I can easily imagine what a letdown this could have been back in 2004 for veteran Thief players - especially if we consider the fantastic tutorial from the first Thief game. I think mandatory tutorial sections are the subjects of debates for a good reason, and it's especially conflicting here. The overparenting design might be helpful for young players who are absolute beginners at not only the Thief franchise, but the whole stealth genre as well, but for everyone else... it's a little bit "insulting".

Gotta admit though 'Checking Inn, Cashing out' does, at the same time, do a fine good job at introducing you to the world of Thief Deadly Shadows: nice scenery with fantastic realtime cast shadows, moody colors, crystal clear sound design, a flawless ambient track by the one and only Eric Brosius...

It's just a little bit shame the Blue Heron Inn didn't get a more fledged out, less overprotecting tutorial mission.