Filcher

About

Filcher is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Johan Hjärpe and was released on September 14, 2021. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Filcher is a single-player simulation game with an intriguing story and smart, immersive gameplay. As a freelance thief in a noir-style 2.5D world, players must use stealth and cunning to avoid detection and settle an old debt. With outstanding graphics and a dense atmosphere, Filcher offers a top-notch stealth experience, despite some minor flaws."

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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92%

Audience ScoreBased on 184 reviews

story30 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

Filcher captures the essence of classic stealth gameplay, reminiscent of the original Thief games, with a unique noir aesthetic and engaging atmosphere.
The game features a well-designed level structure that encourages exploration and experimentation, with various secrets and loot to discover.
The addition of a save system has improved the overall experience, allowing players to enjoy the game without the frustration of restarting entire missions after a single mistake.

The lack of vertical movement options, such as climbing or mantling, limits player freedom and exploration compared to its predecessors.
Some players may find the absence of mid-mission saves frustrating, especially in longer missions where a single mistake can lead to significant time loss.
The 2D sprite-based enemies can make it difficult to gauge their line of sight and awareness, potentially leading to unfair detection.

story
180 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
79%
4%
The story in "Filcher" is a charming homage to the classic Thief series, presented through stylish comic book cutscenes and engaging environmental storytelling. While the narrative is relatively simple and ends somewhat abruptly, it effectively ties together the game's exploration and stealth mechanics across nine varied missions, each offering a unique atmosphere and replayability. However, the lack of mid-mission saves can lead to frustration, as players must restart entire missions upon failure, which may detract from the overall enjoyment of the story experience.
- “The story is surprisingly good.”
- “The comic book style cutscenes between missions are very stylish and contribute to the overall atmosphere.”
- “Filcher is an absolute triumph that also manages to stand on its own with a fun story and deeply appealing art-deco/noir aesthetic.”
- “The story is relatively anemic and ends on a severe anticlimax, and there is no voice acting of any kind (except for guards' lo-fi grunts and yawns), undeniably hurting the personality that would have otherwise been provided by Steven Russell's gravely goodness.”
- “The perfect spiritual successor to Thief, but it needs a save system during missions. I understand the point of not having it, but it's very frustrating.”
- “The game lacks the feature to save in the middle of a mission, but the missions themselves are just the right size that failing is still punishing while not feeling like a monumental setback.”
gameplay
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
77%
5%
The gameplay of "Filcher" is heavily inspired by the classic "Thief" series, featuring core mechanics centered around light and sound-based stealth, while introducing modern twists like a sliding mechanic. While some players appreciate the streamlined approach and unique level designs, others find the lack of mid-mission saves and certain gameplay features, such as climbing, limiting. Overall, the game offers a polished and engaging stealth experience that balances nostalgia with fresh elements, though it may frustrate those seeking the depth of its predecessors.
- “Filcher nails the sound and light-based stealth mechanics that Thief: The Dark Project did so well, pairing it with retro-noir styling that fits its moody atmosphere and tense gameplay like a glove.”
- “The gameplay is solid, I love the noir style, and the storyline (as basic as it is) works well.”
- “Light and sound are the two key elements to the core gameplay loop, which is absolutely crucial to a good stealth game, so Filcher gets that right straight away.”
- “The devs tackled an infamous issue with stealth games: the appeal of the main gameplay loop is to carefully explore without being detected, but any mistake forces you to reload a save, which diminishes the rewards of the core gameplay loop.”
- “At its best, Filcher is fun and engaging, but at worst, this type of gameplay loop can become a chore, imbuing minute-to-minute play with stress and anxiety (not the fun kind), and making finishing a mission feel like more of a relief than an accomplishment.”
- “Also, the lack of saving mid-level is not an issue in the start of the game, but near the end it is quite frustrating when most of a level is very easy and then there is one very hard part, meaning that you need to redo ~10 minutes of gameplay until you can reattempt the hard part.”
graphics
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
59%
7%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming noir aesthetic that draws inspiration from classic titles like "Thief" and "Batman: The Animated Series," creating a unique atmosphere that enhances gameplay. While some visuals are praised for their stunning simplicity and effective use of lighting, others are criticized for being inconsistent and occasionally bland. Overall, the art style is seen as a strong point, contributing to the game's appeal despite some technical limitations.
- “I love the graphical style and the gameplay feels highly polished and rewarding.”
- “Filcher is an absolute triumph that also manages to stand on its own with a fun story and deeply appealing art-deco/noir aesthetic.”
- “An unapologetic love letter to classic Thief with a gorgeous art deco expressionist aesthetic borrowed with love from Batman: The Animated Series and German expressionist films, not to mention classic film noir.”
- “In-game visuals are hit or miss; mostly bland but occasionally gorgeous lighting moments.”
- “The art style is not consistent at all; some sprites are way too low detail.”
- “Unfortunately, it can't come even close to copying the aesthetics.”
atmosphere
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
38%
9%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive noir aesthetic, effectively utilizing lighting and sound design to create a tense and engaging environment reminiscent of classic stealth titles like Thief. Players appreciate the minimalist art style and atmospheric soundtrack, which enhance the exploration and gameplay experience, despite some critiques regarding the clarity of guard mechanics. Overall, the game successfully balances atmospheric exploration with action, offering a unique charm that resonates with fans of the genre.
- “Changing lighting conditions are implemented in an atmospheric way, such as flashing furnaces in factory halls or the sweeping lighthouse beam at the harbor.”
- “It's an amazing thief tribute with a dreamlike noir atmosphere that has a few of its own tricks up its sleeve.”
- “The skeletal and atmospheric soundtrack builds tension while you sneak around the beautiful film noir styled environments.”
- “There are moments where it really engrossed me in the gameplay with its noir aesthetic and simple but solid atmosphere, but there were also many moments where I wished I was just playing Thief instead.”
- “Despite the 2.5D visuals making guard vision a bit difficult to gauge and the lack of mid-mission saves, I quite enjoyed Filcher a bunch for its setting, strong atmosphere, and decently presented story and characters.”
- “There's not much in the way of music or sound atmosphere, and most of what is there is quite mediocre.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The music in the game is described as moody and atmospheric, effectively enhancing the film noir aesthetic and building tension during gameplay. While many reviewers appreciate the minimalist dark-ambient soundtrack for its fitting ambiance, some criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety. Overall, the sound design contributes significantly to the game's immersive experience, despite some mixed opinions on its execution.
- “The music, again simple but terribly moody, evokes buried secrets, lurking silhouettes, and empty display cases.”
- “Outstanding thief-like with great atmosphere and a super solid minimalist dark-ambient soundtrack.”
- “The skeletal and atmospheric soundtrack builds tension while you sneak around the beautiful film noir styled environments.”
- “There's not much in the way of music or sound atmosphere, and most of what is there is quite mediocre.”
- “Where it fails to impress is the music, which is lackluster and repetitive.”
- “The soundtrack is drone-like and mainly used only for ambiance, like the first two Thief games.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game offers decent replayability, primarily due to its varied missions, hidden secrets, and a scoring system that encourages players to improve their performance. While some players feel the game is short, the engaging gameplay and exploration elements provide enough incentive to replay levels for completionists and enthusiasts. However, opinions vary on the necessity of forced replay value, with some players preferring a more organic approach to replaying missions.
- “Made with passion and admiration for Looking Glass Studios' genre-defining series, Filcher brings back the classic formula of an exploration and thievery-focused sim, repackaged into a highly stylized, charming, and almost overwhelmingly low-fi, story-driven set of 9 varied missions with a decent amount of replayability, thanks to secrets and a scoring/rank system for enthusiasts and completionists.”
- “I also find the length of the game to be in the sweet spot; it is not too long but not too short, and the missions offer a lot of replayability potential.”
- “Even if the game is short, there's plenty of replay value due to the amount of secrets, rankings on the missions based on how well you play, etc.”
- “Forced replay value is no value to me at all.”
- “Little replayability after ghosting all the levels, but I might replay them anyway because the game is that fun.”
- “The game is somewhat short, but it has some replayability, especially if you want to get a high score and find all the secrets.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to the lack of autosave and checkpoints, which leads to tedious repetition when minor mistakes occur. The intricate and expansive level design, while impressive, only heightens the stress and difficulty of mastering each level, making the overall experience feel overly punishing.
- “The biggest fault though, and the reason I'm refunding it, is that you cannot autosave; I get it - the developer wants you to master each level and that's perfectly understandable - however, what I think they perhaps failed to understand is how tedious beating a level can become when one minor mistake sets you back to the beginning - the impressive intricacy and progressively larger size of each level only exacerbates this problem.”
- “The rough gameplay paired with no quick saves/checkpoints makes for a very stressful and tedious experience.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The optimization of the game is generally well-received, with particular praise for the character Garret's wit and the strong voice performance by Stephen Russell, which enhances immersion. However, some users feel that the absence of additional quality voice performances detracts from a fully immersive experience.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the clever mechanics of outsmarting guards, which adds a comedic element to mission completion. The noir art style enhances the overall atmosphere, making the experience both engaging and amusing. Overall, players find it to be a delightful indie title worth purchasing.
- “It's a really good game; the way we have to complete each mission by fooling the guards is so funny. The noir art fits great with the atmosphere and the story. Good indie, buy it.”