Welcome to The City. In lock-down and plagued by a mysterious disease named “The Gloom”, and where the gap between the rich and poor has never been wider. You play as Garrett, a master thief who can steal almost anything whilst slipping away undetected in the darkness. Those shadows certainly are your best ally in the world of Thief.
Despite Thief’s exciting premise, the game hasn’t received the reception it has hoped since its February release, and I feel these criticisms have been a little harsh in some cases.
Saying that, Thief’s main storyline sadly isn’t anything to be desired. The poor lip syncing and dull characters play a large part in delivering an uninspiring supernatural mystery. The side missions on offer do fair better, however. Except, it’s not really about the story in Thief, it’s all about thievery and your stealthy approach, and for me the game does this brilliantly.
Garrett, a twisted Robin Hood, can steal pretty much anything – from fancy cutlery to expensive pendants and lockets, every bit of gold and silver will pocket you a healthy profit. Although these small loots hardly resemble the works of a master thief it feels strangely satisfying clearing out bedrooms and desks of every valuable. As morally wrong as it sounds, Thief makes stealing fun.
Of course, you wont be stealing petty items throughout the entirety of Thief. Some of the larger heists involve a little more graft. Many bookshelves and paintings reveal hidden safes that need to be cracked, and some story related items require you to complete a puzzle, which can be challenging if you’re a little slow at times.
What really impressed me in Thief was the way certain loot had a backstory. During one of my many ventures off the beaten path I found myself sneaking into a dusty attic. As I crept along the floorboards and opened a chest to discover a valuable ring below me I could hear a heated conversation about the very same ring that had just been bought and stored away. Given the stress the loss of this ring would cause the residents I still felt no remorse in stealing it – spoken like a true thief.
Thief, as many of you will know, comes from the same studio that brought you Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Even from the early few missions it’s easy to recognise the similarities. As with Deus Ex there’s always more than one way to approach an objective. Each new area poses different tactics – will you stealthily slip past patrolling guards or utilise more aggressive tactics and force your way through? It’s up to you, Thief allows you to play the game how you want, and its this which forms arguably the most engaging part of the game.
Your inventory, which includes a multi-purpose bow, also allows you to engage with your surroundings in a variety of ways, suited to each approach. Water arrows give you the ability to extinguish fire lit torches, giving you the cover of darkness, and throwing bottles provides a distraction for patrols. Similarly, blunt arrows can be used to push lights switches and lower bridges from afar opening up hidden routes, and in case your cover is blown sharp tipped arrows provide an aggressive, and often fatal, tactic against the guards. Although stealthily traversing the rooftops and decrepit streets will give you the most satisfaction, you shouldn’t always avoid combat.
Perhaps fittingly, Thief’s use of lighting is some of the best I have seen in gaming. Torches and bonfires cast eerie shadows along the barren cobble streets – a truly fitting scene in a plagued city. It’s essential to keep to the shadows if you’re playing the game stealthily, with Garrett’s all black attire allowing you to seamlessly blend into your surroundings. As you spend most of your time in the darkness the small patches of light you do wander into are blinding, which really reinforces the idea of darkness being your only ally. It doesn’t help either that the DualShock 4’s lightbar beams a bright white light in your eyes, a clever immersion technique.
Whilst Thief may provide a master class in thievery and stealth the game does have some glaringly bad issues. The computer AI, for example, is laughable. Guards are practically blind; they will be unable to detect you from less than a few feet away, and even if they do spot you it’s simple enough to escape. If your cover is broken, then you’re definitely doing something wrong.
The controls also feel clunky. Garrett’s movements are lethargic and stiff – there’s no real fluidity. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop is inconsistent as you can never quite judge Garrett’s jumping abilities. Many a time have I fallen to my death due to this, and it’s becoming increasingly frustrating.
Despite these flaws Thief is a game worthy of praise. The controls may be clunky, and the story uninspiring, but the niche gameplay is immensely satisfying and rewarding. The stealth mechanics and the stealing appeal are by far the game’s best attributes, and when applied outside of the main story path Thief has something really going for it.
bunimomike
It took me a bit of time to get used to the movement and the fluidity is very nice if you fancy running around like a loony. However, the guards can most definitely see you from quite a distance unless you’re in the shadows. Obviously that changes everything. However, the AI is relatively formulaic so they’re easy to circumnavigate.
My biggest problem is the loading and the mapping. I’ve never, ever played a game with such terrible mapping of the levels/city. It’s like the developers wanted to actively screw your sense of navigation over with the worst mapping known to mankind. It can only be tolerated, at best, or you’ll throw something expensive at your monitor/TV. Thankfully, I’m a very calm sort of gamer and have simply trooped on through such misdirected shenanigans from the blind cartographer that helped design the mapping in the game.
I’ve also found the game to be very “pretty” from time-to-time. They’ve nailed the use of light and dark – appreciating that has to be the case with the game type – and I regularly catch myself looking at the scenery and thinking “ah, that’s lovely” as the dank, dark streets feel positively thick with a humid, germ-laden air or sorts. Also, some of the main core chapters have some lovely architecture in it.
It’s weird when the fundamentals of a game has something in it almost conspiring against it to bring it down. This is where Thief has lost those three or four points (out of ten) that’s held it back from being something great.
Still, if you like this sort of game, definitely pick it up when the price suits you.
djdustb
I like this game a lot, it does have it issues, sure, but it is enjoyable.
The biggest concerns I have with it though are the jumping which at times just seems to be random, I can be on a beam jumping to another and it will not allow me to do so unless I am at a funny angle, the next time it is fine. This has caused me to be detected far too many times as I land in a brightly lit street in the path of a guard.
The lack of any kind of fast travel is a bit of a pain, I know the idea is to sneak around, but sometimes if I am just wanting to start a side mission I do not want to have to travel for 15 minutes and use loads of tools to get there, especially if there is no shop near, or the shop cannot be accessed without going a route the game wants (I am next to it on the map!).
I wish I was better at the game though I really do. I love the idea of sneaking about undetected, but in reality all my mission are completed with me beating someone or everyone up. My stats look so bad as a result.
TSBonyman
Good read, I want to play this at some point but it will have to wait for a discount.
PARKER94!
Its games like Thief that make me wary of even highly anticipated games these days, all that hope and no delivery. All i seemed to do was crawl past a few quards, enter a building, and (extremely boringly) search every. Single. Drawer.
There is no fun in stealing because its made so ridiculously easy, I totally expected Splinter Cell but with a new interesting character, merky locations with rare jewels spotted about (Not 10 objects in a minute) and and interesting story.
I dont even know what the story is even after playing an hour or two, it didnt pull me in at all, the cut scenes were boring, the characters were boring, its boring walking around cause 50% of time all i see is a loading screen.
I expected to have to tactically sneak past quards, but nooo, just swoop, swoop, swoop.
Im so let down.
PARKER94!
I should add some “out of tens”
Graphics 8/10
Gameplay 3/10
Sound 5/10 (Let down by awful lip sync)
atmosphere 7/10 (Does this quiet well but then the illusion is broken by a loading screen)
Overall i would give it a 5/10, 6/10 being generous. (I agree a 5 or 6 doesnt reflect how badly let down i am, but maybe i expected too much)
Eldaveo
I do enjoy a good stealth game so I may pick this up after a price drop. I’m not normally a fan of first-person stealth games but there’s something about this one which is appealing to me.
plutoniumdragon
I didn’t really have any issues with the controls, I don’t know if that’s down to the way I played it or the controller I was using on the PC.
I also wonder if the loading screens were more annoying on the console? Or again, maybe they just didn’t bother me as much as some people :)
You really do have to be a fan of this type of game though, much as I like it I don’t really see what it has to offer someone who isn’t a fan of the stealth mechanic.
bunimomike
When it loads, it’s relatively quick but it’s the pulling-you-out-of-your-immersion feeling that really grinds. Especially when we see massive open worlds working so seamlessly.
With you on the controls, though. Got used to them very quickly and haven’t looked back. DS3 controller on the PC for me.
plutoniumdragon
That’s sort of what I meant, in that the loading screens are quite quick. Obviously I can’t argue that it wouldn’t be better if they had got rid of them entirely.
I gave up trying to get the DS3 to work seamlessly with PC games so I use a F710 with 360 drivers. DS3 layout, albeit with 360 button labels but full 360 compatibility and wireless, not quite as nice a controller as the DS3 but it does the job :)