Octopus Overlords

Picked this up on sale on Fanatical on a whim, didn't see a thread about it, so thought I'd give some (early) thoughts.

The Thaumaturge is a light isometric RPG in which you play the role of a thaumaturge, a wizard of sorts who can detect personality traces left behind by people touching objects. You also have the strange ability to summon a type of demon called "salutor" that arise from human flaws.

The game takes place in late 19th-century Russia/Poland, in the time of Rasputin. As the title character, Wiktor, you are tasked with unraveling the mysteries around your father's unusual death.

The bulk of gameplay involves exploring the map and using your senses to find objects of interest. Finding objects grants XP, and finding enough related objects will allow you to draw a conclusion that gives some insight into whatever quest you're currently on. XP can then be used to upgrade your skill tree. Skills can unlock new combat attacks, or provide upgrades to existing combat attacks that offer bonus effects.

Combat itself is turn-based, and while it took me a bit to wrap my head around, is pretty unique. As a thaumaturge, you know every action the enemy will take and when they will take it. So combat becomes a strategic battle in which you are trying to best time your attacks (and the attacks of your salutor) to outwit the enemy's actions. There are other nuances as well, such as enemies who are virtually indestructible until you attack their weaknesses, and a "Focus" stat which can be attacked instead of HP to weaken or take them out of the action.

However, it is important to note that the game is much more about immersing yourself in Wiktor's story than on tons of combat encounters and action. This is a slow-paced, methodical game that takes its time revealing its secrets. The prologue feels very on-rails, but as the game progresses and you start to discover more side quests, things open up a bit more and you get more freedom in the order in which you investigate things.

Still, if you're not into reading and dialogue, you may find the game too slow for your tastes. I have been quite enjoying the relaxed pace, and as a fan of the old Call of Cthulhu RPG, role-playing from a non-combat perspective doesn't bother me. Fortunately the writing is excellent, to the point I've enjoyed even the random bits of flavor text. Voice acting ranges from very good to serviceable.

This has not been a difficult game so far, and from what I've read from reviews it will likely never be much of a challenge. But as an interactive story with a beautiful presentation, great writing, fun-if-not-particularly-challenging combat, and an interesting setting with some creepy horror elements, I'm enjoying it a great deal.

Thanks YK. A RPG with an excellent story that isn't overly difficult sounds right up my alley.

I think I'll probably wait for a PS5 release, but it's definitely on my radar now.

This sounds good to me too.

And the mention of Call of Cthulhu reminds me of another game I just learned about, Dreams of the Witch House, an point-and-click adventure/RPG that sounds really interesting (and insane).

How linear is this? You say that it opens up after the tutorial but is it that you can do things in different order but you will still see the same story or are there choices and consequences?

Madmarcus wrote:How linear is this? You say that it opens up after the tutorial but is it that you can do things in different order but you will still see the same story or are there choices and consequences?

When I say you can do things in a different order, I mean that you might get 2 or 3 main quest avenues you can go down, a handful of side quests, and several "urban secret" side quests which are more or less collectible-type hunts. You can ignore side quests and focus on the main, ignore the main and focus on the side, or any combination thereof.

I'd say there are limited choices and consequences, but I don't think they change the over-arching story. For instance, I've seen several instances where you can choose an aggressive combat solution to a problem, or you can find a non-combat way around it.

I have also seen times where I chose a particular line of dialogue and got a note, "So-and-so will remember that." So it does appear your dialogue choices may impact future interactions with that character down the road. How much that actually affects the overall story, though, I couldn't say.

My guess is that you're really just nudging the story here and there to impact dialogue options and minor elements, but I don't think it's nearly on the level of say, Baldur's Gate 3 or something. This is only a 20 hour or so game, so I can't imagine it's super deep.

YellowKing wrote: Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:28 am My guess is that you're really just nudging the story here and there to impact dialogue options and minor elements, but I don't think it's nearly on the level of say, Baldur's Gate 3 or something. This is only a 20 hour or so game, so I can't imagine it's super deep.

Fair enough and about what I expected.

Had my eye on this a while.

Heres a video from Fanatical. Its $17.50 for standard and $23.06 for Deluxe Fanatical link

The Thaumaturge is an isometric, story-rich RPG with a unique take on turn-based combat, character development features, and investigation mechanics, facing you with morally ambiguous choices – set in a world teeming with mysterious powers

I still haven't finished this one but have about 20 hours in. I'm still enjoying it, but I would caution that it's pretty repetitive. Basically a cycle of running between locations to find clues, and maybe an occasional combat sequence. The game is much more story-driven than anything else, so if you're not invested in the story then you may find the gameplay very shallow.

I don't mind it, but YMMV.

The Eastern European setting was welcome and, from what I understand, the historic settings were accurate. At least this is what I believe based on the clues/sites that one can uncover. Honestly, this was a huge point of interest for me as my parents' were Hungarian refugees and any setting EE setting from the early 20th century is meaningful to me.

So while I enjoyed unfolding the story, the battle system (learning when to use which Salutor to support me in each battle, and how to balance my buffs & attacks) and dialogue choices were also very satisfying parts of the gameplay. I also spent a lot of time fulfilling the side missions (some were more like tasks) as they not only provided experience but also provided some additional historical context.

I finally went back and finished this one up. Took me 26 hours, which included doing nearly every side quest.

My criticisms of it still stand - it's a pretty repetitive game, with the vast majority of gameplay being following mental trails to discover clues, making dialogue choices, and occasionally running into a bit of combat.

However, the game's story and writing are excellent, and the presentation is so good that I was willing to overlook the repetitive nature. I also really enjoyed the combat system. While the enemy variety is nearly non-existent, and there are far too few challenging boss fights, every combat was entertaining and required some level of strategy. The choices you make are also very meaningful, really influencing the dialogue options you have and the way the story ultimately plays out.

I'm really hoping the game was successful enough to warrant a sequel at some point. I feel like this game falls just short of being great, and a sequel might be able to right some of its missteps.

Despite its flaws, if you can find this one sale for under $20 or so I'd still highly recommend giving it a shot. Particularly if you enjoy story-rich games and historical settings.