The Thaumaturge (Xbox Series) Review

The Thaumaturge is a title that caught my eye with its first reveal trailer thanks to its uncommon setting and supernatural elements. It’s also a game that I decided to stay as spoiler-free as possible until it came to console. Seven months since the PC release, that day has finally come. The question, of course, is was it worth the wait?  

Developed by Fool’s Theory, The Thaumaturge is a character-driven period-piece, a supernatural detective story, and an RPG in which your choices do matter.

Set in Warsaw, Poland, during 1905, the game drops you into the shoes of estranged Thaumaturge, Wiktor Szulsky. Wiktor’s flaw is his pride, his desire to capture more than one Salutor – supernatural beings that can be chained to a Thaumaturge – with little regard for price that brings. After fifteen years away from home, Wiktor returns home to Warsaw to investigate the sudden death of his father, questioning if his death was just an accident, and concerned about the fate of his Black Grimoire that he carried with him everywhere? Wiktor’s quest will take him deep into a turbulent Warsaw, stricken by inequality, crime, and hatred, while putting him in contact with some of history’s most enigmatic, and infamous, characters. 

Played from an isometric viewpoint, The Thaumaturge is, functionally, a point-and-click exploration game for the modern age. The gameplay is initially rather simple as you investigate locations by scouring them for items using your enhanced senses. This takes the form of a particle laden “pulse” that highlights usable items with shimmering red auras, which you then examine either for clues or world lore. Finding all the clues in an area is vital to the case you’re on, as the more clues you possess, the more options are available to you during interrogations. 

Speaking to people is a major component of the moment-to-moment gameplay. Each interaction further opens the world to you, deepens your knowledge of the lore, and the expands the choices you must make. The Thaumaturge is, ultimately, a game about a succession of choices. Each action you take has a bearing on which choices are open to you or which you’ve locked yourself out of, with the larger ones having an impact on the games ending. 

The Salutors play an important part in both the story and interrogations, as well as the limited turn-based battles. Instead of levelling up generic stats as is common in RPGs, every level gives you a point to invest in your skill tree, with each skill giving you access to new options in conversations – such as Heart and Word. Each skill also has a Salutor associated with it, with new attack skills, support skills, and buffs unlocked for combat. 

In combat, The Thaumaturge plays like a traditional turn-based RPG with Wiktor as the primary combatant, and the Salutors lending support and attacks from the shadows. Their skills reduce enemy buffs, heal you, and allow you to do extra damage depending on the Salutor type. Enemies can have their focus broken, leaving them open to high-damage attacks, and Salutors often heal you by damaging them. It’s worthwhile checking out enemy stats before starting a fight, as the games combat is very tactical and potentially unforgiving. Beyond your Salutor, it’s just Wiktor on the battlefield. There ‘s no party system, but each Salutor adds new attacks at higher skill levels that you need to survive combat. 

Enemies have a variety of powerful traits that can range from negating up to 80% of damage, to self-healing every round – and each of these traits needs to be broken by a specific Salutor. As a result, the combat is slow-paced, high-risk, and requires you to pay attention to what’s happening onscreen each turn. While the story, exploration, and various choices can lock you out of some paths and encourage replays, the traditional RPG challenge comes from combat. The Thaumaturge is quite tough on even the default setting and, if you’re not paying attention, you can expect to be defeated quite easily until you get the hang of the system and learn how to prioritize targets. 

Although the combat can offer tactical fun, The Thaumaturge really shines thanks to its story and cast. From the opening scene, the game and its world draws you in and I found it fantastically engrossing. There’s a colourful bunch of characters for you to meet with a ton of great writing, while exploring the world is an oppurtunity to delve into its lore and mythology around the supernatural creatures you encounter. If there’s negative to the storytelling, it’s that the voice acting is all over the place, with more than one accent and performance that felt out of place or made me cringe. 

Another element that enhances exploration is just how beautiful it all looks and how intricate the level design feels, packed with gorgeous locations and fine details that looks fantastic from the isometric viewpoint. Locations are cluttered with what I assume are period accurate designs and architecture, making for a visual feast. Some character models might look a little rough compared to the main cast, but the monster designs are all exceptional. 

As much as I enjoyed The Thaumaturge – especially the exploration and descriptive writing – there’s one element that may potentially frustrate others, especially those used to more action-heavy console games. The Thaumaturge is a very slow-paced game, choosing to spend it’s time on characters and building atmosphere, rather than a brisk gameplay loop. Even the combat is slow and thoughtful by design. That said, with it’s stunning environments and a truly engrossing story, The Thaumaturge was a rare game that kept me hooked from the very first moments and was hard to put down, making the wait worth every moment. 

The Thaumaturge was reviewed on Xbox Series S|X using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC and PS5.