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1 UNEXPECTED SHELTER
Unique and creepy intro mission

T2X starts with the mission "Unexpected Shelter", which is quite different in tone and structure compared to the ones from Thief 1 and 2. You start off with trailing, which is mainly done to introduce you to the setting of the game. Then, you escape from an angry crowd, straight into a haunted manor. This manor is great exposition, with little actual gameplay to it. It's very effective in telling the story, however. Zaya is entirely out of her element in The City, and the player is made to feel that way through the mansion. The manor basement does contain traps, which come straight from Indiana Jones. I love this. I love traps and dungeons, so I felt at home with these. This isn't something other first missions have done. It really makes T2X stand out from the get-go!

Zaya's story is pretty generic, but her voice acting is pretty well-done. Her country of origin is fascinating, resembling something very Egyptian. I hope we get to see more of this, in some fashion.

Atmosphere: 8
Gameplay: 7
Story: 8
OVERALL RATING: 8
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2 THE TRIALS THAT SHAPE US
Excels in fleshing out the universe

The Trials that Shape Us is not particularly challenging, surprising, or ambitious. It's a pretty easy mission that does not compare to the bewildering scope of, say, Cragscleft Prison. However, the level uses a unique backdrop: a museum. This gives the developers ample opportunity to include some cool history and lore on the world of Thief.

The level is set up nicely, being easy to navigate (lots of connections between roome), but with plenty sights to see. There is lots of variety, with all the different displays (paintings, artifacts, readables). The guards are easy to spot, and it's easy to hide from them. This makes the mission feel almost relaxing. Still, there is enough sneaking to do for it to not become boring. The many entry points help too.

Atmosphere: 7
Gameplay: 8
Story: 9
OVERALL RATING: 8
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3 WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS
A small, neat city mission

This mission is not super special, it feels like a breather between the "cool stuff." On first glance, it resembles missions like "Assassins" or "Ambush!". Luckily, there is no trailing here, and the level is a lot more free-form than either of these OMs. It's also more detailed, with a few fun interiors to explore. The atmosphere is just fine, not much special. So is the story, since not much is really revealed here. The mission is rather short and simple in the end, but it does its job at being a fun city exploration mission.

Atmosphere: 7
Gameplay: 7
Story: 6
OVERALL RATING: 7
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4 SHADOWING THE ENEMY
Great and subversive mission

The Cog Carriage Station is a great location. It's pretty small, but its structure makes for an atmosphere that conveys "functional yet questionable", if that makes sense. There are multiple points of entry, which is a plus. A big part of the station is explorable without needing to be stealthy, as the guards aren't suspicious of you, as long as you don't walk into off-limits areas. The story picks up again, as Zaya has to follow her smugglers. Also, the Mechanists make their entry...

Later on, this mission flips itself on its head, which makes for a very unique situation in a Thief mission. It's great, and I did not see it coming. It works well too! It fleshes out noble life well.

Atmosphere: 8
Gameplay: 8
Story: 7
OVERALL RATING: 8
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5 THE REDISTRIBUTION GAME
Tense ghosting in an unfamiliar environment

I'm beginning to notice... these missions are quite short, but they sure are sweet. Zaya has arrived in Sunnyport, a previously unexplored place in the Thief universe. It is here that the smugglers of The Free Traders have their base of operations. Sunnyport isn't all that sunny, for it's snowing around here.

The smuggler hideout lies in the snow-covered hills located near Sunnyport. This setting is nice and unique for Thief. The hideout itself is small, but nicely laid out. This time, you have to avoid the smugglers, for if they see you, it's game over (think of Casing the Joint, but better because the guards are placed much more sparsely). There is quite a few things you need to find in here, and finding them is a joy. It isn't that special, ambitious, or large in scope, but again, it works well and generally feels more streamlined than what the two official games have on offer. Also, there are some references to the smugglers featured in "Shipping... and Receiving" from Thief II. That was fun.

Atmosphere: 7
Gameplay: 7
Story: 7
OVERALL RATING: 7
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6 A QUESTION OF KNOWLEDGE
Finally something truly sprawling

This is my favorite mission at the moment, defying my expectations with the Hammerite church. When entering, I assumed it would be just a single church. Fortunately, the church is part of an entire complex, richly detailed and filled with purposeful rooms. There is some verticality here, but most of the place feels big in the horizontal sense, although the complex does feature two floors. There's a courtyard too!

The atmosphere is somewhat cozy, the background ambient is very subdued. This actually made the level fun to explore, and would be relaxing if not for the larger amount of patrolling guards compared to the last mission. They do keep the player on edge just a little more.

The story is nice, as you'll be hearing about some familiar faces, as well as some internal bickering inside the Hammer cult. That, plus the amount of detail and realistic layout of the complex, creates a mission that's just a joy to figure out.

Atmosphere: 8
Gameplay: 8
Story: 8
OVERALL RATING: 8
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7 DOWN AMONG DEAD MEN
Creepy, satisfying, but marred by strange decisions

... Lord Mausoleus. Seriously? The mausoleum you visit is the burial place of Lord Mausoleus? When I heard that name shouted aloud by the lord himself, I laughed out loud. The incredible tension I had felt vanished in an instant. Because, for real, I felt more spooked than with anything The Black Parade had thrown at me up to this point. It's not a big deal, it's mostly just hilarious.

Aside from that, the atmosphere is immensely strong. The ambient music is very good at "showing" the player that this mission is scary. The enemies are scary too. Zombies look much more terrifying than in Thief I or II. They even have limbs that fall off when you hit them enough times, that was a great touch. The premise of the mission is great, as is the plot. If the nobles get their own burial site, where do the less appreciated elements of society go? Well, they probably went here. The Sunnyport denizens, that is.

There is one part that really bothered me, however. The mausoleum of Lord Mausoleus is just a pain to get through. Four scary enemies, one fireball shooter, and little room to maneuver (as well as marble floors). This felt way too difficult, especially compared to everything else in T2X. I began to save scum, something I never had to do in the original two games. How you're supposed to not be seen when climbing the rope arrow to at the topmost floor, I don't know. You're barely even given time to notice there's an important item hanging above the fire-shooting statue. That just felt really annoying.

Also, zombies on the rounded staircase suck to deal with. Suddenly, they can hit you without even animating, and it's really hard to get past them, let alone hit them, while on the staircase. Finally, I have no idea how to properly figure out which skull to pick up for the mausoleum key.

In the end, I'm a bit mixed. It's still a worthy experience, but the gameplay issues let me down.

Atmosphere: 8
Gameplay: 6
Story: 7
OVERALL RATING: 7
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8 THE ART OF DECEPTION
Part exciting, part okay

This mission is another city mission, this time taking you through the city center of Sunnyport. Sunnyport looks different from the dark and crowded streets from The City. It's less oppressive for sure. That does mean this city feels a little lacking in personality. The blocky houses begin to pop more as being blocky houses when they aren't built on top, and inside each other. There's no real layers to this section, just like with the third level, but it also lacks the maze-like and intricate feeling of said level.

Objective-wise, there's basically two "paths" to take. You have to take both in the end, but you can choose which one to tackle first. One path is definitely superior to the other. The path to and through the candy shop includes trekking through the city, and the shop itself. The shop features some annoying ghosting, with tight corridors inside and way too much light outside.

The other path leads to the Hammerite complex from two missions ago. You can no longer access the interiors from before, but a new mansion in the back has opened up for you to explore. This part is the highlight of the mission, and a great location despite its smaller size. It feels like a more cozy, homely version of the complex. Clearly a living space for the higher-ups in the Order, which is nice.

Zaya's plan is simple, yet it works, as you will see in the next mission. Aside from that, there's some cool play scripts written down in books inside the candy shop. That's obvious bonus points for the story score.

Atmosphere: 6
Gameplay: 7
Story: 7
OVERALL RATING: 7
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9 INTO THE FRAY
An earlier mission, completely changed

Into the Fray seems to have some lower scores here than the average T2X mission. I can kind of understand. However, I really liked this one. You're in the middle of a big fight, which is both exciting and very dangerous. The mission is short, and it's easy to find the things you need. The enemies can be pretty threatening, however, so this level has its challenge. It's really cool how this is all made, and it contributes to both atmosphere and story.

Atmosphere: 8
Gameplay: 7
Story: 8
OVERALL RATING: 8
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10 ... OF ILL REPUTE
Big and with lots of fat

This mission is different in a lot of ways. The setting is unexpected: a brothel is not something you see a lot in your fantasy games. Second, it's much more intricate than any of the previous mission. Finally, it carries all the detail to really immerse the player into the world of whorehouses. And yes, that means there's fully nude women. It makes sense that this puts people off, and I do believe it's pretty unnecessary (there's scantily clad women as well, and their models could have replaced the nude ones). That said, I didn't mind them being there either. It does show some balls from the developers' side.

The level features a pretty large surrounding city section. This is how I like the city parts of the Thief games to be handled: not the central focus, yet still a substantial part. If they become the sole focus, a mission just begins to lack some meat. But if they surround a sizeable building to explore, that's great. Together, they just play off each other so well. Almost like a horny couple. The brothel itself is large, possibly as large as the inside portions of the Hammer compound. It has a lot of hidden entry points, accessed by exploring the aforementioned city section. Rooms are used in creative ways. There's even a room that's basically just a set decor, serving to immerse the clients when acting out their naughty Hammerite roleplay. A lot of care has been put into making rooms unique despite their - in the end, predictable - purpose.

Story-wise, things ramp up. We meet a new-yet-familiar face, and experience an intriguing twist during the ending cutscene. Due to these, the connections to The City and the rise of the Mechanists return once more. Honestly, these have been the highlight of the story for me. All these elements combined make this mission the first truly amazing one in T2X.

Atmosphere: 8
Gameplay: 9
Story: 9
OVERALL RATING: 9
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11 THE GRAND HOTEL
Big, tense, and grandiose

This mission truly feels like a Thief II mission. It contains a big interior with a garden around it, similar to First City Bank and Trust or Gervaisius' Estate. Robots are back in full force, patrolling in- and outside. The hotel is big and complex. This felt like the first time where it was possible to get somewhat lost without reading the map, which is something I have seen in Thief II (and 1 of course), but not in T2X. There's the usual fare of guards, but the addition of robots and (surprise) some gun-wielding guards makes for a tense trip through this hotel. The gunners are very unique and pretty hilarious.

The atmosphere of this mission isn't all that special. That is, until you enter the basement. This is where things get a lot creepier, and you know what will be waiting for you by the time you get there. The story is pretty interesting too, given what's happened before this mission. The readables give interesting insight, with some nice references to a specific group from the first Thief game.

There are some nice details in this level, but it lacks the unique and creative flavor of the previous one. All in all, this is clearly a strong mission, however.

Atmosphere: 9
Gameplay: 9
Story: 8
OVERALL RATING: 9
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12 THE CURE
Tight corridors and zombies do not mix well

This mission starts in a foreboding way, in a setting we know all too well. The Sealed Section is back, and we're not leaving for a while. The beginning section, outside of the main course, sets up the mission greatly. I actually wished it was a bit longer. Visiting the various interconnected buildings was fun, and the undead enemies complemented the level design.

The hospital itself is... okay. Firstly, it doesn't really look like a hospital. It's more like a mansion of sorts. Storywise, it makes sense for it to be this way. Speaking of, the story is nice. It gives more insight about the catastrophe that happened 50 years before Thief 1, but without really answering the questions Thief 1 posed. This gives the event depth, without filling in the blanks that make for fun theories.

Secondly, the mansion just isn't all that fun to explore. It's a bit lacking on the detail front, it's mostly just abandoned and ruined hallways and rooms. The enemies are genuinely creepy, but they also get annoying at times due to the tightness of the corridors inside. Personally, I found myself exploring solely to meet the mission objectives, rather than wanting to map out the place or being excited to see what I would find. There's just not that much variety inside. The main objective involves getting to a place that resembles the mausoleum in the seventh mission. It wasn't much fun, and it was hard to figure out how to solve the "puzzle" upon getting the item you need. I died several times here.

I'm not sure if the Expert-exclusive objective is done much better. I had trouble getting either of the two stones. The first one got me confused, because a readable mentions a "garden". So here I was looking for a big, outside garden. Well, it isn't outside, nor does it really look like a garden. The second stone lies beyond a rooftop that seems impossible to climb, way too steep. Well, you can climb it, just by walking on it. I had to look up a walkthrough for that part. I never expected this roof to be scalable.

The rest of the mission just felt fine in terms of gameplay. The atmosphere is strong, though, and the story is quite interesting.

Atmosphere: 9
Gameplay: 5
Story: 8
OVERALL RATING: 7
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13 BETRAYAL
Short, but interesting

The final mission of T2X takes us to a place filled with some familiar enemies. They aren't as annoying, because there aren't many around and the level just isn't as confusing to navigate. The mission is very linear, though, mostly just building up to a sort of "final boss" battle. The boss battle is pretty interesting. Sadly, I had to look up the way to beat it. Nothing suggests that the boss's existence is linked to the item this fight revolves around. If the story had been that way, this would have been a pretty cool fight. But the story says the boss is mind-controlled through the item. Its life doesn't depend on the item existing.

The story ends up being a nice little parallel to Thief. The way the villain's backstory is revealed could have been done a bit better, maybe with less readables (his final readable mentions that he dropped all his other writings while walking the path you follow now). The atmosphere is okay. It fits with the context of the mission, though it feels a little simplistic in that matter. In the end, it's a fun way to end the game, though it compares with the Maw from Thief 1 in how it feels a little haphazard.

Atmosphere: 7
Gameplay: 7
Story: 8
OVERALL RATING: 7
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