It’s been around ten years since the last instalment in the Thief franchise. ‘Deadly Shadows’ was a highly anticipated title at its time of release, way back in 2004, nearly four years after ‘Metal Age’, the second Thief game. The series was quite revolutionary for its time: played in first person, stealth-heavy and set in a universe that was somewhere between the Middle Ages, Victorian era London and Steampunk fantasy, Thief was drastically different from every game at the time. And now, we’ve got the mandatory reboot, with Eidos Montreal at the developmental helm, while publishing duties have been picked up by Square Enix, who’ve thus far done a phenomenal job with Deus Ex, Tomb Raider and Hitman.
This year’s Thief is called just that, and it’s something that really sums up what the game is about: stealing stuff. Playing as Garrett, players will be able to steal from people and houses alike, trading in the value of “earned” loot for upgrades, tools, items and more. The stealing mechanic itself is quite spot on — hold down a single button for a brief moment (while the camera locks onto the target), and voila, you’ve got their belongings. Planning an indoor robbery? Look for stuff and simply grab it. Things get more complicated when locks are involved and significantly more so when paranoid citizens decide to booby-trap their belongings. In the former case, Thief has what is probably the least complex, yet intuitive lockpicking mechanic — move the analog stick on your controller until you feel it vibrate and release the locking mechanism. Guards, imminent danger and time (or lack thereof) contribute moments of nervous frenzy when Garrett is rooted in from of a giant safe, for instance with several layers of a lock’s security to breach. In the latter case, you’d better hope you noticed the signs of a trap, because, the word “insta-death” is one you’ll come across often, and experience more than once in Thief.
The way stealth works is quite acceptable for a game of this kind as well. In the game’s regular difficulty, enemies aren’t particularly bright, they don’t notice Garrett even when he’s crawling under their noses, and they’re not particularly clever combatants (you’ll be able to defeat an entire army of ordinary guards using the same dumb tactic). But this is fine. When you’re playing a character who’s a master thief, you want to feel all-powerful and make fools of the security company contracted to provide protection to a shady Victorian brothel. Thief does throw the kitchen sink at you in the form of more challenging enemies who require either meticulous preparation beforehand (to take down) or a spot of luck (to sneak past) to contend with. The variety of tools at Garrett’s disposal make life easier for him as well — despite a limited carrying capacity that sees one tactic work universally: stock up on everything. Other than his trust Blackjack, there’s a variety of arrows: Fire, Water, Broadhead, Rope, etc. each of which serve a different purpose. The environment is littered with interactive objects that Garrett can use to his advantage, either triggering something to distract guards or traverse the environment with ease, accessing shortcuts (the rope arrow comes to mind). The bottom line: it’s hard to complain about Thief’s mechanics. They work very well most of the time, giving the player a real sense of empowerment.
Then there are the slightly dodgy bits. Level design can be a real problem, with hard-to-find levers, switches and seemingly illogical or time consuming puzzles. The pseudo open world is particularly adept at bestowing a sense of freedom and snatching it away with vicious intent. The story can often be gripping, and then there’s either a corny dialogue or confusing plotline that cuts through the illusion of atmosphere. But we’re at a time when games like Dark Souls are praised for their unforgiving nature, and granted, Thief isn’t as polished a product as say, Dishonored, but there are bits of it that are almost fantastic because of the lack of polish — for instance, the hard-to-find super loot, unreasonable expectations of the player to be prepared with the right items before a level, the almost-needless traversing. You can be disappointed with Thief for not handholding you through its experience, or you can embrace the imperfection, read several guides before you start a chapter and discover its store of great content. Your choice. Thief is available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
