Introduction
Alright, guys, I get it. Really, I do. The original Thief series wrapped up its plotline and you're a different developer, so why wouldn't you reboot the setting? It's a fresh team and a fresh start. Nothing wrong with that. Of course, with all the references and callbacks it seems like you want to eat your cake and have it, too. Plus you probably should have understood what made the original setting and characters interesting and not made New!Garrett into an unlikable twat in black eyeliner. I'd call him a taffer, but you did away with that, too, didn't you?
And I suppose it's a neat idea for the new bad guys to be from the aristocracy and the City Watch. There's a certain kind of sense to that; the nobility was always a sort of fourth faction in the original trilogy, so it's good to give them their time in the sun. But if you were going to do that, you probably shouldn't have ripped off Dishonored and Bioshock: Infinite's plotlines (poorly) and made the Thief-Taker General a moustache-twirling villain. There couldn't be any moral ambiguity, huh?
And hey, new powers and equipment! I don't mind the idea of using Focus to highlight important items and use other special abilities, plus it's not like you're ever forced to use it. Of course, it would've been nice if Focus-based lockpicking was actually easier than normal (at least on the PC), plus you kind of nerfed gas arrows and eliminated every means of ranged nonlethal takedown. That's kind of a problem since melee takedowns are apparently noisy as hell now and take several seconds no matter what else is happening.
I see you also added in a whole bunch of interface indicators that weren't in the original trilogy but are in basically every modern stealth and semi-stealth games, but I'm not going to hold that against you. After some fan outcry, you made pretty much the whole interface optional, so those who want to feel immersed can get immersed. I won't bother with doing so myself, but it's nice to have the option. On the other hand, the audio indicators can be pretty obnoxious at times, and in fact the audio in general can be pretty wonky. That's not such a good thing for a game like this.
The missions themselves are pretty linear, but I can understand why: you need transitions and points-of-no-return to mask loading screens. That's just how game design works these days. You still added plenty of nooks and crannies that hide bits of loot, and while the exploration is more constrained, there's something to be said for the puzzle factor of discovering the right path to obtain a shiny. On the other hand, since exploration is really a big focal point of the Thief series, I have to wonder why you didn't include any sort of requirement to do so or any reward beyond the money itself.
But hey, there's also open world gameplay! Thief 3 had that way back in the day, and although the maps aren't as big as Thief 1 and Thief 2, they at least put 3's maps to proper shame. Then again, there's no real reason to explore the city streets more than once since nothing but guard money respawns and all the tools are unlocked after Chapter 2. Plus there's also no reason to explore except just before the very end because the loot and collectables for Basso's side jobs don't spawn until after you actively take the jobs. It's not very rewarding to discover a hidden door only to find out the secret room behind it is empty because Basso hasn't told you what's in there yet.
And sure enough, there are collectables! It's true that Old!Garrett would have laughed at New!Garrett for considering anything "too precious to sell," but I can certainly see the player appeal in filling the old secret lair (secret lair? really?) with shiny collectables. But then...did one of the collectables have to include that? I mean, really? You couldn't have just, I don't know, left those two out and saved yourself a lot of awkward looks?
So to sum up, I get it. You wanted to do your own thing, and you wanted to do it by ripping off around a dozen or so popular franchises (including, ultimately, Thief itself). But just because you tried doesn't mean you succeeded, and just because I understand doesn't mean I have to like your game.
Hypothetically Asked Questions
Q: Do you think you could make a version of the video where it's just you and nobody's talking over the cutscenes?
A: No.
Q: So are you going to try for 100% loot and zero (human) casualties like before?
A: I really can't be bothered. I will get 100% collectables, though, because that's easy enough to do and the thought of Garrett building up a treasure trove amuses me.
Voyeur's Diary
Newspaper: The Benefits of Strict Curfew
Lockdown Regulations
Newspaper: Clock Tower Stops Again!
Lygrove's Letter
Newspaper: Who Watches the Watch Hounds?
Newspaper: Lockdown!
Treason!
Coal Room Stash Note
Broken Glass
Transportation of Cadavers
Break Spot
Renovation Notice
Cryptic Letter
Off-Limits
Dead List
Stripping Procedure
NORTHCREST UNBOWED!
Mechanical Eyes
Letter to Maunders
Ashes Letter
Southrye Legacy
Audit
Letter to the Auditor
The Burnt Emerald - One
The Burnt Emerald - Two
The Burnt Emerald - Three
Lady Christina's Will
Coyle's Combination
List of Constellations
Strongbox Registry
Madam Xiao Xiao's Diary
Madeleine's Letter
Miniature Keep
Keep Plans
Great Safe Combination
Prisoner List
Graven Letter
NEW WATCH LAWS AND YOU!
Patient Admitted
Voices
Huntfield's Illness
Report: Patient #18
Patient Transfer
Headaches
Absence
Extracting the Primal
Transfer Request
Report: Aggression
New Instructions
Traitorsgate Report
Register of Stolen Goods
Bait and Switches 4
Courtyard Map?
Eastwick's Letter
Annabel's Note
Manor Floor Plan
Steward's Letter
Burnt Letter
Guard's Letter
Damaged Wing
Manor Duties
Reactor Limit
Laboratory Repair Report
The Awakened
Lions of Industry
Progress
Reunited
Vivian
Loose Ends
Sterility
Swansong
Ector's Memoirs
Clockwise's Letter
Alfonso's Letter
Alfonso's Register
Engineer's Letter
Eelbiters Contract
Alfonso's Workbook
Last Warning Letter
Bait and Switches 1
TURN NOT TO PROTEST!
Oxheart Perry's Shop Register
Oxheart Perry's Notebook
Ector's Letter
Engineer's Letter
Clockwise's Diary
Voclid Treatise
Time Treatise
Project Pendulum - Day 1
PP - Day 6
PP - Day 8
PP - Day 11
PP - Day 13
Clockwise's Confession
Manservant's Diary
Father's Testament
Prison Register
Archie Maxwell's Diary
Archie Maxwell's Notes
Petty Thief Diary
Boris' Debt Register
Wax Witch's Journal
Candlewax Ritual Book
Thief-Taker General's Order
Graven Notes
Bookbinder's Register
Miss Scarlett's Diary
Painting Order
Moira Release Letter
Smuggler's Map: Eel's End
Bait and Switches 2
Letter to Sick Willy
Hangman's Memoirs
Smuggler's Map: Blackfurrow
Smuggler's Map: Muddler's Row
Bait and Switches 3
Tear-Soaked Diary
BREAK-IN!
John Tallow's Blacklist
Sculptor's Diary
Manuscript
Jeb Chokes' Notebook
Poem (Reconstructed)
The Shady Vein
Watch Captain's Orders
White Sail Goods Census
White Sail Captain's Notes
Polly's Admirer's Letter
Little Lucy's Last Letter
Levack's Debt Register
Storehouse Note
Smuggler's Letter
Storage Room
Scavenger's Note
The Mortal Coils
These bracelets, shaped like serpents, are said to seek the company of grateful widows. All six are rumored to carry an unspoken secret and darkness surely glitters in each shining eye.
Sootback Bracelet
Shale Snake Bracelet
Harlequin Bracelet
Marsh Adder Bracelet
Wellpool Viper Bracelet
Bronzehead Bracelet
Serendi Stone Circles
A set of matching precious-stone rings referred to as Circles by collectors of valuable antiques. Fashioned by the original and great Serendi himself, these rings are said to have acrostic significance.
Amethyst Circle
Diamond Circle
Emerald Circle
Lapis Lazuli Circle
Ivory Circle
Sapphire Circle
Amber Circle
Unique Loot
A collection of unique loot that is more valuable to Garrett than their weight in gold.
The Glittering Plumage
Lygrove's Jewelled Mask
Soul of the Automaton
Ancient Figurine
Morendrum Medal
Mechanical Eye
Heart of the Lion
Golden Keep
City Artifact
Client Loot
A collection of unique items that were lifted for various clients in The City.
Jewelled Mask
Corneleus's Ring
Ritual Book
The Mechanical Hand
The Voice Box
Automaton's Heart
The Talking Skull
The Octopuss
City Heritage Plaques
A record of the various historic buildings and monuments throughout The City.
Our Lady of the Iron Litany Chapel
The Crippled Burrick Tavern
Stonemarket Clock Tower
Stonemarket First Bank
Carlysle's Mill
The Keep
Customs House Bridge
The Siren's Rest
Moira Asylum
Elias Northcrest Statue
South Quarter Sluices
Watch Station
Obediah Northcrest's Obelisk
Ulysses Northcrest's Obelisk
Barnabus Northcrest's Obelisk
Archibauld Northcrest's Obelisk
Memories of the Dead
A long-lost tradition once existed that saw deceased relatives remembered with matching rings set in the bone of their ancestors. Inscribed with a memory, the rings enshrined those loved and lost so as to never be forgotten.
Charity's Memory
Stonemason's Memory
Soldier's Memory
Child's Memory
Braggart's Memory
Elder's Memory
Flowers Eternal
Courting nobles from the great houses once practiced the custom of exchanging floral jewellery beneath the now-vanished dome of Auldale Botanical Gardens. The jewelled bouquets represented a love that would never die.
Daisy Brooch
Rose Brooch
Hydrangea Brooch
Lilac Brooch
Iris Brooch
Sunflower Brooch
The Court of Montonessi
The last series of works by The City's irregular, some say disturbed, portrait painter Montonessi. He was incarcerated in Moira Asylum for the latter part of his life, where he painted some of his most particular pieces.
The Insatiable AppetiteThe Abundance of Emptiness
The Repulsion of Civility
The Married Spinster
Guilt has Black Wings
Living a Lie
The Grace of Insecurity
What is There Cannot be Seen
The Dangers of SeductionThe Arrogance of Nobility
Rutting Out of Season
Compassion, Foul
The Pinned Castinets
A collection of exotic butterfly brooches, presented to the daughters of the Castinet family on the eve of each wedding. The pins were thought lost after the family mysteriously vanished during the Great City Riots of y521.
Jewelwing
Greater Ruststain
Dawn Gauzy
Ghost-girl
Oilbox
Mourning Bell
Whiteridge's Duty
Cameos recalling the instructions of Dame Whiteridge, the elder stateswoman of the Dayport Women's Society. Dame Whiteridge was renowned for her strict and unswerving insistence on fashion and etiquette among The City's ladies.
The Statuesque Lady
The Observant Lady
The Burnished Lady
The Constant Lady
The Virtuous Lady
The Porcelain Lady
Fan Art
This series of paintings depicts the exploits of The City's most famous thief, Garrett.
Garrett's Stealth Tactics
Garrett's Most Prized Possession
"Honest" Garrett's Fine Pen Emporium
Garrett's Pickpocketing Skills
Hot Puzzle-Solving Action
Spooky Scary Gollums!
Garrett Photobombing Karras
Garrett's Bandana
Why does he never tuck it beneath his chin? What's Garrett hiding? The answers may surprise you.
Kuato Does Not Approve
His Terrible Loss
Better Games
His Former Self
Backup Chins
His Beard-Powered Pen Holder
Henry Fucking Rollins
Chinception
Faception
Better Free Games