The true rating for this campaign is more a 9.5/10, but I had no qualms rounding up just for the sheer mastery of mapping, community collaboration, custom content creation, and storytelling on display.

As mentioned in the title, The Black Parade is a essentially a full-fledged expansion for the original Thief game in the same vein as T2X was for Thief 2 made all those years ago. Our new protagonist, Hume, goes through very similar trials and tribulations as Garrett did in the original game. Difference is this time, the maps he explores have the backing of well over 2 decades of level design and DromED experience behind them. And what a difference it makes! Not only in comparison to similar fan campaigns such as T2X but also over the original games.

To put it simply, TBP is a love letter to the classic game. If you enjoyed the more eldritch and supernatural story, abstracted level designs, and classic models and textures this is the campaign for you. The entire story runs through the gamut of levels that popularized the first game taken to a truly next level: standard city missions with looping and crisscrossing city streets, expansive mansion break-ins, tomb raids infested with all manner of undead, encounters with unfathomable and nameless creatures in the darkest corners of the earth untouched by man, etc. The atmosphere is spot on... dark, creepy, and turned up to 11.

After having played the entire campaign, the only negatives I can think of are the following: Hume's story is so familiar to Garrett's you may feel like you're retreading some old ground, and certain levels are can be very maze-like in the Thief 1 fashion making it easy to get lost in some cases, especially since maps are not always accurate or even available. This is also not a campaign for brand new taffers to get into without feeling overwhelmed.

That being said, the story, puzzles, and readables contained within each level are great and rarely do you get that frustrated key-hunt feeling. There are nods galore to classic FMs of the past, and you can feel the careful construction of each level with the insane amount of detail, and natural flow on display. Oftentimes I'd be an hour deep into a mission, making progress to the next area, and be struck with such an insane vista around the next corner that'd make my jaw drop. Shoutout as well the single jumpscare that took place during a sewer section in a city level involving a water arrow... I'm usually completely immune to them but this one got me good. Probably 2nd best Thief jumpscare ever after a special one in DrK's "A New Tomorrow" FM. Seeing his name in the credits for this campaign, wouldn't surprise me if this one is his doing as well!

Also worth a mention is the ample amount of custom content. New textures, creatures, visual effects, cutscenes, voice acting, and music were all a treat to see and hear. Standout for me was the dour and off key synth droning that accompanies you for the beginning of the final mission, really sets the tone and stakes and instills the player both a mixture of courage and dread. And the custom models... oh boy. Everyone at this point is familiar with the Thief "horse" contained in this campaign but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Expect the VERY unexpected when it comes to new models. They all look great and the uncanny Thief animation rigging just adds to the effect. Expect proper new patrol and alert sounds to go alongside these abominations, then relax and laugh at some utterly hilarious dialogues between NPCs voiced by prominent community members.

All in all, TBP is a challenging, fun, and above all else, an incredibly immersive campaign. Funny how after almost 25 years exactly-- the Dark Engine, and the masters of it, can create more thrilling and enthralling experiences than most media in any format nowadays. Here's to 25 more years of those experiences.