Thief™ 3: Deadly Shadows

The Thief series is one of my all-time favourites. If I have the choice, I love to play stealth, so these games provide all the ingredients of a very enjoyable and memorable experience. The game is built around sound: what you can hear and what can hear you! Everything you walk on generates a different sound: walking on carpet is near-silent, but be careful if you see a marble floor in front of you, as your footsteps could easily alert a nearby guard! Stay in the shadows, as although that guard can't hear you, he could easily see you in the full glare of that torch! A meter on the HUD gives you a visual indication of how hidden you are. There are usually multiple ways that you can achieve your objectives on each level, and avoiding combat is key, as although you're armed, a guard will quickly dispatch you if you're discovered! In Deadly Shadows, Garrett is back for more sneaky missions in the City, which you can now walk around, making it a little more like an open world game. Between missions, Garrett can steal from passersby, spy on the townspeople's daily lives and search for side quests. Beware the Shalebridge Cradle, which is one of the scariest levels I've played on any video game. To really heighten the experience, I'd suggest playing at night with lights off and headphones on! This entry in the series was the first for consoles (Xbox) as well as PC, so had to live within the limits of that platform. However, you can install mods (see below) for lifting those restrictions and providing a much improved experience. Make sure to install the Sneaky Upgrade mod to make this old game run much better on modern hardware. As well as graphical improvements and fixes, this mod allows you to move around levels without loading screens, which greatly improves the immersion.

I had initial issues with the mouse cursor not moving on the screen and jittery gameplay, broken features. Windows 11 story as old as time it seems. Changed scaling to 100% and downloaded 'Sneaky Patch' and it's running like a dream. Love that I get to play this again on my PC.

Having played all four titles in the series numerous times, Thief: Deadly Shadows easily stands as one of the better ones. Here's why: The player mechanics are smoother than Thief II or I, which I think helps you greatly when it comes to actually being STEALTHY. You want to do things quickly and efficiently, because if you don't someone is going to find you and kill you. Maybe I was just terrible at Thief II and I, but I found this one easier to actually control. The other gigantic plus to this game that adds a huge level of immersion is the ability to go pretty much almost anywhere you darn well please and steal the crud out of people. It's immensely enjoyable. The main story is strong enough, but having the ability to free roam and do your own thing in between missions is super gratifying. You don't have rope arrows this time around, but you have other means to climb (i won't name how not to spoil it for you). And trust me, you can climb ALL OVER the city. Yes, you are also missing the ability to swim. Doing this in Thief I and II was indeed fun, but the missions in this title don't call for it. Honestly I was too busy having a good time to notice. And then there is the atmosphere of the whole game, which I call 'Thiefy-ness:" which is a certain mood or tone that the series first provided in Thief I and II. It's the sense that you are playing a stealth game, and you buy into, and believe that illusion. When you were having a ball back in 1998 in Lord Bafford's Manor in the first game, and you felt that thrill that you were actually in a place you shouldn't be and stealing things that belonged to big powerful nobles, and there was danger and excitement, and even fear, you were experiencing "Thiefy-ness." This is the reason you play these games in the first place, and although Thief: Deadly Shadows is not the crown achievement in the series it pretty much stands right next to it shaking its hand.

Cutscenes are amazing and in the established style. Sound, music, voiceovers - all great. Lockpicking is excellent and the story is very interesting and mysterious. What's missing? Well... If they chose tech first and discovered what couldn't be done too late or if it was incompetence, I don't know. Probably it was both, I only played this on release and now with the Sneaky Upgrade patch. It fixes a lot, but much is beyond repairing. I very rarely have games crashing on me but this one dumped me back to the desktop at least a dozen times when quicksaving. The controls manage to be both sluggish and flimsy. Also, again and again the "player model" froze and had to be reset by using the bow or dropping from a height or I'd float around unable to interact with anything. The patch removes loading zones from within levels but they are still tiny and cramped compared to previous games. The City hub in-between missions is just ridiculous with each district reduced to a couple of alleys full of criminals and cops operating literally next doors. This is a perfect example of a game that actually needs a remake. Cutscenes just need an upscale. It's entirely new and expanded missions based on what's here that's needed, in an engine that supports the gameplay of Thief rather than hinders it, while adding rope arrows and swimming back in. I'd only recommend this one if you've gone through Thief 1-2 and can suffer to appreciate the sometimes very nice ambience and see the story through, but Thief 3 is a terrible technical achievement and truly the sibling of Deus Ex 2.

After Thief 1 and 2 games, playing this sequel was obvious. It looks so much better than the predecessors, especially the dynamic lighting effects and the real-time shadows. They add much realism and atmosphere to the game environment. It’s also a plus that Garret's torso and legs are visible in 1st person view. You can switch between 1st and 3rd person view, though I always prefer 1st person. This sequel is streamlined compared to the predecessors in both good way and bad way. Lockpicks, compass and loot are no longer as separate inventory items. Lockpicking starts automatically with a simple minigame, the compass is a part of the light gem, and there are less tool scrolling. All these make gameplay more smoother. The UI is otherwise good, but I didn’t like the big ugly Papyrus font. The game levels are now in a non-linear order with free roaming and the city hub. However, the levels are no longer wide open sandboxes. One large level is typically divided into two smaller areas with a loading screen between them. And these little areas offer less alternative routes, verticality and platforming. Garret is not agile anymore. There is no swimming or diving at all, instead the deep water is now insta-kill which is so stupid. There are no longer climbable ropes or chains, not even rope arrows which is so wrong. There are climbing gloves, but scaling walls with them is very limited. The platforming is buggy anyway. It’s common that mantling over obstacles, ladder climbing and stair steps causes Garret to stuck. The guards react to sounds quite unpredictable way. Sometimes they do react, sometimes not. The focus of stealth is more on light and shadows. I don't remember much about the story, unlike in Thief 1 and 2, except for one very memorable part: Shalebridge Cradle…