Recent reviews by Lithium

I've never felt so conflicted about a game in my whole life. On the one hand, there are so many elements I really like about Thief, but then there is a lot that I really dislike. I am a newcomer to the Thief series and intend to play the originals (just started the original) so I cannot really give comparisons, and I know that many die hard fans of the originals disregard this reboot. But I will offer my honest opinion as a gamer.

Things I like:

• Gameplay.
Engaging, fast-paced, satisfying, responsive, fairly varied.

This is the number one element that makes or breaks it in a game for me. Thief, I feel, nailed it pretty well.

I found the controls to be very responsive, so playing with Garrett literally feels like you are a thief sneaking around. I enjoyed the way Garrett interacts with the environment, whether it be to provide cover, create distractions, access secret areas, douse lights, reach new parts of the town, eliminate noise, etc. etc. Very fun and kept me engaged. Plus, I'm a sucker for open world and looting.

I personally felt very anxious anytime there were a number of guards in the area, and did my best to stay hidden which was really enjoyable for me. I thoroughly enjoyed pick pocketing, luring them away, performing takedowns (both on the ground and aerial). Very satisfying.

I quite like the variety of items, even if I didn't use some of them much/at all. I felt like it offered a good choice of actions, allowing me to proceed however I chose. I also appreciated the stock limits in shops; later in the game, I found myself running out of stuff a lot and trying to conserve stuff for when I really needed it, which offered a bit of a challenge.

I found that it sometimes got a little repetitive, but there was enough of a variation of areas and required play styles between chapters to keep me engaged.

• Visuals

I kind of go back and forth about how I feel about Thief's environments. They are quite samey for the most part, but there were times when I'd look out of a window or across from a roof and see all these really awesome environments and think "Wow, this is pretty cool." The visuals are, I must say, very immersive.

The graphics are great, but I had a LOT of frame rate issues.

I customised my lighting a bit to get it nice and dark (and always played with dimmed lights) to really immerse myself, which worked well for me. There was a particular part (chapter 6 I think) where you escape from X location, and the escape sequence is really great visually. Fire everywhere, crumbling buildings, floor, wood, etc.

Most importantly, I'm a sucker for Garrett. His character model is really cool and, again, immersive. Anytime I'm sneaking around, picking a lock, opening a safe, searching for trick switches and you get a look at his chipped, dirty fingernails and leather gloves, I really feel like I'm a thief looting in a dirty, degrading city. Plus, those aerial takedowns when you catch a glimpse of him fully masked in his black leather suit are awesome. "That's me, being a badass!"

• Difficulty
I have often heard people say that the game is too easy. Perhaps, but I played on Thief difficulty (medium) and I still found it to be a challenge. I became immersed in Garrett's character and like him opted to never kill (unless it was those certain enemies...people who've played far enough will know what I mean :P). Hence, I played purely stealthily, which offered a nice challenge for me personally. I found myself often reloading quick saves to make sure I was satisfied with my play through and that I had found all loot. If you blaze through the game aggressively, then yes it is easy. Play the game how it urges you to - stealthily - and it's a good challenge.

Things I dislike:

• Story
There is SO much freaking missed potential here. I cannot give the story any praise because it's just so choppy and awkwardly told. It expects the player to assume things and fill in the gaps - gaps which were obvious, but should be told by the characters to give character development to Garrett and other characters.

As I said, there was potential for something really interesting, but as soon as it starts picking up speed, it comes to an abrupt halt. I cared nothing for any of the characters, not even Erin. Only Garrett, and that's because, as I said earlier, I felt like I was really him.

I can't say more of course, just in case there are people who want to play and experience the story for themselves, but don't expect anything fantastic there. It's a let down to say the least.

• Repetition
As I've said earlier, the visuals and gameplay are sometimes very samey. I don't really have more to say there, but it can make the game a little tiresome at times. Fortunately, I had the patience and the gameplay gave me enough enjoyment to keep playing.

• Immersion-breaking bugs, glitches, cheapness. Aggravating AI.

The number one bug I kept experiencing was repeated dialogue from NPCs nearby. If I have to hear about how this guy rolled with Polly Addler one more time, I'm seriously going to put an arrow in his skull. It really got on my nerves, especially because the subtitles kept playing on the screen over and over, or the dialogue came up at the wrong time when Garrett was talking and I'd want to hear him rather than some repeat conversation about how some guy is worried he's getting the Gloom.

I had a few instances of enemies lagging and appearing next to me, being hit by projectiles through walls, being seen through walls, glitches in the AI, character model getting stuck and having to reload the game, falling off/through platforms when I shouldn't have, NEVER being able to get on damn ropes until I was at the precise angle, and other little annoyances.

Sometimes I'd close a door by accident when trying to peek, alerting a nearby guard to my presence. Very minor, but very annoying.

• Side quests
Because the world is pretty open, there was a lot of potential here for some varied side quests. Unfortunately, this did not happen. They are VERY samey - go to X, get this loot, done. All of them, with a slightly different description of why you're doing it. The only side quests I got vaguely interested in was the client quests, where there are actually characters talking to you about what to do, why they want you to do it etc. But there were only 6, and that was just between 2 people. Huge let down. As a completionist, I finished all side quests, but was very let down.

• Chapter 5
I can't say much for those who want to play this game, but let's just say the tone of the game takes a very dramatic turn and it's really jarring. It was technically a really great chapter, but I suddenly felt like I was playing a different game. I also felt that there was a massive difficulty spike here (in the later part of the chapter) and I was just simply not prepared ammo-wise.

Overall comments:
I really do recommend this game, purely because the gameplay is really fun, and to me that is the purpose of a game. I can overlook poor storytelling, issues with graphics, and some minor glitches if I ultimately have a great experience and feel immersed in the world, which I truly did.