Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow

About

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is a single player shooter game. It was developed by Maze Theory and was released on December 4, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow places you in the shoes of Magpie, a skilled thief navigating a tyrannical city ruled by a ruthless baron. Use immersive VR stealth mechanics to sneak through shadowy rooftops, evade relentless guards, and uncover a powerful artifact tied to a dark conspiracy. Outsmart your enemies and survive by mastering the art of stealth in a richly detailed world.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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75%

Audience ScoreBased on 224 reviews

story37 positive mentions

stability28 negative mentions

The game captures the classic Thief atmosphere and gameplay mechanics, providing an immersive experience in VR.
The VR controls are intuitive, allowing for natural interactions like pickpocketing, lockpicking, and using the bow.
The level design encourages exploration with multiple paths and hidden secrets, enhancing replayability.

The AI is simplistic and often oblivious, making stealth less challenging and reducing immersion.
There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes, glitches with doors and items, and problems with saving progress.
The graphics are subpar for a PCVR title, feeling more like a Quest port with limited visual fidelity and no graphics options.

story
225 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
80%
4%
The story in "Thief VR" has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it engaging yet lacking depth and originality. While some appreciate its connection to the original trilogy and the nostalgic elements, others criticize it for being predictable, repetitive, and poorly executed, with technical issues affecting the narrative flow. Overall, the story serves as a basic framework to support the gameplay, but it often feels condensed and underdeveloped, leaving players wanting more complexity and immersion.
- “While the story was short, it was definitely worth it and every fan of the franchise will be happy with the story.”
- “The story is solid and engaging, but it does feel like it could use a bit more depth.”
- “The story is intriguing, and the gameplay is fun and challenging.”
- “Legacy of Shadow reuses a lot of gameplay and story ideas from the 2014 reboot, and some of them are just as lame and uninspired as they were last time around.”
- “The story exists, but it's extremely condensed, revolving around just a handful of repetitive levels that you revisit across different days.”
- “The story is very basic, which is fine, but the world felt really shallow, the NPCs didn't have anything interesting to say, and there was pretty much nothing going on besides the original conflict.”
gameplay
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
66%
5%
The gameplay is a blend of classic stealth mechanics reminiscent of the Thief series, enhanced by immersive VR elements that allow for unique interactions, such as blowing out candles and using voice to manipulate the environment. While many players appreciate the core mechanics and the engaging atmosphere, there are notable criticisms regarding bugs, limited challenge, and some clunky mechanics, particularly with the bow and climbing. Overall, the experience is enjoyable for fans of stealth games, though it may feel simplistic and occasionally frustrating due to technical issues.
- “The dark city, the stealth gameplay, carefully listening to your surroundings, the bow gameplay – everything feels cohesive and crafted with real care.”
- “The core mechanics - sneaking, hiding, stealing, and lockpicking feel excellent.”
- “The gameplay is fun, looting is awesome... but you can't spend the money you're getting, so what's the point?”
- “Legacy of Shadow reuses a lot of gameplay and story ideas from the 2014 reboot, and some of them are just as lame and uninspired as they were last time around.”
- “The forced smoothing on everything is really not fun; it feels like the game is fighting me anytime I want to do anything fast and makes me feel super slow and sluggish. A skilled player should be able to do things as fast as they want and not be arbitrarily slowed down by game mechanics.”
- “Gameplay-wise, I find the climbing and shooting of arrows rather clunky.”
graphics
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
75%
6%
The graphics in "Thief: Legacy of Shadow" have received mixed reviews, with many users noting that they feel outdated and reminiscent of lower-end VR titles, particularly those designed for the Quest platform. While some appreciate the art style and atmospheric environments, the lack of graphical options and the presence of visual glitches detract from the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are considered decent but fail to fully utilize the capabilities of more powerful PC hardware, leaving players wanting more polish and detail.
- “Exploring feels rewarding, and the visuals alone make it easy to get lost in the world.”
- “Overall, Thief: Legacy of Shadow delivers a fun, immersive experience with stunning visuals and good accessibility options.”
- “The graphics are stunning and super atmospheric.”
- “The graphics are outdated, jittery, and mostly faded due to how dark the game is supposed to be.”
- “There are no graphical settings at all, and I experienced constant stutter and frame rate drops with an RTX 4080.”
- “The default graphical options, which cannot currently be modified, honestly look and perform noticeably worse than standalone Quest titles.”
stability
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
3%
88%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting frequent glitches, bugs, and crashes that detract from the overall experience. While some players have managed to enjoy the game despite these issues, many express frustration over the game's performance, including problems with mechanics, visual glitches, and audio issues. Continuous patches are being released, but the current state of the game is described as very buggy, making it difficult for some players to recommend it.
- “Over an hour and a half played so far, and no glitches other than the quit game button in the main menu not working, lol.”
- “I have only completed 2 missions, but so far it has run with no glitches or crashes.”
- “It could have been more gritty, but it really captures the thief vibe and runs great.”
- “If it wasn't a buggy mess, it would be a barebones stealth game that happens to be in VR.”
- “The game is not playable for me; after 2 hours it crashes, glitches through walls and ceilings!”
- “It seems like a great game if it played well - but there are too many bugs, stutters, and glitches for me to continue playing.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
37%
13%
The atmosphere in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its immersive world design and attention to detail, reminiscent of classic titles like Thief and Dishonored. While many players appreciate the atmospheric sound design and art direction, others criticize the graphics and technical limitations that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game successfully captures a distinct atmosphere, though opinions vary on its execution and depth compared to its predecessors.
- “10/10 for atmosphere, attention to detail, and pure thief feeling.”
- “Thief: Legacy of Shadow is a gorgeous and immersive experience that really shines in atmosphere and world design.”
- “Many titles felt more like experiments or short-term concepts: lots of action, lots of shooting, rhythm games, or shallow experiences without real atmosphere or long-term engagement.”
- “Sadly, we must let go of the beautiful, light-source-dependent dynamic shadows from Batman: Arkham Shadow, but the dark alleys and moonlit, statically lit landmark buildings of the city still play a huge role in establishing the Thief atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere feels like one of the classic Thief games, and I like the protagonist.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for delivering smooth performance across various hardware configurations, with many players reporting stable frame rates around 80-90 fps, even on mid-range systems. While some textures and environments may appear low resolution, this is seen as a trade-off for maintaining consistent performance. Voice acting quality varies, but it does not significantly detract from the overall solid optimization experience.
- “Resolution and performance are excellent and the lighting and textures are more than adequate.”
- “Otherwise, the gameplay is super smooth and there are no performance problems on an RTX 5080, maintaining a constant 90 fps.”
- “The game seems optimized and it plays smoothly on my mid-range PC.”
- “The developers say this was to maintain consistent performance across all PC configurations and maintain parity with the PS5 port, but that's a silly, nonsensical explanation.”
- “Environments are a little low-res, but that's probably a compromise for performance.”
- “I've been playing for 90 minutes, so far it's been solid 80 fps - but I usually only get such performance in quest games.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the silly, talkative guards who deliver amusing lines and exhibit comically oblivious behavior, creating moments of genuine laughter. Players appreciate the lightheartedness of the stealing mechanics and the nostalgic charm of the guards' antics, although some feel that the dialogue can occasionally take itself too seriously compared to earlier titles. Overall, the blend of humorous interactions and unexpected situations contributes to a fun and entertaining experience.
- “When I quit and reflected on the experience, I realized that my favorite parts were the silly guards constantly muttering funny phrases in thick accents and, ironically, the stealing itself.”
- “The guards are once again silly, talkative, and hilariously oblivious if you stay in the shadows.”
- “Some voice lines will play too frequently, and sometimes guards will break their pathfinding and 'spot' a body upwards of thousands of times - that makes for a funny end screen, when the guards apparently found the equivalent amount of bodies a smaller village would have.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is praised for its strong ambiance and immersive qualities, successfully evoking nostalgia from earlier installments. However, some users report audio glitches that disrupt the experience, and while the soundtrack enhances the overall vibe, it lacks the tension and strangeness of previous games.
- “The greatest strength of the earlier thief iterations is the ambient music and immersive sound, and this new installment has given it justice to a certain degree.”
- “It has a great ambiance with great sound and music that adds to the immersion and overall vibe.”
- “Though the thing that made me barely use this is that, for some reason, the audio glitches, causing dialogue, music, and other ambiance to disappear completely.”
- “The music has less tension and strangeness, though.”
- “Some of the soundtrack actually brings back the iconic sounds of the dark project and the metal age!”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the option to collect loot and complete various objectives, others find it limited and more akin to a short experience rather than one that encourages repeated play. Comparisons to other titles suggest that there are more engaging and replayable alternatives available.
- “I'm giving it a positive thumbs up this time because it is more playable than the initial release.”
- “For the price, you can get something like Roboquest, which is infinitely more fun, energetic, and replayable.”
- “Absolutely no replay value though, it's a bite-sized snack.”
- “There's some replay value in collecting all the loot, completing all the optional objectives, and earning all the play style badges.”
- “Ideally, new titles should not be limited to VR only, but should be playable both traditionally without VR and optionally with VR.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat rewarding, as upgrades can enhance gameplay, but it often becomes tedious due to the need to collect a significant amount of loot and revisit levels for further enhancements.
- “The possible upgrades aren't anything crazy, but certainly rewarding, even if it becomes almost grindy by the end, as you need to collect a lot of loot to get another upgrade of your choice.”
- “Revisiting levels is a little tedious.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players feeling it leans towards a cash grab, while others appreciate it as a refreshing change in a market saturated with exploitative practices. Overall, opinions vary on whether the monetization strategy enhances or detracts from the gaming experience.
- “Unfortunately, this game, as it stands, is kind of disappointing and feels like a bit of a cash grab using the name.”
- “It's not the greatest game ever, but in a time where it feels like all we get is cash grab nonsense, this feels like a nice break.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is seen as a promising aspect with a solid foundation, but many users feel that it falls short in certain areas, lacking deeper lore and growth opportunities that could enhance the overall experience.
- “The foundation is there and interesting, but some areas feel like missed opportunities where more lore or character development could have made it even stronger.”

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75%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Review – Thief VR: Legacy of Shadows
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75%

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5h Median play time

4h Average play time

1-5h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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