Thief (2014 video game)

Player controls Garrett, a master thief, as he goes about a series of missions, most of which are focused around stealing from the rich. As with the previous games in the series, players must use stealth in order to overcome challenges, while violence is left as a minimally effective last resort.

There are a variety of routes through each level and player is able to utilize a variety of playing styles to traverse them.[11] The game contains a variety of ways to distract or kill guards, such as barrels of oil which can be set alight. Levels also contain money and valuable objects which Garrett can steal; these are immediately converted into money which can be spent on equipment and upgrades. Garrett is also able to pickpocket guards and other characters.[12] The player may evade guards by hiding in shadows or around corners and is able to peek around edges and through keyholes in order to track the movements of enemies. Once Garrett has been spotted, guards and other non-player characters will attempt to hunt him down. The developers have stated that the game's artificial intelligence is aware of the level design, and as such guards will know in advance of potential hiding spots that the player may be utilizing.[12][13]

Player may enter a "Focus" mode, which provides several advantages.[12][13] It enhances Garrett's vision, highlighting pipes that can be climbed, or candles that can be put out to make the area darker. Focus can also slow down time, so that Garrett is able to steal more effectively while pickpocketing. Garrett can also use Focus to push enemies or perform debilitating attacks. It can be further upgraded over the course of the game.

Garrett carries a blackjack, used to knock guards unconscious; a collapsible,[14] composite bow, which can be used for both combat and non-lethal purposes such as distracting guards; and a claw, which can be used to grapple onto higher ledges.

An experience point system for the in-game growth of the character was meant to be used in the final game, but was later scrapped after negative feedback from fans, and to reflect the fact that the character was already a master thief.[15]

Thief was initially announced in 2009 under the working title Thief 4 (stylized as Thi4f), after rumours of its development. Developed at Eidos Montréal, the game was handled by a team other than the one that made Deus Ex: Human Revolution.[19] The development team was initially kept small, and the game remained in concept phase for a long time. During this, numerous experimental design changes were proposed, such as having a third-person perspective, having a new protagonist, or environmental clambering similar to the Assassin's Creed series of games.[12][20] The general manager of the studio, Stephane D'Astous, was quoted as stating Thief 4 was currently in early development: "We're in the early development stages for Thief 4, but this is an incredibly ambitious project and a very exciting one. It's too early for us to offer any specific game details. Right now, we are focused on recruiting the very best talent to join the core team at the studio and help us make what we believe will be one of the most exciting games on the market."[21] After some gossip that several major members of Eidos Montréal left their jobs, D'Astous countered these claims by saying, "We will be able to be a little more communicative later on, hopefully before the year's end. Right now, Thief is our priority and we're putting everything behind it to make sure it's as successful as our first game".[22][23] In January 2013, NeoGAF found LinkedIn files that indicated network programmers were working on the project. Eidos Montréal was expanded in 2010 with a separate team for multiplayer development, and when MP producer Joe Khoury was asked if they would also work on their next project, Thief 4, he did not deny or confirm.[24] Steam users that pre-ordered the game received Team Fortress 2 items for the sniper class (cosmetics based on what Garrett wears and a modified version of the huntsman weapon styled after the bow used in-game) and/or Dota 2 items based on the game.

Although the game was initially expected for seventh-generation consoles, it was switched to eighth-generation consoles during development.[25] This was confirmed when in March 2013, the game was officially unveiled through that month's issue of Game Informer[13] and announced to be released on the PC, PlayStation 4 and "other next-gen consoles". The game is a reboot of the Thief series itself.[26][27] Based upon initial press release photos Phil Savage of PC Gamer made some comparisons to Dishonored, stating "It all looks a bit Dishonored, which is apt, given that Dishonored looked a bit Thief."[28]

Eidos announced that the veteran voice actor Stephen Russell has been replaced by actor Romano Orzari for the role of the main protagonist in the series, Garrett. In a statement, Eidos explained their decision. "We made the decision to record our actor's voices and their movement at the same time using a full performance capture technique. The actor playing Garrett needed to be able to perform his own stunts. Garrett's a really athletic guy. We could have pasted Stephen's voice on top of the actions and stunts of someone else, but this wouldn't appear natural."[29] However, this decision has upset some fans of the series who initiated an online petition requesting Eidos Montréal to bring back Stephen Russell as lead voice actor.[30]

Thief supports Mantle as well as AMD TrueAudio.[31] An OS X version was released on November 24, 2015.

Thief received "mixed" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[32][34][33] Most reviewers praised its stealth gameplay, level design, graphics, and replay value, but criticized its map layout, technical issues, and story.

GameZone's Mike Splechta gave the PlayStation 4 version a 6.5/10, stating "Some might be able to look past Thief's shortcomings and instead only focus on the moments of brilliance. However, I imagine long-time Thief fans hoping for Garrett's grand return might be somewhat disappointed."[42] Giving the reboot a score of 6.8, IGN's Dan Stapleton criticized the decision to replace the voice actor for Garrett, saying that the new actor, Romano Orzari, made the protagonist seem "flat" and "poorly lip-synced"; Stapleton also took issue with the sub-par AI, lack of variety or creativity in Garrett's choice of weapons, the poorly designed and cumbersome layout of The City, and the story, calling it "bland" and "supernatural-driven". However, he praised the ability to change the difficulty of the game so as to make it more challenging and was also positive about Garrett's new sprinting mechanics.[43] The Telegraph's Tim Martin was much more scathing in his review, giving the game 2 stars out of 5 and lambasting the rote manner in which each level plays out, forcing the player to conform to one set path through the maps and very rarely allowing him a sense of freedom and challenge. The review also pointed out that increasing the game's difficulty will do little to heighten any sense of danger or unpredictability; overall, Martin thought to be a half-hearted disaster.[50]

Eurogamer Italy gave it a score of 9/10, saying: "one of the best action-stealth titles in years and the first serious contender for the '2014 Game of the Year' contest".[51] Digital Spy gave it a glowing review, stating: "While the game does have its faults - particularly falling apart when Garrett is spotted - Thief excels in the shadows as a pure stealth title, becoming increasingly enjoyable as your skills improve."[49]

Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw was very negative on the game in his Zero Punctuation review, criticizing the linear structure of the game when compared to previous Thief titles, reducing the protagonist to "a boring, easily digestible archetype", the lack of incentive to play it stealthily, and the sound design. He concluded by saying that "The kindest thing one can say about Thief is that it's just another soulless AAA game to add to the pile."[52] In his annual game awards video, he listed Thief as the single worst video game of 2014. [53]

At an OXM official press event a week before the game's release, Eidos Montréal's Nick Cantin hinted a Thief sequel could be possible, depending upon its reception: "Nothing's announced yet but we're very keen to see how people respond to the game [...] We've built a really big universe around the first game, and there's a lot of layers to it – the world is really deep [...] so there's a lot of possibilities to jump on."[54] As of 2020, this potential sequel has yet to materialize.

• Official website
• Thief at MobyGames
• Thief at IMDb