September Assassination #3
Ok, this feels kind of shitty, because the game turned really unfun in the final stretch (the last 20% or so) and I ended up half-abandoning it at that point. There’s such a tonal shift in the last final missions that it didn’t feel like the same game, and I didn’t have it in me to beat them the way it was intended, so I used a trainer to at least experience the final levels without having to deal with all the BS at that point. It’s half an assassination, half an abandonment, but another game struck down from my list anyway. It really feels bittersweet, as this had been such a fantastic experience up to that point, but oh well ….
Thank you everyone at the PAGYWOSG Discord that helped me choose this one from my backlog!
Consider liking my review on Steam - it means a lot to me!
Ugh, it's so painful to write this review. For 80% of my playtime, Thief was everything I hoped it would be: an atmospheric, balanced, interesting, dense stealth game with incredible level design, enemy AI, light and sound systems, and great variety of tools to approach any scenario. I was enjoying myself to no end, even though I was slightly annoyed by levels with a big number of undead enemies.
But then I hit "Return to the Cathedral", and it just became another game, a bad one at that. Suddenly it felt sneaking was barely a viable alternative anymore, with hyper-aggressive enemies that would track you down any corner and two-or-three hit you at most. I had to switch from my previous "hide, observe, plan, act" to "run, try to memorize the level, save-scum, run, try to hit all the objectives with the level memorized, save-scum if anything goes wrong", and I don't think I need to explain why this is not fun.
This last stretch of Thief was so jarring for me, turning one of the most enjoyable 20-odd hours I've had in recent gaming memory into a 5-hour stretch that was an absolute slog. I'm still reeling from the whiplash. If I could go back in time, I would just with that I could force myself to stop playing after "Undercover!" and tell myself the game was over, in which case Thief would still be one of my favorite games of all time. Having endured the last four missions, I almost feel like not recommending it, but the rest of the game is so solid that it would be a disservice to skip it
Thank you for the write-up. Did you have any problems getting the game to run properly? I know the graphics are old, but are they well-done?
I’ve always been afraid to start it and find I can’t get it to run correctly. I also have it on GOG…if anything, I’d probably try it there as sometimes their versions are more stable.
I read and “liked” your review. :)