I mean, I couldn't tell you if it's pretty (for the time) or ugly, interesting or boring, well-designed or nonsensical, or even fun or infuriating: it's... pretty much all of these?

Some parts are genuinely good for the time. There's a decent chunk of city to explore, even though the map borders on the useful. It could have been, but it's just baffling. I had one look at it, cursed MSPaint and went my merry way.

Speaking of the city, it's OK. Sometimes. Tons of ledges and nooks and crannies. But then there's long, loooong stretches without a hint of detail. There's slopes that feel out of place. The hammers don't quite look like hammers (and I suspect one isn't even symmetrical). There's misaligned textures all over the place. One minute you're thinking "Nice job", the next you're going "Is this a sequel to Down We Go?". I know, it's not *that* bad, but it's constantly switching back and forth between those, so it feels pretty janky. It's like the author had those neat ideas, but not the know-how required to pull them off. Some doors are just black on the side, some that don't open have handles that give you the wrong idea. The ladders are often just high enough to be a nuisance (they're all fine, mind, but one more rung would have made those that little bit more fun to use).

Then there's the box stacking and barrel pushing. If I didn't know any better I'd think I've been playing Sokoban or something. And yeah, pushing a barrel to enter a niche where I'm congratulated on my thiefly superiority? I'm just feeling insulted at that point. Plus the wooden beam that's juuuuuust high enough that you'll need to stack crates AGAIN just to reach your rope. The bit of loot just beyond a grate that will require you to... guess what? Stack barrels and crates to get over. The one door near your starting point that needs a crate to reach. The puzzle near the end that requires you to do even MORE of that, and not with any crate no, only the ones provided for the task because taff you and your stupid idea of bringing one more just in case, I guess?

And the backtracking. Good lord, the backtracking. It feels at times like the mission's missing a couple shortcuts for the player, just so its length feels more natural. Especially for that last bit, that won't even let you bunnyhop around to make it more palatable. Sewers and slopes yay!

The story's fine. It just ends with a whimper, on an objective that probably should have lead to another one, but either it was cut, or a sequel never happened. I don't know. It hits some nice beats, it's pretty fun to see unfold, but then... nothing. And that irks me, as well.

it's not a bad mission. It's not *just* a bad mission. It's good, bad, beautiful and ugly. It shows some nice tricks, it's cramped when it needs to and open in between. It just could have been much, much better. It's hard to rate low, but it's just as hard to rate high. It has its moments, and that's it.