The theme “What’s yours is mine” is predominant in the upcoming stealth-action game Thief.
Thief is a reboot of the original PC series first released in 1998. Master thief protagonist Garret returns to The City to find it under the rule of a dictator named “The Baron”. The City has a Victorian-Steampunk aesthetic and is suffering a plague, under strict quarantine laws, and death is everywhere.
Garret sees an opportunity to make as much money from the situation as possible. While on a mission with his apprentice Arron, they stumble on a ritual being performed; this ritual called the “Channelling of the Primal” ends in disaster as Arron falls to her presumed death and horrors befall The City.
Staying in the shadows is Thief’s main focus, killing or knocking out enemies will be decided by the player, and you can complete the entire game without killing a single person. Finding ways to sneak past enemies means the player can generate a different experience each time they play.
Garret is armed with some pretty nifty equipment to make this all so much more exciting. His trusty bow can be equipped with all manner of arrows, such as fire or water. Fire is used to set objects and people on fire, while water is used to put fire out, creating darkness, to either sneak past your enemy or take him out by surprise.
There will be times when you are caught out – the way you handle this is up to you. Garret is not a fighter, so running away and hiding in the shadows is recommended, but if you want to stand and fight then be prepared for a bashing. You can either use a Blackjack to bash enemies’ brains in, or the bow for some up-close archery.
All this is made easier with your HUD, which will be key to a successful heist. There an indicator that will show when you are in the shadows or in the light, making traversing the darkness a lot easier. Be careful where you walk though – terrain has a noise factor, and walking through a puddle of water near an enemy could alert them.
Your Focus ability is a new feature to the series, very similar to what we have seen in previous game like Assassins Creed and the upcoming Shadow of Mordor. This feature basically shows all points of interest around you, from safes that could hold valuable items, to trip wires that you can stumble into, setting off an alarm.
For the hardcore thieves among us, there are plenty of options for customising the experience if the standard setup is too easy. For example, appearance of UI elements, turning off auto-save points, Garret’s Focus ability, disabling combat take-downs, target reticule, arrow types, health resources, movement speed, alert levels, and what essentially amounts to a hardcore mode – “Iron Man” – in which any failure results in the end of your game run through.
Thief is set in an open world city, with multiple approaches to a situation promised, giving the game a degree of replayability. Each room in Thief is designed with puzzles and loot-a-plenty; Garret slowly picks locks, and searches picture frames for hidden switches.
All this searching may prove time consuming but the player will be rewarded with great loot that will go towards paying for ability and equipment upgrades back at Garret’s hideout, The City’s clock tower.
Many people have been comparing Thief to Dishonoured, but shouldn’t it be the other way around? Thief is promising an immersive stealth experience and we hope it can deliver. Personally I cannot wait to take on the role of the Master Thief.
Thief releases on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 on 28 February 2014.
More Thief news
Thief: 17 minute mission playthrough video
Thief customisation options hold promise for old-school fans
Thief PC system requirements revealed
