Lack of mission saves be damned, this is bar non the best succesor to Thief that exists. The story, gameplay and vibe manages to hit so close to the looking glass classics and still it find its on pace. If you love Thief 1 and 2, than I can not recommend this enough.
Filcher is a solid and honestly underrated Thief-like. Aesthetically it trades in the smog and candlelit masonry of Thief in favour of what I’d describe as “Batman The Animated Series” energy; where the city is a sea of art deco skyscrapers and all mobsters are legally required to wear a fedora.
Visually, the game’s use of fairly chonky 3D rendered sprites for the guards was initially off-putting, but was something I grew to appreciate. There’s something surprisingly tense about hiding under a table while a malevolent cardboard cut-out stands two feet away. I also found that it did help with working out guard line of sight, although it could make bonking them with the blackjack fairly awkward. I also really liked the graphic novel cutscenes between missions and I do wish there’d been more of them.
The game does have one major complaint you will see levelled at it, which is the lack of saving during a mission. Personally, I’m in two minds about this. The missions are shorter affairs than Thiefs, generally lasting half an hour to complete (not including failed attempts). As someone who chronically quicksaved when I played Thief, this took some getting used too. However this forced me to improve at the game and experiment with finding alternative pathways to complete missions. The downside to this however is the repetition of having to repeatedly retrace your steps, especially when you actively can’t proceed due to guard chatter. Please stop talking about Alexi’s number skills, guard at the start of The Swordfish, I wish to acquire sick loot. Maybe a single save per mission or a check point system could have helped with this, but your mileage may vary on how much of an issue this is.
The lack of verticality with regards to movement was also a surprising choice. While the levels are obviously designed without climbing in mind, playing games like Thief has given me an ingrained love of clambering up things. Our protagonist also isn’t that great at jumping large distances, although thankfully most situations that could require jumping in-game can be traversed by sliding. Still had a few awkward initial incidents of jumping towards a rug and landing on a tiled floor in front of a surprised (and trigger happy) guard.
I think what really impressed me though is that there wasn’t a single misfire over the nine mission campaign, with my favourites being Club Misterioso and Blackburn House. When the game plays well you’ll be sliding from shadow to shadow, picking pockets and shiny things as you go.
Overall I really enjoyed Filcher and it does feel like a shame that the game appears to have slipped under the radar. The lack of in mission saving definitely seems to be divisive for some, but if you can look past it I’d heartedly recommend.
Visually, the game’s use of fairly chonky 3D rendered sprites for the guards was initially off-putting, but was something I grew to appreciate. There’s something surprisingly tense about hiding under a table while a malevolent cardboard cut-out stands two feet away. I also found that it did help with working out guard line of sight, although it could make bonking them with the blackjack fairly awkward. I also really liked the graphic novel cutscenes between missions and I do wish there’d been more of them.
The game does have one major complaint you will see levelled at it, which is the lack of saving during a mission. Personally, I’m in two minds about this. The missions are shorter affairs than Thiefs, generally lasting half an hour to complete (not including failed attempts). As someone who chronically quicksaved when I played Thief, this took some getting used too. However this forced me to improve at the game and experiment with finding alternative pathways to complete missions. The downside to this however is the repetition of having to repeatedly retrace your steps, especially when you actively can’t proceed due to guard chatter. Please stop talking about Alexi’s number skills, guard at the start of The Swordfish, I wish to acquire sick loot. Maybe a single save per mission or a check point system could have helped with this, but your mileage may vary on how much of an issue this is.
The lack of verticality with regards to movement was also a surprising choice. While the levels are obviously designed without climbing in mind, playing games like Thief has given me an ingrained love of clambering up things. Our protagonist also isn’t that great at jumping large distances, although thankfully most situations that could require jumping in-game can be traversed by sliding. Still had a few awkward initial incidents of jumping towards a rug and landing on a tiled floor in front of a surprised (and trigger happy) guard.
I think what really impressed me though is that there wasn’t a single misfire over the nine mission campaign, with my favourites being Club Misterioso and Blackburn House. When the game plays well you’ll be sliding from shadow to shadow, picking pockets and shiny things as you go.
Overall I really enjoyed Filcher and it does feel like a shame that the game appears to have slipped under the radar. The lack of in mission saving definitely seems to be divisive for some, but if you can look past it I’d heartedly recommend.
Filcher is an impressive homage to the gameplay of the classic Thief games that is bursting at the seams with indie charm. It takes some big risks to mixed effect, and the low budget does hold Filcher back from being a true masterpiece in the genre, but this solo-dev labor of love is largely a blast to play through.
Most of the gameplay mechanics from Thief make a return: you will be sneaking through progressively more secure locations to steal as much loot as possible, and loud gameplay is even more disincentivized than Garrett's already-limited options by removing lethal weapons. You still get analogues for several of the classic tools from Thief: moss spores, a noisemaker toy, and dart gun work similarly to moss, noisemaker, and gas arrows, albeit with much more limited range. There's no mantling this time around, but Sporey, the protagonist, can slide quietly across floors as long as she gets enough of a running start. I do miss mantling dearly, but the sliding mechanic is wonderful, and mastering it allows you to confidently breeze through sections by sliding past guards at the right moment. Though it's not exactly the same as its inspirations, the moment-to-moment gameplay in Filcher is rock-solid, with tons of tension added by the most divisive feature.
If you've looked at the store page or reviews for the game, you're certain to have seen the many complaints about Filcher's lack of saving. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this decision. The missions are designed with the lack of saving in mind, all being completable within about 20 minutes — none of them stretch anywhere near as long as missions like Thieves' Guild from Thief: Gold. This limitation makes the levels incredibly tense, which I love, though the novelty wears a bit thin on the final two which are dramatically more difficult and complex than the rest of the levels before them. I still completed the last levels without too much issue, but I got about halfway through replaying the campaign to get the ghost rank achievement before I decided to shelve the game for now. Getting a ghost rank on a level requires you to play it absolutely perfectly: get all the loot and secrets, don't knock anybody out, and naturally, don't get caught. I enjoyed the tension brought on by the lack of saves in an organic first playthrough where I was ok with making mistakes, but on replays, it wasn't terribly fun to completely restart a relatively long mission after any given screwup. Skill issue, optional achievements, yadda yadda yadda, I know, I just think that the lack of saves does hamper successive playthroughs of the game even though I enjoyed the tension the first time through.
Another gameplay mechanic I did miss from classic Thief games is a store to purchase items and information. It doesn't fit in with Filcher as it's currently designed — the levels can be replayed at any time, and as mentioned above, Sporey's arsenal is more limited than Garrett's — but having an actual gameplay incentive to bag as much loot as possible would have been a nice addition.
Filcher's presentation is pretty great, especially for a solo developer. The art style of the levels and the intro cutscenes draws heavily from noir comics, giving the whole experience a distinct style. The music is simple and mostly driven by a plucky bass, but it fits right in with the atmosphere. I don't mind the 2.5D renderings of the enemies, but I will say that the lack of voice acting for the guards is sorely missed and makes the levels feel more lifeless than they would otherwise. If we are ever blessed with a high-budget Filcher 2, that would be my number one request; it doesn't even need to be as goofy or varied as Thief, just a little something to characterize the goons we're robbing blind. The same goes for the comic panel cutscenes: I love the style, but I wish the characters were voice acted even if animated cutscenes are too big of a stretch for an indie project like this.
Overall, Filcher is a great time, and one of the best stealth games released in the past few years. Though it has a few shortcomings related to its budget and some hotly-debated design decisions, you owe it to yourself to play through this game if you're a fan of Thief or stealth games at large. It's a hardcore but rewarding experience with a true appreciation for the titans of the genre while still putting its own spin on the gameplay and presentation.
Most of the gameplay mechanics from Thief make a return: you will be sneaking through progressively more secure locations to steal as much loot as possible, and loud gameplay is even more disincentivized than Garrett's already-limited options by removing lethal weapons. You still get analogues for several of the classic tools from Thief: moss spores, a noisemaker toy, and dart gun work similarly to moss, noisemaker, and gas arrows, albeit with much more limited range. There's no mantling this time around, but Sporey, the protagonist, can slide quietly across floors as long as she gets enough of a running start. I do miss mantling dearly, but the sliding mechanic is wonderful, and mastering it allows you to confidently breeze through sections by sliding past guards at the right moment. Though it's not exactly the same as its inspirations, the moment-to-moment gameplay in Filcher is rock-solid, with tons of tension added by the most divisive feature.
If you've looked at the store page or reviews for the game, you're certain to have seen the many complaints about Filcher's lack of saving. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this decision. The missions are designed with the lack of saving in mind, all being completable within about 20 minutes — none of them stretch anywhere near as long as missions like Thieves' Guild from Thief: Gold. This limitation makes the levels incredibly tense, which I love, though the novelty wears a bit thin on the final two which are dramatically more difficult and complex than the rest of the levels before them. I still completed the last levels without too much issue, but I got about halfway through replaying the campaign to get the ghost rank achievement before I decided to shelve the game for now. Getting a ghost rank on a level requires you to play it absolutely perfectly: get all the loot and secrets, don't knock anybody out, and naturally, don't get caught. I enjoyed the tension brought on by the lack of saves in an organic first playthrough where I was ok with making mistakes, but on replays, it wasn't terribly fun to completely restart a relatively long mission after any given screwup. Skill issue, optional achievements, yadda yadda yadda, I know, I just think that the lack of saves does hamper successive playthroughs of the game even though I enjoyed the tension the first time through.
Another gameplay mechanic I did miss from classic Thief games is a store to purchase items and information. It doesn't fit in with Filcher as it's currently designed — the levels can be replayed at any time, and as mentioned above, Sporey's arsenal is more limited than Garrett's — but having an actual gameplay incentive to bag as much loot as possible would have been a nice addition.
Filcher's presentation is pretty great, especially for a solo developer. The art style of the levels and the intro cutscenes draws heavily from noir comics, giving the whole experience a distinct style. The music is simple and mostly driven by a plucky bass, but it fits right in with the atmosphere. I don't mind the 2.5D renderings of the enemies, but I will say that the lack of voice acting for the guards is sorely missed and makes the levels feel more lifeless than they would otherwise. If we are ever blessed with a high-budget Filcher 2, that would be my number one request; it doesn't even need to be as goofy or varied as Thief, just a little something to characterize the goons we're robbing blind. The same goes for the comic panel cutscenes: I love the style, but I wish the characters were voice acted even if animated cutscenes are too big of a stretch for an indie project like this.
Overall, Filcher is a great time, and one of the best stealth games released in the past few years. Though it has a few shortcomings related to its budget and some hotly-debated design decisions, you owe it to yourself to play through this game if you're a fan of Thief or stealth games at large. It's a hardcore but rewarding experience with a true appreciation for the titans of the genre while still putting its own spin on the gameplay and presentation.