Developer Fool’s Theory’s new game The Thaumaturge is set to be released on December 5, 2023. The game, an isometric story-driven RPG, is very unique among its contemporaries from its setting to its concept.
The year is 1905. Warsaw lives under the yoke of imperial Russian tsardom. Its inhabitants constitute a diverse group of different ancestries, views, and beliefs with often conflicting interests: Russian soldiers, Jewish merchants, Polish townspeople, and more. Despite the circumstances, the city is a buzzing metropolis, where one can attend a breathtaking party with the high society, and later get robbed in one of the dark alleys of the Praga district. A city of great hopes and dreams on one hand and dark desires on the other.
Most people don’t think of the early 1900s when they think “RPG settings” but this only serves to let The Thaumaturge stand out. People also don’t think of the game’s namesake, thaumaturgy, when they think of a typical RPG set of powers yet the main character Wiktor Szulski makes ample use of the blood magic when he summons demons, named Salutors, to aid him in the game’s turn-based RPG combat. Though don’t worry, if demon summoning isn’t your thing the game also makes it clear you can build in other ways, with long skill trees allowing you multiple build paths, and can always use a trusty pistol or even your fists as your weapon.
The demon designs themselves look absolutely gnarly, with a wide range of scary designs from bird monsters to snake men. The artstyle overall is fantastic, the bright daytime of Warsaw is contrasted with its dour gray night, perfect for the atmosphere and sprinkled with a bright blood red to emphasize Wiktor’s powers and effect on this depressing world.
If you want a unique RPG experience with morally ambiguous choices and the ability to shoot people in turn-based combat then I fully recommend Fool’s Theory’s The Thaumaturge, though you don’t have to take my word for it, as The Thaumaturge has a demo available on Steam from now until October 16 which covers the game’s prologue, and you can wishlist it on Steam and GOG right now for its full release this December 5, or for console players you can expect the full release for Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in early 2024.