Thoughts on Thief
Thief, like Eidos Montreal's last endeavour Deus Ex: Human Revolution, carries with it the baggage of nostalgia and the legacy of a legendary development team. Additionally, Thief has the fortunate and unfortunate distinction of being one of the first AAA games to land since the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One. Much has been made of the game over the last year as it has been both praised and criticized in the media. It's a lot of pressure for a niche title in the stealth genre which was probably unlikely to move a lot of units regardless of its critical success. Nonetheless, it's basically science at this point that a good Metacritic rating will give you a boost in sales. In this regard, Thief stumbles out of the gates because their Metacritic score is circling down at perilous levels.
If first impressions are paramount, then Thief does little to impress in terms of gameplay mechanics in its opening moments. The visuals are impressive, but the gameplay feels familiar in an uninspiring way. A first person Assassin's Creed setup for traversal and a very muted combat system aren't exactly going to command your attention, but they work. Over time you become adept at moving around the environment as Garrett. The limited controls are at odds with modern gaming, but reminds you firmly that you are a human first and foremost. In an era of Call of Duty and Gears of War, Eidos Montreal was almost bold in keeping Garrett's move set fairly limited and free of the crazy acrobatics and parkour that define modern action games. It is at the same time refreshingly reserved, yet perhaps over safe feeling.
Likewise the world is a mixed bag of beautiful open environments and corridors laced with tiny rooms. Garrett's abilities and reputation beg for more verticality to play with, but the level design refuses to give in. Again this seems nearly at odds with modern design, yet if you were to replay the original Thief series you would find the world to be much the same. Garrett did not live in the rafters then and he does not now. Is this a lost opportunity or intentional? It's hard to tell.
That sentiment perhaps best sums up the experience of Thief; it is a game that leaves us unsure of its intent. The game makes strange choices that clearly weren't well thought out (not indicating if a window is a loading point between zones stands out), but most of the time the games leaves me wondering if whatever was happening on screen was an intentional design choice or not.
I would not call Thief a failure, and I would hesitate to call it a disappointment. Thief is fun despite its detractors valid complaints. The game is essentially what it promised on the tin, a sequel to a popular old franchise. It delivers on essentially everything that the originals did and attempts to add a little more to the formula. Thief will not be the game for everyone as early critical reviews have indicated. It will fail to please many who loved the originals and fail to entice modern gamers who are used to something more than Thief does. However, for fans of stealth games and of the Thief series, I think there is a very enjoyable core game here. If you're still curious about the game after reading all the reviews, odds are the game will be a fun one for you.