Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow has so far been an encouragement take on the Classical Stels series. We went practically and interviewed developers.
Over a decade since the last entry, the Thief series has returned again, but Maze Theory (Internal) and Dizziness Game (Metro Awakening) are at the helm. Set between the original series and the 2014 reboot, Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow focuses on a new protagonist called Magpie, who is fighting the city’s tyrannical ruler Baron Ulysses Northrest. Now the early signs are intriguing me.
Direct footage captured by uploadVr on PlayStation VR2.
It was held alongside Reach Preview and demoed the PlayStation VR2 edition earlier this month. The first level involves stealing Intel from the Guard Station. This feels like it is constricting as it frequently passes through narrow streets with some open space to navigate. Level 2 requires exploring a much more spacious environment with multiple paths. Here you will need to sneak into a guarded mansion to swipe through key items.
My immediate instinct is to test all the interactivity, and searching for drawers to steal items quickly rewards by finding hidden booty and keeping them near your chest. This is tied to your overall progression and you can reward a more thorough thief with these little treasures, but the demos don’t reveal how this will play throughout the main game.
I would like to pull up your stock and be an action on the body instead of button presses, but the immersion of thief VR is generally pleasant. To throw glass bottles and pull the windows to deflect security guards, you can leave the building, making sure the door is closed to reduce suspicion and squat physically behind the shadows to prevent them from being caught. Details like these create a whole whole and feel the tension of navigating these oppressive environments.
I usually crouch down to make no more noise while I was moving, and I no longer remain in the light as much as I absolutely needed. The blue crystals behind your hands can glow, letting you know that you are not in the darkness. This is a good approach to reducing the HUD element. However, they are not completely minimal. Guards or obstructions warned of your presence will display an icon above it.
Glyph vision during action
The second demo level introduces Glyph Vision. This reminds me of the focus mode of rebooting rather than the mechanical eyes of Garrett, the original hero of the thief. Garrett’s unembodied voice leads you to the whole of thief VR for reasons that are not yet completely clear, and his presence seems to be directly related to this ability. We were unable to gain many narrative insights beyond environmental clues.
Glyph Vision works similarly to Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Detective Vision. Here, place the controller on the headset side and press the trigger. It’s a convenient approach that highlights both enemies and points of interest, such as the wires that power the alarm system, but this can only be used before it needs to be charged.
Combat opens more at the second level, and Thief VR is a game that actively blocks this approach. You can certainly defeat all the guards, but it’s far more dangerous when some (but not all) of the guards can kill you in one hit. The arrows are very limited and useful to help distract you, but there is no purpose assist when the arrows fly.
Some arrows double as magpie tools like rope arrows to reach the location of the set and water arrows to extinguish fire. So there’s a trade-off of everyone killing, meaning you’ll miss out on other opportunities later. This makes the stealth approach more rewarding. Getting one for these guards is great and my escape is pretty satisfying.
There’s still work to do, but that’s a promising start. We can’t talk about other platforms as only the PS VR2 demo was available, but I’m wondering if the prominent bug in this demo is delayed, like the missing mission markers. At one moment, the enemy was still dead and reloaded to the checkpoint, and was completely wary of my presence.
Lock picking of movement
Immediately after my demo, I interviewed Nick Vittsel, principal designer of Vertigo Games, Richard Van from Maze Theory to learn more. When asked how thief VR achieved its position, the companies had already discussed potential collaborations when Vertigo Games was acquired by the relevant Embracer Group via Plyon.
After seeing the atmospheric work of the maze theory about Peaky Blinds, Whitsel confirmed that the burglar was pitched into the studio.
“It came together so quickly, so it was pitched to Aidos as well. Aidos was very excited about it too. They were very supportive and gave them the freedom to create this new chapter,” replied Witsel.
Inquiries to the way they approached the adaptation of thieves’ traditional gameplay, Witsel emphasizes stealth as “works really well” in VR due to its presence and immersion. To say that the thief game is about exploring your environment and paying close attention to details, we believe that physically sneaking around behind the corner will work.
However, this poses some interesting challenges, with Vittsel using bright and dark environments as examples.
“In the original thief game, there is a head-up display that shows whether you’re in a bright or dark place. The levels are very clearly color-coded, almost hard bordering, and it accepts it as part of the gameplay, but you can’t want to look at it because the game needs to look more realistic.
“It has to feel natural. You need to see the shadows and say, ‘It looks dark enough’, I need to feel hidden there and safe. But at the same time, if you make the shadows completely black, especially in VR, you feel you’ve been very disconnected because you can’t see anything.
Bunn discusses how thief games want to have a unique atmosphere and gain “a certain feeling for them.” While sneaking up, I feel very wary of noise, and sound design is highlighted as another important issue with footprints and guard chatter. I keep instinctively closing the door behind me. Vittsel’s closed doors help to make the obscure noises that are made in the room.
Bunn also highlights the challenges of where to place Thief VR in the timeline, taking into account four previous entries, and advises that this will affect what you can or can do in the game.
Details of Garrett’s role and other storylines are also kept close to her chest for now. He is part of this story, but he is physically unaware of thief VR. However, Legacy of Shadow connects these two eras by being performed in the center.
“There are multiple things. So there are laws, stories, backstories, the history of those games, timelines, events. We have to be sensitive to all of them… We have to be sensitive to all of them… We will sit in the middle 200 years after the original game.
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadows Reaches Cooks, Steam and PlayStation VR2 later this year.
