Thief from Edios Montreal can be a superb game when it is at its best. However, the characters in the story and the story itself is bland and soon forgotten, more so Garett, the main protagonist in the game. There are also many technical issues and these could be the ruin of Thief.
Garrett has been put in clothing that makes him look as though he has come straight out of Assassins Creed. But he is boring and this is mainly down to the voice actor who offers a performance that is flat and the dialogue at times is bad.
The storyline and cast are boring too and you soon forget them. The game revolves around Garrett, who is the master thief and Erin, his protégé. Together they go on a quest of stealing and this turns out bad for the pair. The game then skips to a year later and a disease is now plaguing the city and is ruled by aristocracy that is corrupt. The story never really gels together and this is a shame as it does have potential.
The labyrinth like over world has a lot of atmosphere and will look superb on the PS4 and Xbox One. However the blur effects are constant and are not something that I like. The city is hard to navigate, even with constant waypoints and its easy to get lost when completing side mission and even some of the main segments of the story. Loading screens are frequent when you go through various sections of the city and this gives the game somewhat of a disjointed feel.
The atmosphere of the city is superb, but the structures are repetitive. Each of the buildings, streets and characters can seemingly blend into one another, which makes it very easy to get lost.
Another issue is the A.I characters, who seem to get amnesia and forget that you are there. Some of the NPC dialogues are funny when you first hear them but then they start to get annoying after the 20th time. The dialogue is often out of sync with the lip movement of the characters for most part of the game; this applies to the cut scenes too.
The character upgrade system is good and you can spend the trinkets you steal around the city and in various missions and this is satisfying.
Even with getting lost on many occasions Thief is not that very difficult. The bright glowing blue light usually points you in the right direction and the difficulty level can be adjusted.
The third perspective segments do feel out of place and they do have you wondering why they have been included. The creation of an action game in the first person where you can still jump, climb walls and bound over objects isn’t that easy, but the controls are competent. Combat is awkward and usually it involves you randomly pressing triggers in the hope of killing pursuers.
You can randomly fall over railings and die, so at time the controls are not that perfect. It can also be hard to tell what objects you can interact with. In some of the levels you can feel like you are being sent down a specific corridor as there are few options open to you.
Thief is not that bad of a game and when the stealth gameplay works good it does offer a superb experience. It can be confusing though and the overworld is frustrating at times, while the story is bland and this can overshadow the good things. The game needs more time to iron out these issues.
