An unofficial expansion for 1998’s Thief: The Dark Project is one of the best mods of 2023. The Thief mod, called The Black Parade (hell yeah), works with Thief: Gold. The mod, which launched in November, opens up an entirely new campaign for the beloved immersive sim, and makes several crucial quality of life improvements. Obviously, the mod won’t work with any of its sequels, including Thief 2: The Metal Age.
Here’s the blurb, straight from creator skacky:
In The Black Parade you play the character of Hume, a hardened criminal who was sent into exile as a punishment for his crimes. The year is 833, you are now back in The City, a sprawling metropolis of soot-caked brick, greasy fumes and noisy machinery, with many a sinister conspiracy whispered behind closed doors. Lost and without a penny to your name, you are back to your life of thievery and must find your old associate Dahlquist. Shadows and silence are your allies. Light is your enemy. Stealth and cunning are your tools. And the riches of others are yours for the taking.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Thief, so a mod like Black Parade has me ready to bring the old blackjack out of retirement. The mod received the top spot on this year’s ModDB Player’s Choice Mod of the Year countdown, so popular was it with the Thief crowd.
The mod comprises 10 new missions for you to undertake, and four new tools that can be purchased from the undermarket. Some changes make the game a bit more challenging — for instance, Hume was never trained to be a Keeper like Garrett so guards will notice you if you bump into them. Water arrows will now widen moss patches, and serverant AI will relight any candles you’ve extinguished as they make their rounds.
You can find the mod, and all the instructions for installing it, at its ModDB page. I know what I’m playing tonight.
Image: Looking Glass Studios, Eidos, skacky
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