Thief Reviews
It's not exactly a perfect run for Garrett, but players will still find many things worth taking.
I wanted so much for Thief to be fun, and in the beginning I did have a lot of fun with it. But, due to no sense of impact in the story and its unrewarding gameplay, it degraded into a chore well before the final act. While playing Thief I couldn't help but feel like I'd done this all before, and often in a better setting. Thief may be a throwback to the early days of stealth games, but this reboot really feels aged and dated. While there is some fun to be had, you will have to sift through a mess of problems to find it. Now, this is the part where I insert the obligatory "Thief didn't manage to steal my heart" line, right?
Despite my disappointment with Thief's setting and story, I did enjoy my time with it. Sneaking about, pickpocketing guards, picking locks, and finding new ways to infiltrate a building are as satisfying as ever, and the game looks and sounds great (despite some janky audio mixing). As a longtime fan of the series, I want to believe a spot exists for Garrett in the current stealth-action genre he helped create. And if one doesn't? Well, he'll probably just wind up stealing one anyway.
The elements of a better game never come together in Thief
At its best, Thief makes you feel like a devious outlaw. Sadly, such moments are too few.
At times the game suffers from a lack of ambition, placing far too much importance on the tiresome looting of endless cupboards and dressers in the vain hope that this will be enough to propel you forwards. In other places, Thief suffers from too much ambition, unable to draw its systems into a cohesive whole. Whether the game simply needed more time or entirely different foundations is never quite clear. Either way, it's a game that adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
Thief will almost certainly frustrate fans of the older trilogy, but it suffers shortcomings on a more objective level as well. Though solidly made, it never challenges the well-worn conventions of stealth action. In short, it lacks a certain spark of inspiration. It's good, yet it falls short of "future classic" status.
Series fans may view it as a disaster but the problem is that Thief isn't even interesting enough to get angry about, despite the well hewn stealth gameplay.
Thief offers up moments of stealthy satisfaction, but not nearly enough of them to make up for its many rough edges, bland level designs, and god-awful plot.
A prolonged development has not been kind to this reboot of the classic Thief series, making for a game stitched together from disparate parts of better contemporaries.
Despite its slow and dreary start, Thief builds to deliver an experience that most stealth fans will lap up. However, most Thief fans will mourn the loss of the reboot's freedom and choice. That said, Thief is ultimately a game that delivers epic highs and mediocre lows, and for the highs alone, I have no issues recommending it to anyone.
While the game does have its faults - particularly falling apart when Garrett is spotted - Thief excels in the shadows as a pure stealth title, becoming increasingly enjoyable as your skills improve.
Thief shows one too many unrefined edges, occasionally catching itself unable to resolve the issue combining classic design with modern production. That said, although it won't steal the spotlight, it should do enough to steal your attention.
Eidos Montreal's smartly designed reboot will pilfer dozens of hours of your free time – and you'll wish it would take more.
A success then for fans of a game made a decade ago, but Thief's reach exceeds its grasp by some margin and an opportunity to revive a beloved property with renewed relevance has been sorely missed. If it had a few more ideas (or even stolen a few) then this could've been less of an uninspired remake and something truly worth getting your hands on.
"Thief" is an easy game to make excuses for all its shortcomings: "The combat is lacking, but it's OK because it's a stealth game. The world is dreary, but it's OK because that's the style. The A.I. is moronic, but it's OK because it would be too frustrating if they worked harder at tracking you down." None of this is "OK," and the summations of these sub-par gaming experiences make for a sub-par game. It excels at nothing. Not even blind nostalgia can save it. Don't let Garrett steal your time.
Thief is a game, that despite all it's good intentions, will alienate long-time fans. And the cookie-cutter generic gameplay won't do much to attract new fans either, as this franchise once again slips into the forgotten darkness of the night.
Despite my deep reservations regarding the reboot of my favorite character and the world he inhabits, Thief manages to deliver a compelling experience. Sure it's a bit grimy in areas, but the team at Eidos Montreal have done well with the reboot of this title, just as they did for Deus Ex. The main missions are immersive, and the team has clearly catered to both new audiences and us old taffers with the bevy of options and mods. While it may not convey the same style as its forerunners, it delivers what I would call a mostly-authentic Thief experience. Now, let's talk about getting those cutscenes back…
Thief has its hang-ups, particularly with frustrating loading times and repetitive gameplay that will have players unlocking the same doors over and over again. However, Eidos Montreal has captured the essence of stealth gameplay with their take on Thief. Players may have to work to find what makes the game special, but nobody said being a master thief was easy.