It's a far cry from 1 and 2, but still a pretty good game. The movement is a bit janky, the levels are way smaller and a lot less varied and feel a lot less realistic, and the story and tone have taken a pretty big step back too - the longer the game goes on, the harder it is to be immersed. But the atmosphere is still good, the moment to moment gameplay is still solid, and it still feels like a Thief game. The second to last mission is a standout, but it isn't the greatest level of all time or anything.

Consider the Sneaky Upgrade mod absolutely mandatory for playing on PC. Also I recommend playing on Normal for your first time through.

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.

The writing and atmosphere are peak, and that's what you're playing the game for - think of it as an interactive novel. Sadly it continues the trend of the best RPGs being deeply flawed masterpieces. The combat and RPG elements are sort of vestigial - you basically have to play as a high Wis/Int/Cha Mage to get the most out of the game, and the combat is completely uninteresting. Sadly, since the game is blatantly unfinished, the combat becomes a bigger and bigger part of the game the longer it goes on - turning down the difficulty all the way is recommended.

The writing is good enough that if it were in book form, it would be a great novel, but I think a lot of people overrate how well-written and how deep it is because of the low bar set by other video games.

Peak melee action game. All the others I've played have at least one significant flaw - DMC3 has weak enemy designs, DMC5 has boring levels and doesn't let you use whatever character you want, etc. Bayonetta is the exception - the campaign is great, the story is fun and good enough for this type of game, the enemies and bosses are great, and most importantly, the combat system is peak.

Dodge Offset and Witch Time make for an incredible back and forth with enemies that actually feel dangerous, not like punching bags. The skill floor is fairly low, since the combo system is very flexible, but the ceiling is extremely high when you add in weapon switching and aerial combos and juggling. The camera stays out of your way and almost never causes problems due to good level design, I actually like the QTEs since they keep you on your toes and keep up the frantic momentum of the combat, and the gimmick sections add some variety without overstaying their welcome. I feel like I could play through this game a hundred times and still have fun learning and getting better at it.

Very easily the best game I've ever played, nothing else even comes close honestly. Every time I think about it I'm continually blown away at how good it is, that a video game actually got released that's this perfect. It's a game where you explore a physics-accurate solar system, and figure out how the world works and why it is the way it is. Anything more than that is a spoiler, and spoilers are super problematic since everything is knowledge-based and interconnected. Avoid looking up anything at all costs, and if anyone tells you that's a valid way to play, you can safely dismiss anything else they have to say. Go play it ASAP

I was extremely skeptical when I heard there would be a DLC, but luckily it's also amazing, and I am once again blown away by how good it is. It could've been a standalone game, and if it was it would also be in my top 5