Thief: The Dark Project turns 25

[__scribbles__]

Happy birthday to the stealth masterpiece.

 

[arepo]

Damn, 25 years. I can still remember installing the demo from the cover disk of a gaming magazine and trying to run it on the hopelessly inadequate PC my family had at the time. Still, I finished the tutorial somehow, although it ran like a slide show. Sneaking is easy I suppose, when you can't run anyway.

 

[blessedCoffee]

GOG offered the DRM-free edition of Thief Gold, so not gonna launch the initial release from 1998 any time soon.

 

[Gahbreeil]

I'm unfortunately too young to replay the original. I started with Deadly Shadows and it was an awesome game.

Although, I have to ask out of curiosity, did all Thief installments have horror elements?

 

[AndyS]

I still have my original CD and it still works. I've actually never played Thief Gold. Currently playing Thief 2...

 

[octavius]

I have lots of fan-made FMs to play before I replay the base game.

 

[Lemming42]

Although, I have to ask out of curiosity, did all Thief installments have horror elements?

Yes, and Thief 1 is the best of the lot in that regard IMO (and in most other regards too). It stops being a stealth game almost entirely at a few points and turns into a very surreal horror game. Some of the horror levels can start to get a bit tedious, but in terms of atmosphere and mood they're phenomenal.

 

[Shadowfang]

I'm unfortunately too young to replay the original. I started with Deadly Shadows and it was an awesome game.

Although, I have to ask out of curiosity, did all Thief installments have horror elements?

Yes, kinda.
But i think that the cradle from Deadly Shadows was the scariest level of the entire series.

 

[Dave the Druid]

GOG offered the DRM-free edition of Thief Gold, so not gonna launch the initial release from 1998 any time soon.

Have fun with Thieves Guild lmao

 

[Eirinjas]

I'm unfortunately too young to replay the original. I started with Deadly Shadows and it was an awesome game.

Although, I have to ask out of curiosity, did all Thief installments have horror elements?

Thief and Thief 2 are amazing games. Thief: Deadly Shadows pales in comparison. Two of the biggest complaints Thief fans had for Thief 3 were the loss of rope arrows and the ability to swim. The levels in Thief 3 were also smaller and broken up by loading zones, whereas they are often sprawling maps in the first two games.

There are horror aspects in both games. I nearly crapped myself the first time I played Down in the Bonehoard in Thief. Thief also has one of the craziest plot-twist horror cutscenes in video game history.

By not playing them, you are also missing out on two of the greatest video game characters ever created: The Trickster and Viktoria.

 

[NecroLord]

Damn right I'm gonna replay it.
Already was in the process of doing it (last save is in the "Undercover" mission).
After I finish it, Thief 2: The Metal Age is next.
Maybe I'll even do a Deadly Shadows run. It has been a long time...

 

[SlamDunk]

Maybe I'll even do a Deadly Shadows run. It has been a long time...

Play it with Sneaky Upgrade. It removes many of the loading zones.

 

[NecroLord]

Maybe I'll even do a Deadly Shadows run. It has been a long time...

Play it with Sneaky Upgrade. It removes many of the loading zones.

Never tried it, but thanks!
I played it/still play it with the John P texture mod. Adds a little sharpness to the textures, pretty cool.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Time to ruin the game with another remaster!

 

[NecroLord]

Time to ruin the game with another remaster!

I don't think it's gonna happen.
At least anytime soon, which is a very good thing.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Time to ruin the game with another remaster!

I don't think it's gonna happen.
At least anytime soon, which is a very good thing.

Oh, i'm sure some marketing goon is thinking about it right now.

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

25 years od this garbage existing *spits*

 

[JarlFrank]

I'm unfortunately too young to replay the original. I started with Deadly Shadows and it was an awesome game.

Although, I have to ask out of curiosity, did all Thief installments have horror elements?

Yes, kinda.
But i think that the cradle from Deadly Shadows was the scariest level of the entire series.

The Cradle is a shit level that doesn't belong in the Thief series.
Generic 19th century style asylum/orphanage haunted house. Oooo spooky. Feels like a generic horror game level shoved into Thief just for the sake of it.

The original "horror" levels are much more well-integrated into the world, and have a more open structure compared to the largely linear Cradle.

 

[Butter]

The Cradle is a shit level that doesn't belong in the Thief series.
Generic 19th century style asylum/orphanage haunted house. Oooo spooky. Feels like a generic horror game level shoved into Thief just for the sake of it.

The original "horror" levels are much more well-integrated into the world, and have a more open structure compared to the largely linear Cradle.

It's legitimately the worst level in Deadly Shadows, and inexcusable 6 years after the original game fucked up with Return to the Cathedral. "Everyone hated running errands for that ghost. Let's do the exact same thing in our new game!"

 

[Spukrian]

Happy belated birthday Thief!

Sadly I'm not going to replay it, I'm mostly trying to reduce my backlog these days.

 

[NecroLord]

The Cradle is a shit level that doesn't belong in the Thief series.
Generic 19th century style asylum/orphanage haunted house. Oooo spooky. Feels like a generic horror game level shoved into Thief just for the sake of it.

The original "horror" levels are much more well-integrated into the world, and have a more open structure compared to the largely linear Cradle.

It's legitimately the worst level in Deadly Shadows, and inexcusable 6 years after the original game fucked up with Return to the Cathedral. "Everyone hated running errands for that ghost. Let's do the exact same thing in our new game!"

I was rather fond of the friendly neighborhood ghost Brother Murus.
Has you running errands for him and doesn't afraid of anything...
I thought it was a way to ease some of the dread and tension in the mission, as being jumped by entire gangs of Hammer Haunts can be hazardous to one's heart...

 

[mindx2]

My goodness, I LOVE THIS SERIES!! Some of the ALL TIME great computer games! So much joy for so many years! Looking Glass will always hold a special place in my heart.

Maybe it's time to sneak across the rooftops once more...

 

[Semiurge]

I'm unfortunately too young to replay the original. I started with Deadly Shadows and it was an awesome game.

Although, I have to ask out of curiosity, did all Thief installments have horror elements?

Yes, kinda.
But i think that the cradle from Deadly Shadows was the scariest level of the entire series.

The Cradle is a shit level that doesn't belong in the Thief series.
Generic 19th century style asylum/orphanage haunted house. Oooo spooky. Feels like a generic horror game level shoved into Thief just for the sake of it.

The original "horror" levels are much more well-integrated into the world, and have a more open structure compared to the largely linear Cradle.

It's not shit. Every time I replay T3 I start the level with the same preconception you described, based on fading memories, but every time it reminds me why T3 was almost as good as the preceding two. And considering my standards of game horror are very high, I'm not wrong about this. This level is not Dark Corners of the Earth or Condemned, but it's not shit either.

 

[catfood]

Yep, I'm replaying it.

 

[JarlFrank]

The Cradle doesn't belong in Thief. It might make for a good horror game by itself (I wouldn't know since I don't care about that genre) but as a Thief mission it is completely out of place.