E3 2013: ‘Thief’ Will Probably Piss Off Longtime Fans, But That’s Probably Okay – Here’s Why

Where The Game Will Piss Off Fans

Thief was a pretty hardcore series, so it seems natural that if Square Enix wants to ever make their money back, they’re gonna need to make the game easier. To that end, Thief includes a Sense view, which is essentially Easy mode. With this, you’re given visual hints to the world, where to go, specific instances to take out enemies (like the aforementioned pool of oil) and threat indicators above enemies when you’ve summoned their attention. Thankfully, you can turn all that off for an immersive experience similar to the original games. This new Thief also introduces some cool haptic-enabled moments beyond mere lockpicking, like feeling the edge of a picture frame to find a hidden mechanism, which was incredibly enjoyable.

What won’t change are the more action oriented, consolized portions of the game. A new dash move allows you to zoom around from cover to cover in a manner a little less magical than Dishonored blink maneuver, but no doubt inspired by it all the same. Take downs, like in the recent Deus Ex game by the team’s sister studio at Eidos Montreal, initiated assassination cutscenes that felt unnecessary.

But then there’s also…