Thief video game
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 6 stealth games by recommenders
Stealth game built around light, shadow and sound, credited with pioneering immersive sim genres; critics say later entries, the 2014 reboot and a VR game, disappointed fans.
Stealth game built around light, shadow and sound, credited with pioneering immersive sim genres; critics say later entries, the 2014 reboot and a VR game, disappointed fans.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Light and shadow stealth
“Splinter Cell and Thief are the only series I'm familiar with that actually have light and shadow based stealth”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Splinter Cell veteran says realistic modern lighting has screwed up stealth game” “how intuitive they are because they're mostly relying on sight/sound senses”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Splinter Cell veteran says realistic modern lighting has screwed up stealth game” Pioneered stealth and immersive sim genres
“Spector being the progenitor of 2 entire very rich single player genres with Thief and DeusEx”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Deus Ex creator Warren Spector is retiring from game development” “Without System Shock, Deus Ex, and Thief leading the way”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Deus Ex creator Warren Spector is retiring from game development” Atmospheric medieval gothic setting
“the king of medieval stealth punk fantasy loot games”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Splinter Cell veteran says realistic modern lighting has screwed up stealth game” “pretty decent gothy noises”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Daft Punk Easter Egg in the BPM Tempo of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Later entries gutted the franchise
“Really a shame they gutted the franchise with the 2014 game and the very recent VR one.”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “The 3D Software Rendering Technology of 1998's Thief: The Dark Project” “the war crime that was Eidos Montreal's previous outing on the franchise”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Steam Frame”
Other stealth games people recommend
The four most recommended other stealth games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Gear Solid | 15 | 2 | 88% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Thief: The Dark Project | 13 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Splinter Cell | 12 | 2 | 86% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Thief video gameThis page | 11 | 2 | 85% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Metal Gear Solid V | 8 | 3 | 73% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
11 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Thief was another great software-rendered game”
“Thief is something more than a commercial venture.”
“Without System Shock, Deus Ex, and Thief leading the way”
“Spector being the progenitor of 2 entire very rich single player genres with Thief and DeusEx”
“I liked the old Thief games”
“how intuitive they are because they're mostly relying on sight/sound senses”
“Splinter Cell and Thief are the only series I'm familiar with that actually have light and shadow based stealth”
“the king of medieval stealth punk fantasy loot games”
“Really a shame they gutted the franchise with the 2014 game and the very recent VR one.”
“pretty decent gothy noises”
“the war crime that was Eidos Montreal's previous outing on the franchise”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.