The Thief series has a storied history, with its origins starting out on PC with the original two games, Thief: The Dark Project and Thief II: The Metal Age. However, I was too young to experience those games in their height, back in the late 90's and at the turn of the millennium, and even a little too young for much of Thief: Deadly Shadows on Xbox. I was very much around for the series' reboot back in 2014 though and I've got to admit, I kinda loved it, despite the lukewarm reaction.
Sure it was janky here and sort-of-broken there. Sure, the game's map was split up into what felt like a million 'hubs' because it was rooted in the Xbox 360 era, and sure, the frame rate jumped all over the place on Xbox One. But for me, something about it just worked. I loved slinking around the dark streets of its atmospheric city (aptly named 'The City'), stealing from rich folk in their rooftop penthouses. I loved the tactile feel of pick locking my way through empty apartment buildings and happily scooping up any loot I could find. I even enjoyed just creeping around and observing how both the rich and the poor went about their lives. Thief 2014 isn't perfect and towards the end of its campaign it really went off the rails, but I have a soft spot for it regardless.
And all this got me thinking, the series deserves another shot, right? The IP will fall under Embracer Group's wing once their recently announced acquisition goes through, so at least that prospect looks more likely than it did a week ago. So, what should Thief '5' contain and what direction should the new publisher take?
For me, a focus on immersion should be a clear goal. Sure, Thief had a world map you could pull up at any time, but it was sort of useless due to the aforementioned 'hub' approach, and I almost think that benefitted the game in the end. I hardly ever used Thief's map, and that combined with its minimalist UI really drew me into 'The City'. In fact, a sequel could probably do away with much of any UI at all, and stick to in-world guidance for platforming, exploration and the likes.
Another direction I'd love to see the game move towards is more of an organic approach to its campaign design. Arguably, the weakest aspect of Thief 2014 was the story missions themselves, and I actually preferred tackling the various side missions (or 'Jobs') handed out by shady-looking blokes throughout the city. Give me a hideout where I can stash my stealings and a list of rich folk to go after and I'm a happy thief, all things told.
Next-gen only is also a must, which thanks to this acquisition's planned timing, would be pretty likely. After the segmented style of Thief's open world, I want a huge-ass city to wander around in without any hurdles and certainly no load screens. Xbox Series X|S can definitely provide that and then some, judging by what we've seen from this generation so far. Thief's city was probably its shining light even with its 360-era cutbacks, and I'd love to see what could be cooked up on next-gen consoles in a potential sequel.
Speaking of the city, Thief was set completely at night time, which makes sense given the game's focus on nabbing things from rich folk in the dark. However, I'd welcome a full day-night cycle where essentially, the game becomes much harder in broad daylight. Think Dying Light's night time mechanic but flipped on its head, where daylight robbery becomes the game's hardcore mode and provides an extra thrill-seeking challenge. The developer would have to work to keep the game's signature atmosphere intact, but I think such a setup could definitely work.
Aside from that, I don't really have any other requests, I just hope a sequel actually gets made. The first three games have plenty of plaudits, and fans of those will likely have their own request lists, but I don't want the developer to throw away everything about the 2014 reboot. Hopefully this time Eidos Montreal, or whoever ends up developing another Thief game, gets the time and technology it needs to make the game shine on Xbox Series X|S.
What do you think to the Thief series? Does is deserve another crack on next-gen? Let us know your thoughts below!
Comments 9
I agree. Thief 1 and 2 were some of the older games I played on pc. Sure stealth games aren't that new or original anymore but if done right it can be cool games to play. The tension of the games was brilliant and it was one of those games where I would bend my head sideways like that would help me see around a corner lol.
Although I rather have legacy of kain back. I also remember playing soul reaver and loving that. So hoping for both to come back on whatever form
I would love love love another Thief game. The ideas in the article would definitely be cool. It'd be great if they stayed away from the "powers" or whatever you want to call them in Dishonored, like teleporting, and Thief was kept a little more grounded in the gameplay department. Maybe Garrett could get more interesting equipment to help him traverse/sneak in more non-conventional ways. Deep crafting system? Oh, maybe crafting could be super open ended somehow and you could make whatever you can imagine, like a water arrow with a time-bomb attached to it or something. It might be neat to see a robust physics engine that puzzles could be built around too. One thing for sure: A light/dark system based on ray-traced shadows would be a must.
I even liked the reboot they did. Thief is one of my fav franchises. Was very disappointed the reboot didn’t sell well enough to get a sequel. Yes here’s hoping embracer embraces more thief
I was there for Thief 1 and 2. Me and my brother even made a couple of missions for Thief 2. I was around 10 but would draw the maps on paper and my brother made them into missions. Thief 3 was excellent but the reboot didn't do it for me. Too many loading screens kinda broke the immersion. I have tried a few times to give it another go but it never really clicked.
I'd love to see a collection ported to console of all 4, I don't have a PC anymore but would love access to some of these classics. A new entry in the franchise could be amazing with modern tech, I always felt the reboot was limited by hardware.
I agree that Thief should be brought back.
I'd love it to come back, but it has to evolve, the last one was awful.
The reboot was my first thief game and I thought i was great. I'm more of a Splinter cell and Arkcane Studios stealth fan but the reboot was really good for a noob to the series. I remember lots of die hard fans acting like the new voice actor and story ruined the game. It was probably the those people complaining that killed the series.
they just dont sell enough to make back development costs thats why square enix sold off the IP
I'd love some more Thief. I've played them since the PC days but, like many, was a bit disappointed with the reboot. I think Deadly Shadows was my favourite - the Shalebridge Cradle mission was fantastic.
I've always thought the City itself, and its lore and atmosphere was the best element of the games and I'd love to see what's possible in UE5 with Nanite and Lumen - it really could be something special.
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