The Thaumaturge — Cossack Hauntology
What if veteran Witcher developers wanted to remake Witcher, but to make it even more Polish? Imagine a Cossack phantom warrior haunting you as you wander around the early 20th-century Warsaw with Rasputin. The investigation mechanics are more complex and nonlinear, the RPG stat system is creative and layered, the combat is turn-based, and the perspective is isometric. What’s not to like?
The Thaumaturge feels like a game you know well, like an old friend. Perhaps too well. It also knows you. Definitely too well. It knows what you like, what you look for in games, and what you are missing in life when you turn to these stories in gaming systems. This is the latest title by Fool’s Theory, previously known for their collaboration with IMGN.PRO in Seven and the upcoming The Witcher remake.
Warsaw, Warsaw
The main setting will be Warsaw, but the demo begins somewhere else in occupied Poland, its territory divided between the empires of Russia, Germany, and Austria as soldiers harass the locals in the name of the tsar. It’s not just historical authenticity, it’s also written and directed with the same energy as Witcher, with the cinematic and environmental storytelling working together in a mostly seamless whole.
The demo says it does not represent the final look of the game, if that needs to be said these days. They are not promising a graphical powerhouse of a game. The move to turn-based combat was probably motivated by budget decisions, but I see it as a core strength. As much as I love Witcher, there is only so much Eurojank one can take. But The Thaumaturge feels polished, if somewhat sluggish in battles.
Tracking Systems
The RPG stat system also feels unique, not another rehash of the old D&D systems based on strength, dexterity, and so on. I didn’t have that much time to play with it, there was a cap on what I could do with the build in the demo, but I wanted to play more. The aesthetic overrides the simplicity of the system itself. Less is more, especially when it comes to indie attempts at turn-based combat.
Fool’s Theory also sent a survey after the demo, and I told them I really enjoyed the combat, but that it felt slightly sluggish. It needs a bit of oomph, more speed and kinetic energy to it. The boss battle in the demo felt more like a puzzle of card choices than a proper final showdown. It’s hard to say what needs to improve, but I hope they find a way to speed it up a bit at least.
Lonesome Path
The Thaumaturge feels like a lonely game for lonely men. The Upyr, the Cossack ghost companion who haunts you and interacts with you, is a cool touch, based on the myth of the Upiór. This is what Polish developers from the early Witcher games have always done best: they bring to the fore this Slavic paganism in games that feels unlike anything else in terms of fantasy, a genre plagued by the generic.
At first, I thought the story was just okay, up until Rasputin showed up. It’s a bold move to bring a historical character into a game like this. It feels less sanitized than the kind of historical encounters you might get in Assassin’s Creed games, which I find have terrible dialogue. This feels like it aims higher, but whether it will pay off in the final release is up for discussion.
Disclosure: The Thaumaturge was previewed on PC with the Next Fest October 2023 public demo. It will release on December 5, on Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, Xbox, and PlayStation. The public demo was available globally only for the duration of Steam Next Fest 2023.