The Thaumaturge - Review @ VGChartz

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VGChartz reviewed The Thaumaturge:

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The Thaumaturge (PC) - Review

Of all the literary genres represented in gaming storylines, historical fiction is one you don't see very often. Assassin's Creed is the only major series that routinely tries it that I can think of, and it generally approaches the subject by trying to make every major historical character as boring as humanly possible. Fortunately, we now have a new entrant in the no doubt very slim venn diagram intersection of historical fiction and video games: The Thaumaturge. It proves that you can write interesting historical characters into a gaming narrative, but can it avoid the same boring fate?

The Thaumaturge takes place in early 20th century Eastern Europe, and focuses on main character Wiktor (pronounced Victor) Szulski. As the titular Thaumaturge, Wiktor functions as a hybrid between a detective and a Pokemon trainer for spirits that prey on people's emotional vulnerabilities. After making friends with Rasputin of all people in the prologue, Wiktor receives a notification that his father has passed away. The new BFFs decide to tag team back to Wiktor's family's home in Warsaw, where Wiktor winds up becoming embroiled in a series of mysteries revolving around politics, corrupt city high life, and his own complicated family.

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Overall, The Thaumaturge is an encouraging first start. All the fundamentals for a good story are nailed down, it's just the presentation of said story that needs work, and ideally finding more meaningful ways to invest the player via the game's interactive components. As for the final product itself, it's certainly competent enough, if the prospect of a mystery with some light RPG elements sounds appealing, but don't expect it to light your world on fire.

Score: 5.5/10