Absolutely fantastic stealth game whose influence can be very clearly seen in more recent games. Sound design is the star here. This is probably the only stealth game I’ve ever played where sound is the primary signal of enemy location. Due to the excellent sound design this works surprisingly well and is really fun to take advantage of. Extinguishing a candle and then listening to enemy footsteps in the dark so you can plan exactly when to pop out with your blackjack is incredibly immersive and satisfying. This game really makes you feel like you’re in Garret's shoes.
My biggest critique is regarding the presence of levels that don’t really lend themselves to a pure stealth experience, which is where this game excels. There are quite a few instances where the game either forces you to break stealth and run from / fight enemies or fills a level with enemies that can’t be effectively avoided using stealth. The resulting gameplay can still be fun and challenging due to Garret being relatively weak in combat, Theif's fluid and satisfying movement, and the abundance of places to hide and shake off pursuing enemies, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable as the pure stealth segments. These segments end up feeling more like you're playing a survival horror game or a Tomb Raider style action adventure game with immersive sim elements as opposed to a stealth game. (A quick note on this, Thief can be surprisingly scary during some of these segments. The noise that undead enemies make when they're nearby creates a powerful sense of unease. Hearing a Hammer Haunt close by but not knowing exactly where it is can be frankly terrifying. These are some of the most powerful enemies in the game being both lightning fast and able to kill Garrett in only a couple hits, and their sound and visual design definitely reflects that - it's great. So while Thief is at its best when it's a pure stealth game, it's able to pull off the other genres it leans into surprisingly well.)
Gold adds a few levels on top of the ones from Thief’s original release. These are all fairly large levels, but they’re surprisingly intuitive to navigate and offer multiple avenues for players to approach their goals. These levels can drag on a bit due to their size - taking me around an hour a piece, but they’re thankfully all pure stealth levels. The thieves guild level in gold is a bit infamous from what I've seen, but I actually enjoyed this level - mostly due to the open ended map design and the player needing to look / listen for clues to figure out where to go in this sprawling maze. The Mage's Towers level was the one that really started to drag on for me. The central keep area is great - it's very open ended and fun to explore - but the towers quickly became a slog due to their incredibly linear design and emphasis on platforming, which are two things that don't compliment Thief's mechanics or controls very well.
Overall this is an excellent stealth game and truly a must play for fans of the genre. Thief's sound and light based approach along with its open ended levels and unique visual aesthetic creates an experience that you really can't get anywhere else. While Thief does have its flaws and definitely has some levels I don’t like, the majority of the game is excellent. I’m looking forward to doing a replay at some point on a higher difficulty so I can experience the additional quest objectives present on hard and expert.
My biggest critique is regarding the presence of levels that don’t really lend themselves to a pure stealth experience, which is where this game excels. There are quite a few instances where the game either forces you to break stealth and run from / fight enemies or fills a level with enemies that can’t be effectively avoided using stealth. The resulting gameplay can still be fun and challenging due to Garret being relatively weak in combat, Theif's fluid and satisfying movement, and the abundance of places to hide and shake off pursuing enemies, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable as the pure stealth segments. These segments end up feeling more like you're playing a survival horror game or a Tomb Raider style action adventure game with immersive sim elements as opposed to a stealth game. (A quick note on this, Thief can be surprisingly scary during some of these segments. The noise that undead enemies make when they're nearby creates a powerful sense of unease. Hearing a Hammer Haunt close by but not knowing exactly where it is can be frankly terrifying. These are some of the most powerful enemies in the game being both lightning fast and able to kill Garrett in only a couple hits, and their sound and visual design definitely reflects that - it's great. So while Thief is at its best when it's a pure stealth game, it's able to pull off the other genres it leans into surprisingly well.)
Gold adds a few levels on top of the ones from Thief’s original release. These are all fairly large levels, but they’re surprisingly intuitive to navigate and offer multiple avenues for players to approach their goals. These levels can drag on a bit due to their size - taking me around an hour a piece, but they’re thankfully all pure stealth levels. The thieves guild level in gold is a bit infamous from what I've seen, but I actually enjoyed this level - mostly due to the open ended map design and the player needing to look / listen for clues to figure out where to go in this sprawling maze. The Mage's Towers level was the one that really started to drag on for me. The central keep area is great - it's very open ended and fun to explore - but the towers quickly became a slog due to their incredibly linear design and emphasis on platforming, which are two things that don't compliment Thief's mechanics or controls very well.
Overall this is an excellent stealth game and truly a must play for fans of the genre. Thief's sound and light based approach along with its open ended levels and unique visual aesthetic creates an experience that you really can't get anywhere else. While Thief does have its flaws and definitely has some levels I don’t like, the majority of the game is excellent. I’m looking forward to doing a replay at some point on a higher difficulty so I can experience the additional quest objectives present on hard and expert.