Thick as Thieves Review: Trapped in the Shadow of Other Stealth Games
Thick as Thieves is the debut title from OtherSide Entertainment, a new studio founded by Warren Spector (Studio Director of Deus Ex and Thief: Deadly Shadows) and Paul Neurath (Exec Producer for Thief: The Dark Project and Thief: The Metal Age). It was released on May 20 on PC via Steam (it’s coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year), and it’s a stealth action game currently stuck in the shadow of its predecessors; that’s not to say it isn’t fun, but fans of immersive sims will need to temper their expectations.
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Heist to Meet You
It’s important to note up front that OtherSide are trying something different with the release of Thick as Thieves. For starters, what’s available now isn’t the full game but it also isn’t under Early Access. Instead, OtherSide has decided to release part of the game for $4.99 as they continue working on it, so gamers can get a decent taste of what it has to offer in the meantime.
It’s unclear as to whether anyone who pays for it now will get all additional content for free once it’s ready, but personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see this being the case, alongside a price hike for those who haven’t invested in it yet. OtherSide calls what you can play now an “introductory campaign”; I’ve given it a whirl so let me explain what this actually amounts to.
The framework to Thick as Thieves is straightforward: you’re a novice thief who wants to get inducted into the Thieves Guild, in the fictional Scottish city of Kilcairn circa 1910. The tutorial has you steal a mysterious diamond, which in turn gets you into the Guild. Then, from your Den, you can receive new Contracts and carry out heists across two maps: the Constables’ Guildhall and Elway Manor.
There are currently two playable characters: Spider and Chameleon, who play functionally the same but have their own unique tricks. Spider has a Zipwire (grappling hook) and Chameleon can use a Disguise ability to look like guards for a short while. I was hoping for a choice between these from the start, but you have to unlock Chameleon. This leads me onto the first of a few peculiar design choices by OtherSide.
The Perks of Being a Wall-Climber
Once a mission is completed, successfully or otherwise, you’ll get XP and total up any stolen loot. XP unlocks levels, which in turn unlock new things in the Ledger (which shows Contracts and the Black Market). Loot is used to buy unlocked Perks in the latter, from new equipment to cosmetics. I get that doing it this way cuts out microtransactions, which is refreshing to see in what is ostensibly a live service game, but it does all render the Perks system lacklustre.
The tutorial did a good job of walking me briskly through the main mechanics of Thick as Thieves, including getting hold of the Zipwire, but before I could do the first proper map (the Guildhall) I then had to buy both the Zipwire and the map from the Black Market, which is a weird way to do it, but alright. Chameleon wasn’t available until I completed Contract 8, and Elway Manor (the second map) didn’t unlock until I successfully completed the main Contract for the Guildhall.
All Contracts double as story missions and are delivered via typed message to the Den; they all involve the diamond you half-inch at the start, its esoteric ability to grant its holder the ability to see threats and loot through walls, and what others want to use it for.
I like all that, because it removes the need for cutscenes and keeps the story in-game, regardless of the way Perk unlocks work. What I wasn’t so keen on is that Thick as Thieves isn’t particularly immersive, considering who’s made it.
Take the Zipwire. Getting a mobility device at the start of the game is always welcome in my book, and if you’re like me then you always upgraded Corvo’s Blink ability in the Dishonored games ASAP to zip around like a magic Spider-Man. Unfortunately, the Zipwire does not turn the Spider into Corvo, nor an approximation of the Webbed Wonder. Its range is extremely short, meaning you need to be as close as possible to the surface you want to zip to.
This means there’s no zipping between rooftops and across gaps, unless you’re really close to them. I’m not sure if this is a conscious design choice by OtherSide to distance (heyyoo!) Thick as Thieves from what could be considered its main competitor series, but at least it avoids the quirk of the last Thief game by not linking the Zipwire to specific points; it can be used basically anywhere. Whether it successfully sends you up and onto the thing you point it at is another story.
Incapacitated guards can’t be moved, which is something else that breaks the immersion. If they’re supposed to be too heavy to move, I get it, but the game needs to telegraph this better. Visual clues were hard to see, too, as even on the High setting graphics are fuzzy. This might be an issue with my set-up though (I have an AMD Radeon 7 5000 series gaming laptop), so take that complaint with a pinch of salt.
Don’t Kill Him
There are quite a few bugs in Thick as Thieves right now that OtherSide are working on, including enemy pathfinding AI being a bit ropey, and known visual glitches. These did take me out of the game, like when I alerted a Constable (chunky mustachioed policemen in helmet-visors) and he promptly got stuck on stairs. There are also smaller things that are personal taste, but still stuck out, like how the loot is identical no matter which map you play, despite Elway Manor supposedly being the site of a once-wealthy family (get ready to find a lot of plates, bells and cat statues on both maps).
Enemies can be taken out silently by creeping up behind them, but you can’t defend yourself or attack anyone if things go south. Thematically this makes sense – you’re a thief not an assassin – but it can lead to a quick death (well, technically a KO) upon discovery, so the ability to at least stun enemies would be welcome. There are tools available to help, like a Smoke Bomb and Insult Fairy (this attracts attention to wherever it’s placed), but they all feel like last-ditch attempts; the emphasis is very much on creeping around and nicking anything not nailed down without being spotted at all.
I will say that there were a few times I was spotted and had to leg it, without having a preplanned escape route, that were thrilling and fun. Dying/being knocked-out also isn’t the end, as it’s possible to respawn after around 10 seconds – keep in mind that any loot is dropped at the spot you die, even mission-critical items. As such, it’s worth using a Stash when you can: these are glowing slashes in walls that magically transport loot to the Den.
Now That’s Magic!
Oh yeah, there’s magic in Kilcairn. Sadly not enough to stop the world of Thick as Thieves from feeling like a Gaelic Dunwall, but hopefully this is something that will see a stronger emphasis as OtherSide work on the game. As it stands, aside from the Stashes, there are fairy-related tools, a fairy who guides you at the start, a magic door that lets you exit a map, and ghosts.
Ghosts! These are skull-headed, floating green guards that eerily moan about their lot in (un)life, in a similar way to how the living guards can be heard muttering about their jobs. Not exactly comedy, but it does help give the world of Kilcairn some levity and personality that feels all its own.
You’re Not a Ninja
A Stealth Orb at the bottom of the screen shows how much light and noise you’re making, as well as the direction of the light which is a nice touch. Some parts of the maps look brighter than they are, so the Orb became a vital tool in my sneaky arsenal (it was possible to be “in shadow” right next to an enemy and they had no idea I was there). I was a little disappointed that the noisy downpour in outside areas can’t be used to hide player movement, though.
I found a lot of that during my time with Thick as Thieves: disappointment. Is it unfair to expect a studio with the pedigree of OtherSide to deliver something that is truly innovative, even when the studio has been the first to say that its game isn’t finished?
Don’t get me wrong – there are flashes of innovation here and there, most notably in the sandbox replayability of maps. Contract missions stay the same, but the secondary map-specific mission can change with every playthrough. Maybe you need to find a specific artifact, or steal a certain amount of loot. Even the magic exit door doesn’t always spawn in the same place every time. It’s also possible to unlock other difficulty levels that cause enemy placement and routes to shift (this doesn’t happen on the starting Novice setting).
The start point on each map changes every time, too, meaning that while the overall map stays the same you’ll still need to plan new routes through it. Constables’ Guildhall is a massive government building with multiple stairways and entrances, whereas Elway Manor is a decrepit, sprawling estate, and both are riddled with pathways.
I Cannae Do It
I haven’t even talked about the multiplayer aspect yet, and that’s because I couldn’t try it. Missions can be tackled solo or co-op, but every time I tried to partner with someone the game crashed. This reminds me of another weird quirk worth mentioning: solo missions can’t be paused.
This wouldn’t be much of an issue if they weren’t also on a timer. Yep, Thick as Thieves gives you either 30 or 45 minutes to complete the mission and Contract on any map, with the magic door only appearing eight minutes before the timer runs out (there’s no other indication of time passed). I get the logic of this: it gives everything an undercurrent of urgency, despite this also feeling counterintuitive to the whole “plan a sneaky heist” aspect.
As far as I could tell it’s not possible to leave the map and return to the Den early, which in turn led to a few games where I completed everything and then basically had to wait god-knows-how-long before I could exit the map. Perhaps something like the ability to summon the door early, but as a one-shot that’s open less time and not very close, could add a level of risk/reward to proceedings.
Like a Thief in the Night
I like what OtherSide is trying to do with Thick as Thieves, by creating short play sessions that always come with some kind of reward (even failure grants XP). I don’t like the grind aspect of it, and I can’t say working to unlock a top hat or fancy calling card (this replaces stolen loot) is much of an incentive to keep grinding.
I can imagine playing co-op, with both players synchronising their plans to be mutually beneficial (such as one goes after the Contract item while the other works on the mission, or one distracts guards and leads them on a merry chase), would be fun…if I could get it to work for me. Solo, the game does have emergent moments, but not to the extent I think modern gamers are used to from immersive sims.
And yet…this is just $5. I can’t see how anyone can really complain at this price point. Maybe that’s another bit of canny marketing from OtherSide: they know the game is a bit wonky, but hey, it’s cheap. Plus, there’s around four hours of content if you’re talking about unlocking both maps, but it’s possible to get through the first 16 Contracts so the overall game time is significantly higher.
What I do think is a legitimate complaint, or really more of a warning, is that anyone expecting something anywhere near the level of Deus Ex or early Thief games will be disappointed. As it stands, Thick as Thieves is fun in short bursts, but doesn’t give players enough reasons to really feel like a thief outside of pretty straightforward stealth action.
