Thaumistry: In Charm's Way

This brings back many happy memories from the golden age of Interactive Fiction. Definitely one to check out if you're a fan of old-school text adventures, or even if you've never tried one before. The parser is excellent, the writing is full of wit and whimsey, the puzzles are logical(ish) and even when not, the solutions certainly left me chuckling to myself. Hopefully, we'll get to see more of these in the future (I won't spoil it, but there's a lead-in to a possible sequel at the end)

This was really great. I grew up playing the Infocom games (although I don't think I actually managed to finish more than a couple of them), but I hadn't played a text adventure in years and wasn't sure how I'd take one at this point. Turns out I was hooked immediately and finished the game in a couple lengthy sessions. One of the best adventure games I've played in years. Thaumisty is similar in tone and as well written as the best Infocom games plus with the huge added benefits of not repeatedly killing you and not ever allowing you to do something that makes the game unwinnable without telling you. I managed to get through the game with only one minor hint from the ingame hint system, but it wasn't an easy game. I did a lot of thinking and reexploring and trying things to find the right answers but almost never feeling like I was just banging my head against the wall and getting frustrated, and in a number of cases it was real eureka moment when I managed to draw to right connections. I really dislike in some adventure games when I don't feel like I have any idea what I'm supposed to be doing to advance the story, and the "recap" system in Thaumistry was a nice way to keep the player pointed in the right direction without spoiling anything, especially in the middle portion of the game when the map opens up and there are a lot of puzzles going on at the same time.

Back in my day, games like this were called "text adventures", nowadays it's "interactive fiction". "Thaumistry" is a nice call-back to the Infocom games of yore, made by an industry veteran. The humor and the slightly obtuse puzzles (one is based on a groan-worthy pun) are what you would expect from a game like this. It does come with a couple of quality of life features to make it a bit more accessible, like a built-in map, a hint system, and autosaves. It's also relatively easy compared to the text adventures of the 1980s: you effectively cannot die (except you really, [i]really[/i] force it) and there are no dead ends. If you liked games like Zork, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or The Guild of Thieves, you will like "Thaumistry".

This game is great. It's a text adventure. There's no sound, no music. No mouse needed. In this game you are a failed inventor who is approached by a secret society of magicians. There is currently a convention of strange inventions in progress, and one of these devices threatens to expose the magical community. You are given a spellbook, and your main task of the game is to infiltrate the convention and shut that device down. As you progress, you will need to solve some really puzzles involving a lot of the novel sci-fi devices at the convention; there's a time machine, a duplicator, a teleportation device, and a few others. Your primary reward for solving puzzles is learning new spells. While there is a regular inventory, the primary method of problem-solving is the application of the spells you learn. Some spells are straightforward, like "levitate" or "fix broken electronics", but others are more creative, like "summon hula dancers", or "sing like Aretha Franklin". There's well over dozen of these to play with, and they provide a fun way of interacting with the world with a lot of easter eggs. In a genre that is famous for B.S deaths, unforgiving puzzles, guide-dang-its, logical leaps, and dead ends, I am happy to report that Thaumistry has exactly none of those things. The game is beautifully designed. The game has a lot of areas, but they gradually open up over time, so it never feels overwhelming. It does a great job of teaching as you go. For some of the later puzzles, when you have access to most of the map, the "think" or "recap" commands will give you a clear idea of your goals and gently point out which areas may be important to your current situation without providing a blatant hint. There *is* a blatant hint system, but I was able to complete the game in about six hours without resorting to any hints or any external guides. I think the difficulty was *just* right. If you are interested in text adventures, this is a great place to start.

This game was great fun--witty, chatty, and puzzles that are just hard enough to be satisfying. I did need two mild hints for some puzzles towards the end, but all of the puzzles felt fair, and they followed the logic of the game. This game feels like a labor of love. And it's funny too--the humor reminds me a bit of the old school text game "Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of it." The parser input is great as well--very rarely was I fishing for verbs. A really fun experience. I hope this developer makes lots more games in the same vein.

If you like reading books and point-and-click adventure games, give Thaumistry a try. The lack of visuals is compensated with more commands and flavor text, which makes the world feel more alive than a standard adventure game.

I grew up playing Infocom classics like zork planetfall wishbringer etc.. The spell mechanics and puzzles here remind me a little of the enchanter series. The writing is great, and the modern twists to the classic text adventure (maps etc...) are generally a plus. If you've ever been a fan of interactive fiction, then you won't regret buying this game.

Never stop making these games!