Thief: The Dark Project Remastered Is A Loving Recreation Of A Classic

Thief: The Dark Project is one of the first stealth games I remember being blown away by. Given that Metal Gear Solid and Tenchu would arrive shortly before it, it was in good company. 1998 was a stellar year for stealth, but even amid all that competition, Thief made a name for itself.

With a completely unique setting and some seriously impressive mechanics (including revolutionary sound and light frameworks), it stands out to this day. While the series has continued to release games, a lot of fans are still chasing that same experience of cracking open the very first game and getting lost in it.

Now, Nightdive Studios is set to release a remaster later this year, and we got a chance to try it at Summer Game Fest (SGF). Even with an early build, things are looking very promising, and it’s still very much the same Thief fans know and love.

Thief: The Dark Project Remastered brings back the original game on updated platforms, including consoles for the very first time. Using the 1999 Thief Gold edition as a base, Nightdive is bringing back the original game relatively untouched, minus some quality of life updates and performance enhancements.

This is still very much the original Thief, in the sense that the visuals aren’t completely redone. Yet, so many of the ornate designs and level layouts hold up to this day, so it turns out all it really needed was a touch-up here and there. The first thing I noticed was how well it played, which is a huge plus for a precision stealth game where one step can mean the difference between a guard sounding the alarm and spelling your doom.

The tried and true sound mechanics return, which task players with avoiding metal floors and other hazards in an attempt to keep quiet and avoid detection. The first stage even introduces concepts like leaping from rug-to-rug to dampen noise, which is done seamlessly throughout the stage.

In a sense, this is a perfect game to remaster, as the original designs hold up, including water arrows to douse flames, and the ability to pick up various elements of the environment and use them to your advantage. Exploration is often risky in Thief, but rewarding, as you might find an alternate entrance to a heavily guarded area, or an item to help divine another puzzle solution. When replaying a level on one of three difficulties, it’s often useful to come in with that information, similar to how IO Interactive designs the Hitman series.

Textures, models, and animations have been touched up with Nightdive’s remaster, and they’ve added a weapon/item wheel and quick d-pad equipment swapping, which is a Godsend. “Custom campaign” support is planned for the game (a huge aspect of the Thief community), in addition to a mission selector, and the inclusion of Gold content (which includes new enemies and three extra missions). Achievements are also confirmed.

If you haven’t tried out Thief yet, I suggest going in with an open mind. It’s almost like an escape room simulator at times, providing players with a ton of tools to solve things creatively and stealthily; or head-on in combat. It’s coming “this Winter” on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 1/2 (with the opportunity for Switch 1 users to upgrade to Switch 2).

Systems

Released

November 2, 1999

Developer(s)

looking glass studios

Publisher(s)

Eidos Interactive