Home Gaming Thief review round-up

Thief review round-up

4 min read
21

Thief-8

After a decade of hiding, Garrett is finally out of the shadows in a brand new Thief game. The thing is, it isn’t all that great, as my own review pointed out this afternoon. And I’m not the only critic who feels that way. Here’s what the rest of the industry had to say about Thief.

IGN – 6.8

Thief has some strong stealth mechanics going for it, and getting away unseen with a big haul of loot can be an enormous challenge, but doesn’t always put that to good use. Between the hit-or-miss missions is an extremely annoying city hub map and a weak story full of bland characters, and Garrett himself isn’t as sure-footed as a master thief ought to be. Ignoring the story and cherrypicking the best side missions is the best way to approach it.

Destructoid – 7.5

Thief is a great escape for those of you who yearn for more stealth experiences, but it doesn’t really offer up anything exciting. The story and characters are somewhat forgettable, most of the missions are straight-forward, and the locales tend to blend together after a while.

Having said that, there’s a lot of potential here if you dig deep down into the game’s ingenious difficulty sliders and challenge modes. In that sense, Thief succeeds as a bold stealth game, despite its bruises.

CVG – 8/10

But we were hooked, regardless, not for the story, but for the mechanics of stealth and exploration. Finding routes through the levels peaceably and intact is a genuine challenge on the normal ‘Thief’ difficulty – and with the aids turned off, it gets much, much harder.

Add in the custom difficulty modes, which allow you to recreate old Thief – indeed, which allow you to make a much harder game than any Thief – and it’s an enjoyable, challenging customisable sandbox. It’s just sad that the main story and The City itself don’t match up to the toolset Eidos Montreal has created.

Game Informer – 8/10

If you’re content to save your game every couple minutes and enjoy a slower-paced stealth game, then Thief rewards you with plenty of moments so tense you might catch yourself holding your breath.

Eidos-Montreal may have adhered too closely to the series’ roots, resulting in a reboot that suffers from classic problems like simplistic combat and trial-and-error sneaking missions. However, locked behind this old-school game design is a gem that stealth fans should eye up for their collection.

EDGE – 7/10

Thief is far from the disaster that many feared it would be, and fans who take the time to customise their settings ahead of their first playthrough will find a rewarding world here to pick clean. Nevertheless, it’s still difficult to shake the feeling that, for all his dexterity, Garrett has stumbled in his attempt to gain access to a new generation.

Eurogamer – 6/10

Undeniably, Thief suffers greatly by comparison to Dishonored – its more coherent, more thoughtfully and successfully designed cousin, in whose shadow Garrett and his game now cringe.

Gamespot – 6/10

The Thief-franchise-inspiredDishonored waves the stealth flag far more confidently than this reboot does. Garrett is not yet on his way out, but he’s been shown the door.

Polygon – 6/10

There are elements of a better game in Thief — maybe even a great one. I enjoyed Garrett’s adventure when it was about stealing, when it was about getting into a structure creatively and sneaking away, about accumulating and spending loot. But I wanted much more of that breaking and entering than it was willing to give me. Thief never quite pulls it together. Instead, too often, I felt like a mouse in a narrow hallway filled with cats.

Kotaku – No

Thoroughly mediocre though the finished product may be, it is perhaps a relief that after years in creative purgatory, it has finally been set free. May its better ideas go on to fuel other, better games.P

For now, though: Thief is a woeful disappointment, a bowl of stealth gruel best pushed aside in favor of tastier fare. Let it sit, let it grow cold, and let it be rinsed away.

OPM UK – 7/10

Neither the disaster some anticipated nor a reinvigorated reboot akin to Deus Ex: HR. Thief is worth it for the setting and hardcore stealth, but it’s marred by some poor AI and passive gameplay.

Ouch. Still, if you’re keen to go from the small time to the big time heists, the game is out this Friday on several platforms.

Last Updated: February 24, 2014

21 Comments

  1. Cancelled my pre-order after reading some reviews.

    I am DONE pre-ordering games.

    “Wait for the Sale” <– My new life motto!

    Reply

    • El Capitan del Blade

      February 24, 2014 at 16:41

      You let reviews shape your opinion, shame on you…. you probably think Battlefield 4 is “the tits”

      Reply

    • General JJ the ashamed

      February 24, 2014 at 16:48

      Be strong

      Reply

    • Rus74

      February 24, 2014 at 16:53

      It might be a tad pricey to gamble on a game nowadays but the 2nd hand market will greatly appreciate your opinion after you are done with it. 🙂

      Reply

      • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

        February 24, 2014 at 16:54

        lol! Cancelled and got my refund. So I am happy.

        will probably still but it later on sale though.

        I am done buying new though. 6 months later and a sale will more than half the price.

        Reply

    • Ultimo_Cleric N7

      February 25, 2014 at 08:33

      Until Mass Effect 4…….

      Reply

  2. Greg Davies

    February 24, 2014 at 16:42

    For such a beloved series, this is a huge disappointment. However, I’m sure I’ll get some satisfaction from it, even if it’s a shadow of it’s predecessors.

    Reply

  3. General JJ the ashamed

    February 24, 2014 at 16:47

    Mixed reviews there.

    Reply

  4. El Capitan del Blade

    February 24, 2014 at 16:53

    Best Score I’ve Seen… and From a Fan of Thief Games, because, honestly, that’s who this game is for…. The Fans. http://youtu.be/jKAZyb07qtA

    Reply

    • GalacticLordCaptainAwesomeness

      February 25, 2014 at 07:42

      Awesome review… thanks mate.. actually gonna get this still

      Reply

      • El Capitan del Blade

        February 25, 2014 at 08:28

        I thought so too…. Also appreciate TotalBiscuit’s WTF is… Thief…

        Basically, Thief is a true, blue blooded PC game. masquerading as a console game…. (Even though it was Developed for console and ported to PC.)

        Reply

  5. LAblak22

    February 24, 2014 at 17:01

    Dear Mr. Hankey The Christmas Poo

    Let this not be the fate of The Stick of Truth. Let our hopes not be crushed into a fine, fine dust, pissed on and smeared all over the walls of Amanda Bynes’ house. Please, Mr. Hankey. Please.

    Yours truly,
    Sir L.A Blak of the 22 Estate.

    Reply

  6. tariq howa

    February 24, 2014 at 18:11

    I suggest watching total biscuits review before making any decisions on Thief

    Reply

  7. ElimiNathan

    February 24, 2014 at 19:38

    Had a feeling this game was gna be average

    Reply

  8. Willem Swanepoel

    February 25, 2014 at 06:44

    Lucky for me, I really do not care what they say. Mostly they give good reviews to SHIT games. Metacritic ftw

    Reply

  9. Matthew Holliday

    February 25, 2014 at 09:43

    kotaku, harsh bro.

    Reply

  10. Pieter Kruger

    February 27, 2014 at 00:44

    Read the PS4 version is terrible compared to the Xbox Ones? Apparently it’s the native 1080p forced on the PS4 that’s causing all the problems and making the game almost unplayable at times drooping framerate to single digits in some instances!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Twelve Minutes Review – Stuck in a Mystery Time Loop

We’ve all experienced deja vu a few times in our lives, but what happens when you ha…