How the fuck
Holy shit, what an incredible mod.
I still haven't played too many fan campaigns as of now, but for me, this was easily better then T2X in terms of both having better writing and presentation, and also the levels just leaving a much bigger impression on me.
The Black Parade is basically everything Thief as a game excels at, distilled and polished to an absolute sheen while also pushing the engine to limits I didn't even think possible. From the first level alone to the very end, even the mod's lowest points are not enough to bring down what I honest to god feel outclasses even T2's base levels in some aspects.
My biggest worry going into this was this being a Thief 1 mod. From my experience with other games (namely classic DOOM), most people stick to the sequel just for all the stuff it added. It seemed kind of backwards to make a campaign mod for the first game without all the stuff T2 added, and my biggest worry was that this was gonna have all the stuff I hated about T1 but on a larger scale. Not the case at all.
It's got the similar mission variety T1 has (with thieving levels on the level T2 had and then some), but just with much, MUCH better level design. Sure, the map doesn't tell you EXACTLY where you are like in T2, but everything is so distinct and well-designed that it's not hard to figure out just WHERE you are by taking a quick glance of your map and compass for cross-referencing. I barely got lost at all in this campaign, and even when I did it didn't take more then a minute to get back on track. Honestly playing this has made me realize that the missions I hate the most in T1 are the ones with just no map, or the ones that have barely any detail to them and then just expect you to figure it out (looking at you, Constantine's Mansion and Cragscleft). When you aren't given a map in this mod, your path is made more linear to compensate, which I think works really well. Honestly the fact I had to figure out where I was more often just felt really satisfying and made me feel more immersed in the game.
If there's any real complaints I guess It'd be that the last level was kinda eh personally? It's not even that hard but it feels really big and in turn more confusing then it should be for no real reason, where when you really think about it it's kind of just a streight shot to the end once you pick up a few items. Again, not a huge deal though. The other missions are consistently great that it doesn't matter.
If you somehow are in the Thief community and haven't played this yet, please, play this. It's as perfect as a campaign can get for this game I feel. If Skacky's contributions to this are any indication of Arkane Lyon's future projects in terms of level quality, then fuck me we might be in for something good.
I still haven't played too many fan campaigns as of now, but for me, this was easily better then T2X in terms of both having better writing and presentation, and also the levels just leaving a much bigger impression on me.
The Black Parade is basically everything Thief as a game excels at, distilled and polished to an absolute sheen while also pushing the engine to limits I didn't even think possible. From the first level alone to the very end, even the mod's lowest points are not enough to bring down what I honest to god feel outclasses even T2's base levels in some aspects.
My biggest worry going into this was this being a Thief 1 mod. From my experience with other games (namely classic DOOM), most people stick to the sequel just for all the stuff it added. It seemed kind of backwards to make a campaign mod for the first game without all the stuff T2 added, and my biggest worry was that this was gonna have all the stuff I hated about T1 but on a larger scale. Not the case at all.
It's got the similar mission variety T1 has (with thieving levels on the level T2 had and then some), but just with much, MUCH better level design. Sure, the map doesn't tell you EXACTLY where you are like in T2, but everything is so distinct and well-designed that it's not hard to figure out just WHERE you are by taking a quick glance of your map and compass for cross-referencing. I barely got lost at all in this campaign, and even when I did it didn't take more then a minute to get back on track. Honestly playing this has made me realize that the missions I hate the most in T1 are the ones with just no map, or the ones that have barely any detail to them and then just expect you to figure it out (looking at you, Constantine's Mansion and Cragscleft). When you aren't given a map in this mod, your path is made more linear to compensate, which I think works really well. Honestly the fact I had to figure out where I was more often just felt really satisfying and made me feel more immersed in the game.
If there's any real complaints I guess It'd be that the last level was kinda eh personally? It's not even that hard but it feels really big and in turn more confusing then it should be for no real reason, where when you really think about it it's kind of just a streight shot to the end once you pick up a few items. Again, not a huge deal though. The other missions are consistently great that it doesn't matter.
If you somehow are in the Thief community and haven't played this yet, please, play this. It's as perfect as a campaign can get for this game I feel. If Skacky's contributions to this are any indication of Arkane Lyon's future projects in terms of level quality, then fuck me we might be in for something good.
This is a greatest hits tour of all the reasons why Thief is so amazing, turned up to 11 in every single way. Genuinely better than both 1 and 2 - the weakest mission here is still great, and would be up there with some of the best in either of those games. Varied and massively replayable levels, with big maps that are densely packed with great level design, lots of side content, and crazy attention to detail to make the City feel even more real and immersive than before. The only way one could like Thief and not love this is if you don't like the horror side of these games (especially arachnophobia) - this is easily the scariest one of them all, but that's probably just another plus for most people.
I'm not well versed in the Thief modding scene and only played Thief 2X before (guess I'm drawn to full campaigns instead of single missions) but I can confidently say that this is a great Thief mod. I'd be shocked if many fan missions are better than the ones in this 10-Level campaign.
I was constantly blown away by the sheer size and details of pretty much every mission. I unironically whispered "holy shit" numerous times when opening a door and being hit by another huge place I was about to explore.
If you're a fan of the original two Thief games you owe it to yourself to play this. It's at least on par with the main games, if not better.
Huge respect to the modders who must have spent countless hours crafting this amazing campaign.
I was constantly blown away by the sheer size and details of pretty much every mission. I unironically whispered "holy shit" numerous times when opening a door and being hit by another huge place I was about to explore.
If you're a fan of the original two Thief games you owe it to yourself to play this. It's at least on par with the main games, if not better.
Huge respect to the modders who must have spent countless hours crafting this amazing campaign.
It doesn't cost 19,99 and was made with Love. The second mission alone is one of teh bestest ever and a single area in the sixth mission is scarier than most would-be horror games. ThanX for reading my thorough objective analysis.
PS: You may not like it, but This is what peak 3d modeling looks like
PS: You may not like it, but This is what peak 3d modeling looks like
It's the mark of a good mod when your personal "worst" mission is still on par with some of the best missions the original games had to offer.
usually I show fierce opposition to the whole 'game devs should just hire passionate fans and modders lol' spiel, but if they gave the team that made this mod a sufficient budget to make a proper Thief 4 (as opposed to that abortion from 2014), it'd literally be so cash money
Thief is methodically mapping space from the shadows. Thief is exploring an architecture of absurd, arcane labyrinths. Thief is rotoscoped & roughly layered 90s FMVs scored with industrial beats.
The Black Parade, a fan campaign mod for the now 25 year old Thief: The Dark Project, brings Thief into the present as an act of alternate-history building. Within the tight restrictions of the Dark Engine, this imagines what Thief could be given decades of further contemplation, or in this case, seven years of development led by famed modder Skacky.
The Black Parade echoes iconic levels: here is a mansion, or a sprawling, vertical city, a rain-swept church, a plague stricken derelict district. But everything is now denser, more honeycombed, more varied. At times you’ll be lost, but they’ve paid special attention to every room’s volume, materials, light and colour, so that your mental map is as rich as your potential targets.
Thief separates itself from other Im-Sims by refusing to be an everything-game (Deus-Ex). You are a thief. You can’t fight for shit. You can jump from carpet to carpet and knock someone out if you’re good, but you can’t do much about two guards on your tail. Thief is narrowly designed to do one thing. The Black Parade knows this and is as close to Thief 3 (5?) that we’ll ever get.
The Black Parade, a fan campaign mod for the now 25 year old Thief: The Dark Project, brings Thief into the present as an act of alternate-history building. Within the tight restrictions of the Dark Engine, this imagines what Thief could be given decades of further contemplation, or in this case, seven years of development led by famed modder Skacky.
The Black Parade echoes iconic levels: here is a mansion, or a sprawling, vertical city, a rain-swept church, a plague stricken derelict district. But everything is now denser, more honeycombed, more varied. At times you’ll be lost, but they’ve paid special attention to every room’s volume, materials, light and colour, so that your mental map is as rich as your potential targets.
Thief separates itself from other Im-Sims by refusing to be an everything-game (Deus-Ex). You are a thief. You can’t fight for shit. You can jump from carpet to carpet and knock someone out if you’re good, but you can’t do much about two guards on your tail. Thief is narrowly designed to do one thing. The Black Parade knows this and is as close to Thief 3 (5?) that we’ll ever get.
I used to think that Thief 1/2 hadn't aged well. Everything changed with this mod, that has stellar game design and an atmosphere that's thicker than Kim Kardashian's ass.
It is simply the best mod ever, basically Thief 3, and it's FREE.
It is simply the best mod ever, basically Thief 3, and it's FREE.
As good as I was expecting given the seven-year development time and the pedigree of the development team (a virtual who's who of the current crop of Thief fan mission authors), which is just insanely good.
The campaign continues my favorite trends in Thief custom level design (high levels of verticality; rehabilitation of the less... popular themes that characterize Thief: The Dark Project levels, namely supernatural horror) while bucking the older habits endemic to fan missions that target the "hardcore" set (obtuse riddles and key item hunts). Thankfully.
Before this I'd have pointed to the 20th Anniversary contests as the ideal entry point to what is, in my opinion, one of the single greatest PC game modding scenes of all time. Now I'd point to The Black Parade for the second and fourth missions alone (respectively the best Constantine's mansion and Bonehoard-style missions out there, and I've played all the good ones).
Bust out your black hoodies and diegetic compass/map combos, folks. This is IT.
The campaign continues my favorite trends in Thief custom level design (high levels of verticality; rehabilitation of the less... popular themes that characterize Thief: The Dark Project levels, namely supernatural horror) while bucking the older habits endemic to fan missions that target the "hardcore" set (obtuse riddles and key item hunts). Thankfully.
Before this I'd have pointed to the 20th Anniversary contests as the ideal entry point to what is, in my opinion, one of the single greatest PC game modding scenes of all time. Now I'd point to The Black Parade for the second and fourth missions alone (respectively the best Constantine's mansion and Bonehoard-style missions out there, and I've played all the good ones).
Bust out your black hoodies and diegetic compass/map combos, folks. This is IT.