{{Short description|2024 video game}} {{mdy|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox video game | image = THE_THAUMATURGE_Cover_Art.jpg | title = The Thaumaturge | developer = Fool's Theory | publisher = [[11 Bit Studios]] | director = Jakub Rokosz | producer = Wiktor Frączek | designer = Karolina Kuzia-Rokosz | programmer = {{ubl|Krzysztof Justyński|Grzegorz Wątroba}} | artist = Krzysztof Mąka | writer = Paweł Nowak | composer = {{ubl|Agnieszka Wlazły|Sebastian Syczyński}} | platforms = {{ubl|[[Windows]]|[[PlayStation 5]]|[[Xbox Series X/S]]}} | genre = [[Role-playing video game|Role-playing]] | modes = [[Single-player]] | engine = [[Unreal Engine 5]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Birch |first=Nathan |date=2023-02-28 |title=The Thaumaturge is a Morally-Complex New UE5 RPG from The Witcher Remake Developers |url=https://wccftech.com/the-thaumaturge-ue5-rpg-announcement-makers-of-the-witcher-remake/ |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=Wccftech |language=en-US}}</ref> | released = {{ubl|'''Windows'''|March 4, 2024|'''PS5, Xbox Series X/S'''|December 4, 2024}} }}
'''''The Thaumaturge''''' is a 2024 [[Isometric video game graphics|isometric]] [[Role-playing video game|role-playing game]] developed by Fool's Theory and published by [[11 Bit Studios]]. The player controls Wiktor Szulski, a detective that returns to a supernatural Warsaw in 1905 to investigate the mysterious death of his father. ''The Thaumaturge'' was released in March 2024 for [[Windows]] and in December 2024 for [[PlayStation 5]] and [[Xbox Series X and Series S|Xbox Series X/S]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-13 |title=The Thaumaturge for PS5, Xbox Series launches December 4 |url=https://www.gematsu.com/2024/11/the-thaumaturge-for-ps5-xbox-series-launches-december-4 |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=Gematsu |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Herd |first=James |date=2023-11-15 |title=The Thaumaturge has been delayed to February 2024 |url=https://www.destructoid.com/the-thaumaturge-has-been-delayed-to-february-2024/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=[[Destructoid]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Sal |date=2024-02-12 |title=The Thaumaturge for PC delayed to March 4 |url=https://www.gematsu.com/2024/02/the-thaumaturge-for-pc-delayed-to-march-4 |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Gematsu |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Gameplay == [[File:The_Thaumaturge.jpg|left|thumb|The player can choose abilities to use, displayed as cards over opponents' heads.]] The game takes place in chapters, during which the player can an explore an area, interacting with NPCs, engaging in combat and completing quests.<ref name="ign">{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Jarrett |date=2024-03-04 |title=The Thaumaturge Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/the-thaumaturge-review |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=[[IGN]] |language=en}}</ref> The player can engage human foes and supernatural ones in turn-based combat, where they are able to use the abilities of ghostly salutors to win brawls. Each salutor represents a human flaw, Recklessness can break enemies' focus, but at added risk to the player, while Pride does damage to foes and heals Wiktor simultaneously.<ref name="pcgamer" />
Outside of combat, salutors can also be used in dialogue to manipulate specific flaws in characters to learn more or to avoid fights. Depending on the player's stats or choices, certain options might be available or not. Right-clicking allows the player to use Wiktor's perception, able to see traces left behind in the world, from thoughts to knowledge about an object. This knowledge can then be used to solve mysteries in the game world.<ref name="ign" />
== Development == ''The Thaumaturge'' started full development in 2020 after being pitched to 11 Bit Studios. The setting of Warsaw in 1905 was chosen because of the team's familiarity with the city, and the historical tension stemming from discontent with Russian rule at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Asif |first=Ali |date=2023-04-10 |title=The Thaumaturge Interview: Gameplay, Setting, Combat, Choices and More |url=https://segmentnext.com/the-thaumaturge-interview/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=SegmentNext |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Reception == {{Video game reviews | MC = PC: 74/100<ref name="mcpc">{{Cite web |title=The Thaumaturge (PC Critic Reviews) |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-thaumaturge/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref><br />PS5: 82/100<ref name="mcps5">{{Cite web |title=The Thaumaturge (PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews) |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-thaumaturge/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-5 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref> | OC = 71% recommend<ref name="oc">{{Cite web |title=The Thaumaturge Reviews |url=https://opencritic.com/game/16393/the-thaumaturge |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=[[OpenCritic]] |date=March 4, 2024 }}</ref> | IGN = 8/10<ref name="ign" /> | PCGUS = 82/100<ref name="pcgamer" /> }} ''The Thaumaturge'' received "mixed or average" reviews for its Windows version and "generally favorable" reviews for the PlayStation 5 version, according to review aggregator [[Metacritic]].<ref name="mcpc" /><ref name="mcps5" /> [[OpenCritic]] determined that 71% of critics recommended the game.<ref name="oc" />
''[[Rock Paper Shotgun]]'' praised the characterization and writing of the protagonist, "this feeling of never quite fitting in anywhere provides a fantastic stage on which players to role-play Wiktor as they see fit".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Castle |first=Katharine |date=2024-03-04 |title=The Thaumaturge review: a knotty detective RPG brewed in a rich, historical melting pot |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-thaumaturge-review |access-date=2024-03-05 |work=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] |language=en}}</ref> While feeling the acting could be hit or miss, ''[[IGN]]'' liked the historical setting of ''The Thaumaturge,'' "The constant push and pull between the occupiers and the increasingly more disgruntled citizens is something Wiktor’s supernatural adventure is constantly butting up against".<ref name="ign" /> ''[[PCGamer]]'' criticized the combat as dull, "fights are uniform enough that you only have to buckle down and strategize against bosses, which are few and far between".<ref name="pcgamer">{{Cite web |last=Chilton |first=Maddi |date=2024-03-04 |title=The Thaumaturge review |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-thaumaturge-review/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=[[PC Gamer]] |language=en}}</ref> {{clear}}
== References == <references />
== External links == *{{official website|https://thaumaturgethegame.com/}}
{{11 Bit Studios}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thaumaturge, The}} [[Category:2024 video games]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Grigori Rasputin]] [[Category:Detective video games]] [[Category:Historical fantasy video games]] [[Category:Video games based on Slavic mythology]] [[Category:Video games set in the 1900s]] [[Category:Video games set in Poland]] [[Category:Video games set in the Russian Empire]] [[Category:Video games developed in Poland]] [[Category:Unreal Engine 5 games]] [[Category:Fiction set in 1905]]