In a congested gaming window, as it always is leading up to Christmas, it is sometimes difficult to know which games to choose if you have money to spare. If you’re a fan of story-driven RPG adventures then The Thaumaturge developed by Fool’s Theory and published by 11 Bit Studios may be an option. Having made its way from PC to consoles very recently, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this one. It is an extremely cleverly written and designed experience that has you using psychic powers to read minds and emotions with the ability to twist people’s thoughts and feelings.
After looking into the positive thoughts from players’ Steam reviews, I was excited to get hands-on. If you’re after a game that has a deep narrative with lots of storytelling and turn-based combat to complement the fantastic attention to detail in this approximate 20-hour journey, then it is worth just shy of the £30 asking price. At the time of writing though the game has a 20% discount on the Xbox store.

Fow-Ma-Turge
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t know how to pronounce The Thaumaturge before playing, but you soon find out how. The game is set in 1905 Poland where the land is still under the mighty thumb of Russia. You start your adventure as Wiktor who is a resident of Warsaw but possesses special skills as a Thaumaturge. Now I had to educate myself and learn something new. Thaumaturgy is derived from Greek words and refers to the practical application of magic to change the physical world. I don’t want to give away any of the story in this review, since it really is the meat and gravy of the game and it’s ever such a great storyline.
As Wiktor, you’ll be using your thaumaturgy to manipulate the world of Warsaw and the people you encounter along the way. Using this power you’ll also be taming demons that seep into the world and using these to your advantage as you progress. Talking of progression, you also gained experience that can be used to push your skills further. What is clever about this is that the skill tree is branched off into four different sections which are heart, deed, mind and word. Not only will you gain extra combat options but the routes you choose to spend skill points on will potentially alter the conversations you have during the game.

Dark Fantasy Combat
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of tutorial when it comes to the combat elements in The Thaumaturge. There are some of the basics shown to you, but be mindful that during gameplay progression you will need to manually assign certain aspects for them to function. This isn’t ever explained to you so could be missed and in turn will make the attacks seem repetitive and underwhelming as you delve further in. I enjoyed that they implemented the thaumaturgy into battle so that you can get an insight into what attacks will come your way and in turn strategically plan your approach.

Visuals & Audio
The Thaumaturge has the wow factor when it comes to its jaw-dropping visuals. Admittedly I was going into this game pretty much blind but had my eyes opened to a banger when it comes to presentation on a big 4k screen. The cutscenes are marvellous with rich detail throughout with amazing character design and you feel the emotion and atmosphere shine through. The environments are stunning with lots of NPCs to engage with throughout with reasonably sized areas to roam around in and explore if you wish to. When it comes to the combat scenarios some fantastic animations showcase the brutality of each attack.
Audio is equally brilliant with the narration with voice acting to a great standard, I even noticed the echo of voicing in certain rooms where you’d expect that in real life. The soundtrack really suits the atmosphere of olden times in Poland with more dramatic music coming in the combat portions of the game. Sound effects do their job along with clear and concise menus, detailed maps and a simplistic UI that doesn’t demand much of your screen space.

Final Thoughts
As I stated at the beginning of the review, The Thaumaturge surprised me as I went in with low expectations. Instead, I was consumed from the get-go with not only the attention to detail throughout the incredible presentation but also the solid storyline and character building. Choice-driven narrative options give the flexibility to explore different avenues of the game at various moments and there is plenty of room for exploration despite its fairly linear design. It is a unique adventure with plenty of twists and turns with the beautiful and compelling cutscenes bringing you close to the characters. After seeing some thoughts of the PC version earlier in the year with some bugs here and there, I am pleased to say I had a buttery smooth time with no issues whatsoever. The Thaumaturge is amongst the best games of 2024, just as the year comes to a close, play it!
Overall
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90%
Summary
Pros
- Fantastic setting and storyline
- Voice acting is superb
- Manipulation is very clever
- Visually brilliant
Cons
- Combat tutorial could be a little more in-depth