Thick As Thieves is my most anticipated game of the year, but surprisingly, I know very little about it. Though it’s been in development for years, the asymmetrical stealth multiplayer project has remained shrouded in mystery since its announcement. I even sat down for an intimate behind-closed-doors demonstration at Summer Game Fest and still have a limited understanding of the project thanks to a campus-wide internet issue that complicated our short session. The universe works in mysterious ways – apt for a stealth game steeped in peculiar magic.
Despite the poor showing, my excitement and curiosity remain unwaning. OtherSide Entertainment is helmed by a legendary game designer, Warren Spector. Known for creating Deus Ex and Thief: The Dark Project, two groundbreaking stealth games renowned for their immersive simulation elements, Spector is a prolific game designer, but he hasn’t released a game since the Epic Mickey series concluded in 2012.
“There are very few game-making teams out there with the skillsets to make a great stealth game, which is one of the biggest reasons, in my opinion, that we don’t see many games like this in the market,” game director Jeff Hickman tells me over email. “Our goal is to make a game that is […] full of emergent gameplay moments and very approachable to any person who wants to play. A game that can be played both solo and in multiplayer modes that ramps up challenges as the player gains mastery of their thieving skills.”
Set in an alternate 1910s, Thick As Thieves is a speculative fiction set in the Scottish city of Kilcairn, where magic and technology abound. Whether playing solo, cooperative, or against other player-controlled thieves, multiple maps offer a variety of missions and valuables to steal. Players can track down clues to discover new routes and hidden treasures across Kilcairn, as well.
“To support multiplayer well, we are looking at more focused session play, where a team of thieves might complete a mission in a level within a half-hour or less,” Hickman says. “That calls for tighter-scoped levels. But at the same time, we are adding more depth, variety, and surprise to our levels than [Thief or Dishonored] to make them much more replayable.”
OtherSide is incorporating magic and speculative technology into Thick As Thieves, not only to realize a unique aesthetic but also to affect gameplay. Floating, magical sentries spotlight the guarded entrances of Kilcairn’s Scottish Baronial architecture, requiring careful consideration to bypass undetected.
In some hands-off gameplay footage, I watch as a player equips a magical mask to impersonate a guard and bypass the sentry. However, once inside, they must rely on traditional stealth mechanics, bypassing patrols with careful pathing while staying in the shadows. Further in, a maze of reflected light beams and seemingly weight-sensitive tiles serve as a robust security system, making neutralizing guards much more difficult. In an exciting escape sequence, the thief disappears above the rooftops thanks to their handy grapple gun.
“Multiplayer stealth games provide amazing opportunities for cooperative and competitive gameplay, and we’re focusing on breaking new ground in the space in a way that takes advantage of multiplayer gaming without the player frustrations that can arise because of it,” Hickman concludes. “We’re confident that no one has ever built a game quite like Thick as Thieves.”
