Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is an encouraging take on the classic stealth series so far. We went hands-on and interviewed the developers.
Over a decade since its last entry, the Thief series is back once again but with Maze Theory (Infinite Inside) and Vertigo Games (Metro Awakening) at the helm. Set between the original series and 2014’s reboot, Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow focuses on a new protagonist called Magpie that’s fighting back against the city’s tyrannical ruler, Baron Ulysses Northcrest. Right now, the early signs have me intrigued.
0:00
Direct footage captured by UploadVR on PlayStation VR2.
Taking place alongside my Reach preview, I demoed the PlayStation VR2 edition earlier this month. The first level involves stealing intel from a guard station, which feels constricted as you venture through often narrow streets with some open spaces to navigate. Level two requires exploring a much more spacious environment with multiple paths, where you must sneak into a guarded mansion to swipe a key item.
My immediate instinct is to test everything’s interactivity, and searching through drawers for items to pilfer soon pays off by finding hidden loot, storing those by putting them near my chest. This ties into your overall progression and rewards more thorough thieves with these smaller treasures, though the demo doesn’t reveal how this plays out across the main game.
While I wish pulling up your inventory was an on-body action instead of a button press, Thief VR’s immersion generally feels good. Throwing glass bottles to distract guards, pulling up windows to leave buildings, making sure doors are closed to reduce suspicion, and physically crouching behind cover in shadows to not get caught. Details like these collectively make a thrilling whole, and I feel tense navigating these oppressive environments.
I’m usually crouching to avoid making much sound while moving and not lingering in the light any longer than I absolutely have to. A blue crystal on the back of your hand shines to let you know that you’re not in darkness, a suitable approach that reduces HUD elements. Those aren’t completely minimal, though; a guard alerted to your presence or a disturbance displays an icon above them.
0:00
Glyph Vision in action
The second demo level introduces Glyph Vision, which is more reminiscent of the reboot’s focus mode than the mechanical eye of Garrett, Thief’s original protagonist. Garrett’s disembodied voice guides you throughout Thief VR for reasons that aren’t completely clear yet, and his presence seems directly linked to this ability. I couldn’t get many story insights beyond environmental clues.
Glyph Vision functions similarly to Detective Vision in Batman: Arkham Shadow, where you put your controller to the headset’s side and hit the trigger. A convenient approach that highlights both enemies and points of interest alike, such as electrical wires powering an alarm system, though this can only be used for so long before needing to recharge.
Combat opens up more in the second level, and Thief VR is a game that actively disincentivizes this approach. You could take down every guard, sure, though it’s much riskier when some (though not all) of the guards can kill you in a single hit. Arrows are very limited, and while they can usefully create distractions, there’s no aim assist once the arrow takes flight.
Some arrows double up as Magpie’s tools, like rope arrows for reaching set locations or water arrows for putting out fires. So there’s a trade-off where killing everyone means you’ll miss other opportunities later on. This makes the stealth approach feel more rewarding. Getting one over on these guards is great, and making my escape is pretty satisfying.
It’s a promising start, though there’s still work to be done. I can’t speak for other platforms as only the PS VR2 demo was available but notable bugs in this demo, like missing mission markers, have me wondering if it will get delayed. One moment saw enemies still on full alert to my presence after being killed and reloading to a checkpoint, even though I’d not been caught again.
0:00
Lockpicking in action
Soon after my demo, I interviewed Principal Designer Nick Witsel from Vertigo Games and Richard Bunn from Maze Theory to learn more. Asking how Thief VR got off the ground, both companies were already discussing a potential collaboration when Eidos Montreal was acquired by the Embracer Group, which Vertigo Games falls under via Plaion.
After seeing Maze Theory’s atmospheric work on Peaky Blinders, Witsel confirmed Thief was then pitched to the studio, who readily accepted.
“It came together very quickly, and that was then pitched to Eidos, who were very excited about it as well. They were very supportive and gave us a lot of freedom to create this new chapter,” Witsel replied.
Querying how they approached adapting Thief’s traditional gameplay, Witsel highlights stealth as working “really well” in VR due to its sense of presence and immersion. Saying Thief games are about exploring your environment and paying close attention to details, he believes physically sneaking around and peeking behind corners translates well.
However, this brought around some interesting challenges, with Witsel using light and dark environments as an example.
“In the original Thief games, you have your heads-up display that tells you if you’re in a light spot or a dark spot. The levels are very clearly color-coded, almost with hard borders, and that’s not really realistic, but we accept that as part of the gameplay. These days, games need to look more realistic, so you can’t really have that stark contrast. At the same time, we don’t want some heads-up display that’s always in your field of view.
“It has to feel natural; you need to look at a shadow and go, “That looks dark enough” for me to hide there and feel safe. But at the same time, if you make shadows completely black, especially in VR, that makes you feel very disconnected as you just don’t see anything. We had to shift it so that dark areas are a bit lighter than they realistically would be without feeling immersion-breaking. It’s a very deliberate balance that we have to achieve.”
Weighing in, Bunn discusses how Thief games have a unique atmosphere and “a certain sense to them” they’re hoping to capture. Noting I feel highly alert to noise while sneaking around, sound design is highlighted as another key challenge with footsteps and guard chatter. I instinctively keep closing doors behind me, which apparently was a smart call. Witsel states closed doors will help obscure noises being made in a room.
Bunn also highlights the challenge of where to place Thief VR in the timeline given its four prior entries, advising this affects what things they can say or do within the game.
Garrett’s role and other narrative details are also being kept close to the chest for now; he’s part of this story but not physically present during Thief VR. However, Legacy of Shadow connects these two eras by taking place in the middle.
“There are multiple things. So there’s the law, story, backstory, the history of those games, a timeline, and events. We have to be sensitive to all of those things… We sit in the middle, 200 years after the original games, and we connect them. Sometimes in a very direct way, while other moments are, if you’re a fan of the games and you’re aware of the little details, there are clues.”
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow reaches Quest, Steam, and PlayStation VR2 later this year.
