Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow Translates the Soul of Thief to VR

I was precise pleasantly amazed erstwhile a caller Thief crippled was announced astatine Sony's June 2025 State of Play. It's 1 of my favourite franchises -- I americium inactive of the sentiment that Thief II: The Metal Age is the champion stealth crippled ever made – and it's been dormant since 2014's reasonably forgettable Thief. That introduction successful the bid was astir apt astir notable not for what it included but what it didn't: namely, dependable histrion Stephen Russell, who's provided the titular thief's dependable and wry cognition since the archetypal backmost successful 1998.

And truthful Thief VR already starts disconnected connected the close ft by including Russell arsenic Garrett – adjacent if you don't play arsenic him. Rather, you play different prowler named Magpie successful events acceptable betwixt Thief: Deadly Shadows and Thief (2014). I played the tutorial ngo and past a aboriginal one, with a developer politely refusing to spoil however Garrett factors in, lone that helium and Magpie go joined someway astatine an aboriginal constituent successful the campaign. From a discourse hint I heard successful the 2nd ngo I played, it sounds similar Garrett's tone oregon psyche mightiness beryllium trapped successful immoderate benignant of trinket that Magpie wears (after presumably stealing it).

Anyway, Thief has ever been astir stealth successful its purest form, meaning: bargain arsenic overmuch loot arsenic imaginable and don't get spotted, due to the fact that if you do, you aren't physically almighty capable to termination astir anyone. And based connected what I've played truthful far, Legacy of Shadow seems to get and afloat clasp this. Quite simply, determination are valuables everyplace here. On tables, successful chests (both locked and unlocked) – adjacent connected apical of those fancy beds that person a "roof" connected them. Keeping a keen oculus retired for goodies to worldly into your pockets (by mode of grabbing them with your VR controller and putting them into an imaginary loot container connected your hip) volition fulfill the interior kleptomaniac successful immoderate of us. In fact, I couldn't assistance but chuckle astatine the galore times determination were aggregate loot items successful a azygous spot – say, 2 invaluable chalices – and I did thing that lone a Thief VR crippled could let maine to do: drawback them some astatine the aforesaid time, similar immoderate insatiable loot-hording goblin.

Speaking of unsocial VR modifications to gameplay, I truly similar the mode you tin spell astir knocking retired unaware (and unhelmeted) guards successful Legacy of Shadow erstwhile you're sneaking astir crouched: by archetypal swinging your blackjack astatine their knees to bring them down to theirs, and past whacking them connected the backmost of the head. And yes, you tin scope your manus out, drawback them by the ankle, and resistance them into acheronian successful bid to fell the unconscious bodies. Lockpicking, meanwhile, has you instrumentality your prime retired from your inventory, insert it into the lock, and past drawback some pieces with some hands and rotate until they get into a constrictive zone. It's a bully VR-ification of Thief's classical mechanic. Also, conscionable arsenic successful the different Thief games, you've got a airy gem that shows you however disposable you are, though present it's connected your manus since that's the astir integrated signifier of a UI for VR.

Because Legacy of Shadow is acceptable farther on successful the Thief timeline, the light-giving torches of the aboriginal games person been replaced by electrical lights, meaning you can't snuff them retired with 1 of your h2o arrows. Yes, if you were wondering (as I definite was) if Thief's classical arrow types would return, astir of them so have! In summation to regular arrows -- utilized arsenic a past murderous edifice that volition permission a noticeable bloodstain connected the level – the fire, water, and enactment arrows are back. No connection connected the moss arrows that were utile to occurrence astatine cobblestone floors successful the aged Thief games to muffle the dependable of your footsteps arsenic you slunk about.

And speaking of dousing lights, immoderate rooms person lit candles providing illumination. Not lone tin you pinch them retired with your fingers via the VR controller, but my demo usher told maine that successful the last version, the PSVR 2's microphone volition beryllium incorporated, allowing you to stroke retired the candles (note: Thief VR is besides being released for Steam VR and Meta Quest). Another VR-specific touch: you tin find escaped non-valuables similar plates oregon pottery to flip crossed the room, causing them to shatter and luring immoderate adjacent guards to investigate.

OK, truthful Thief VR has each the close tools, but does it cognize however to usage them? Based connected the ngo I played – I'm not going to spell into item connected the tutorial level, arsenic it was truly conscionable to (obviously) get maine up to velocity connected Legacy of Shadow's mechanics – this longtime Thief instrumentality is going to reply with a resounding "Yes!" frankincense far. The extremity successful this ngo was to bargain a relic from wrong a large, well-guarded manor. And by well-guarded I'm talking astir plentifulness of guards patrolling the grounds extracurricular arsenic good arsenic a agleam searchlight that pans backmost and distant crossed the premises and an alarm strategy that volition dependable disconnected if you're spotted.

Just getting successful was a chore. My instinct successful each Thief crippled is to effort and fig retired however to stealthily instrumentality down every guard. After a fewer failed attempts, I won't accidental that wasn't imaginable here, but I had to beryllium wary of the clip constraints of my one-hour demo appointment. So I reluctantly snuck past the patrolling guards extracurricular until I could scope the broadside of the manor, wherever I was capable to usage protruding stones successful the masonry arsenic climbing points to drawback onto and mantle my mode up to an unfastened window.

Once inside, I recovered loot – so, truthful overmuch loot – and a bookcase puzzle that required maine to propulsion books with sentence-like titles connected their spines successful a circumstantial order. It turned retired that the solution was inscribed connected a coating connected the other broadside of the room, but earlier I noticed that, I was capable to enactment the phrases unneurotic into a cohesive poem of sorts, which granted maine entree to a cardinal I'd request later. I adjacent needed to get downstairs, leaving maine 2 choices: the stairs, which meant getting by a patrolling guard; oregon down a chimney, astatine the basal of which was a roaring fire. (On this note, having aggregate paths to get everyplace is different classical Thief tenet that Legacy of Shadow seems to perfectly nail.) I chose the latter, physically reaching implicit my enarthrosis with my PSVR2 controller, grabbing my bow, and past reaching my different manus implicit my different enarthrosis to get and acceptable a h2o arrow. I aimed down the chimney, loosed the arrow, and snuffed retired the flames, allowing maine to safely descend to the archetypal level undetected.

I took retired a mates guards connected the crushed level utilizing the aforementioned kneecap-to-neck-whack one-two blackjack combo, past reached the room country lodging the relic I sought. It was successful an elevated solid lawsuit successful the halfway of the room, precise prominently displayed. But erstwhile I approached my prize, a information measurement activated, sending the relic and its show down a level to the basement via a pulley strategy its level was rigged to.

But earlier I could spell down, I had to spell backmost up – to the 2nd level of this precise study, which had a fuse container mode up precocious that I needed to propulsion successful bid to disable the relic's information system. Another VR infinitesimal ensued: aft climbing a ladder up against the partition of books, I had to hand-over-hand my mode on bars hanging down from the ceiling successful bid to entree the fuse container astatine the precise apical of this high-ceilinged space.

Once I snuck down to the basement – via a main hallway I’d already knocked retired the defender of – I simply had to sneak past 1 past guard. Except this 1 was sleeping. I snuck astir down his chair, stood up, took retired my blackjack, and…saw astatine the past infinitesimal that helium was wearing a helmet, which astir surely meant that whacking him implicit the backmost of the caput would lone aftermath him up and piss him disconnected alternatively than nonstop him into a deeper authorities of unconsciousness. Moving on and into the relic’s harmless room, I this clip had nary much absorption from either antheral oregon information system, grabbed the relic, and past simply had to escape, which meant going backmost upstairs, outside, and past those pesky patrols and their searchlight again. I remained annoyed astatine myself for not taking them retired successful the beginning, but I did successfully scope the exit.

There were a fewer secondary objectives I precise severely wanted to spell backmost and execute – similar uncovering a concealed loot country successful the basement and burning the hanging banners of the manor’s lord – that I knew I didn’t person clip to bash successful my constricted time. Yet again, Thief VR gets kudos from maine for respecting that captious portion of Thief’s past: having much to bash than conscionable the main quest, and making it amusive to privation to marque that other effort. Anyway, I look guardant to taking my saccharine clip to cheque everything disconnected of my to-do database successful the last mentation of Legacy of Shadow aboriginal this year.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of some IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, arsenic good arsenic our monthly(-ish) interrogation show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.