May 20, 2023, 3:39 p.m.   (Last edited: 5 months ago)

I am actually surprised that this beauty that clearly belongs to the triple-A elite of Thief fan missions (and there are not that many in the club) doesn't get more favourable ratings here (from what I gathered it may have to do w reportedly extremely buggy earlier versions* and maybe its general difficulty). Yes it is "different" and slightly old-fashioned in its general concept in that it is mainly story-driven and does not feature any fancy mecha..., erm three-dimensionality and little environment-driven gameplay, but the story told is well conveyed and dramatic (it kinda expands on the multiple factions conflict present in the first Thief game) and the mission itself is among the most visually breathtaking out there while keeping within the general thief aesthetics (more like TDS than the first two games in general colour tone and palette but I think it does only good to the overall vibe) - every single texture is upscaled in resolution and visually enhanced and there are lots of details and custom assets around (and the author also has a knack for choosing cool ambient sounds and music). The result is a colourful impression of a medieval mining town sitting amidst the black forest and a universe that accommodates well not only all of the thief factions but also adds in a decidedly Germanic take some of the typical fantasy tropes seen in the likes of Gothic-series or Arx Fatalis. It is also quite difficult in that it is demanding of the player in multiple ways - the pace itself for the most part is leisurely (guards in the streets won't bother you unless you do something stupid in a refreshing change from every other mission where seemingly and annoyingly every person is out there to kill you) but the heavily guarded areas where you're not supposed to be are some of the more challenging around (there is a particular 100 sqm area that is perhaps the tightest watched and patrolled in thief ever (ghosting problematic)) and the game requires from the player constant attention to (pick(-)able) details and active search for lucrative opportunities - there are surprisingly many windows not looking frobbable or enterable that actually are and loot is plentiful but often well-hidden or dodgy to spot. The game's other quirk (apart from the clearly Germanic "adventure tick" of having to occasionally combine item A w item B to get to C (to which you still need the key)) is that it tends to think in ways and solutions that are beyond intuitive/non-intuitive but lets say unorthodox - you would actually expect some of them maybe to work in real life but are so conditioned to be not normally possible in thief that you wouldn't consider them at all - one example being the very initial entry to the town. And the mission also introduces its own unique mechanics, some of which even get extended gameplay use (think crowbar). Not all of them though are ideally implemented - the idea of unorthodox climbable assets appears cool until you get to experience their terrible hitboxes and resort to better use classical rope arrows instead, and it is mostly these bold but clearly experimental hits and misses that prevent the mission from scoring the absolute. Other than that (and occasionally excessively long readables and/or maybe with translation issues, and perhaps the game could signal more clearly to the player where, when and what is enterable and where not (occasionally too small frobbing hitboxes, some areas only open at reaching certain stages in the game)) there is little to nag about about this cool and dramatic story involving (almost all) the factions we all love most in thief (goofy guards, keepers, mages, and an ominous horror mystery, w Hammers also mentioned but not physically present) w multiple sideline tales and small burglaries to flesh out the picture and get the impression of a living environment, and above all, the best in-game thief pub ever (which clearly set itself to best that in Rocksbourg No. 2).

*Version 1.6 on FMSel, fresh install, works fine.