THIEF: Definitive Edition

I really like the overall art style and feel the game delivers. But it falls apart everywhere else. Gameplay is pretty bland and the typical AAA take on stealth. Levels are very linear and restricted and just not fun to traverse, the enemy AI is as bad as the one in the first thief game and everything you do, triggers an uncanelable animation. The studio just didn't understand what the made the old games good and tried to make it dishonored but with a thief.

How do people give this more than 2 stars? It doesn't know what it wants to be and this emerges in every aspect of the game. It's boring. There is no atmosphere: everywhere feels uninspiringly similar, the city feels empty, the story is uninvolving, you never feel in danger from guards or disease, even your "home" is devoid of meaning. The gameplay is equally boring and never clever: finding where to go is either a chore ("look up and follow the beams" or "find this obscure entrance to get to the next area") or obvious (big neon signs pointing to where to go), moving along them involves moving on rails or waiting for animations to complete, half the time you can't actually go where you want to, collecting loot is a chore, notable "vulables" have no meaning, etc. One positive is that it works. Avoid even on sale.

Eidos bought the rights to Thief, then developed this, which has nothing to do with the originals...and to boot, it sucks. Overall, this game is not terrible. They did a good job on the engine and the game play technically is stealth-like. The story line is garbage; it does not compel you at all. The main actor/character is preternaturally dull. The original Garrett was not incredibly interesting, but he was at least relatable in his miserliness; he was likable (and with a great voice actor). This character is less interesting than a good can of paint primer. There are so many negative feelings that accompany this title, because of how off-track they went from the originals. The originals even set up the game for the sequel and Eidos just threw that out the window and rebooted it; there was NO REASON for that. And they didn't even make a good reboot, which would have been fine if done well. Regardless, the game play is meh. You sneak around and steal stuff, but the sneaking somehow doesn't work in boss fights. Additionally, you always get the feeling that you are on rails, that you are constrained to how the game wants you to play. It is a false sense of freedom juxtaposed against the great liberty that is associated with good stealth games such as Thief or Dishonored (or even Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines). You won't get more than one play-through, ultimately because you won't care about anything in the game. You do something?..then it ends. Otherwise, it has all the pieces that are necessary for a well developed game, they are just not interesting. If you are bored, pick it up for cheap, but don't expect anything interesting. Buy Dishonored instead, that's WAY better. And if you can stomach older games, check out the originals; they are well worth the price. I hate Eidos.

I've played the first Theif, it's old but excellent, and set the ground work for stealth games as a genre. For this game to be officially be a successor to Theif and its sequels is honestly sacrilegious. This is a basic, stripped down, bare bones, utterly inferior game. Blind, stupid guards. An inability to stash bodies in cupboards. Awkward controls. However, the atmosphere and visuals are incredible. Maybe some of the best creepy atmospheres I've encountered in a game, yet in a game that has the sloppiest mechanics. Almost the opposite of Theif that has very basic graphics today, but still has very good mechanics. I enjoyed this game and its aesthetic. Incredible voice acting. Great dialogue between guards. Great world building in the documents you pick up. But the most important part of the game, the gameplay, has been gutted. Play this game like a ride through a cool industrial tudor world, not a stealth game like Splinter Cell, Dishonored or the first 3 Theif games.

It's pretty boring in my opinion. If you're checking this out because you liked the earlier Thief games and want more, you don't need to give this a chance. You'll probaly be disappointed. If you are OK with an unremarkable stealth/action game, this might be somewhat entertaining for you. The animations take a bit long to complete, and it kind of takes me out of the game. Additionally, it just doesn't have much soul. I almost suffered through this whole game maybe a year ago, and I have a hard time coming up with anything really memorable or notable about the game.