Thief PS4 Review: "A kleptomaniac's wet dream"

Thief PS4 Review 

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Patch Version: 1.02 --

For a game that was released in 2014, and having been spoilt with the likes of Rise of the Tomb Raider and Uncharted 4, I was not really expecting much if I'm being honest when I picked up Thief from the PSN store at a bargain price.  I had never even played any of the Thief titles before, so I was going in totally blind, but boy was I pleasantly surprised and extremely shocked, because not only did I discover a gem of a game, but a game that is rammed packed with neat little gameplay mechanics and features galore, which frankly put some AAA games released last and this year to shame in comparison.





You play as Garrett, a master thief, and straight off the bat it sees you scurrying about in the shadows stealing anything and everything you can put your grubby little hands on; if it glistens grab it!

Thief, like many other games, gradually introduces you to its core features as you progress through the story; these features though just keep on coming; in fact I'd reached the second Chapter and still was learning new things that my master thief could do, which was probably a good thing considering the amount of them, else I could have easily seen myself overwhelmed very quickly. 

However, Thief gets the balance just right, drip feeding you new and cool ways to both interact with the game world and overcome it as you sneak from one shadow to the next; for instance:  prying windows open, feeling around paintings for hidden switches; lock picking safes and doors; unscrewing vents, climbing ropes you've shot from your bow, I could so easily go on and on, all of which are surprisingly well integrated and polished. Make no mistakes, my journey as a master of the shadows had just started; it's everything a stealth game should be and succeeds exceptionally well at it at that.

The first character you meet is another thief named Erin, who it seems Garrett has some history with given their competitive banter, albeit one sided. She's a cocky and impulsive sort that is quick to kill, which seems to rub Garrett the wrong way, especially since he doesn't like killing for the sake of it, instead, will opt to either stealth passed those in his way or render them unconscious with his tried and tested blackjack weapon; a small club of sorts.  Of course, this is all down to you and how you choose to play; the game even caters to it, rating your playstyle into three categories: Ghost, Opportunist and Predator, and tallies this up as you go.

However, what the game fails to do is specifically explain the three styles or track your actions as you go.  You only find out what style you've played when you've completed that Chapter.  Some people may like this.  I personally would have liked and enjoyed some sort of indication as I played, like a karma system of sorts.

However, because of the three playstyles, it does open the door to replayability.  As such I can easily see myself replaying chapters to try and attain Ghost and Predator at the very least because of the challenge it poses.

A word of caution though for those trying for the predator playstyle: alerted guardsman are a hell-of-a-lot harder to beat in combat than when unaware and will take a complete pounding from your blackjack attacks, and until you learn to dodge will beat you to a pulp more often than not if there is a group of them, so avoiding direct confrontation is advised early on.

However, if you stay in the shadows you will be completely invisible to detection unless there happens to be a lightning storm overhead, the flashes illuminating the dark recesses that normally would be your ally, let it be on the ground or from above having scaled some building with your claw tool.  Sadly this isn't an open world game. Though verticality is often an option, the game limits you to where you can climb based on the design of the environment, but don't let this deter you, the opportunities for vertical ascension are enough that they often offer alternative routes that will enable you to tackle a given problem in a manner of your choosing.  Still, had this been open world, I think the game would have strongly benefited from it.

One of the game’s most useful features is the ability called swoop.  This feature allows you to dash for a short time forwards.  This is best used when moving between the shadows through lit areas to lower the chances of detection, but has often come in very handy when a guard is just about to detect me whilst in the light and I've swooped to some nearby shadow and become one with it.

After the prologue is over, the first chapter begins, but you are different; changed in some way.  You don't know why or how, but these new abilities serve your thieving lifestyle well.  And having left what I can only surmise is my base of operations, which also serves as the cities clock tower, I’m then tasked with tracking down a character called Basso.

However, at this point in the story my reason for being, other than living a kleptomaniac's wet dream, was one that I was not sure about, but then again your main character is confused and is trying to piece together what on earth has happened also.  So perhaps this joint confusion we are sharing in was what the developers had in mind at this point. Either way, with no other direction, I obey my mission objective like any good thief would.

Having tracked this Basso down, turns out he is the guy you get your missions from; the intermediary of the shadowy thieving world. He's also the guy to see about any and all side jobs at this point in the story.  I recommend talking to him straight away having met him to collect some.

By this point I was starting to wonder as to how I spend all my ill-gotten gains, but as luck would have it the next mission tasked you with stocking up before you leave. However, as to how and where, it either did not allude or I missed it in the cutscene.  The game does gently guide you with an objective marker to your desired location, and in all cases it had done a grand job without holding my hand too much, leaving the path as it were still a mystery for you to unravel, but for a couple of missions the marker was just in some arbitrary location giving no clue as to your search area.  This would normally be fine, but when said marker is placed on a bookcase for example, and having spent a few minutes searching said bookcase to no avail, you have to ask yourself a question: that book, have I checked it once or eight times already?

Figuring this out is key, and it helps to realise that when the marker is not in a place that makes sense, your objective is nearby just not on the marker.

Having located the salesmen, my frustrations were rewarded.  He sells everything you need to restock your inventory, a fact that I had been wondering about considering your inventory is extremely limited in capacity, which I guess is explainable due to the sheer amount of loot you pick up, which clearly is taking up the rest of the space.  This minor gripe aside, it means using that health potion or anything from your inventory for that matter puts more importance on when you do.  It forces you to think.  I like that.

The shifty salesman is also where you can purchase resources, such as all the different types of arrow heads for your bow, food to replenish your health, and poppies to regain focus, which I will talk about in a moment. You can also purchase trinkets that increase certain skills and abilities of your thief, and also acquire new tools and upgrades for your character.  All of which are yours in exchange for the currency you earn from a hard nights thieving.

You can also sell unwanted inventory items here.  Not sure why you would though at this point but perhaps that will be a lesson I learn later on in my playthrough.

If you recall from earlier I mentioned that your character awakes at the start of chapter one feeling different; changed in some way from the aftermath that was the prologue. The change I was referring to was a new ability called focus that for whatever reason has been bestowed upon you.

Focus is a similar mechanic used more and more in games today.  It reminded me of assassin creed's eagle vision the most.  Only in this case using focus drains you.  Once the focus bar is depleted, that's it as far as I can tell as it does not appear to refill, though can still be used for a fraction of a second.  The only way it does replenish is by eating poppies that you can buy or find in the world. So knowing when to use it is key if you wish to maximise the effect.

Another way that focus differs to other games though is that it does not only highlight things in the environment of importance, it also amplifies your body so that certain skills and abilities are enhanced. So far I've figured out that while activated it increases my lockpicking and pickpocketing abilities, as well as silencing my footsteps when running and also allowing me to incapacitate guards in one swift blow when in combat.

Focus and the effect it has can also be upgraded.  This is done by earning focus points.  You earn your first one having met the queen of the beggars, who also will sell you additional focus points at a cost; the price of which increases after each and every time you buy one.  I recommend spending your early points in reducing the drain on the focus bar first as that seemed more useful to me at the time.  But there are several other rather interesting upgrades that I look forward to acquiring.  You can access the focus upgrade menu at any time via the in game menu when pressing UP on the d-pad after attaining your first point. 

Having upgraded focus a little, replenished my inventory items and purchased a new tool, back into the shadows I go to try my hand on a few side jobs.

These for the most part are simple go here, figure out how to reach the objective and collect the item type missions, but two early jobs I picked up were special missions that required me to enter into a specific side mission only area.  It's worth noting that special missions, as I like to call them, are akin to chapters in the sense that it's worth checking out the player progression menu at the start, as like the chapters of the main game, these too list optional tasks that I assume will give a bonus to your reward if you complete them.

To help you on your venture, other than your tools, skills, upgrades and trusted blackjack club, your main weapon that serves in both combative gameplay as much as it does the stealth aspects, is your bow; the arrows, of which there are numerous types, serving your needs like a Swiss Army Knife.  If you’ve seen any of the Avengers movies, or are familiar with the character Hawk Eye, your arrows work in exactly the same capacity as his; an arrow head for every occasion as it were.  So if you want to snuff out some fire pit to plunge a particular area in to darkness, equip the water head arrow, take aim and fire.  Want to scale that building and jump to that ledge, equip the rope arrow and target any beam that’s wrapped in white rope. Want to make a quick getaway, equip and fire a flash bomb arrow.  All in all, according to the salesmen’s shop interface at the point in the game I reached, it indicated that there are seven types are arrows, whether more types become available later I do not know, but I’m having fun using them.   However, like other inventory items, you can only carry so many of each type, some more than others, so picking your moments carefully to use them is key.

As I said earlier, the story at this point is a mystery to me. Other than trying to understand what happened to me and Erin, and that the guards obey someone called the Barren, the only other thing I know is that the townsfolk along with the guards fear something called the gloom.  I assume it's some plague of sorts given that when the guards speak of it, more often than not are coughing and spluttering whilst trying to reassure those around them that it's just a cold.  Either way it has me intrigued, so I play on.

Excluding the characters already mentioned, the world so far has been populated with the occasional peasant dressed in rags who sit around struggling to keep warm as the rain hammers down serving as a cold reminded of their dank and dreary existence.  There has also been more wealthy sorts wandering about with no real purpose.  Both can be killed if you are feeling particularly cruel, yet there doesn't seem to be any penalty.  A fact I found odd to be honest considering how detailed other mechanics are.  Mainly though the world is filled with guards; I've not encountered any that appear to be of a different archetype yet, but I'd probably be foolish to think that there is not harder and more difficult enemies to come.

So far the guards have proven themselves reliable in their simple yet robust behaviour.  You have guards positioned that are stationary, and others that patrol.  When alerted either by a distraction you have caused or by catching a glimpse of you they will investigate.  If they see a light go out that you have snuffed they will rekindle it, something I liked.  Combat so far is nothing special.  They pursue you if you flee until losing line of sight, and when close enough will just swing their weapon.  They don't appear to be able to counter, but as stated earlier their hits pack one hell of a punch!

Initial Verdict

For a game I purchased on sale on PSN and having hit the one hour mark, I have to say it’s well worth your time if you have not bought and played it already. Under the hood it’s a dark, challenging first person stealth game that is jammed pack with more features and mechanics than a lot of current AAA games released at the time of writing this do.  Not only is it polished and graphically impressive, it runs smoothly on my PS4, at least the patched version I'm playing on does. The cutscenes are well done for the most part, say but a few that seem to end too abruptly due to sloppy editing; the audio effects are well timed, albeit not mixed very well so often ambient NPCs speak too loudly, and the A.I. function adequately for purpose.  Nothing as yet has frustrated me to the point of wanting to put it down and stop playing.  This is a game where every feature was clearly thought about and goes the extra mile with certain mechanics that perhaps other games would not have even considered, because of that I applaud it.  The story so far has not blown me away and neither have the characters for that matter, but it’s definitely piqued my interest and I find myself wanting to play more to see where it is headed.

Pros

• The art and graphics of the environments in the world look really impressive considering when it was first released and hold up well in today's market. 
• Stealth mechanics are polished and well thought out.
• Features go the extra mile compared to other AAA titles.
• There is a solid reason to replay completed chapters.

Cons

• The levels are gated, some levels having multiple within them so encountering loading screens can be jarring at times.
• Ambient chatter of NPCs can be repetitive and overly loud.
• The story early on is allusive and does not paint a solid picture of what my motivations are.
• The map can be confusing to navigate.

Initial Score after 2hrs of play

Full Playthrough Score after 17hrs of play

Overall Verdict:

Thief is a true, exceptional-well-thought-out stealth experience that not only sustains the quality you experience at the start, but builds upon it as you progress.

Not only is it jammed back with varying features and mechanics to keep you challenged and entertained, though linear, each chapter is designed with alternative routes that cater to how you want to play the game, let that be passively or aggressively, on the ground or from above, and rewards you accordingly.

However, regardless of your play style, there will be no rushing through this, not at least on your first attempt, so for gamers who are not patient it perhaps is not for you, but for those who are, and that are vigilant and love to explore, your time and efforts are always rewarded.

As a master thief you will come to love the shadows, using them to overcome the obstacles and enemies in your way as you creep through the world picking up loot as you progress towards your goal.  Every decision will have you on edge, every step could be your last, and at times you will truly be afraid to move a muscle; for you are not the only thing that lurks in the darkness.  You will be scared!  But that fear will heighten your experience, and if you learn to harness that dread it will increase your awareness.

For all its successes, the game is not without its faults though.  The biggest and perhaps oddest being its replayability factor:

On the one hand it is a game that will have you replaying aspects and in cases entire chapters, not because you have to, but because you want to.  And not only will that experience feel different, it will be different if you play it differently.

However, on the other hand, does a really poor job of providing you with any sort of interface to facilitate this after you complete the game; a fact that is profoundly annoying and will baffle you within seconds after the game returns you to the clock tower.  Yes, being free to clean up any left over loot, explore the world some more, and do those side quests you never did is good, but to replay the eight individual chapters themselves you must reach the precise access point that triggered them in the first place.  Problem is, the map does not highlight or show you where they are.  You have to recall this information from memory!   There isn't even a cheap alternative like loading them from some menu, in game or when you quit back to the front end.

This is further exasperated by the fact the Stonemarket, (the game's main hub that links all the chapters together) is a rat maze of alley ways, tunnels and secret passageways, which, not only is fragmented and gated, meaning only aspects of it will show on the map depending on which area of it you are in, neither the main map or mini map highlights the entrance/exit points to these self-contained zones.  So finding the chapter starting points is made even harder.

The second aspect that it fails to delivery on is the boss fights.  There are two in total, both being placed in the very latter part of the game, which is fine.  However, the implementation of both is questionable, mainly because the difficulty scale compared to the rest of the game spikes massively.  To elaborate, it’s not that they are difficulty in the sense that you don’t know what to do, and that actually doing them is hard, it’s trying to do them in the stealth playstyle variant that is the problem.  You will try, so many times, using all your abilities, tools, and weapons at your disposal, and 99 times out of a 100 you will fail, forcing you to just do it the ‘messy’ way, which only serves to diminish your experience.

The third disappointment is the anticlimactic ending itself.  Let me be clear, it's not that the ending is bad per se, it's just not one that will leave you satisfied.  You will end up feeling exactly like how your main character looks: dejected.  This may have been the intended design, but because you spend the majority of the game learning as to what happened to you and your ally, (the story drip feeding you just enough to keep you intrigued and engaged) when the ending does come, you will be left wondering: is that it?  A factor made worse because the quality bar of all the other cutscenes throughout the game is so high.

However, like life, it's not the destination, but the journey that is important.  And Thief is a journey worth embarking.  I cannot stress that enough.  At any price it is a true worthwhile experience that will leave you wishing all games had this level of depth and quality. The gameplay is tight.  The mechanics are many.  The atmosphere of the world is amazing.  The sound and animations are equally up to par, and the playable cinematic experiences will have your heart pounding!

If you love stealth games, you will love Thief; just don't expect the world when it ends and you will walk away longing to return to that long good night.

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Thief Gameplay PS4 Video

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