Thief II

Lore & Background

Thief II was designed to build on its predecessor, Thief: The Dark Project, with a heavy focus on urban stealth and minimized use of monsters and maze-like levels, based on player feedback. The game was made with the third iteration of the Dark Engine, previously used for Thief and System Shock 2. It was announced at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo as part of an extended contract between Looking Glass and Eidos. Looking Glass neared bankruptcy during development and was kept running by advances from Eidos.

The game's 15 missions take place in large levels that can be confronted in multiple ways. The player must minimize visibility and audibility to evade guards and automated security, using tools such as water arrows, moss arrows, and rope arrows. A light monitor on the HUD indicates visibility. The player can scout with a zooming mechanical eye and deploy Scouting Orb cameras. On the highest difficulty, killing humans results in a game over.

The plot follows Garrett one year after the first game, as he is hunted by Sheriff Gorman Truart and becomes entangled with the Mechanist sect led by Father Karras. Garrett eventually allies with Viktoria to stop Karras' plan to use Servant masks emitting rust gas to destroy organic material. The story ends with Garrett demanding to know the rest of the Keepers' prophecies.

Reader's Guide

Thief II received positive reviews from critics and its initial sales were stronger than those of its predecessor. However, the game's royalties were processed slowly, compounding Looking Glass's financial troubles, leading to the company's closure in May 2000 and cancellation of plans for Thief III. The third game in the series, Thief: Deadly Shadows, was developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos in 2004. A widely praised expansion mod, Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age, was released in 2005. In 2014, Square Enix published a reboot developed by Eidos-Montréal. The game's legacy includes its refined stealth mechanics and urban focus, which built on the foundation of its predecessor and influenced later entries in the series.