Why is this game extremely underrated and underappreciated?

[Chill Okami]

Why isn't this game getting more love? Why are people saying it's trash when it's clearly not? Is it because of nostalgia?

I've never played the older Thief games, I've watched their reviews and looked at the game play and for that time, they do look and feel like masterpieces, pushing the stealth genre forward, pretty much like Half life, Doom, Quake pushed the FPS genre forward. And that was back in 1998, a very long time has passed when it comes to technology. To me, now, the older games feel very dated and from what I saw, I would not enjoy them much. I will play Thief 3 because it's the most advanced of those old ones but the first 2 just look very clunky to me when it comes to their game play. In Thief 1 for example, while watching the game play, it made my eyes sore because of the character models, they just look like ugly block people or monsters and are poorly animated.

Fast forward to Thief 4, the game was different but in a really good way. It felt more like Dishonored, which I really really liked. And the Stealth system is amazing, it has a really nice flow when you're dashing from shadow to shadow, sneaking around, using the tools you have to create an advantage and an opportunity. The City is massive albeit convoluted (until you get the hang of it), the dark Gothic aesthetic is really appealing to me. The story and the horror aspects of it, I personally found to be very intriguing and it kept me wondering "What's next?" in this Fantasy Steampunk Gothic universe. The voice of Garret also, I found to be great in both the reboot and the older games, it sounds very similar but I liked the new voice actor more. But maybe that's my cup of tea?

I see people call Thief 4 "utter garbage" or "abomination", etc. And compare it to the older games, saying how the older games are better in every way, shape or form. And I highly disagree with that. I think that people need to take their nostalgia goggles off and give this game a try, it's a very good game with a really good story. It's not perfect, I've encountered flaws (audio tends to be weird at times) and some performance hick ups but everything else is great. Loading screen weren't an issue at all because I have an SSD and I actually like that stealing in the game is animated, it's done in a really good way. I'd give it a 9/10.

[Kunovega]

Why do you feel the need to ask a question that is already answered in 100 other threads? You'll find the same answers now as 8 years ago when the game came out. If you want an actual answer to your question, try looking at the answers already posted, or the reviews that explain it.

Maybe take a look through the reviews some time, plenty of people have a lot to say, you can start with this one:
https://steamcommunity.com/id/kunovega/recommended/239160?snr=1_5_9__402

Or there's over 13,000 other reviews for you to read

And then there's the forums, here's just a small sample of the number of times your question has been answered in the last 8 years. You'll find threads going back to 2014 and as recent as this year:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/3150808675331077769/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/5350815203286556882/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/3113646913571034141/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/492379439684652222/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/622954747291486148/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/618453594752604986/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/558750624703269699/

This is 24 pages long:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/618453594749072565/

And that's before you run into tangent threads like these:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/2949251578299277245/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/239160/discussions/0/2295094308084055800/

And those are threads from the first few dozen pages of this forum that took seconds to find. A deeper search will bring you dozens more threads.
---

So there you go, if you want your question answered, there's a set of answers you can read through or search for more.

If on the other hand you just want to argue over opinions, no thanks, you have an opinion and everyone is entitled to their own so there's no point in arguing over it.

[geocapital]

Well, it is an opinion-based question, so no matter how many times it has been discussed, these are lots of pages of opinions. Opinions sometimes change.

To the OP, yes, it is nostalgia and thief 4 did not fit into the cult fashion of the first three.
I usually play them all in a row, from 1 to 4.

[Bankai9212]

It’s not nostalgia, if you played any of the games deadly shadows to a minor extent you’ll realize that the reboot is a downgrade level design, plot, mechanics. The reboot if not related to thief is a decent rpg that’s it. If your going to call out fans you should at least understand why before making a fool of yourself.

[Halcyform]

Unrealistic expectations.

Comparing a previous gaming era to the current one we have now.

People are trolling themselves.

[Kunovega]

Originally posted by Halcyform:

Unrealistic expectations.

Comparing a previous gaming era to the current one we have now.

People are trolling themselves.

Yea, we should all just accept that things get worse instead of better without comment

People like you are why this issue exists, you just take whatever ♥♥♥♥ is shoved down your throat and like it

[Bankai9212]

Originally posted by Halcyform:

Unrealistic expectations.

Comparing a previous gaming era to the current one we have now.

People are trolling themselves.

I mean it’s called thief, and it’s a reboot only people who’d care are those who played previous entries. Because if this was to attract new players it failed on both fronts.

[Laicus]

I love all the parts of Thief, and I hate everyone who didn't like Thief 2014, because of them we didn't see the continuation of this amazing stealth game. And I also hate all those dissatisfied with Dishonored 2 and DotO, Deus EX IW and MD. Because of these perfectionists with ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ high demands, I have been deprived of the opportunity to play sequels of my favorite games for many years, and it is unknown when such an opportunity will appear. Thief 2014 still remains one of my most favorite games, and if a sequel similar to this part comes out, I will be delighted, and I will be equally delighted if the sequel is closer to the classic parts, the main thing is that the sequel would not be as super easy as classic Thieves, I will no longer be able to enjoy such a kindergarten. In terms of hardcore, Thief 2014 is 100 times better than the classics.

[Bankai9212]

Dishonored series was done death of the outsider trying to wrap things up. It sold well enough.

Deus ex invisible war even if it wasn’t dumb down would have gone under due to ion storm history

Mankind divided blame square enix and there meddling not fans even if 2014 wasn’t tiven average scores it wouldn’t have sold well enough for square enix

Also none of the previous games are perfect don’t delude yourself.

[Laicus]

Originally posted by Bankai9212:

Dishonored series was done death of the outsider trying to wrap things up. It sold well enough.

Deus ex invisible war even if it wasn’t dumb down would have gone under due to ion storm history

Mankind divided blame square enix and there meddling not fans even if 2014 wasn’t tiven average scores it wouldn’t have sold well enough for square enix

Also none of the previous games are perfect don’t delude yourself.

These games have not received sequels solely because of poor sales, so stupid gamers with bad taste are to blame for everything.

[Kunovega]

Originally posted by Laicus:

Originally posted by Bankai9212:

Dishonored series was done death of the outsider trying to wrap things up. It sold well enough.

Deus ex invisible war even if it wasn’t dumb down would have gone under due to ion storm history

Mankind divided blame square enix and there meddling not fans even if 2014 wasn’t tiven average scores it wouldn’t have sold well enough for square enix

Also none of the previous games are perfect don’t delude yourself.

These games have not received sequels solely because of poor sales, so stupid gamers with bad taste are to blame for everything.

Good job not actually paying attention to reality.

Poor sales based on whose metrics? When a company sets expectations higher than it's possible to reach, it's as much their fault for claiming the sales were bad when they actually weren't terrible.

It only gets worse when a company like Square-Enix comes in and makes stupid changes. Just look at the difference from Human Revolution to Mankind Divided, they shortened the game, added single-use abusive DLC, wasted time on a multiplayer mode no one really wanted and then set sales goals higher than the franchise had previously reached.

You don't buy an established franchise, screw up the formula and then blame the player base for not growing as fast as you wanted it to. Mankind Divided still sold well, just not as much as SE wanted it to, and they have no one to blame but themselves when all they needed to do was meet expectations for Human Revolution, instead they failed to deliver.

And meanwhile you show up half a decade later and completely misunderstand the entire situation.

Square-Enix screwed up most of the Eidos catalog with poor decisions like this. And if you think it's the players at fault, you've really not been paying attention for most of the last two decades.

[Bankai9212]

Originally posted by Laicus:

Originally posted by Bankai9212:

Dishonored series was done death of the outsider trying to wrap things up. It sold well enough.

Deus ex invisible war even if it wasn’t dumb down would have gone under due to ion storm history

Mankind divided blame square enix and there meddling not fans even if 2014 wasn’t tiven average scores it wouldn’t have sold well enough for square enix

Also none of the previous games are perfect don’t delude yourself.

These games have not received sequels solely because of poor sales, so stupid gamers with bad taste are to blame for everything.

Please provide evidence of poor sales? Dishonored given a sequel and spin off did well there just wasn’t anything else to do with the series. Also name calling consumers doesn’t really help just highlights how deluded you are from reality. A game can sell well regardless of reviews, invisible war was an ion storm issue. Mankind divided and thief is a publisher issue so blame square enix. Don’t believe me take 5 minutes to read up any article more recent guardians of the galaxy as evidence.

[Laicus]

Originally posted by Kunovega:

Mankind Divided still sold well, just not as much as SE wanted it to, and they have no one to blame but themselves when all they needed to do was meet expectations for Human Revolution, instead they failed to deliver.

It's completely the players' fault, if they bought MD as good as the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Tomb Raider, then we would have received a sequel a long time ago. With other stealth and immersive sims, the situation is about the same, it's all about insufficiently good sales, which, in turn, are the result of excessive pickiness and bad tastes of the players.

[Bankai9212]

Actually all the tomb raider games sold below square expectations. Also MD was completely screwed by squares upper management stop blaming specific players. Blame square and general consumers.

[Laicus]

Originally posted by Bankai9212:

Actually all the tomb raider games sold below square expectations. Also MD was completely screwed by squares upper management stop blaming specific players. Blame square and general consumers.

Tomb Raider 2013 and Rise of the Tomb Raider sold out in huge numbers, and only Shadow of the Tomb Raider did not meet expectations, after which the series went to the closet, like Deus Ex. It's all about sales, and I blame only the players, many of them do not appreciate good games, but prefer all sorts of $hit.

[Bankai9212]

https://gamerant.com/square-enix-tomb-raider-sales-loss/,

https://www.pcgamesn.com/tomb-raider/tomb-raider-square-enix-sales-target

https://www.kotaku.com.au/2013/05/square-enix-disappointed-by-sales-of-tomb-raider-wants-to-maximise-profits-during-development/

One simple google search, they wrapped up the trilogy with shadows because square was done with the series at this point. Stop blaming players, square would have benched it like every other western IP they own. Hows about thinking instead of pointing fingers at things that have little to do with an IP's success.