Thief (2014 video game)
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''Thief'' is a stealth
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Eidos-Montréal Eidos-Montréal is a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal and part of Embracer Group. The studio was founded by Stéphane D'Astous in 2007 under SCi Entertainment. It became part of Square Enix Europe in 2009 and CDE Entertainment in ...
and published by
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
in February 2014 for
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,
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
video gaming platforms.
Feral Interactive Feral Interactive is a British video games developer and publisher for macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was founded in 1996 to bring games to Mac and specialises in porting games to different ...
brought the game to macOS in November 2015. It is a revival of the
cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
''Thief'' video game series of which it is the fourth installment. Initially announced in 2009 as ''Thief 4'', it was later announced in 2013 that the game is a reboot for the series. The game is set in 'The City', a
dark fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...
world inspired by Victorian,
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
,
gaslight fantasy Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era ...
and
steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
aesthetics. Players control Garrett, a master thief who embarks on several missions focusing on stealing from the rich. Players may approach
levels Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...
in a variety of different ways; players can choose the action-oriented and lethal approach, where players will disable or kill enemies on their way to their destination, using knives and takedowns, or opt for the non-lethal stealthy approach, where players minimize interaction with non-player characters and the environment in order to avoid detection. Players may choose which path to take to their destination, as each location contains several branching paths. Upon release, the game received a mixed critical reception, with critics praising its replay value and stealth gameplay, but criticizing the map layout and story.


Gameplay

The 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 Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...
and the player is able to utilize a variety of playing styles to traverse them. The game contains a variety of ways to distract or kill guards, such as barrels of oil which can be set alight. Levels contain coins and valuable objects which Garrett can steal; these are converted into money which can be spent on equipment and upgrades. Garrett is able to
pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...
guards and other characters. 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 character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s will attempt to hunt him down. The developers have stated that the game's
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
is aware of the level design, and as such guards will know in advance of potential hiding spots that the player may be utilizing. The player may enter a "Focus" mode, which provides several advantages. 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 slow down time, so that Garrett is able to steal more effectively while pickpocketing. Garrett can use Focus to push enemies or perform debilitating attacks. It can be further upgraded over the course of the game. Garrett carries a
blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...
, used to knock guards unconscious; a collapsible,
composite bow A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, a form of laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stret ...
, 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 An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
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.


Synopsis


Setting

''Thief'' is set in a
dark fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...
world inspired by Victorian,
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
, and
steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
aesthetics. Garrett, a master thief who has been away from his hometown for a long time, returns to it, a place known only as The city, and finds it ruled with an iron grip by a tyrant called the Baron. While The City is ravaged by a
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
, the rich continue to live in isolation and good fortune while the poor are forming numerous mobs against the authorities. Garrett intends to use the volatile situation to his favor. A
reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
of the series, the story is set several hundreds of years after the original events in the same universe, with clues to the backstory being hidden among documents, letters and plaques. The original master thief Garrett's (known as the legendary Sneak Thief) iconic mechanical eye is one of the hidden unique loots in the game that can be found inside of a prison complex. Other references to the original series include the Keepers, Hammerites and the Old Gods, with ruins relating to them being visitable locations throughout the City and beneath.


Plot

During a night of revelry in the city, Garrett is hired by his contact Basso to steal from the manor of Baron Northcrest, the tyrannous ruler of the city; Garrett is partnered with Erin to assist him. Erin is naïve and reckless, and needlessly kills a guard using her
grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...
Claw, leading Garrett to rebuke her. Atop the manor's roof, the pair witness Northcrest inside leading a group of men into conducting a magical ritual. A wary Garrett calls off the job, but Erin objects; in the ensuing struggle, Erin falls through a skylight and absorbs the energy being channelled through the ritual. Garrett inadvertently falls into the hall and is knocked out. Garrett awakens from a coma one year later to find that the city is being plagued by a disease of unknown origin called "the Gloom", and that various districts of the city are in lockdown. Returning to his hideout, Garret receives a message from Basso, who hires Garrett to steal a ring from a noble's corpse at a foundry used to dispose of victims of the Gloom. Garrett evades Northcrest's right-hand man, the Thief-Taker General, and retrieves the ring. There, he meets a man called Orion, the leader of a resistance movement working to bring down Northcrest. Agreeing to help Orion, Garrett ventures to a hidden brothel to find a unique book, visiting Erin's hideout in the process and experiencing a vision of her mentioning a place called Moira Asylum. Basso is arrested by the Thief-Taker General, prompting Garrett to rescue him. Garrett breaks into Northcrest's vault and recovers a piece of a mysterious stone called the Primal, which had been used in the ritual at Northcrest's manor; another vision reveals to Garrett that Erin is alive and under the influence of the power from the stone. Exploring Moira Asylum, Garrett uncovers a second piece of the stone, but is unable to find Erin there. Garrett returns to Northcrest's manor to confront him, while Orion sparks a revolution on the city's streets. Northcrest reveals to Garrett that his ritual intended to harness the power of the stone to use as a new energy source; the disruption of the ritual and fragmentation of the stone resulted in the Gloom being unleashed into the city. Orion transpires to be Northcrest's illegitimate brother, Aldous, who seeks the Primal for his own purposes. Seeking information on the stone, Garrett visits an informant, the Queen of Beggars, who tells him that the Primal must be reassembled and its power contained to save the city from the Gloom. Garrett enters an old cathedral and finds Aldous using Erin in an attempt to heal citizens, assisted by the items stolen by Garrett. The Thief-Taker General arrives as Aldous flees with Erin; Garrett kills the General and pursues Aldous to his hideout aboard a ship. Erin unleashes the power of the Primal, killing Aldous, before attacking Garrett. He manages to reassemble the stone, returning Erin to normal, but the force knocks her over the edge of the ship. Garrett throws down her Claw to save her and falls unconscious. He awakens to find the Claw embedded in a post next to wet footprints, implying Erin survived, as dawn arrives.


Development

''Thief'' was initially announced in 2009 under the
working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
''Thief 4'' (stylized as ''Thi4f''), after rumours of its development. Developed at
Eidos-Montréal Eidos-Montréal is a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal and part of Embracer Group. The studio was founded by Stéphane D'Astous in 2007 under SCi Entertainment. It became part of Square Enix Europe in 2009 and CDE Entertainment in ...
, the game was handled by a team other than the one that made '' Deus Ex: Human Revolution''. 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 ''Assassin's Creed'' is an open-world, action-adventure, and stealth game franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patrice D ...
'' series of games. 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." 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". In January 2013,
NeoGAF NeoGAF, formerly known as the Gaming-Age Forums, is an Internet forum primarily dedicated to the discussion of video games. Founded as an adjunct to a video game news site, on April 4, 2006, it changed its name to NeoGAF and became independently ...
found
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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. Steam users that pre-ordered the game received ''
Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...
'' 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 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...
'' items based on the game. Although the game was initially expected for
seventh-generation consoles The seventh generation of home video game consoles began on November 22, 2005, with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 home console. This was followed by the release of Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006, and Ninte ...
, it was switched to
eighth-generation consoles The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017. The g ...
during development. This was confirmed when in March 2013, the game was unveiled through that month's issue of ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' and announced to be released on the PC, PlayStation 4 and "other next-gen consoles". The game is a
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of the ''Thief'' series. Based upon initial press release photos Phil Savage of ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' made some comparisons to ''
Dishonored ''Dishonored'' is a 2012 action-adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Set in the fictional, plague-ridden industrial city of Dunwall, ''Dishonored'' follows the story of Corvo Attano, bodyguard to th ...
'', stating "It all looks a bit ''Dishonored'', which is apt, given that ''Dishonored'' looked a bit ''Thief''." Eidos announced that the veteran voice actor Stephen Russell has been replaced by actor
Romano Orzari Romano Orzari (born 12 December 1964) is a Canadian film and television actor. He played Hoagy Carmichael in '' Bix'' (1991), Pvt. Jimmy Rassi in ''Silent Night'' (2002), Joey Perrotta in '' Baby for Sale'' (2004), and Tom in '' Mères et filles ...
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 Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
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." 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. ''Thief'' supports Mantle as well as
AMD TrueAudio TrueAudio is the name given to AMD's ASIC intended to serve as dedicated co-processor for the calculations of computationally expensive advanced audio signal processing, like e.g. convolution reverberation effects and 3D audio effects. TrueAud ...
. An
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version was released on November 24, 2015.


Reception

''Thief'' received "mixed" reviews, according to video game
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. 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." Giving the reboot a score of 6.8,
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Dan Stapleton criticized the decision to replace the voice actor for Garrett, saying that the new actor,
Romano Orzari Romano Orzari (born 12 December 1964) is a Canadian film and television actor. He played Hoagy Carmichael in '' Bix'' (1991), Pvt. Jimmy Rassi in ''Silent Night'' (2002), Joey Perrotta in '' Baby for Sale'' (2004), and Tom in '' Mères et filles ...
, 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. ''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. 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". 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."
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw Benjamin Richard "Yahtzee" Croshaw (born 24 May 1983) is a British comedic writer, author, video game journalist, humorist, podcaster, and video game developer. He is best known for his video game review series ''Zero Punctuation'', which he pro ...
was very negative on the game in his ''
Zero Punctuation ''Zero Punctuation'' is a series of video game reviews created by English comedy writer and video game journalist Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. Since the series began in 2007, episodes have been published weekly by internet magazine '' The Escapist''. ...
'' 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." In his annual game awards video, he listed ''Thief'' as the single worst video game of 2014.


Sequel

At an OXM 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." As of 2022, this potential sequel has yet to materialize.


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 2014 video games Action-adventure games Dark fantasy video games Eidos-Montréal games Gothic video games MacOS games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games Single-player video games Square Enix games Stealth video games Steampunk video games Thief (series) Unreal Engine games Video game reboots Video games about crime Video games adapted into comics Video games developed in Canada Video games developed in the Netherlands Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games that support Mantle (API) Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox One games Feral Interactive games Nixxes Software games