u/Lovecraftian666

“Vagabonds. Street scum. Prostitutes. Those who will not be missed by anyone of consequence.”

I really do believe the servants encapsulate what a terrible world it can be to live in the City. Whenever they appear they just depress me. They are such effective unnerving storytelling.

The servants themselves, the pathetic mewling for death, the strange “control“ voice, how they thank you if you kill them. The fact nobody seems to care these were people once, and there is clearly one in angelwatch that is child sized.

The moral bankruptcy of the nobility, conning themselves to believe they were “only” lunatics, which in itself is wrong by most people, but they don’t care so long as they have people who don’t sleep and eat.

And then they are the pinnacle of the zealotry and extremism of Karras and the mechanists, reducing human beings to tools to be discarded, or in Karras’ case, to be used to bring his insane paradise.

I try to think of these without going to the easy explanation of “magic - a wizard did it”

The Robots - I think they must think through some rudimentary mechanical computer inside them. either that or Karras found something in Karath Din. not saying these things have computer code but some sort of mechanical analogue like Babbage Mechanical Calculator.

Servants - clearly Karath Din stuff. I’m unclear if the servants are dead or alive. They don’t have undead properties at all but you see corpses being prepared or something in eavesdropping. maybe they were failures?

in short yeh I think Karras was a genius, but I wonder if more than just the servants originated from karath din and he’s using hand me downs

Gotta love that serial killer in solitary in shoalsgate. the sort of narrative flavour that makes these really fantastic games.

Gotta be Shipping and Receiving for me….the horn use is just brilliant…..really evocates a dark smoggy dock and the type of place good people wouldn’t be around at night

I was always a bit afraid of Thief Gold. As a kid, I couldn’t get past Bonehoard; the zombies freaked me out too much, and I’d heard only worse was to come. I always leaned more toward Thief 2, which I completed many times on Expert. But I barely touched Gold for years-something about Thief 2 felt like pure, natural thieving. 

I must have completed Thief Gold once on Normal in my teens. Now, after a stretch of chasing immersive games and rarely finding one that clicked, I’ve had an absolute blast with Gold. It’s much better than I remembered, especially now that my fear of the undead has faded and I can treat them like normal enemies. 

What follows is my level-by-level breakdown of Gold’s missions, looking at layout, atmosphere, objectives, gameplay, story, and replay value. I’m onto The Black Parade next. Enjoy! 

A Keeper’s Training 

• What works: Very effective at teaching you the basics of the game. The atmosphere, from the get-go, is off the charts. I really do feel like I’m in a secret corner of the City. 
• What doesn’t: Not much to say. It does exactly what it has to do. 
• Best moment: The basketball court, without a doubt. It’s a neat inclusion. I can totally see Garrett slamming dunks. 
• Final verdict: N/A. It’s a tutorial mission, and that’s it.

 

Lord Bafford’s Manor 

• What works: It still blows me away that, despite the age of the game and its graphics, the art direction and ambience are this good. I always feel like I’m outside this manor at night in a cold, dark city. This level is ideal for beginners, teaching the practical basics with plenty of dark spots to watch guards and learn patterns. It only becomes truly unforgiving near the sceptre, when the marble floors come into play. 
• What doesn’t: As a general opening level, it’s not really representative of what’s to come in Thief Gold, and what comes later will probably make a lot of people give up on Gold for a while-myself included. It may also be a little too easy, even on Expert. 
• Best moment: Getting out of the well river and into the basement, where the sound ambience really kicks in. Where is that screaming coming from?! It’s just part of the track, but 10-year-old me was petrified. It’s a perfect taste of the darker, more gothic themes to come later. 
• Final verdict: An almost perfect first mission. I must have played it dozens of times off demo discs as a kid, and it still holds up. The manor feels complex and old, but also readable enough for a new player to navigate. The atmosphere and sound design are superb. I still get chills thinking about that screaming sound effect in Bafford’s basement. It’s also just fun to mess around in. I love winding up the guards with the gong. 
• Grade: A

 

Break from Cragscleft Prison 

• What works: It’s a good introduction to the undead and how they operate, and that section doesn’t overstay its welcome. Reaching the Hammer levels makes you breathe a sigh of relief. The Hammer section is suitably moody and grim, full of great atmosphere. I would not want to be jailed here. There’s a satisfying sense of progression from level to level, and I like dashing back out with Basso at the end. 
• What doesn’t: The level design isn’t overly complicated and feels a little basic. I also can’t quite see how the Hammers have access to the outside world here - there’s no obvious bridge or exit. There’s some overuse of metal floors, and those cameras you can “kill” with an arrow in the jail never really made sense to me. 
• Best moment: Just the general immersion of sneaking around while Hammers are right around the corner. That really does it for me. 
• Final verdict: I was always scared of this mission as a kid, and it was a big reason I preferred Thief 2. Now I can see it works well as an early warning that this game won’t just be old manors, and that you’ll have to explore properly because the maps won’t always help. Overall, it’s not outstanding, but it’s enjoyable and does a good job of ramping up the gothic horror side of the game. 
• Grade: B

 

Down in the Bonehoard 

• What works: Just about everything. Of all the missions to replay, this is the one that has gone up most in my estimation. There’s undead, but not too much; the zombies before the Hall of Repose are dormant, and if you don’t want to sneak there’s enough gear to deal with everything in the Hall. There are only a few zombies on the upper levels too. And my God - the horn, and the music. 
• What doesn’t: Burricks. They annoy me more than zombies do. Their AI seems all over the place. Sometimes they see you from miles away, sometimes they hear you from miles away, and sometimes they’re dumb as hell. I’m glad they were dropped in Thief 2. Not hard enemies - just irritating. 
• Best moment: Getting the mystic gems, dodging that one haunt, hearing the horn, and finally taking it. What a mission. 
• Final verdict: I hated this one as a kid. Now I’m 36 and think this is gold-standard dungeon-delving and tomb-raiding. I feel like I’m right there. Just fantastic, and the music and ambience are absolutely on point. I only wish I’d appreciated it more when I was younger. 
• Grade: S

 

Assassins 

• What works: Trailing the two chumps is fun enough. The mansion is a solid challenge, and the game does nice worldbuilding through the readables. I didn’t have a problem with the poker because I attack the banners on sight, so I found it quickly. It also teaches you to ghost, or at least not be seen: if you raise the alarm, the mission extends and the guards become a nightmare. 
• What doesn’t: The bait-and-switch is slightly spoiled by the mission title. The mansion also feels a little sparse. If you’re like me and want to blackjack everyone, it can be quite hard to do cleanly. It also feels a little buggy: going down to Ramirez seemed to trigger the guards and servants as soon as I opened the door, even though I’d hidden the bodies. On reload, it didn’t happen again. 
• Best moment: Giving Ramirez a clonk on the head and getting into the mansion. 
• Final verdict: Definitely a good pace-breaker after Bonehoard, and getting to rob the place was cool, but I don’t see it as anything special. Definitely the kind of mission that would be improved on later in Thief 2 and in fan missions. 
• Grade: B-

 

Thieves Guild 

• What works: I will say that getting into the two mansions is pretty cool. There are plenty of secrets to find, and thieves are always a fun faction to spend time around. 
• What doesn’t: Some objectives are hidden to a ridiculous degree - Nintendo-hard levels of obscure. The bracelet is very easy to miss, and Donal’s mansion entrance had me completely baffled. I had to consult a guide for the first time ever. Garrett’s map is no help at all here; it’s just obtuse and opaque. The lighting is also all over the place. I’ll think I’m standing in darkness, but the light gem says otherwise. 
• Best moment: Getting out of those sewers and picking the mansions clean. 
• Final verdict: I get the hate for this mission, though I didn’t have too many navigation problems because I’m a decent mental mapper. Even so, it’s convoluted and not especially enjoyable. That’s a shame, because a sewer-base mission feels like such a natural trope for a thief fantasy. Some of the obscure loot and entrances are hard to forgive. 
• Grade: C-

 

The Sword 

• What works: Well, the level design, obviously. It just gets stranger and stranger, and you can tell the team had a field day making it. I love how it conveys Constantine/Trickster’s distaste for ordered architecture. The “Little Big World” garden section is great fun too, and the sound design is superb. 
• What doesn’t: I didn’t get enough time to explore the top floor, because the marble floors and guard placement felt a bit over the top. How are these guys even able to work here? Are they having their memories wiped by Constantine at the end of each shift, or drinking heavily enough to forget how bizarre the place is? 
• Best moment: The twisting corridor, the void, the three doors—there are too many great moments to pick just one. 
• Final verdict: Another brilliant example of level design serving the story. Once you discover it was all a test, the whole thing clicks into place. The developers clearly had a lot of fun making this one, and it shows. It isn’t my personal favourite, but God do I enjoy it. 
• Grade: A

 

The Haunted Cathedral 

• What works: The number of ways you can tackle this level is great. You can set off a fight between zombies and burricks, sneak through the burrick tunnels, or use the waterways. There are enough tools to play it stealthily or noisily. I also like the isolated mansion for the extra objective. The lack of a soundtrack proves that sometimes no music is the creepiest choice of all. 
• What doesn’t: The loot requirements. So much of it is tucked away in obscure places. It makes some sense given that these are collapsing buildings, but I still had to consult a guide to hit the required total. 
• Best moment: Seeing the Eye floating there as it speaks to you. Instant chills. 
• Final verdict: Just a top-tier horror mission. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it when I was younger, but now I can appreciate it fully - especially now that I know how to deal with the undead. A near-perfect romp through a haunted district, and we haven’t even reached the cathedral yet. 
• Grade: A+

 

The Mage Towers  

• What works: The symmetrical complex feels like a welcome break from the previous mission type. The central keep is fun to clear, even if it’s a bit spartan. The mages themselves are very cool, and I’m disappointed they weren’t expanded on more. 
• What doesn’t: The towers feel a bit too long. Water is over in a flash, while Earth overstays its welcome with the maze. Air has a cool vibe, but the platforming sections just annoy me. Fire is... fine, I guess, but the hot plates are irritating. 
• Best moment: The four talking statues in the library foreshadowing Garrett’s foolishness. 
• Final verdict: Enjoyable for what it is. This kind of elemental gauntlet would be done much better later on by fan missions, but it’s still satisfying in a straightforward, long-winded sort of way. I do get a lot of pleasure out of clearing one section after another. 
• Grade: B

 

The Lost City 

• What works: Fire Elementals are a cool challenge. They’re easy enough to beat, but if they hit you it’s devastating. This level is linear, and the map actually worked surprisingly well for me. Tracking down the Keepers and the talisman was a lot of fun. The Emperor’s tomb has a real Indiana Jones vibe, which I loved. It’s also good to see the Hand Mages back again - I remember that before Thief Gold, this place was full of Craymen, who are much less welcome. 
• What doesn’t: Burricks again. I groaned when they showed up, though thankfully they don’t stick around for long. Some loot is basically impossible to grab without alerting them, and the interiors of the buildings can be confusing to navigate. 
• Best moment: Getting the talisman and watching the whole place go berserk with Fire Elementals. 
• Final verdict: I’ll repeat that this is a linear level (in Thief 2 it isn’t) so I didn’t have the confusion a lot of other people seem to have with it. The only real side areas are the theatre and the tomb, and both are required. Once again, it’s another strong stage that makes you feel a bit like Indiana Jones. 
• Grade: A-

 

Song of the Caverns 

• What works: Oh boy. What. A. Level. This might be the best bait-and-switch in the game. In Any Game! You think you’re heading into another dungeon crawl, but instead you get to rob a brilliantly designed opera house. I love Raoul and the way he basically turns you into the Phantom of the Opera. The sound design is a masterclass too. 
• What doesn’t: I can’t think of many negatives here. Maybe the Craymen at the start? I hate those guys. 
• Best moment: Raoul, obviously. Or going into the music director’s room, thinking you’ve been spotted “What is this I see before me?!”only to realise they’re just rehearsing their lines. Taffing troglodytes. 
• Final verdict: I’ve got to think this was a troll aimed at everyone who complained that The Dark Project had too much dungeon content. It’s just enjoyable from start to finish and has a great little self-contained story. Très bien. 
• Grade: A+

 

Undercover 

• What works: The concept of going undercover is cool, and the switch puzzle is neat. I also always like seeing the Hammerites get a bit more fleshing out. 
• What doesn’t: It’s just a little too short, and the AI is buggy. I’ve had Hammerites lose their minds at me despite me not taking anything or going anywhere I shouldn’t. 
• Best moment:  The general vibe of hiding in plain sight. 
• Final verdict: An ambitious level that doesn’t quite pay off. The idea of hiding in plain sight, and of stealth games having public and private spaces, is something I don’t think was really ironed out until the Hitman games. 
• Grade: C-

 

Return to the Cathedral  

• First playthrough: I’m breaking from the usual structure here to talk about playing this on Expert twice. I think it’s a tense and, at times, overwhelming mission, and the general setting and atmosphere are absolutely on point. On my first run, though, it was a disaster. The cathedral was insanely difficult to get back through after grabbing the Eye, and the cloister felt like a town market on a Saturday with the sheer amount of undead traffic. I also didn’t know Apparitions could be killed with the sword alone and staggered so easily. So no, I did not enjoy my first playthrough much at all. I was tense, but not scared - just frustrated by the enemy placement. At that point I’d have given it a low C. 
• Second playthrough: This run went much better. I used a guide and had a better time, but I still had to play in a fairly “gamey” way, basically clearing most of the undead in the cathedral before grabbing the Eye, chucking the bodies you need for Murus down to the exits etc. I know the mission can be ghosted, but it often feels like the game wants to force confrontations. I appreciate what it’s trying to do, and there’s clearly a lot of heart in it. I like it now, but I didn’t really enjoy it till I found ways to “game it” as a result of frustration - that’s just me.
• Grade: B

 

Escape! 

• What works: It’s nice being back in the mansion again I guess.  
• What doesn’t: Just a dreadful mission. I’m not keen on missions where you’re stripped back to the basics and forced to dash for an exit. The enemy placement is over the top, especially when you leave the basement—and frogbeasts can do one. They seem to slowly home in on you from across the map the moment they spot you. I’m also not fond of spiders or the overuse of tunnels. 
• Best moment: It ended. 
• Final verdict: No Thief Gold mission is a total failure. This gave me a decent challenge, even if I didn’t enjoy much of it. The whole level feels like going through the motions, though, and I just bolted for the exit once I got out of the basement. 
• Grade: D-

 

Strange Bedfellows 

• What works: A ruined Hammerite temple is a cool setting. 
• What doesn’t: I’m not a fan of the circular maze at the bottom. The map isn’t terrible, but I still couldn’t find the bloody High Priest for ages. It’s also very, very short, and once again there’s an overuse of spiders. 
• Best moment: The temple itself, and getting payback on the beastmen. 
• Final verdict: It starts off well, then peters out. I just don’t enjoy circular maze-like areas, and by the end I was mostly impatient for it to be over. 
• Grade: D+

 

Into the Maw of Chaos 

• What works: It just gets progressively more alien as it goes, and really feels like you’re descending into the heart of darkness. By this point I think the developers knew that Return to the Cathedral was the last real challenge, so they didn’t want to overtax you here - which I appreciate. 
• What doesn’t: On Expert, you’re in trouble if you’ve burned through your arrows. It’s also a very easy conclusion. I had no real issue swapping the Eye even on Expert. 
• Best moment: Watching the Trickster get his comeuppance. 
• Final verdict: Generally a satisfying ending to the game. I was glad it didn’t go overboard on either length or difficulty, and it felt alien enough to sell the finale. A decent conclusion. 
• Grade: B-

 

All in all, I think Thief Gold is fantastic, and I’m glad it finally clicked with me after all these years. The horror elements feel underappreciated in hindsight and only deepen the immersion. The City feels more gothic than it does in Thief 2, and Gold gives me a buzz that Thief 2 doesn’t quite replicate—just from escaping abominations by the skin of my teeth.

Curious how everyone else ranks the levels. especially the Gold-exclusive missions, since those seem to split opinion the most.  

Next up: The Black Parade, then Thief 2, 2X, fan missions, and maybe Thief 3 - if I’m not burnt out by then. 

Thanks for reading!

it seems to me there is no consensus. People love it or hate it.

I get why some call it the greatest horror mission but i disagree. I’m never actually scared in it. Tense but I’m not full of fear, and that’s because the enemy placement is over the top.

The first time you get out of the cathedral after swiping the eye, you feel good because you escaped that, but then the cloister is like a market town on Saturday there’s so many undead. I almost skipped the mission till I found out Spirits - the worst enemy by far - can be backstabbed. I thought being ghosts they couldn’t be hurt by a sword.

It just all feels a little too much, what with the lack of holy water, and the light gem is all over the place, you’re lit up in places that don’t make sense.

i will say the first haunted cathedral mission is great and has a great balance. you’re challenged but given lots of avenues to approach it like the Burrick tunnels.

it just seems return is trying to force you to fight the things.

as a kid I was bloody terrified of zombies, couldn’t get past the bonehoard. Preferred Thief 2

Playing Thief Gold and having the time of my life. it’s the atmosphere of it, it is perfect and something is lost in Thief 2. The sparse maps in Thief 1 just serve to immerse you further to explore.

Zombies aren’t hard and can be avoided or back stabbed to make dormant.

Thief 2 is still great. but yeh I get it now!

let me preface this by saying I thought Human Revolution was terrific. Not as great as the first game but what a fantastic game for 2011. Doubt they’d get away with some of the plot lines now (a government software upgrade to augs driving them crazy has vaccine hysteria undertones now).

Adam Jensen was such a great character. Pervading sense of melancholy to him.

Mankind Divided came out and I was like what? it felt like it didn’t want to be a sequel and ditched most of the original characters, or they only showed up in dlc. It was also unfinished.

now we’ve heard nothing for years and it’s very sad. what’s going on? I heard something about a bad IP holder.

such a shame we won’t get to see how Jensen is tied up to JC Denton at the end.

I couldn’t play the original Thief for years because as a kid I was terrified of cragscleft mines and the bonehoard, and preferred Thief 2, but I’ve got a new appreciation now for Gold.

Bonehoard was terrific. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time in a good way. the sound design and perspective just unify to create the most brilliant experience beating the dated graphics.

im going to go through all the games - Gold, Black Parade, Thief 2, 2X, the top tier fan missions (basically anything by Lady Rowena) and then Thief 3 if I’m still keen.

so glad to reconnect with these games!

gotta be the Count of Artois the future Charles X for me.

just a preening peacock who learned nothing from the 25 years of turmoil. His actions through emigre scheming arguably helped to some degree to get Louis XVI guillotined and he carried on doing it despite his brother asking him to stop.

Louis XVIII meant well and tried to compromise but worried constantly his brother would get the family exiled again, and look what happened.

6 years of arrogance, clinging on to power by gerrymandering the legislature with ultra royalists. At the end the legislature could hear the Paris mob shouting long live the emperor outside the hall despite Napoleon being dead. followed by a miserable death by cholera.

just wondering how you all get round the fatigue of shuttling back and forth on big maps? having to resupply armies just becomes bothersome, even with extra towns.

do you guys use level 1 heroes to relay troops to your main or what?

I don’t remember being bothered with it as much as a kid but I get so tired of it now.

is there ways to get town portal or dimension door easily? Coming back to the game after years.

can’t find much info on it. did he kill himself or was he thrown out the window by royalists?

sorry to keep banging the drum, but this is one of the best long form stories I’ve ever read.

It would make a wonderful dark tv series, but no studio would touch this IP with a barge pole. Even the new movie is a small studio affair. This is the story that really redeems crossed.

Wonderful character development throughout it - Shaky is so human, but he is not humane - he’s a snivelling coward, even before the surprise, but we want to see his closure with the nun as she was his chance at saving himself, and his her chance at saving herself once she was crossed.

I also love how although there is plenty of edge it is not edgy. it’s a story for adult that’s adult, not for nihilistic teenage boys. It doesn’t feel like schlock exploitation.

Also what an ending >!so glad Rab and the remaining islanders get away, arm in arm. They‘ve an uncertain future but it’s nice to be tossed a bone like that.!<

”Didn’t read it, I just counted the words.”

that glowing fog looks bad and makes it look light daylight. switch it off! it doesn’t work right

I’m interested in why this figure resonates to so many today - both positively and negatively.

On one side I can see his naked overreaching, his desire for dominance, the nepotism, the objectively bad things he did.

However I am in awe of his personal qualities and thinking of what he did steels my own resolve.

He got where he did through a lot of luck. I doubt he’d of got far in the aristo army of the bourbons…. but for several years he made the world quake and his memory made the old order shiver in fear long after he died.