Thief Review

Performance

I can’t really give valid input on this, since I played it in 2024 on a 3070, with obviously no issues.

Gameplay

The game has a full focus on stealth, with minimal actual combat. The stealth is very grounded, slow, and for me unsatisfying.
In my opinion, however, the game underdelivers on the stealth. There’s minimal actual interaction, you either distract enemies with bottles found around the levels or sneak up on them for a takedown, snuff out lights, find alternative paths, or you go full massacre mode and headshot, poison, ignite or explode them.
Thief also features an upgrade system, which is used to introduce some new mechanics, such as pressing E to disable booby traps.
Movement-wise, you sprint and vault over obstacles, and can use a grappling hook to, you guessed it, climb upwards on predefined walls. That’s pretty much it.
Thief also failed to deliver on the whole Master Thief fantasy, with the less than fun thievery(items glisten from miles away), lots of unnecessary button mashing to break into houses, boring lockpicking, and unimpressive ways to hide from opponents. As long as you’re shaded, you’re fine, even if you’re literally 2 meters away and fully in front of NPCs.

Where this game does deliver though, which gave it a big rating boost, is that it’s exactly what a game should be: a game. It’s just you, cool environments, and gameplay. None of the current-day Games-as-a-Service shenanigans, no egregious microtransactions in a single-player game, nothing. I miss these good ole days, not gonna lie.
This leads me to another of the game’s strong suits: art direction.

Art

Artistically, the game absolutely nails its part medieval, part modern, part steampunk dark ages aesthetic. It’s as hard to define as anything, but I have to say that I like it. It makes sense that you play as a master thief, a survivor, having to do anything to survive in such evil and plague-ridden times.
Story was kind of, whatever. Your average “grey area dishonorable person forced to save his friend and the world” type of story. You are a thief, whose friend dies due to magical rituals, who then has to save her and alongside that, the world .

Verdict

Although my rating for Thief is on the lower side and the criticisms above are pretty blunt, if you’re into stealth games and tired of modern titles bogged down by overcomplexity and profit-driven monetization, this game will likely hit the right notes. It’s simple, direct, and unapologetically focused on what it is. Personally, I prefer games that offer more intricate systems to engage with, which is why Thief felt like it was lacking in those areas. But despite that, it’s still a decent experience from a time when games were just games (2014 was 10 years ago—wow). The game really nails its vibe and aesthetic, and most importantly, it remembers what it’s supposed to be: a video game, free from the fluff and baggage we see so often today.