Thief

It's been a long time coming, but the Thief franchise is finally back with this newest next-gen instalment. Once again plopping players into the shoes of master shadow-sneaker Garrett, publisher Square Enix has been hopeful that it'll nick the same glory that its predecessors did.

Unfortunately, the crime spree hasn't gone down too well with the media, resulting in a slew of decent-but-not-so-amazing reviews. The game's dreary but atmospheric world and Garrett's smooth movement seem to be thieving the most praise, but the title's been caught red-handed when it comes to poor level design and some long load times.

As per the usual Round Up template, we've gathered a number of critical critiques for you to peruse at your leisure below. With our own appraisal currently in the works, however, you may want to check back with us in the near future before making a concrete decision on whether or not to nab the release.

Eurogamer.net - 6/10

Thief suffers from too much ambition, unable to draw its systems into a cohesive whole. Whether the game simply needed more time or entirely different foundations is never quite clear. Either way, it's a game that adds up to less than the sum of its parts. Undeniably, Thief suffers greatly by comparison to Dishonored - its more coherent, more thoughtfully and successfully designed cousin, in whose shadow Garrett and his game now cringe.

IGN - 6.8/10

Thief has some strong stealth mechanics going for it, and getting away unseen with a big haul of loot can be an enormous challenge, but doesn’t always put that to good use. Between the hit-or-miss missions is an extremely annoying city hub map and a weak story full of bland characters, and Garrett himself isn’t as sure-footed as a master thief ought to be. Ignoring the story and cherrypicking the best side missions is the best way to approach it.

Gamespot - 6/10

Whether you are new to the series or cut your teeth on Thief's particular brand of stealth when it was still novel, I'd wager your feelings will waver as often as mine did. The Thief-franchise-inspired Dishonored waves the stealth flag far more confidently than this reboot does. Garrett is not yet on his way out, but he's been shown the door.

Destructoid - 7.5/10

Thief is a great escape for those of you who yearn for more stealth experiences, but it doesn't really offer up anything exciting. The story and characters are somewhat forgettable, most of the missions are straight-forward, and the locales tend to blend together after a while. Having said that, there's a lot of potential here if you dig deep down into the game's ingenious difficulty sliders and challenge modes. In that sense, Thief succeeds as a bold stealth game, despite its bruises.

PlayStation Official Magazine UK - 7/10

Neither the disaster some anticipated nor a reinvigorated reboot akin to Deus Ex: HR. Thief is worth it for the setting and hardcore stealth, but it’s marred by some poor AI and passive gameplay.

Are you still looking forward to plundering the gloomy world of Thief on PS4, or have these reviews put a dampener on your planned heist? Come out from the shadows and smack us over the back of the head in the comments section below.