Wow, does this play nice.
I see lots of complaints about the mission being oversized. True, there is a plethora of locations to visit and objectives to complete, but I wouldn’t say it’s really that much bigger than some all-time city classics out there. For me it was a one-sitter (obviously not in a completionist playthrough, though), which is a testament both to the size being OK, and the gameplay itself strong and captivating.

Aside from the main locations, the city’s got its fine dose of nooks, ledges, and backdoors, but they’re not as numerous as in some of the so-called “vertical” city missions. This actually made the map so much easier to navigate so I’m totally fine with that. It’s also pretty open and plays rather smoothly, without unnecessary breaks for keyhunts. It kind of feels a bit like Midnight in Murkbell in that there are so many various places to visit and tasks to do (without all the craziness, though).

Visually, the style of Dark Project was so smoothly transplanted into Thief 2 that you repeatedly find yourself forgetting which game you’re playing. The city looks respectable, if without that ultimate oomph to make it “excellent,” while the main underground location is really remarkable, also making great use of lights and shadows. There is the ambient theme from Eclipsed accompanying your tour around the city, which I’m not quite sure fits well, but personally it still gives me the creeps.

Generally, it was very pleasant to see a city mission proceed so smoothly, with the challenging part pushed towards the end. I'd say it's made to look even bigger than it really is, even though you will still feel quite busy. There’s high quality worldbuilding and great atmosphere, all in all, nothing to prevent from recommending it. Just make sure you’ve got a couple hours to spare.