Fittingly, Thief–the genesis of open-world stealth–hasn’t been seen since 2004. But time won’t stop the franchise that inspired hits like BioShock, Deus Ex, and Dishonored; a series reboot was announced earlier today for PlayStation 4, PC, and other next-gen consoles. Currently slated for a 2014 release, Thief will seek to redefine the choose-your-path stealth gameplay popularized in recent years and remind audiences where it all began, starting with the Focus system.
Detailed in Game Informer’s exclusive April cover story, Thief’s Focus system presents a number of unique benefits and opportunities to players. First and foremost, Focus will highlight objects in the environment that main character Garrett can interact with, including (but not nearly limited to): candles that can be snuffed, drawers that can be searched, pipes you can climb, and locks that can be picked. Using Focus will deplete some kind of game-balancing resource, but developer Eidos Montreal says this resouce can be replenished by stealing items and picking pockets, among other actions.
The Focus system also extends to combat. While Garrett is incapable of handling four or more enemies in close-quarters combat, using Focus will even the odds by slowing time and allowing players to target points on an enemy’s body for attack. This application is inspired by the boxing scenes from Guy Ritchie’s recent Sherlock Holmes films; small amounts of Focus can be spend to buy time and momentarily stun enemies, but larger amounts will execute brutal takedown moves – imagine pinning a guard’s arm behind his back before snapping his leg bone with a quick smash to the knee.
The gameplay elements that made Thief famous in 1998 have since been borrowed by a host of blockbuster franchises. By going back to the drawing board for grassroots innovation, Eidos Montreal stands to recapture a place for Thief in an industry of pretenders.
For more on Thief, check out Game Informer and PSU in the weeks and months ahead.