It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussionThrowback Thursday: Thief™ Gold(26 posts)(26 posts)
(26 posts)
Pages:
1
2
This is my favourite topic
Posted February 24, 2022
It's already Throwback Thursday again and we'll be talking, once more, about one of the games that received exclusive goodies thanks to the The Video Game History Foundation. Without further ado, let's sneakily, dive into the stealthy Thief Gold!

Dating back to 1998 and considered one of the fathers of the whole stealth game genre, Thief introduced groundbreaking game mechanics and was well rewarded for it. It topped many charts, received absolutely stellar ratings, and continues to be a reference to this day. As challenging as it is fascinating, the game offers intoxicating freedom and lets you choose your favorite approach to complete it. The first stealth game to use sound and lighting mechanics, you will have to make perfect use of them to navigate this immersive adventure through the shadows of a dark, savage city, with cold ruins, haunted cathedrals, and posh mansions. But for a more heartfelt critique, read why Matthias has it as one of his favorite games:



Recommended by Matthias, Customer Support:
[i]Thief is my second favorite game. As a kid, I used to own a copy but only completed the first level, and didn't go far into the second one because the prison level scared the hell outta me, vowing to never touch the game again... With no nostalgia attached, but being fairly interested in the Stealth genre, I decided to give Thief Gold a proper run in 2018. Saying that I was mesmerized would be an understatement.
It instantly captivated me with its suspenseful atmosphere, stellar level design, player choice, attention to detail, and especially by constantly subverting my expectations big time. Every level is a joy to play and the game effortlessly creates tension, mixes themes (to name some: horror, Tomb Raider-esque platforming, and exploration, steampunk), and culminates in an atmospheric high point on its final mission which has a walking simulator feel to it. One could argue that it might be the best horror game, which is impressive considering the game's main focus is stealth gameplay and robbing places blind. There are countless things to discover in this title and the amazing sequels... In my humble opinion, games like this aren't being created anymore and to everyone who hasn't experienced one of the Thief games, I hope to have piqued your interest :)[/i]

The Throwback Thursday series is done in cooperation with The Video Games History Foundation – a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and teaching the history of video games. If you want to support them, we encourage you to check their donation page. And if you'd like to see all the games in this ongoing series, go to its dedicated page.
Posted February 25, 2022
The entire original trilogy is worth mentioning. Every game has it's own set of pros and cons, but all of them are among the best immersive simulations and provide both interesting gameplay and story.
avatar
nightcraw1er.488: And finally, if you want the most modern experience, the dark mod which is a standalone product now, based n the doom engine, which has a lot of missions
The Dark Mod is a good demo of Thief conception for those, who doubt if they want to play a game like this. And it features 2010-s level of graphics, which may encourage more people to try the series.

The Dark Mod is also a great foundation for mod developers, because it provides an open full-featured engine and tons of dedicated assets, both without proprietary license limitations. It's fascinating, that this AAA-level project is created mostly from scratch by an amateur fan-community.

However, it has some annoying issues: lock-picking is a sort of sound-based QTE ( which can be adjusted in settings, but at cost of making the mini-game a lot easier ), melee combat is clunky and unresponsive, also there is a floating bug with resetting controls.

It is a good idea to read the official wiki before playing. There is a lot of useful info about gameplay, setting and lore.

For those, who want to try The Dark Mod, I recommend to start with Thomas Porter series. It is complete and concluded, provides enough challenge ( not being hardcore at the same time ) and variable missions in many different atmospheric environments, interesting to explore. It introduces some new features as well.
Posted February 26, 2022
By the way, people in this thread may be interested in this wishlist entry for a very obviously Thief-inspired game. Apparently the dev submitted the game to GOG but never heard back, and is still interested.

https://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/filcher

https://johan-hjarpe.itch.io/filcher/devlog/349530/filcher-soundtrack-available-vote-for-gog-release
Posted February 26, 2022
low rated
avatar
fronzelneekburm: Speaking of preservation, it would be way cool if gog could release the non-Gold version of Thief as a bonus feature!
I'd also like to see that.
Posted February 27, 2022
Many people would greatly appreciate if you would add GERMAN language to Thief Gold on GOG! The German localisation of this game was excellent.
Posted February 27, 2022
avatar
thuey: Hah! Similar to how I felt about Tomb Raider 1, I enjoyed Thief 1 a lot... but liked it less once it started having alien/fantastical creatures.

For Thief, this was a larger part of the game than it was for TR. It just seemed like game designers created a realistic immersive experience and then for whatever reason didn't feel like that was enough to sustain a game. So they threw in a jarring transition into fantasy/sci-fi for the latter parts.

Still a great game. But the latter parts were such a turn off I didn't even try Thief 2 or 3.
Yup, this is why I vastly prefer Thief 2. The overly huge levels also wasn't quite my cup of tea. That Crypt level is the first game was one of the most unpleasant levels I've ever had to go through in gaming.

Can't say the fantastical elements bugged me in TR. Come to think of it, it didn't bother me in Thief 3 either. The Cradle was an incredible level for example.
Posted March 05, 2022
I played Thief Gold and have the rest of the series on GOG to look forward to. I did highly enjoy my time with the game - but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it beats more modern stealth titles like Splinter Cell (which I played first). In general, I think its fictional universe has great potential, the narrative is very good, and the level design (which can lead to absolutely sprawling levels) and atmosphere (the soundscape deserves most of the credit) are its greatest strengths, but - especially noticeable if you've played more recent stealth games - you'll also find lacking/bugged AI (I played on the highest difficulty setting - just as I had done before for Deus Ex - and more than once did a guard literally "bump" into me in the dark, without actually realising he had found me!), and some questionable design choices amidst all the good stuff (to say nothing about the obvious graphical limitations). Overall I'd say it is somewhere between very good and excellent (or 85%). The original release of the game, Thief: The Dark Project, has better pacing but the Gold edition's "one Talisman each across four missions" is better.

I also don't agree with those who label this as an "immersive sim", even if it is extremely immersive :) It's a stealth game through-and-through, no such thing as having a choice between different gameplay styles à la Deus Ex.
Posted March 06, 2022
avatar
Sat42: I also don't agree with those who label this as an "immersive sim", even if it is extremely immersive :) It's a stealth game through-and-through, no such thing as having a choice between different gameplay styles à la Deus Ex.
Deus Ex is an immersive sim with RPG-elements, it provides many RPG-style checks. You need particular perks and stats to use predefined options.

In Thief your choice is limited only by available equipment and mission goals. You can try anything anywhere and see, how well it works. ;)

And even stealth, being a default Thief play-style, grants you a lot of freedom in details of this gameplay approach.
Post edited March 06, 2022 by AlexTerranova
Posted March 06, 2022
avatar
Sat42: I also don't agree with those who label this as an "immersive sim", even if it is extremely immersive :) It's a stealth game through-and-through, no such thing as having a choice between different gameplay styles à la Deus Ex.
avatar
AlexTerranova: Deus Ex is an immersive sim with RPG-elements, it provides many RPG-style checks. You need particular perks and stats to use predefined options.

In Thief your choice is limited only by available equipment and mission goals. You can try anything anywhere and see, how well it works. ;)

And even stealth, being a default Thief play-style, grants you a lot of freedom in details of this gameplay approach.
I guess this take is fairly balanced! (If I could, here on GOG forums, I would add a reaction to your post with that Josh Sawyer "balanced" gif from RPGCodex :P )

I guess one can debate how we define the borders of the immersive sim genre, and by all means I understand Thief meets some of the core criteria (simulation systems allowing for emergent gameplay), but again my understanding is the genre means not just literally different viable pathways in a level (semi-linear/nonlinear or outright non-linear design) and a variety of tools for one play style, but different viable gameplay styles (Deus Ex being the quintessential example). Thief is definitely good at exploiting the different tools of a stealth-based approach, but then if this (plus "complex" AI) is enough to be "immersive sim", then one could argue Halo: Combat Evolved is an immersive sim by virtue of having enough freedom in the tools and possible approaches available within the FPS/action play style.
Posted March 06, 2022
Another game of possible interest, if it turns out to be good: https://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/abermore

avatar
Sat42: lacking/bugged AI (I played on the highest difficulty setting - just as I had done before for Deus Ex - and more than once did a guard literally "bump" into me in the dark, without actually realising he had found me!)
Yes, they don't have a sense of touch; it's pretty obvious if you're pushing up against someone from behind. You might like The Dark Mod.

On the other hand I believe they do have an extra vision cone to simulate peripheral vision.
Posted March 06, 2022
avatar
VanishedOne: Another game of possible interest, if it turns out to be good: https://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/abermore

avatar
Sat42: lacking/bugged AI (I played on the highest difficulty setting - just as I had done before for Deus Ex - and more than once did a guard literally "bump" into me in the dark, without actually realising he had found me!)
avatar
VanishedOne: Yes, they don't have a sense of touch; it's pretty obvious if you're pushing up against someone from behind. You might like The Dark Mod.

On the other hand I believe they do have an extra vision cone to simulate peripheral vision.
I didnt know about that Abermore, thanks! Voted. Other one I have heard about is Filcher:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1355650/Filcher/
But I havent played it.
Posted March 06, 2022
avatar
VanishedOne: You might like The Dark Mod.[/url]
Indeed, I should check it out - looks amazing!
Pages:
1
2
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionThrowback Thursday: Thief™ Gold(26 posts)(26 posts)
(26 posts)