I'm so glad I finally picked up the OG Thief games last summer. They were so much fun, and absolutely justified all the hype I had been hearing about them for literal decades. Having a little bit of an aversion to stealth games and stealth in general, I kept unjustifiably avoiding them.
Even from the very start of Deadly Shadows, I knew I was in for a treat. The menu, the HUD, and even the graphics had gotten an overhaul. The game looked absolutely gorgeous; textures were definitely upgraded, the sky and the lighting as well (I always love it when you can see the dust particles coming from the window). And of course, the models, you could see more variety on their faces and costumes. What I kind of missed from the previous two games was the unique use of live action in the cutscenes. It was quirky and different from any other game I played, and it made me excited, as they were kind of a treat whenever I finished a level. It was like watching some kind of theater play in silhouettes, and it suited the games' overall aesthetic. Now, we have pre-rendered cutscenes that let you bask in Garrett's face a bit more, but they felt stunted and lacking all the mystery. There were live-action bits here and there, but they were so minuscule that you sometimes miss them.
The main tools we got were mainly the same as before, and once again, I didn't get to utilize them all. (mines in general always get ignored by me, no matter what game I play) One thing that bothered me the most was that the enemies had to be completely in the mode of unawareness and completely turned away from you (and sometimes even that didn't work) in order to bludgeon them. It resulted in loading my quick saves too many times in frustration.
This time, I felt like the levels were easier to memorize, and they weren't as unnecessarily vast as in the previous games; they gave you plenty of space to maneuver, but there were also many tight spaces that could get on your nerves. The maps were also a bit better to read this time. The City is sectioned into districts, so it was easier to find your way around.
Tip by tip, one job lead to another as always. In search of some money to once again be on time with his rent, Garrett got entangled with his old pals, the Keepers. For some reason, we also had to fall into good graces with the Hammerites, as well as the Pagans, by doing small favours for them around the city. The Factions mechanic, I think, was completely useless, or could have been done differently, but I didn't see the point in choosing which one to side with, as they had no real impact on the story.
Garrett is an absolute pleasure to play and to listen to. He is as snarky as ever, but I think, over the course of all three games, he became a little bit softer, or just jaded and tired of getting pulled into all these secret societies and being told what to do and where to go all the time. For being a thief for so long, I got a feeling that this time, his patience was wearing thin. I know a lot of people don't really vibe with him going back to the Keepers at the end, but I don't think he intended to just become like one of the monks/scholars hiding away in libraries. He chose his own path and became a different kind of teacher. He closed the cycle we saw him start in the first game, but on his own terms. He would still be Master Thief, but now a mentor and someone who shares in the security of allyship with the new lineup within the order. And I think it's the perfect closure to his story.
