Before Batman was hanging upside down from gargoyles and Sam Fisher was strapping custom night vision goggles to his head, the king of the shadows was a thief in the night. It’s been a decade since we last saw Garrett and his City, but this year he finally steps out of the shadows. It might have been better if he had just remained in the darkness, and in fonder memories of a classic series.

It’s not a good time to be a citizen in the City. Baron Northcrest rules with an iron fist, a mysterious illness is decimating the populace, the City Watch enforces their own twisted brand of law and somewhere out there the makers of Dishonored are pissed off that several story elements were lifted from their game.

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Enter Garrett, the master thief. There’s a city full of treasures to lift, and he’s just the man to do it. Thrust into a mission with his former protégé, Erin, Garrett once again becomes entangled in a new plot, that moves from run of the mill breaking and entering and into a decidedly more supernatural realm.

Stealth as always, is the best way to play the game. There are plenty of shadows, with an icon in the bottom left showing just how much darkness you’re cloaked in, while the environments work against you and your efforts to remain concealed. Light sources, noisy surfaces and guard dogs/budgies are just some of the obstacles present.

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Chapters are pretty much house-breaking exercises divided into two possible ways of intrusion, with players given the option to bash a few skulls in and go through the front door, or sneak their way past guards and find an alternate entrance.

Much like in previous games, combat is something to be avoided in this reboot. Guards may not possess any keen senses for spotting would-be thieves in the dark, but the AI jumps up a few college degrees when they do spot you and decide to introduce you to the pointy-end of their combat degree.

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One guard on his own can be a challenge for the unprepared, but several of them at once? Better throw down a flash of escape smoke, or you’ll soon find yourself dead. However, combat isn’t a must, as he who runs away lives to pilfer another day. It’s a nice touch, and running away from a fight while guards are in hot pursuit gives the game at least one chance to get your blood pumping.

This is all reflected in the control scheme, where subterfuge is emphasised in the variety of skills that Garrett possesses. Crouching, hiding and swooping quickly from corner to corner make up the bulk of these talents, with Garrett also wielding flash-bombs, various arrows and a trusty bludgeoning tool in order to help him lift treasures.

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Pulling a page from several other parkour-centric games, holding in the left trigger allows Garrett to move more fluidly, leaping across gaps and scaling highlighted grips and ventilation shafts. It’s a fluid control scheme, and it works well enough with the action of Thief and the handful of fight or flight scenarios that players will find themselves in.

Early on in the game, Garrett also gains access to a Focus ability. A finite resource, activating Focus allows Garrett to quickly scan his environment for treasures, traversable terrain and enemies. At that basic level, it’s a decent tool in his arsenal, but one that can be upgraded to allow players better stealth abilities, lock-picking skills and deadlier combat skills.

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Thief is as difficult as you want it to be. On the most basic of settings, enemies have a lack of intelligence so borderline stupid, that you’d swear you’re watching a session of parliament. On higher settings, foes pose an actual threat, while an option to tailor your challenge can result in going toe to toe with a security force that has been augmented with spider-senses. AI is one area where the game does not fail, provided that you’re tough enough to handle the obstacles in your way.

From the sound of things then, Thief comes equipped with a decent set of tools then, doesn’t it? Well not exactly.

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Where Thief truly fails mid-heist however, is that it has no identity of its own. The entire game feels like a generic template, made from ideas lifted from several other big name games and put together into one project that is devoid of any personality whatsoever.

It’s a sound template that works mind you, but one where it’s almost impossible to become emotionally connected and tied to the story. Garrett has the personality of a wall with freshly dried paint, leaving his nemesis the Thief Taker General and his closest ally Basso to carry the weight of memorable digital performances.

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But for every other main player in this story, they’re all upstaged by background characters and noises. It’s a damn shame, because the Thief franchise always had some great characters, with Garrett being an appealing and enigmatic character. In the reboot, he’s merely a few dry jokes with the attitude of someone recovering from a hangover.

A lot has been said about this Thief game being more accessible in order to draw in more fans, but really, the clear problem here is that the game lacks any real direction. It falls for the same old tired trap of being a Jack of all trades and a master of none, resulting in a lacklustre and boring game. Thief has no conviction to blaze one distinct path, at all.

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The visual style of the game reflects this generic approach as well, as everything feels drab and depressing. Unlike similar games such as Dishonored, the City has even less character than Garrett, with most of the populace conveniently locked away thanks to a curfew in place that robs Thief of any life whatsoever.

What levels there are that do have a more exciting and unique design, are few and far between. There’s an asylum that Garrett has to investigate halfway through the game that will make your hair stand up thanks to shifting shadows and screams in the night, while Madame Xiao Xiao’s house of blossoms hides quite a few secrets and valuables.

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Exploring the various suburbs and looking for homes to burgle however, carries very little risk or reward as most homes are empty shells with its patrons oblivious to your rummaging around upstairs, save for in a few side-missions. It’s not the prettiest game either on new-gen platforms, with the current-gen graphics receiving only a slight boost in textures and materials, while hair and physical effects remained uniform.

If you’re rocking a current and new-gen console, there’s honestly no reason to pay extra for the PS4/Xbox One version of the game. “Unique touches on the PlayStation 4 controller come in the form of accessing your inventory via touch pad, which allows you to touch for arrows by tapping on a context-sensitive bit of the pad. . In the options, you can select to use a radial menu though, which is nice. 

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Playing through the core storyline will task gamers with around 6-8 hours of narrative of play, but let it not be said that Thief isn’t generous. Core missions can be replayed once completed, allowing players to master either the Ghost, Opportunist or Predator styles of gameplay as well as complete extra challenges.

Basso has plenty of jobs that pay good coin for the thief that needs extra funds, while chatting to other denizens of the City can unlock more missions and upgrades. A challenge mode is also present, tasking players with achieving certain goals and keeping score-chains as high as possible before time runs out. As far as single-player games go, Thief packs quite a bit of content into the product available.

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But as mentioned above, there’s not a damn thing that makes Thief an exciting game. It’s boring, filled with forgettable moments and characters with the bad outweighing the good. It’s not a rushed or an incomplete game, but something that feels like more of an obligation, something to justify having spent cash on a license, despite its publisher and development studio not knowing what to do with the cult favourite franchise.

 

Last Updated: February 24, 2014

Thief
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.
6.9
Thief was reviewed on PlayStation 4
67 / 100

20 Comments

  1. Well that’s disappointing. I still want to get it, will wait for a good sale now though.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Vegas

      February 24, 2014 at 16:08

      Aye, same here

      Reply

    • Willem Swanepoel

      February 25, 2014 at 06:46

      Got it for R150 with the kalahari vouchers! 🙂

      also got Dark Souls II for R214 😉

      epic!

      Reply

  2. RinceandLeSIGH

    February 24, 2014 at 16:12

    I called this.

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      February 24, 2014 at 19:02

      Well I hope you’re proud of yourself!

      Reply

      • RinceandLeSIGH

        February 24, 2014 at 19:24

        I am!

        Reply

  3. Alex Hicks

    February 24, 2014 at 16:17

    Damn. Now I’m sad.

    Although it is ironic that Thief steals game ideas from Dishono(u)red; and a personality from Assassins Creed 3.

    Reply

  4. Hillbilly Gamer

    February 24, 2014 at 16:19

    Now I really Hate Mondays

    Reply

  5. Rus74

    February 24, 2014 at 16:19

    Oh bummer, so this might sink the sequel if it doesnt sell well. Pity.

    Reply

  6. Rags

    February 24, 2014 at 16:29

    🙁

    Reply

  7. UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

    February 24, 2014 at 16:35

    Cancelled my pre-order after reading some reviews.

    I am DONE pre-ordering games.

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

    Reply

    • GalacticLordCaptainAwesomeness

      February 24, 2014 at 18:09

      Dark Souls 2 …… Doo eet, doo eeet now

      Reply

  8. Umar Reborn

    February 24, 2014 at 16:45

    Well thats depressing…not to say I’m surprised. Was just hoping it would be better….

    Reply

  9. LAblak22

    February 24, 2014 at 18:08

    So the game is just:

    Reply

  10. SA_int

    February 24, 2014 at 18:19

    “Whenever a developer or publisher mentions “accessibility”, it raises hackles. But while I’m no advocate for dumbing down games and lowering difficulty, there’s something be said for replacing a dozen different buttons for peek with an analog stick capable of producing even more subtle motions.”

    This is one of the reasons I bitch so much about modern games. Makes me sound like a grumpy old fart. but the fact is all the dumbing down is impacting my game enjoyment considerably. I dont feel the urge to play a lot of modern games since they often feel stripped of depth and danger. BioShock Infinite for example, to me was just a huge step back from its predecessors. Storytelling is getting better, but gameplay and player interaction with the systems is becoming a bore.

    I agree there are a lot of modern gameplay mechanic improvements. Its always a good idea to reduce the number of button presses to make something cool happen, as long as it doesn’t actually kill the nuance that the feature allowed. Taking away the players input and doing things automatically for them just makes games feel like they are not interactive, but rather reactive, and fool proofed to prevent player from harming themselves. Games are less enjoyable when you take away the danger. That type of simplification also removes player experimentation and ability to discover new tricks / skills overtime, because ultimately the mechanic is a more robust and restrictive one.

    Reply

  11. Steph

    February 24, 2014 at 18:53

    I remember the dev saying thiefs ai was too tricky so it had to be dumbed down…..they dumbed it down alright, big time.

    Reply

  12. Crippled gamer

    February 25, 2014 at 06:04

    Oh well just keep playing alien colonial marines. Ha ha ha

    Reply

  13. Crippled gamer

    February 25, 2014 at 06:32

    Brilliant marketing strategy. Everyone’s done with Christmas games, unless you still play those tired military shooters. We are all hungry for something fresh. With nothing substantial on the horizon out comes thief and it’s not worth a damn. Because it doesn’t have to be. At the beginning of every new console generation they put out filler games like this just so we can use our new consoles. Damn shame it had to be what was once a really good franchise. The funny part is the developers think we the players are so desperate for content that we will pay $60 for a crappy game cause we need something else to play and many will. Games only depreciate give it time and play it later for less. I have bought to many games at full price I shouldn’t have. This won’t be another one of them. ( I’d like to give a shout out to Dr. Liara Tsoni my fem shep loves ya girl!)

    Reply

  14. Stalvnir

    March 3, 2014 at 20:50

    I’m playing it at the moment and really enjoying it.

    Reply

  15. Mona Ali

    July 2, 2014 at 13:41

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