Lurking behind a dated exterior is a limited but sophisticated RPG with a unique setting and some memorable new ideas.
I think it counts for a lot when a role-playing game comes along and it’s different. There are so many games that try to do what other games do, they end up struggling to stand out – especially when they don’t have the resources larger projects do. But with Thaumaturge, developer Fool’s Theory (the Polish studio remaking The Witcher 1 for CD Projekt Red, by the way) has played it smart. It’s focused on the differences and not been afraid to leave other things out, and it means that behind Thaumaturge’s admittedly dated exterior, there are some genuinely interesting things here.
There’s a lot about The Thaumaturge I admire. Let’s take the setting and the subject matter first, because it also helps explain the game. Do you know what a Thaumaturge is? I doubt it – I didn’t either. It’s a term taken from our real world to mean a person who performs miracles or wonders. Specifically, in this game’s case, a Thaumaturge is capable of reading people’s thoughts (and influencing them), seeing those thoughts imprinted on objects, and befriending demons. And within that description are the game’s big ideas.
