Thief: Deadly Shadows

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 320 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 262 out of 320
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 320
  3. Negative: 19 out of 320
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  1. BlakeM
    Jan 13, 2010
    6
    It's a great basic engine, and I always had heaps of fun running around the city robbing people and places, but about a quarter way through the plotline goes pants-on-head stupid and the game suffers for it. I wanted the game to be like the first two or three levels, but once you've robbed the Hammerite cathedral the game apparently feels the need to include strange monsters and It's a great basic engine, and I always had heaps of fun running around the city robbing people and places, but about a quarter way through the plotline goes pants-on-head stupid and the game suffers for it. I wanted the game to be like the first two or three levels, but once you've robbed the Hammerite cathedral the game apparently feels the need to include strange monsters and the like, none of whom respond well to a whack on the back of the head. It would have been one of my very favorite games - and is in my imagination, regardless - but, sheesh... The game starts off as nothing short of revolutionary, but unfortunately goes downhill fast as soon as the zombies pop up.… Expand
  2. MikeL.
    Feb 27, 2005
    6
    Clearly weaker than Thief 1 and 2 in terms of gameplay. I'm also surprised that som many thought the graphics were excellent. The gfx must have been developed with the Xbox in mind and I was bothered by that fact, a lot. Also the gfx isn't fluid, no matter how fast your pc. The sfx are great even though the vioce acting doesn't feel as fine tuned as in the prequels.
  3. VisserEight
    Mar 6, 2012
    7
    Yet another disappointing game dumbed down by the console crowd (oh the list goes on), nowhere near the level of its predecessor, but still a solid stealth game and probably one of the last of its genre. Despite the developers has put in a lot of effort into recreating the world of Thief, the limit of xbox forces it to limit the map size and many mechanics (rope arrow, scouting orb)wereYet another disappointing game dumbed down by the console crowd (oh the list goes on), nowhere near the level of its predecessor, but still a solid stealth game and probably one of the last of its genre. Despite the developers has put in a lot of effort into recreating the world of Thief, the limit of xbox forces it to limit the map size and many mechanics (rope arrow, scouting orb)were removed, a damn shame for lovers of the old Thief.
    To those who only played Deadly shadows, I am quite sure you remembered the museum level, amazingly huge with large areas to explore right? well, almost every level in Thief 2 is of the same size and quailty, that should speak a lot about its predecessor.

    But despite all this, shalebridge cradle is one of the most amazing levels I have played in video games, I am giving 1 whole mark to my ratings simply because of its existence.    … Expand
  4. JohnJ.
    Jun 11, 2004
    5
    My comment about this game: Do not expect this to be the 3rd game of thief series. Try and act like it is a some sort of new spin off game. I say this because of 1) the game play is similar to that of the other horribly eidos third person stealth games. 2) The game (much like all the other 3rd person eidos games) relies heavily on lighting. The previous thief games was not such of a My comment about this game: Do not expect this to be the 3rd game of thief series. Try and act like it is a some sort of new spin off game. I say this because of 1) the game play is similar to that of the other horribly eidos third person stealth games. 2) The game (much like all the other 3rd person eidos games) relies heavily on lighting. The previous thief games was not such of a graphics whore. 3) The engine used for this game is known for its poor performance. Ontop of that, there is a graphics filter option which you can NOT turn off, makes your framerates drop dramatically. One other thing, there has been a known major bug in the console ports. Sadly enough, this shows through on how much this game was a rushed job. If you have an extremely fast computer, and are typical gamers who have bought farcry , hitman 3, and unreal2k4, you will enjoy this game solely because you have the money to pay for it and it is something new.… Expand
  5. DopeyJoe
    Jun 22, 2004
    5
    Graphics are s ... l.... o .... w ..... even on my somewhat respectable rig (Athlon XP 2800, 512 MB 333Mhz RAM, nVidia GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128 MB DDRII vid card) the gameplay suffered horribly, until I turned down just about all the graphic options. Absolute poo. (by contrast, Unreal Tournament 2004 *freakin' flies* on my rig, as does BF: Vietnam, others). Don't buy this game Graphics are s ... l.... o .... w ..... even on my somewhat respectable rig (Athlon XP 2800, 512 MB 333Mhz RAM, nVidia GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128 MB DDRII vid card) the gameplay suffered horribly, until I turned down just about all the graphic options. Absolute poo. (by contrast, Unreal Tournament 2004 *freakin' flies* on my rig, as does BF: Vietnam, others). Don't buy this game new ... wait for it to drop in price, else you'll be continually annoyed by the stuck-in-molasses framerates. Unless, of course, you own an absolute top-of-the-line PC. Overall: Story, missions, gameplay, sound: great. Graphics: crap.… Expand
  6. Reiver
    Jan 17, 2008
    6
    A good game in the wrong engine and not enough polish. The games main feature: stealth, is sadly broken and as such the good story, great acting and strong ideas can't overcome the niggles that cause prolonged play to be a keyboard smashing pain. The game is now more about the light detecting crystal at the bottom of your screen than true sneaking and planning. I found myself A good game in the wrong engine and not enough polish. The games main feature: stealth, is sadly broken and as such the good story, great acting and strong ideas can't overcome the niggles that cause prolonged play to be a keyboard smashing pain. The game is now more about the light detecting crystal at the bottom of your screen than true sneaking and planning. I found myself constantly watching it as much as the enviroment since, often, the amount of light onscreen and how hidden I was did not correlate. Not that it matters much as the inconsistent AI will sometimes "detect" you motionless in the dark and othertimes miss you running infront of their nose waving a torch in their face and bellowing out rock anthems. "Oh,it must've been a rat". Where the Ai seems to have the most problems is when it's scripted. The NPCs will be told to start fighting each other by some Ai routine and their state of alertness raised to attack mode. Unfortunately that often results in them forgetting about killing each other and either homing in psychically on your hidey hole or beginning to search for you. If they do kill each other, even if you remain hidden, they'll begin looking for you. These bugs are 100% replicable and one in particular (a merman homing in on me) happened everytime no matter what i did. This lack of testing extends to the enviroment and the AI's pathing as well. I found myself stuck on objects far too often and other times had to make several (loud) jumps to get up or on to ledges only to find myself sliding off and unable to do anything but slowly fall. These aren't obscure locations. This is a largely linear game with little deviance from set paths. It just shows a lack of testing! The other area where the enviroment causes trouble is to those mindless AI drones. I dropped a book I'd swiped by mistake (due to the occasional difficulty in targeting loot, very annoying when you're trying to time a quick grab) next to a fireplace. The AI swerved it... And walked to a firey death. I've observed other NPCs throwing a wobbly and falling off platforms to their death without any intervention from me. Discovery of these bodies puts the AI into search mode and once again you're paying for the games bugs. At the end of each level you're given your mission stats. A perfect thief will glide through the level undetected leaving only empty shelves as a sign of his passing. No deaths, no knockouts and no alerted guards. For the reasons above this is impossible the AI stupidity means that even if you go through the level undetected you'll still not have perfect stats thanks to the dead bodies of the suicidal AI. So with no true incentive to play the game in the true Thief style you're cajoled into playing like an action game. there's no reason not to just knock the guard out or to run through the level grabbing everything with a train of guards at your back, you'll just ditch them at the next load point!… Expand
  7. HwoDragon
    May 28, 2012
    5
    Thief was very strong in some elements and very weak in others. The combat system is not very good, as it mostly involves taking out your dagger, your only combat weapon other than your bow, and clicking as fast as your little arm can swing, while the enemies swing at you with big heavy swords. It is, of course, a sneaking game, but I would still like a few more options on head to headThief was very strong in some elements and very weak in others. The combat system is not very good, as it mostly involves taking out your dagger, your only combat weapon other than your bow, and clicking as fast as your little arm can swing, while the enemies swing at you with big heavy swords. It is, of course, a sneaking game, but I would still like a few more options on head to head combat, other than stabbing or flashbanging them. As far as the sneak system goes, it's good, if a little choppy. If enemies are looking for you, they can see you even in a dark room, pressed against a wall, but I do enjoy the feeling of being a spy when I backstab a guard, who probably has parents who love him, maybe a girlfriend, and he instantly dies (Which does leave me to question how I'm supposed to be the good guy in this.) I like the variance in bombs, mines and arrows that I can use, but I think the normal bow is not powerful enough, considering it has an effective range of half a foot. The plotline is interesting, but like I said, I still don't understand how I'm the good guy in it when I murder an innocent man over a silver candlestick worth 25-75 bucks. Now about the audio... I guess its nice that the guards talk, but first off, who jeers at me by asking me "Are we fighting or dancing?" while I jab him to death with my pointy little needle of doom, and secondly, all the voices hurt my ears. Apparently they had 2 voice actors for the guards. One with a Wallace Shawn voice, and the other with what I guess is supposed to be a manly deep gravely voice but I believe is really a bear. What else haven't I covered? Oh, glitches. I hope you're one of the people that doesn't mind an occasional glitch because I found thief to be very frustrating. Not frustrating in the "Awww... i got killed by the final boss again" sense, but in the "Oh look, while hiding in the dark with my light gem as dark as it can go,the guard somehow found me" or the "Oh, apparently that guard has a neck of steel because I just drove a knife into the back of his neck and he turned around and smashed my head open with a hammer" sense.… Expand
  8. Mike251
    Mar 7, 2014
    5
    So far,as much as i know people who like this game aren't really familiar with Thief. Where did those stupid monsters come from? Why don't they make a modern military shooter out of it? I mean since they decided to completely miss the point of Thief and all. It's in the name,see Ion Storm? No monsters or any **** like that. In first person if you are attacking with a weapon only the armSo far,as much as i know people who like this game aren't really familiar with Thief. Where did those stupid monsters come from? Why don't they make a modern military shooter out of it? I mean since they decided to completely miss the point of Thief and all. It's in the name,see Ion Storm? No monsters or any **** like that. In first person if you are attacking with a weapon only the arm holding the weapon is animated,although while in THIRD PERSON the animation is 10 times better with the Garrett's upper body entirely animated,it actually uses a separate animation for third person! Kinda defeats the purpose of putting the viewpoint on the actual character model,i believe a separate animation for first person is called a viewmodel. It's not easy to tell if you are crouched or not. Also there is this hub world,The City. You can see civilians having conversations and walking around which is kinda nice. Though everyone in this city seems to be care-free,since i would be alarmed if i felt something touching my money bag and not notice it an hour later like these people do i mean you would think if the money bags don't fall of them that it would take some time and some noticeable force to take it but NOPE. Seems like all people in the City use cheap glue for their MONEY. I mean if you are able to get Chronicles of Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay instead of this then by all means get THAT game.… Expand
  9. Skitte
    Feb 22, 2015
    7
    Played many times, but never finished. I wanna say things I like and dislike.

    Pros:
    - Good. Title for a stealth
    - Good protagonist
    - okay tasks

    Cons:
    - Repetitive gameplay
    - Boring story
    - Unfocused attack

    All in all, is a good 2004 title which deserves a remake , totally
  10. sufflaminandus
    Jan 7, 2019
    6
    Thief: Deadly Shadows is a solid stealth game regaling us with another adventure about cynical, seemingly indifferent master thief Garrett. The new developers, Ion Storm, managed to retain one extremely crucial aspect: atmosphere. Traversing the steampunk-themed dark-engrossed City in a newly introduced free roam mode; mansions, caves, ships, asylums, ruins in a mission mode is asThief: Deadly Shadows is a solid stealth game regaling us with another adventure about cynical, seemingly indifferent master thief Garrett. The new developers, Ion Storm, managed to retain one extremely crucial aspect: atmosphere. Traversing the steampunk-themed dark-engrossed City in a newly introduced free roam mode; mansions, caves, ships, asylums, ruins in a mission mode is as enchanting as ever was. Figure of Garrett is still amazes with its awesomeness. Non-confrontational gameplay, where you have to silently steal some objects in maze-like level full of secrets, is well-done and entertaining… if you are not acquainted with previous installments.

    Comparatively to T:TDP and TII:TMA the level design is just weaker. The missions are smaller, more linear (usually no more than two useful ways to reach destination). The secret system was removed and replaced with special loot which is a severe simplification. The count of usable items is just two times shorter than in TII. For some unknown reason they removed such applicable devices as invisibility potion, speed potion, slowfall potion, eatable fruits etc. But the gravest insult: they removes rope arrows! They replaced it with climbing gloves but didn’t provided *any* fun ways to utilize it.

    Another blunder of Thief III is that it doesn’t manage or even tries to offer anything new on a higher, general, level. Thief I introduced us to initial, magical-oriented, setting, Thief II replaces all fairy parts with urban ones. And in Thief III… we are back in Thief I, trudging the same old caves filled with monsters, zombie-infested ruins, ghost-haunted houses and, of course, mansions and cathedrals... again.

    Thief: Deadly Shadows is a strong game which enchants you with its dark brooding atmosphere, legendary protagonist and classic, finely tuned stealth gameplay. Yet if you are fun of TI and TII don’t raise your hopes up because Thief III, sadly, loses to them on all fronts.    … Expand
  11. Izoeros
    Aug 19, 2022
    7
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Best PC Game of 2004
19
#19 Most Discussed PC Game of 2004
17
#17 Most Shared PC Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. Boomtown
    80
    A taut, atmospheric and engrossing experience. The only real gripe is that The City sections become long-winded, lacking as they do the focus of the story missions and as a result make the game feel a little bloated.
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  2. Adrenaline Vault
    90
    Even though some of Ion’s design decisions, like the removal of the rope arrow and the inclusion of the third-person camera, will disappoint purists, it would be difficult for anyone to deny what a splendid experience this release is.
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  3. Times Online
    80
    It’s the creepy atmosphere and the easy-to-pick-up-but-tough-to-perfect gameplay that most impress, and there are enough quirks and twists to ensure that you will do your damnedest to complete this compelling title.
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