i think i am the worst thief of all time. also, i think i'm worse at this game than i am at any other video game i've played. i am just dogshit at it. i probably had a 10% success rate knocking out guards, or less. i guess if i was better, maybe i would have enjoyed it more. i think i also wish the game was more upfront about its mechanics. i know that's not what it's going for, as this is a sim-ass video game, not a game-ass video game, but playing this made me realize. do i, personally, want to play a pure stealth immersive sim?.... surprising and sad to say, i think maybe i don't. i think i prefer my immersive sims when the punishment for screwing up isn't immediate inevitable death into load game, but instead, whatever you make of it. this game has too much save/reload for my liking. it's just constant (for me). and it's compounded by the fact that i'm terrible at it. my favorite moments of ultima underworld and system shock are when i screw up, roll with the outcome, and end with a story to tell. in thief, screwing up almost always means alerting the guards and getting killed instantly. what's the point of a game being so loose and open ended if i end up saving & reloading every few seconds? im cheating myself into an ideal scenario and it clashes with the goal of emergent gameplay. anyway, at the same time, this game is also awesome. some of the best environmental storytelling i've ever seen. robbing rich ppl's homes is so cool. the sound effect that plays when you snatch stuff rules. this game is utter goblin-core. "i'll be taking that!" wondrous cha-ching noise plays with each new treasure collected and collides a speeding full truckload of joy into my ears. the diegetic maps! so awesome. the house and room designs are rife with detail. i adore how this game's story is as deep as you're willing to look. the story isn't in the cutscenes, but on the shelves, and there are really cool and weird things to find if you look. i just wish the level design was more consistent. for every cool heist level that's packed with detail and emergent moments, there's a sewer with nothing in it but zombies that don't allow the same wealth of options you have when you're robbing mansions. the sewer/cave levels are seriously doo-doo, i started enjoying the game a lot more when i learned i could hit ctrl alt shift end for the level skip code anytime a level sucked too hard and demonstrated it was only trying to waste my time. i won't let my conflicting thoughts deter me from playing thief ii - i have been told that game may be what i'm looking for as it's more consistent and cohesive. i enjoyed my time fumbling through thief. i gotta go play something else asap tho