I stand with the given 1 points, because for me it´s legit.
Atmosphere: It´s not "Thiefy" at all, and a bunch of silly noises aren´t automatically creepy.
Story: Like said, it doesn´t fit in the Thief universe, and there are more interesting stories than the usual asylum stuff.
Gameplay: Also not that challenging. The enemies can be easily dealt with and this running around with "oh, there is this and that object to collect/dispose" is not exciting.
Well, UdoKrawallo is right - every mission isn't immune to criticism and Robbing the Cradle is not that hallowed and sacred either. That being said, - I quite like build-up in the beginning of mission and also the game here in any case still remains stealth though you can blow up puppets, distract them, flash-bomb them etc. It remains faithful to the spirit of series and TDS in particular - in that this level is a huge player's sandboxy playground. Perhaps, Lauryl's quests can become a chore ...
I don´t see it as masterpiece and don´t like it. Tastes are different. What has Escape to do with that? That´s another story.
Note that opinions can be very different. I don´t care about some kind of consensus or what some gaming magazine once wrote.
It´s my opinion and they can have theirs. And yes, while I wouldn´t use that wording IMO it´s really trash.
Many people don´t like Mage Towers. I like it. To each his own.
Mission is quite good. But from what I really hated is that in this mission Garrett was allowed to murder dozens of his former colleagues. He wants to find the truth and perhaps redeem himself - but he is allowed to murder every single person inside. Storywise it's just stupid.
Mission ending is not so grreat - true. Would be different if TDS kept slowfall potion.
But rest of that mission is masterpiece. First half not having any enemy - first time you play you don't know that and it's scary like hell. But even replayability is great. Plus great reveal in the attic. This mission is culmintating point of whole TDS.
You rated it 1. Seriously? Then how would you rate "Escape!"? I admit that you might not like the Cradle, but rating of 1/10 means it is utter trash.