Is it flawed?
Absolutely
Is it still a masterpiece?
Hell yeah!
Thief Gold is egregious in the department of late 90s/early 2000s video game jank with its wonky physics and weird hitboxes, but this is such a refined and unique stealth experience like no other to where almost every issue I had was so heavily overshadowed by the sheer satisfaction I felt upon completing a level. Having a meter to strictly tell you how hidden you are at all times, despite being unrealistic, really convinced me to make more ballsy moves than usual knowing that I was practically invisible in the shadows. That's not to say it's ever broken or too easy; enemies accidentally bumping into you or making too much noise will instantly give your position away and enemies are pretty tough to lose. And that isn't taking into account certain enemies like spiders that would be able to track you in the dark from what I can tell, which makes things all the more messy when other enemies get involved. The game also hosted a far stronger variety of enemies than I expected. I almost expected to only be dealing with humans, and I won't spoil what other enemies you encounter, but this game really surprised me on multiple occasions.
Now while the gameplay is pretty solid as far as the stealth is concerned (not combat, we don't do combat here), the world design, story and atmosphere are what really elevate this game to another level. The level design was fantastic for the most part and very open to experimentation, but I think the context and worldbuilding explaining all these weird places just makes them that much more special. It definitely helps that I really adore this Victorian medieval steampunk aesthetic with touch of supernatural.
I know this is a bit scrambled as I just finished the game and I'm honestly thinking of making a video on it or something, but I genuinely didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did, and I feel like stealth games even today can takes some notes from Thief. Truly the OG
Edit: made the video for the 2 people that see this after the revision
Absolutely
Is it still a masterpiece?
Hell yeah!
Thief Gold is egregious in the department of late 90s/early 2000s video game jank with its wonky physics and weird hitboxes, but this is such a refined and unique stealth experience like no other to where almost every issue I had was so heavily overshadowed by the sheer satisfaction I felt upon completing a level. Having a meter to strictly tell you how hidden you are at all times, despite being unrealistic, really convinced me to make more ballsy moves than usual knowing that I was practically invisible in the shadows. That's not to say it's ever broken or too easy; enemies accidentally bumping into you or making too much noise will instantly give your position away and enemies are pretty tough to lose. And that isn't taking into account certain enemies like spiders that would be able to track you in the dark from what I can tell, which makes things all the more messy when other enemies get involved. The game also hosted a far stronger variety of enemies than I expected. I almost expected to only be dealing with humans, and I won't spoil what other enemies you encounter, but this game really surprised me on multiple occasions.
Now while the gameplay is pretty solid as far as the stealth is concerned (not combat, we don't do combat here), the world design, story and atmosphere are what really elevate this game to another level. The level design was fantastic for the most part and very open to experimentation, but I think the context and worldbuilding explaining all these weird places just makes them that much more special. It definitely helps that I really adore this Victorian medieval steampunk aesthetic with touch of supernatural.
I know this is a bit scrambled as I just finished the game and I'm honestly thinking of making a video on it or something, but I genuinely didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did, and I feel like stealth games even today can takes some notes from Thief. Truly the OG
Edit: made the video for the 2 people that see this after the revision