Thief

67%
Game Brain Score Based on 6,459 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Thief Game Cover
All in all, Thief successfully ticks the right boxes on the PlayStation 4, although it's not a totally next-gen experience.
Starting at $4.11Buy now

Thief is a single-player shooter game with excellent graphics, atmospheric setting, and a highly emotional story. As Garrett, the master thief, players can choose their path and approach to challenges in this first-person adventure. With a good gameplay, soundtrack, and lots of replayability, the game offers a reinvention of a classic franchise, despite some bugs and grinding.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • Epic Games
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

67%
Audience ScoreBased on 6,459 reviews
story882 positive mentions
stability163 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique perspective, allowing players to control Garrett as he sneaks through the city, stealing valuable items while avoiding guards.
  • Thief provides a satisfying sense of freedom, encouraging players to explore every nook and cranny of The City with countless paths and hidden areas.
  • The graphics and sound design are impressive, with beautifully rendered environments and atmospheric sound effects that enhance the overall experience.
  • The game's difficulty curve can be steep, and the lack of hand-holding can be overwhelming for players used to more guided experiences.
  • Combat mechanics can feel clunky and frustrating at times, detracting from the stealth experience.
  • The story lacks depth and character development, making it less engaging compared to the original Thief games.
  • story3,908 mentions

    The story of *Thief* (2014) has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it lacking in depth and coherence compared to its predecessors. While some appreciate the atmospheric setting and the potential for intrigue, others criticize the plot as predictable, clichéd, and poorly executed, often feeling disjointed and unsatisfying by the end. Despite its shortcomings, the game offers engaging stealth mechanics and a variety of missions, which some players find enjoyable enough to overlook the narrative flaws.

    • “One of the things that sets Thief apart from other stealth games is the emphasis on storytelling.”
    • “The open-world design, engaging story, and challenging gameplay make it a standout title in the stealth genre.”
    • “The story was great and I love the dark atmosphere along with the gothic-like art style.”
    • “One area where Thief falls a bit short is its story.”
    • “While the game's world-building is excellent, the story itself is somewhat lacking in depth and fails to really engage players.”
    • “The story is terrible and shoehorned into the game.”
  • gameplay1,883 mentions

    The gameplay of "Thief" (2014) has received mixed reviews, with many praising its stealth mechanics and atmospheric design, while others criticize its clunky controls, linear level design, and repetitive gameplay. Players appreciate the variety of stealth options and the challenge of navigating the environment, but find the overall experience marred by technical issues and a lack of depth compared to earlier titles in the series. Despite its flaws, the game offers a solid stealth experience for fans of the genre, though it may not fully satisfy those seeking the complexity of the original games.

    • “The open-world design, engaging story, and challenging gameplay make it a standout title in the stealth genre.”
    • “The stealth mechanics are well-executed, and the game provides plenty of opportunities for players to use their wit and cunning to sneak past guards and steal valuable items.”
    • “The gameplay is smooth and the AI never glitched out.”
    • “One of the most significant issues is the repetitive nature of the gameplay.”
    • “However, the gameplay loop and constant loading screens create a game that is boring, even without discussing the story.”
    • “The gameplay is extremely linear, it is a game with far cry 'stealth' just with darkness mechanics still there.”
  • graphics1,116 mentions

    The graphics of *Thief* (2014) have received mixed reviews, with many praising the game's impressive visual fidelity and unique dark, gothic art style that still holds up well today. While some players appreciate the atmospheric design and detailed environments, others criticize the game for feeling generic and lacking the depth of its predecessors, with some noting that the graphics can be demanding on hardware. Overall, the visuals are often highlighted as one of the game's strongest aspects, despite some technical issues and a perception of repetitiveness in the environments.

    • “Incredible world design and the art style is quite unique.”
    • “The world has a dark, grimy, moody feel, and while any evaluation of graphics is highly subjective, I love the level of fidelity in this game.”
    • “The graphics are stunning and I found the game enjoyable.”
    • “This game is awful; the graphics are highly dated, even for a game coming out in 2014.”
    • “Gone is the dark, but unique and telling art style of the old series, replaced by a need to have 'next-gen' graphics, murdering much of Thief's mystery, even its brutality.”
    • “The graphics are very pretty, and while that alone isn’t worth the price of admission, the game at least has that going for it.”
  • atmosphere523 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its rich, dark, and immersive qualities, effectively capturing a gothic steampunk setting filled with tension and detail. Players appreciate the haunting sound design and the distinct styles of various locations, which contribute to a sense of a living, breathing world. While some critiques mention inconsistencies in storytelling and gameplay, the overall ambiance remains a standout feature, drawing players into its oppressive and atmospheric environment.

    • “The city is a richly detailed and atmospheric setting that feels alive and fully-realized.”
    • “A lot of care has gone into drawing out a 'Victorian gothic steampunk urban environment at night' atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is dark and very detailed; I keep finding more places to explore throughout the city.”
    • “The atmosphere is basically non-existent as well.”
    • “Gone is the atmosphere of the old Thief games, but the feel of this game can stand on its own.”
    • “The one thing that bothers me the most is the really boring, ugly looking atmosphere this game has.”
  • music214 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and tension, while others criticize it for being overly loud, repetitive, or generic. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's contribution to the game's mood, but note that it can sometimes overshadow important audio cues, such as dialogue and environmental sounds. Overall, while there are standout moments, the music is often described as inconsistent and not as memorable as that of previous titles in the series.

    • “The atmosphere, music, commentary by the main character, and setting of the scenes is well done.”
    • “The music and sound effects really help the gameplay in a way that listening becomes a major way of perceiving the game world.”
    • “The soundtrack, as well as ambient music and sounds, are absolutely fantastic.”
    • “The soundtrack is completely forgettable.”
    • “The music is a strange modern day adrenaline techno sound that just doesn't seem to fit the game's setting at all, and the exact same music plays every time you get caught.”
    • “The audio in this game is also pathetic, at certain times the music is so loud that it completely obfuscated the main story narration, this is the worst audio integration I've ever seen in a video game.”
  • stability172 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and audio issues that disrupt gameplay and immersion. While some users noted minor glitches that were manageable, many expressed frustration over game-breaking bugs, repetitive dialogue, and AI problems, leading to an overall impression of the game being unfinished and poorly optimized. Despite its potential, the game's stability issues significantly detract from the experience, making it feel incomplete and frustrating for many players.

    • “I found no freezes or bugs which some reviewers have mentioned here.”
    • “There are no glitches in this game unlike what has been mentioned in some reviews at the time.”
    • “Runs great, looks great, has a very dark atmosphere.”
    • “Beyond the above, this game is severely buggy and shows signs of incomplete development (despite a very long development cycle).”
    • “The problem is at the time of release this was a $60 mess (very buggy) that didn't live up to the franchise (bad story, ignores previous games) and the DLC were straight up predatory, especially the limited use ones.”
    • “Not playable, many bugs and glitches.”
  • optimization138 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and good graphics, while others report significant issues such as stuttering, lag during cutscenes, and poor performance on lower-end PCs. Many users noted that the game runs well after patches, but initial optimization problems and ongoing performance issues, particularly in hub areas, detract from the overall experience. Overall, while some players find it well-optimized, others consider it poorly optimized, especially for PC.

    • “It's well optimized, it's beautiful, and the gameplay mechanics are pretty solid.”
    • “The game was optimized and ran beautifully.”
    • “Optimization-wise, this game runs like butter; I by no means have a high-end rig, my graphics card is a GTX 650 Ti Boost SSC by EVGA, and I play on ultra maintaining around 30-45 fps.”
    • “Unplayable, this game was never optimized properly and it runs like crap.”
    • “I had to refund it because the performance was just too bad at my end. I don't have a great graphics card, but even at lowest settings and resolution all the way down to 1280x720, I barely got 15fps while I can play games like GTA V and Hitman with 30+ on medium settings.”
    • “Game is plagued with an assortment of bugs and poor optimization.”
  • grinding98 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tediousness, with players noting that unskippable animations for actions like looting and navigating the city significantly detract from the experience. Many reviews highlight the repetitive nature of tasks and the convoluted map design, which leads to a frustrating and monotonous gameplay loop. While some players find enjoyment in the stealth mechanics, the overall sentiment is that the game often feels like a tedious slog rather than an engaging experience.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “A bit grindy.”
    • “Every single action has unskippable animations - picking up items is tedious and opening a window is shockingly frustrating.”
    • “Too many tedious, repetitive little tasks that make up large portions of the gameplay.”
    • “The map layout is incredibly tedious to navigate and usually depends on you finding a singular (unmarked) exit point linking multiple maps and just memorizing where it is.”
  • replayability93 mentions

    The game's replayability is generally viewed as strong, with many players appreciating the variety of playstyles, difficulty settings, and collectible challenges that encourage multiple playthroughs. However, some reviewers noted limitations in replay value due to repetitive gameplay and a lack of randomization, suggesting that while there are opportunities for replay, they may not be compelling for all players. Overall, those who enjoy stealth mechanics and exploring different approaches to missions are likely to find significant replay value.

    • “The game has three standard difficulty modes but also a custom difficulty mode in which you can select different modifiers like penalties for getting damaged, which proves to be good in providing replay value.”
    • “There's a ton to do in the game, and three core paths or play styles—predator, opportunist, and ghost—giving the main story missions a lot of replay value.”
    • “The optional objectives on missions reward bonus gold for upgrades/resources and really do push you to complete them, such as remaining undetected, a certain number of knockouts, or pickpockets, and the difficulty settings at the beginning really make this game replayable for the challenge.”
    • “There really is nothing that stands out, so there isn't any replay value at all.”
    • “I certainly know I won't be revisiting this any time soon, despite the clear efforts put in to encourage replayability.”
    • “The game gets really repetitive, lock pick this, watch out for the noisy glass or papers on the floor, etc. It's so linear that it practically removes any decisions about how to go about stealing something, which just kills the replay value.”
  • humor87 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players noting a significant decline from the witty and darkly comedic tone of the original Thief series. While some found moments of humor in glitches and NPC dialogue, the overall consensus is that the game lacks the charm and cleverness of its predecessors, often feeling grim and serious instead. The absence of iconic humorous elements, such as the banter between guards and memorable character quirks, left many fans disappointed.

    • “The story is hilariously bad, but all of the gameplay was fun enough to me that I just laughed at all the weird stuff that happens.”
    • “Garrett, as a character, is dark and broody with a humorous wit, and makes for a likable protagonist.”
    • “The ai reacts really well with the environment, and the dialogue is pretty hilarious in some places.”
    • “The humor element of the game is not funny at all; the player can't really relate to Garrett and his motivations.”
    • “The jokes fall flat and often feel forced, making it hard to engage with the characters.”
    • “I expected a lot more from the humor, but it just feels stale and uninspired throughout the game.”
  • emotional56 mentions

    The emotional responses to "Thief" (2014) are largely negative, with many players expressing disappointment over the lack of character depth, a boring storyline, and uninspired gameplay that fails to evoke any meaningful emotional investment. While some moments, particularly in the atmosphere and stealth mechanics, resonate with players, the overall execution leaves them feeling detached and unfulfilled, leading to a sense of heartbreak over the game's potential. The game's failure to create a compelling narrative or relatable characters results in a lack of emotional attachment, making it difficult for players to engage with the story or its protagonists.

    • “The asylum (chapter 5) in particular is absolutely amazing with its atmosphere; it made me feel scared without shoving a jumpscare in my face every five minutes.”
    • “This game is so good... its story is heart touching... I like the bravery of Garrett and his love for Erin... best story & good gameplay... you should finish this game at least once.”
    • “I played this game with a friend and we both found the game heartwarming as we were on the verge of tears towards the end.”
    • “It's just a boring game with an equally boring story that had a lot of potential; you'll hear about characters during this game that you will have forgotten because they were that inconsequential and boring.”
    • “Boring story, boring protagonist, bland gameplay, but impressive visuals once again bring out the 'graphics don’t make a good game' mantra.”
    • “They didn't do justice to the Thief franchise at all, and even if you could get over the boring story and mediocre level design, the most infuriating thing is all the scripted movements like vaulting, dropping, and climbing.”
  • character development48 mentions

    Character development in the game is widely criticized, with many reviewers noting a lack of depth and investment in the characters and their motivations. Most characters are described as bland and poorly designed, leading to a disconnection from the story, while attempts at character arcs feel forced and unearned. Overall, the consensus is that the game fails to deliver meaningful character development, leaving players feeling disengaged from the narrative.

    • “All in all, again a well-deserved sequel, great story, great character development, a much bigger area to explore, and in the end, scary as hell.”
    • “They tried to bring out a character development scene for a character they did not develop at all in the previous scenes.”
    • “As for the story, I have found this to be a very dividing topic; for myself, the story flowed in an odd sort of manner but with character development within Garrett and the world around him.”
    • “There is no character development, there is no investment in the story.”
    • “Characters: bland and boring, no character development or even any clear motivations, just pointless tools for the nonsense plot.”
    • “The character development was awful, you barely got to know some characters before they blatantly die (which is supposed to propel the story forward, which it didn't feel like it did).”
  • monetization9 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized as deceptive and exploitative, with many reviewers labeling it a "cash grab" that fails to respect the original intellectual property. Players feel misled by the advertising and express disappointment in the game's quality, viewing it as a soulless attempt to profit from nostalgia rather than deliver a meaningful experience.

    • “Cash grab.”
    • “It's a cash grab to milk what's left of the IP and to throw it away once they know they cannot swindle any more money from people.”
    • “Bottom line, this is a soulless, effortless, completely awful cash grab that did not respect its IP.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

67% average critic score

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Play time

18hMedian play time
34hAverage play time
11hMain story
45hCompletionist
9-30hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 53 analyzed playthroughs

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