a Warsaw gripped by revolutionary unrest under the Russian Empire. Its protagonist, a thaumaturge who can bind folkloric demons called salutors, returns to the city after his father’s death and is drawn into a conspiracy over a missing black grimoire.
Combat is turn-based and built around the bound salutors, each with a unique design drawn from folklore and mythology. Focus, status effects and breakdown states demand planning, though the later double-edged salutors, whose abilities come at a cost, are easy to shun.
Between battles the game is investigation-led, with observations gathered from the world and locked in place before they fade. It is a dialogue-heavy experience with a great deal of reading, and the choices made carry weight into the final act.
The plot moves from the father’s funeral through the city’s factions, from an anti-thaumaturgy society to the salons of the Imperial Hotel. A confrontation with the city’s governor at a royal celebration exposes the hatred behind his butchery, and the close brings a mysterious figure who knows far too much.
The voice acting is inconsistent, with some characters delivered very well and others noticeably less so, which makes the quality jarring. Performance issues appear mainly in the early game, the prologue worst of all, though nothing worse than a single textbox glitch emerged.
Completing everything takes around thirty hours, with the main story achievable in roughly half that. The collectibles, including little drawings and gramophones, give the dense city a pleasant completionist layer.
Overall, the fantastic writing, the memorable salutors and the meaty role-playing package make this an easy recommendation. It is a game worth praising, provided you do not mind a lot of reading and a lot of talking.