in my thief gold review, i mentioned that the zombie and tomb raiding sections held the game back from being something truly great
thief 2 thankfully learned from that, making 90% of this game just levels where you can sneak around and be a thief. there are a couple levels however that deviate a bit from that, and end up consequently being the worst levels in the game, one of which is a returning level from thief 1 essentially remixed (and it was one of the worst levels in that game turned into debatably the worst level in this game, idk why they did that)
for the most part this game feels less of a sequel and more like a really long expansion for thief gold, as it plays pretty much the same, controls the same, has a lot of the same assets, items, etc. (although now theres a map that tells you what room youre in so automatically its a step up). the only thing really new to this game is its new enemy types, coal-powered robots that actually give water arrows more of a purpose because thats the primary way of disabling them (by hitting the weak spot on their back) and robot cameras too. a welcome addition for the most part (until the final level)
and right out of the bat, after the introductory mission, the game drops you into one of the best levels in stealth games, with so much to explore and allowing you to do things any way you want, with plenty of options, none of which trivializing the others, plenty of loot to steal, guards to learn the paths of (or knock out) rooms with things to interract with, tons of secrets, locked doors you can open with codes to create shortcuts, its amazing. the next few levels genuinely keep up that pace as well. most missions just have you infiltrate a place, loot it and get out, with a couple extra steps here and there like taking one thing from one spot and placing it in another to frame someone like in the third mission. frankly its just pure stealth bliss, a must play for any fan of stealth games or immersive sims. admittedly the game starts to run out of steam around the late-middle part, where it gives you a trailing mission (not the worst one ive played but not very good either), followed by a mostly linear plot mission, then a rooftop mission with a cool concept and not somewhat weak execution (not that bad but it drags and should have been split into 2 missions), then a mission with a submarine that would be way better if the things you had to find weren't so annoying to look for, and then you get what might be the worst level from thief 1, and its just this combo of mid ending in straight up bad. but the next level does end up redeeming the game a bit. admittedly it does kinda prove what i said about the game losing its steam because the 2 levels following the bad one are essentially one mission given twice with the only differences being in loot, locked doors and guard placement. and yet, i will consider this one of the best examples of recycling content in a game, because the first time you do the level, its essentially in preparation for the big heist you perform next level. your sole objective is to scout the place out. find secrets, dont alert anyone, get out. it allows you to get a real feel for the place as you mark different things on your map such as where the various controls for the "cameras" are. theres plenty of conversations to listen to, some of which give hints on what you need to do, hidden halls behind walls that allow you to wander through much of the mansion without going past too many guards or cameras, even a little side plot with ghosts in the library, its a great level and i felt like a stealth master in the following level, going through all the areas again, knowing exactly how to avoid things, making my way to the top floor without alerting a soul, utilizing ceiling beams and then making my way to the rooms with all the prized valuable masks.... only to get gassed to death because i touched the floor... but im not complaining, because this is an immersive sim and the game allowed me to solve this little puzzle any way i saw fit, so i used my vine arrow to descend from the ceiling, grabbing the masks one by one without ever touching the floor, and it felt so rewarding because the game didnt tell me to do that, i was able to figure it out with my own wits, and the best part is, thats not the only way to do it, since i could have just turned off the gas. this is exactly what i love about the game. the moment where i discovered i could grab the masks like some movie burglar, it just felt so.... cinematic i guess. genuinely so, not in the tryhard way of modern AAA games that try to be movies with forced set pieces that give every player the same exact experience no matter what. no, this is the kind of stuff that makes you actually feel like you're in a movie by your own choices and actions. you dont get this kinda game anymore...
anyway then the game shits the bed with the final level by just throwing robots and cameras everywhere in this massive metal level where you have to do a bunch of cryptic stuff with dropping specific things in machines a bunch of times and also doing ubisoft towers for some reason and then just.... leaving. the first game at least tried to have a final boss. thief 2 hypes up this guy the entire game and then you beat him without really interacting with him. the game tells you not to alert him, but it doesnt matter if he is alerted because nothing will happen. its a very lengthy level too, maybe the longest and by god it drags. what a shame because i did love the rest of the game. even at its worst (besides the kidnap mission) i was still really enjoying the game and wanted to give this a full five stars, but while there are only about 2 actually bad levels in the entire game, with all the others ranging from good to masterpiece, the bad levels are just so bad that they ultimately hurt the game in my eyes. not fully of course, but the game would really benefit from a "thief 2 gold" to iron out the kinks and change up a couple levels like thief 1 had. but unfortunately looking glass shut down the same year thief 2 released, so it never happened. its a shame that such talented developers that revolutionized the first person genre at least 3 times in the 90s couldnt make it in the 2000s

anyway thief 2 is great go play it

In a lot of ways, a refinement and step up from the first game. Unfortunately, a lot of the supernatural aspects got refined out of the game, or into being 1 offs. I miss the bonehoard. Also, somehow, the final mission manages to be more infuriating/less fun than the final 3 missions of the first game combined.
There are also a couple filler missions, which is understandable given that the game was made in something like a year and a half. Pity this never got the Gold treatment 1 did.
Rest in peace Looking Glass. You managed to make one of the only games where I spend minutes standing still, listening... then did it again. Wish more stealth games cared about sound like you clearly did.

I was a bit disappointed going in to Thief 2 hearing that all the supernatural sort of stuff was completely toned down or removed, I really loved The Sword in Thief 1 and was hoping for more. That being said, some of those levels in Thief 1 really bring the game down. Aside from Trace The Courier being boring, Casing The Joint is obviously just padding, Kidnap being in my least favourite part of Thief 1, and parts of Sabotage at Soulforge, I loved the majority of levels in Thief 2. Sound design and atmosphere are unmatched. Excited to start The Black Parade soon.