I like to think of myself as a pretty honest guy. If a salesperson gives me too much change, I let them know and return the overage. If I find a device that someone dropped, I will make sure it makes it into the nearest lost and found. I cannot even get myself to rob NPC’s in Grand Theft Auto. You know, good karma and all that. So, when I put myself into the shoes of an expert house burglar in Thief Simulator 2, I felt a little out of my normal comfort zone. But, while it took some time for me to come to grips with the assignment – and additional time to resolve a few game glitches that had me all but stalled – I came away with a solid appreciation for the deep and stealthy experience that Thief Simulator 2 provided.
Thief Simulator 2 sets a basic narrative that the player is a former accomplished thief who has gotten himself in trouble with a powerful and dangerous group of criminals. His only option is to bail himself out the way he knows best – robbing his neighbors to garner enough money to pay back what he owes. Starting with virtually nothing, our protagonist works with his director on an ever-escalating series of heists to build enough of a nest egg to pay off the ruthless mob. Hearkening back to the gameplay of stealth classics like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, Thief Simulator 2 is a slow, careful grind that requires the gamer to use deliberate and methodical observation, movement, and hiding to get by unscathed while grabbing as much loot as he can pack into his knapsack.
Throughout the course of the game players will move from brute force burglaries using basic tools like crowbars and flashlights, eventually graduating to high-dollar heists using slick automatic lockpicks and high-tech camera-hacking drones. These robbery assignments are doled out by a mysterious “Private Number” that buzzes on the thief’s mobile phone – a nameless entity who has taken it upon himself to help the thief get out of trouble, for a price. As these assignments get more financially rewarding, they also get more dangerous – forcing the player to rob inhabited homes by carefully tracking the daily patterns of the homeowners, keeping out of sight – if all goes bad, he can put them to sleep with gas or at last resort, crack them over the head with his baton.
All of the stolen items are loaded into his vehicle, to be delivered to the fence for cash through a surprisingly impressive driving mechanic. And if that’s not enough, he can even choose to boost neighborhood vehicles. Just be sure to keep an eye out for the police, who will not hesitate to pursue and toss the thief in jail for a costly fine.
Throughout the game, players are afforded opportunities to level up the thief with additional skills via XP garnered by completing certain tasks. This levelling up adds a degree of depth to the gameplay and gives a sense of customization to the proceedings even.
Thief Simulator 2 may not have the visual polish of a top-tier game, but it also does not share the price of a top-tier game, so for what it is it certainly gets the job done. On the other hand, the voice acting is downright laughable. I mean, I appreciate that the game even provides a semblance of a narrative, but the fact that our director speaks with the stereotypical east coast mobster accent – and a poor one at that – definitely adds a layer of unnecessary cringe to the proceedings. Still, the voice acting is only a small part of the overall experience, so I am willing to overlook the shortcomings.
As mentioned earlier, I had a couple instances where I found myself stalled, trying to figure out what to do next. Both had to do with what I feel is poor delivery of instructions – I just really couldn’t figure out what was expected of me next. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t understand what the game was asking for, so after careful review I decided to start over. Once I got a better lay of the land, the instructions seemed less nebulous, and I was able to continue on but I do think the developers could work on making things a bit more intuitive – or at least providing better waypoints and instructions in future releases.
Thief Simulator 2 clocks in at about six hours of gameplay – which is an absolute deal considering the low cost of entry. It may not be as groundbreaking as Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell were in their day, but for a $20 jaunt, stealth fans will not be disappointed. I still don’t feel 100% comfortable robbing innocent civilians, but Thief Simulator 2 definitely delivered a stealthy experience I could enjoy, once I figured out the issues.
