You might have already seen the newest Thief video released by Eidos Montreal, but if you haven’t, then you’ll find it above in all its glory.
Yet, dire-hard Thief fans (myself included) are struggling to find any gloriousness within it. The video currently has just 294 likes to 418 dislikes, and the comment section is swimming with criticism and complaints: ‘“What’s yours, is Mine.’ You can keep it.” “Won’t be playing this dross” reads one of the top comments, the other pokes fun at Basso’s difficult American/Italian accent. “This… this is terrible” writes A Bunny, and woreidos criticises the new direction of the series, arguing that “Eidos Montréal: a Garrett does not a sequel make.”
The newest Thief instalment hasn’t exactly had the smoothest of rides so far. In a conversation with OXM in October , Thief’s producer Joe Khoury insisted that the new Thief will “overcome fan resistance” and that those criticising the game’s direction are “basing their impressions on the little information that they have, and that’s concerning for them,” though later in the month the developers were quick to abandon an XP skill system due to fan outcry .
What’s clear is that the developers are listening to fans of the series, what’s not clear is how they are interpreting fans’ criticisms.