... especially given the circumstances the devs had to face during planning and production. Most reviews are highly subjective. This one as well. I enjoyed the game. The art was really good, the atmosphere was consistent, gritty, dark, dipping into creepy, backed strongly by the music. I had no gripe with gameplay/mechanics, though some elements felt less rewarding/focused - but overall it was a solid story and adventure with enough great elements to keep the game engaging, cohesive, interesting and well paced - certainly enjoyable. I would have appreciated a more established storyline for the relationship between Erin and Garrett - which is a focus in the game, driving quest and outcome - as well as for the mystery of the city and the "power" material. (There is a comic titled "Thief - Tales from the City" giving a bit more context - you can find a decent read on Youtube.) The side characters were neat - I even would have welcomed more interactions between e.g. Garrett and Basso or the Queen of Beggars, learning a bit about their turfs and ways. The City itself.also deserves mention as a character. My only real gripe is the tiresome traversing of the city, usually from one far end to the other and back. I enjoyed the sneaking, and would not have resorted to fighting in a stealth game, if the following was done right: The city is a big, higly patrolled, segmented maze, with not all showing up on the map. Challenge for wayfinding is truly fun (at first), but once found - with such scale and frequent back&forth tracking (esp. with side quests) - indicating crucial segment passages would have meant a lot less slog for me, and better chance of replay. That said, main missions each have their own huge one-time maps, so there's plenty exploration. All in all, I found this a good game on it's own terms. And if there will ever be a next Thief game, I hope it will be an even better one.
Concept, art, level design, etc. all good, but I really really hate the godawful angles and controls. No rebind - OK, I'll learn. But I push "run" and it either results in running, or it is delayed 1-2 seconds. You can imagine the consequences - especially when I need to cross a room where I have to alternate running and stopping - retry is over 9000 - and I try not to smash my otherwise perfectly working controller, shouting "But I pushed "run!" (insert preferred swearword here depending on how many times this had already happened)" Or how directing e.g. north-east either means north-east, or not at all - this is especially sadistic when jumping towards sg at an angle while hanging from somewhere - the character might just fly off oddly to their demise. Checking the controller before pushing jump, "am I pointing to the one true north-east in that sweet 45 degree angle? yes? OK, let's go! ... oh f***. And be prepared to get stuck on objects you thought you gave enough berth to. Or to hold "grab" permanently - in fact designate a holy finger to it - otherwise progress goes downward and fast. If I try to grab sg mid-jump or just reaching it, it will either work or not. All this makes controls unintuitive. Have lots of fun. Despite of this I'm still making progress somehow. I'm not at the part where there's much timed scamperng in panic, but I'm anticipating playing this game less and less by the minute. ... Actually I already quit. A lot pf people really seem to like this game, so I suppose it must be working better for them, maybe. There must be a reson. As for me, I feel like a sucker having bought the sequel as well in one fell swoop, dreaming of untold cute little horrors. Poor little yellow raincoat... will I ever free you from that hellpit? I don't know.
I found the game relies heavily on grind very fast - grind becomes the game. Still pushed on. Became painfully void of enjoyment, so I quit - it felt like an empty, repetitive time-eater with a workload. Even after long months I have no desire to revisit it. As an rpg, it promised an interesting story, but turned out to have little to meaningfully engage with - little to connect with as a character. If this was due to me not exploring enough or leaving out elements, it would be fine - but it is built into the game mechanics - almost like having to work a vast field running up and down a long time only to get a yield of a few blades of of grass. Sure, there is no time limit and there are a few locals to talk to for a break - but then you find out you need at least 50 grass blades to proceed - then on to the next field. This type of gameplay hardly feels like an adventure. The visuals and colours are super beautiful though.
I loved all 3 games (Of Orcs and Men, Master of Shadows, Shards of Darkness) - this is a bit of review for the whole bundle. The story, the characters are amazing! If they ever make a new game, I hope good old Styx will come through and the team will stay true to the roots. These games sure have their unique atmosphere. Subtle, dark, gritty, humourous, nasty and lovable. I loved the level design and the art! Loved the stealth - and the voice! And the music, masterpiece! Loved and both suffered through the gameplay (at times) - but then, I'm kind of a noob - don't have much time to play - so when I do, I really appreciate games like these. They've got soul. Had so much fun - and pain... lotsa pain - but in the end, when I finished Shards of Darkness, the only question in my mind was "Phew this was a wild ride... okay, and what happens next? I sure hope there will be more of Styx!" Fingers crossed so hard I could break a walnut.
I loved all 3 games (Of Orcs and Men, Master of Shadows, Shards of Darkness) - this is a bit of review for the whole bundle. The story, the characters are amazing! If they ever make a new game, I hope good old Styx will come through and the team will stay true to the roots. These games sure have their unique atmosphere. Subtle, dark, gritty, humourous, nasty and lovable. I loved the level design and the art! Loved the stealth - and the voice! And the music, masterpiece! Loved and both suffered through the gameplay (at times) - but then, I'm kind of a noob - don't have much time to play - so when I do, I really appreciate games like these. They've got soul. Had so much fun - and pain... lotsa pain - but in the end, when I finished Shards of Darkness, the only question in my mind was "Phew this was a wild ride... okay, and what happens next? I sure hope there will be more of Styx!" Fingers crossed so hard I could break a walnut.
I loved all 3 games (Of Orcs and Men, Master of Shadows, Shards of Darkness) - this is a bit of review for the whole bundle. The story, the characters are amazing! If they ever make a new game, I hope good old Styx will come through and the team will stay true to the roots. These games sure have their unique atmosphere. Subtle, dark, gritty, humourous, nasty and lovable. I loved the level design and the art! Loved the stealth - and the voice! And the music, masterpiece! Loved and both suffered through the gameplay (at times) - but then, I'm kind of a noob - don't have much time to play - so when I do, I really appreciate games like these. They've got soul. Had so much fun - and pain... lotsa pain - but in the end, when I finished Shards of Darkness, the only question in my mind was "Phew this was a wild ride... okay, and what happens next? I sure hope there will be more of Styx!" Fingers crossed so hard I could break a walnut.
