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Thief: The Dark Project was unlike anything that came before it. It differentiated itself from other first-person games by primarily centering on sneaking and evasion. There were some stealth games out there but the genre wasn’t huge yet and at the time, many first-person games were shooters and associated with a lot of action. Then Thief came along, a slow-paced stealth game that rewarded efforts to evade and explore. It was different, it was unique, it was fun and it spawned a sequel. Developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive, Thief II: The Metal Age was released for PC in March, 2000.
Unfortunately, Looking Glass Studios struggled financially and closed after the release of Thief II which meant the successors, Thief II Gold and Thief III, were cancelled. However, the series would continue with the release of Thief: Deadly Shadows in 2004 after Ion Storm secured the rights to the franchise. If you plan to play Thief II on a modern system, I would recommend consulting the game’s PCGamingWiki page to see what you would need to get it running properly. I did install T2Fix which is an unofficial patch that includes some fixes and improves compatibility on modern systems.
The plot is set after the events of the first game and puts players back into the shoes of master thief, Garrett. After being hunted by a local sheriff, the cynical thief who just wants to be left alone ends up getting into some deep shit once again. He unravels a conspiracy involving nobles and a religious sect called the Mechanists who want to turn people into mindless servants. Stephen Russell returns to voice Garrett and gives another great performance, helping immerse the player into Garrett’s mindset and the world.
Thief II differs from its predecessor in both tone and atmosphere. Still set in the fictional steampunk metropolis simply known as The City, the developers toned down some of the fantasy elements and strayed away from the horror aspects that were prevalent in the first game. Steam-based technology plays a bigger role this time around and its mix with medieval fantasy still makes for a unique experience.
When it comes to the gameplay, Thief II is largely the same as its predecessor with one significant difference – less focus on combat and action. The gameplay heavily centers on stealth and as a result, I think it’s a superior experience. The thieving is still the most satisfying thing about the gameplay – quietly sneaking around locations out of sight and stealing valuable items. That’s what’s most enjoyable and that’s exactly what Thief II provides. More of that. Combat is something you want to avoid and never feels necessary. That said, the combat remains unchanged so it’s still not great.
I can’t say Thief II showcases many innovations. It feels more like a continuation but with the bad shit stripped out. Everything you learned in the first game applies here. Light, shadow and sound are the important aspects of the gameplay. Stay out of the light and try to be as quiet as possible. Garrett can utilize most of the same tools to get around, evade, misdirect, and engage if necessary. The loot you steal will equate to money that can be spent on equipment before starting many missions.
Thief II does feature some new equipment that Garrett can use including Frogbeast Eggs which unleash Frogbeasts and the Scouting Orb which can be thrown and acts as a camera of sorts, great for seeing what’s around corners. He can also use flares to illuminate dark areas and consume Slow-Fall Potions to slowly descend from high places and Invisibility Potions to temporarily become invisible, making it one of the most useful items in the game.
Garrett retains the same three weapons from the previous game – a blackjack, sword, and bow. Unless I needed to defend myself, I rarely used the sword. Sneaking up on foes and knocking them out with the blackjack was always my go-to approach when it came to dealing with human threats and if I couldn’t do that, I would just try to avoid them. The bow can fire the same variety of arrow types as before along with the new Vine arrows which act like rope arrows except they can also stick to metal grill-work.
Despite the horror stuff being largely removed, you will come across some of the supernatural enemies that were present in the first game like Hammer Haunts and certain Beasts but these encounters are few and far between and often feel more like easter eggs. Most of the time, you’re up against human enemies like guards. The most significant new enemy types are the robots. Combat Bots are easily the most dangerous because they are equipped with a mobile gun for ranged combat and are immune to most weapons but they can be disabled with water arrows. Keeping in line with the mechanical theme are some new mechanical hazards to avoid like turrets and Electronic Eyes which are basically cameras or sensors that trigger an alarm if they detect you.
One thing I really like about Thief II is that it takes you to more urban areas than the first game did. In fact, there’s a couple of missions that let you navigate around city streets and another where you get to move along rooftops. One mission even takes you back to The Lost City, although some changes have been made. Most of the levels are huge with plenty of areas to explore and loot to steal. Besides stealing stuff, you’ll have to kidnap people, follow people and sometimes you’ll be required not to get into any confrontations. One of my favorite missions in the game has you infiltrating a bank to obtain incriminating evidence. But what makes it cool is just the simple context of being a thief and stealing from a bank. Once again, the difficulty you select will determine what and how many objectives you’ll need to complete per mission. With all the tools at your disposal, there’s all kinds of ways to get around and the open-ended nature of the maps means there’s typically more than one way to get to most locations.
Just like its predecessor, the maps are not only large but can also be confusing, especially if you don’t pay attention. It’s often wise to eavesdrop on conversations and read any journal entries and any scrolls or notes you come across which will often provide hints on what you need to do or where you need to go. Many levels contain multiple floors with multiple rooms and corridors. However, in general, levels feel less maze-like than those in the first game. Many are just huge and you can spend a good chunk of time simply exploring which is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game. Exploring and stealing is just so fun and rewarding that it’s easy to get lost in these maps for long periods of time.
Most of the maps are exceptionally well designed. You’ll sneak around mansions, an underground base, factory, bank, and even a submarine among other locations and it’s very easy to get sidetracked in each mission. There’s a lot of secret areas and/or paths that takes you to new locations like an underground complex that leads to pirate treasure which I thought was one of the more fun discoveries. It’s these kind of rewarding discoveries that make Thief II so great. That said, much like the first game it can be easy to get lost or stuck and with how huge the levels are, that may mean backtracking long distances which can suck. Sometimes you’ll have to find key items to access certain areas or complete a series of tasks to progress. My least favorite mission is by far the last one. It just feels long and drawn out because of all the tasks you have to complete which can result in a lot of moving back and forth between areas and thieving isn’t really the focus so its just something you need to get through.
When it comes to the presentation, much like the first game, I think the aesthetics and audio work hold up the best. It looks very much like the first game but with some improvements like character models have more polygons and the game supports colored lighting. The environments are varied and detailed and the architecture of the various buildings still remains beautiful. Once again, the audio work is phenomenal. Relying on sound to know what’s going on around you is a big part of the gameplay and everything from the sounds of footsteps to moving mechanisms sounds crisp and clear. In general, the audio does a great job at conveying information. On the technical side, I encountered no major issues and the game ran smooth.
Thief II is easily one of the greatest stealth games ever made and one of my favorites in the genre. The mechanics are simple to understand and the way everything is presented makes for a very immersive and atmospheric experience. The open-ended nature of the maps often gives players multiple ways to approach situations and exploration is always fun and rewarding. Thief II doesn’t hold your hand but isn’t overly frustrating, either. In fact, the game always gives you all the information you need to complete your objectives and all you need to do is pay attention. It may not break new ground but I think Thief II is much better than its predecessor simply for the fact it centers solely on the strengths of the gameplay. The actual stealth. As a result, almost every mission is extremely enjoyable. Like the first game, Thief II developed a dedicated fan community and you can find plenty of mods out there from visual enhancements to maps and in 2005, an unofficial expansion called Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age was released.
I would absolutely recommend Thief II. It gives you more of the same great gameplay but with all the annoying shit stripped out. It’s a game that holds up really well and has a good amount of replay value. From the multiple difficulty levels to the open-ended nature of the maps to mods, there’s plenty of reasons to return and plenty of valuable loot to steal. Definitely check it out.