While it is a City mission, it is not the kind of City mission you'd expect nowadays. City mission became synonimous with a Thieves Highway mission. This ain't it. This is more of a TG/T2X City mission, meaning none of the verticality, none of Thieves Highway, marginal/nonexistant usage of rope arrows. The progression here is horizontal, with some fragments leading downwards.

All the usual, and typical Thief stuff, is here - Hammers, caves, crypts, puzzles, graveyards, City public works, a mansion, a Hammer temple, and a very short fragment with sewers, at the very beginning. So, there is literally EVERYTHING here, that could be found in TG already. Well, maybe except for Lost Civilization, but that's nothing lost at all, me says.

Streets are empty, basic, non-interesting - the biggest flaw of the mission. You can enter just a few buildings, and they are few and between. These streets feel like empty corridors, with some guards thrown around here and there.

The charm of this mission likes in the buildings/location put inbetween "corridors". They're very classic, atmospheric, exactly like Thief Gold is. A healthy dosage of puzzles, perhaps even more than usual in a FM, but they're all fine, and sweet. The one in the crypt has a very, VERY clever solution, in which... you don't really have to think much, except to think about you've already got, and not what you need. That's a clever, fine puzzle. Although it did take me a while to understand what to do, as there were too many combinations otherwise... Great stuff.

Story is quite generic, but it really does capture the spirit of Thief well. It has its twists, and turns. It requires a bit of thinking, to progress, and to explore on your own. Though you absolutely can do everything that is required of you... before learning what actually there is to do. The ending is quite amazing, feels like a proper homage to the last TG OM, Into the Maw. I'm not a fan of the second half of Thief Gold, but even I need to send some kudos the author's way, to give us some kind of "boss" fight.

Atmosphery is very Thief Gold, which is to say - it's absolutely fine, serviceable and simple at the same time.

Gameplay is good, with puzzles in some places, healthy doses of enemies, looking for keys, exploration. It feels rewarding, and like a real progress in the mission.

Story is perfectly fine, though not overly ambitious. But like I said, the twist at the end, and the "boss" fight, makes it all the better.

8/10 - Very good debut mission, I say. Though the Thieves Highway, and more stuff to do on the streets/better streets, and author might as well just hit pure gold.