The trailer for Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow ends with the protagonist, a younger girl named Magpie, discovering a wierd mechanical eye. Which then implants itself in her face. Earlier than questions may be requested (like “What occurred to her squishy actual eye?”), a familiarly gruff voice declares, “I assumed I used to be useless. And who’re you?”
Now I clocked that as Stephen Russell, the voice of Garrett from the unique trilogy of Thief video games, however then I’ve spent extra time listening to Garrett cynically muttering about wealthy folks than I spend listening to most of my pals. Different folks raised doubts, maybe resulting from the opportunity of an AI imitation. However no, that basically is Stephen Russell, as the person himself declared in a YouTube video.
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“We have had an extended historical past collectively,” Russell mentioned, “and it’s so pleasant to be again with him once more. I’ve missed the outdated man! He is received such a terrific humorousness, they usually have completely captured that on this new recreation.”
Whereas this cements Thief VR as a sequel to the unique Thief video games, that does not imply it is disregarding the 2014 reboot. For starters, it is utilizing the identical emblem. But it surely’s additionally constructing on the references in that reboot suggesting the occasions of the primary three Thief video games have been a part of the identical continuity—solely in a distant previous earlier than worship of the “outdated gods” was banned, as detailed in a deep-dive video throughout this yr’s VR Developer Direct.
“Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow takes place between the unique trilogy and the 2014 reboot,” mentioned Richard Bunn, lead recreation designer at Maze Concept, “centuries earlier than the latter. The Metropolis is fractured, dominated by concern and surveillance, underneath the thumb of Baron Northcrest and his obsession with forbidden information. The Keepers are gone, however their secrets and techniques linger in hidden glyphs and relics.”
As one among perhaps three folks at PC Gamer who nonetheless cares about VR, I am up for a recreation that explores what VR can do for old style immersive sims. Certain, I might have most well-liked a full-length Thief sequel for flat screens, however I am pessimistic sufficient to doubt that was ever on the desk. It is not like persons are lining as much as purchase first-person stealth video games in 2025. If we weren’t getting Thief VR, we most likely would not be getting one other Thief recreation in any respect. So I will take what I get, particularly if it means I get to listen to Stephen Russell make snarky feedback about wealthy folks’s decor like, “A throne room! How pretentious are you able to get?”