Thief
Thief
Game
Game2007
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Developer Ion Storm
Thief: Deadly Shadows is a 2004 stealth video game developed by Ion Storm for Microsoft Windows and Xbox that was released in 2004, on May 25 in North America and on June 11 in Europe. It is the third video game in the Thief series. In Thief: Deadly Shadows the player takes the role of Garrett, a master thief. It is set in a fantasy world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
373 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
71
Fresh
130 positive · 53 negative
95% range 64–77%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 130 | 53 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 24 | 4 | 136 |
| Mastodon * | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Lemmy * | 4 | 0 | 8 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,429 of 1,768 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
73% recommend · 132 yes, 50 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 182 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (2,121 of 2,623 positive).
Players praise the game's atmosphere, story, and sound design, calling it a classic stealth experience. [1][2][3] Many note that the game requires the Sneaky Upgrade mod to run on modern systems. [4][5][6][7] Some reviewers find it janky and a step down from the first two games. [8][9][10]
Liked
Representative posts
- [8]
Most jank game of the trilogy by far, very frustrating, and very bad in comparison to 1 & 2. Still, the story and general essence of the series is still here. Worth finishing if you played and enjoyed the first two, but if you're not dedicated to playing The Black Parade and finishing Garrett's (and the City's) story, then I wouldn't bother.
- [1]
8.5/10 Story-wise it's one of the best games I've ever played. This was one of the first games I ever picked up to play and the Shalebridge Cradle mission is probably my favorite level in all of gaming and I'd recommend the game for that mission alone. Thief has a truly unique world with enemies that feel fleshed out and genuinely creepy. This is the ONLY game I've ever played that was able to make its zombies …
- [2]
Thief Deadly Shadows marked the third entry in the iconic stealth series, and while it carried forward many of the franchise’s signature elements, at its best, the game nails the tension and atmosphere that defined the earlier titles. Sneaking through candlelit mansions, listening for footsteps, and extinguishing torches with well aimed water arrows still feels satisfying. The sound design is a standout every creak …
- [3]
Never think I'll come back to Thief 3, yet... here we go... again. The atmosphere is fantastic, the story appropriately mysterious and interesting, the lockpicking by far the best in the series and cutscenes are in the established style and outstanding. The occasional hilarious guard banter is even in. Its issues are technical. You need the Sneaky Upgrade patch (adds too much to list; merged missions, briefing …
- [4]
Brings back so many childhood memories. Play with Sneaky Upgrade and ReShade - worth it. The former changes the gameplay a bit, adds few cosmetic options, has new textures, and quite a lot of convenience settings, merges certain maps together for smoother play. The latter simply makes the game look gorgeous. Many call this game the weakest of the originals. I can say that, to me, it's the best one in the franchise. …
Summarised from 34 of the 263 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
73% of the 182 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Thief: Deadly Shadows. The complaint that keeps coming up: requires mods to fix technical issues and run properly. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Thief: Deadly Shadows received "generally positive" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Deadly Shadows for their 2004 "Action Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. It was also a runner-up for Computer Games Magazine's list of the 10 best computer games of 2004. However, the game won the magazine's special award for "Best Sound Effects". The PC version of Deadly Shadows won GameSpy's 2004 "Best Sound" award. Despite positive reviews, Thief: Deadly Shadows failed to meet financial targets and may have led to the cancellation of a follow-up title: Thief 4: Dagger of…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 373 · most liked firstMarathon deserves to be a game with 100x the players it has if ONLY because this Thief skin with the hollowed out 3D-printed skeleton torso goes unfathomably hard.
neutral · AI labelView post →As I get completely lost scripting a video for MOUSE GAME, here's another Petty Thief installment to tide you over until my inevitable ruin. youtu.be/4iPINNmdJIA
neutral · AI labelView post →Thief 2 is 25 today. It's one of my favourite games ever. But more importantly, it was one of Terry Pratchett's favourite games ever. www.theguardian.com/games/2021/d...
neutral · AI labelView post →Wind was so strong that ancient glass cups on high voltage poles make sound of Horn of Quintus from Thief 1 game😄 Bad thing: we are not flying. Good thing: they aren't flying either. And doodle.
neutral · AI labelView post →Raising a fireside toast to Rebecca Heineman with the first game I ever played that she programmed and co-designed: Bard's Tale III: The Thief of Time.
neutral · AI labelView post →For anyone looking for some of those games inspired by Deus Ex, Thief, System Shock and such? I got your backs. Filcher is a very neat Thief inspired indie that flew under the radar. I guess you could say it was a little too stealthy! store.steampowered.com/app/1355650/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Another collab with @drlux.bsky.social! Thanks for the help again. Some fanart of the game Merry Thief by both Frail-Heart and Mati0la! Be sure to check it out! It's in the early stages but it's still very charming! Link to game: frail-heart.itch.io/merry-thief
neutral · AI labelView post →Adding a splash of industrial fantasy to the nascent stealth game genre in 1998: Thief: The Dark Project.
neutral · AI labelView post →Hi BlueSky, I'm Dominus, senior concept artist in the video game industry and co-creator of the Scavenger RPG @ShardstoneArts. Sometimes I make fan art for the Thief game series. Social links: linktr.ee/pandemoniuma... #taffer #art #conceptart #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Video game: Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure Language: English Countries: United States, United Kingdom and France
neutral · AI labelView post →Spirited Thief is a fantastic game that absolutely should have sold a hundred times better. A razor sharp turn-based stealth tactics game where your ghost buddy cases buildings, and then you race through as a wizardly thief, grabbing treasure as the alarm escalates and more guards wake up.
neutral · AI labelView post →Today marks 25 years since Thief II: The Metal Age was released and it remains the best stealth game ever made.
neutral · AI labelView post →Body types are: Lithe, bottom heavy, muscular, chonky, BBW, and *possibly* Hyper Classes are: Reliquarian, Handler, Thief, Wizard, Brewbarian, and Warlock It’s a 3v3 treasure grabbing flirty skirmish game called Buckets!
neutral · AI labelView post →🆓 New free to keep game giveaway on Steam: Mini Thief store.steampowered.com/app/481870/M...
neutral · AI labelView post →Little snippet of my new game. Sneak kill lmao. Philip K Dick sci-fi Thief? I want to find a name for this game soon, and also look for playtesters in the (near) future. DM me if you're interested in that :)
neutral · AI labelView post →Coelacanth's Steam NextFest Report. I spent the past week dredging through the slop, trying to unearth interesting gems that are (as far as I can tell) free from generative AI. While it demanded a lot more effort and time than usual, I am happy to report that there are still promising, interesting and *human* indie games out there being made. --- # Standouts --- ## [Inkblood](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4114100/Inkblood/)…
neutral · AI labelView post →Thief 3 is a real piece of shit, geez. Like not even as a game just like what an awful, retched piece of software.
neutral · AI labelView post →Thief-like free and open source game The Dark Mod 2.13 brings better AI vision and new graphical goodies #TheDarkMod #Thief #FreeGame #OpenSource
neutral · AI labelView post →Thief-like open source game project The Dark Mod 2.14 released #TheDarkMod #FreeGame #OpenSource
neutral · AI labelView post →A fanart of Thief from @bungie.net 's newest game @marathonthegame.bungie.net ! Those kind folks sent me a copy, not knowing I had already bought myself one Day 1 and having an absolute blast! It's not my typical kind of game, so it surprised me by how much it hooked me! #marathon #marathonthegame
neutral · AI labelView post →1998 man. What a year. A game this good got basically forgotten because of Half Life, Starcraft, and Thief
neutral · AI labelView post →Actually I guess we already know there's at least one cool thing in there: Rhythm Thief for DS. This game eventually came out on 3DS, but has never been seen in motion on the original DS before.
neutral · AI labelView post →playing Thief Deadly Shadows, this game have some issues, and janky but the atmosphere here is still awesome. Not like Thief 1/2 but still great. This game even with its problems feels like a Thief game and i'm enjoying it a lot. Also I love fireplaces in old video games hahaha.
positive · AI labelView post →Also, Filcher. I wanna do a video about this game, it's pure Thief worship
neutral · AI labelView post →Arkane Studios nearly worked on Thief 4 or a Blade Runner game before they made 'Dishonored'. 9:30 youtu.be/ZVq0af9DwPU
neutral · AI labelView post →the way the guards just cannot stop talking in the Thief VR game supergreatfriend is playing keeps cracking me up
neutral · AI labelView post →Promo art, Elf, and Thief & Magic-User from Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara by artist Kinu Nishimura. More art from the game: www.creativeuncut.com/art_dungeons...
neutral · AI labelView post →Speaking of old games, dunno if the upcoming remaster will preserve the game I know but if you've not played them, Thief The Dark Project & The Metal Age are still the best stealth games ever made. Nearly thirty years old and still showing up everything that followed. Well worth your time
positive · AI labelView post →like, if you don't have quick saves, your game isn't an authentic immersive sim. sorry, but if quicksaving is good enough for Thief it's good enough for you
positive · AI labelView post →This game sick af. scratches the Thief itch hard.
neutral · AI labelView post →Who is your favorite fictional raccoon?. For those dealing with severe memory loss such as myself, other options include: - Tom Nook (Animal Crossing) - Rocket Raccoon (Guardians of the Galaxy) - The Woodland Critters raccoon (South Park) - Meeko (Pocahontas) - Ranger Rick (Wildlife magazine mascot) - Zigzagoon (a pokemon but cose enough) - Racacoonie (Everything Everywhere All at Once) - The Coon (South Park) - Rick Raccoon (Shirt Tales) - Howard Lotor (Tails Noir video game) - BK (Donut…
neutral · AI labelView post →remembered the 2014 Thief game and almost puked thinking how bad it was
neutral · AI labelView post →GUYS THE VIDEO GAME PRESERVATION MUSEUM JUST FOUND THE FIRST EVER ROM GOR RHYTHM THIEF THIS ISNT A DRILL THIS IS HUGE FOR RHYTHM THIEF HISTORY
neutral · AI labelView post →i cannot condone the game series Thief. stealing is against the law!!!
neutral · AI labelView post →Thief: The Dark Project will be the next classic game to be remastered by Nightdive Studios. www.videogameschronicle.com/news/thief-t...
neutral · AI labelView post →Also, theory: every good bit in a horror game in the last 20 years is basically Thief’s Return to the Cathedral. (Thief is the best horror game)
positive · AI labelView post →Fighter, Thief, and Magic-User from Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara by artist Kinu Nishimura. More art from the game: www.creativeuncut.com/art_dungeons...
neutral · AI labelView post →Obligatory Thief mention. Copious user made levels for Thief 1,2, & Deadly Shadows. All handled easily via a user made mod loader "AngelLoader" Plus free fan game "The Dark Mod", made in the Doom 3 engine. www.thiefguild.com thiefmissions.com github.com/FenPhoenix/A... www.thedarkmod.com
neutral · AI labelView post →Thief and Wizard from Lime Odyssey: The Chronicles of Orta. More art from the game: www.creativeuncut.com/art_lime-ody...
neutral · AI labelView post →Played Militsioner. Kind of a funky game. They launched their "playtest" (demo), and my nutshell for it is: If you enjoy being a thief in a game like Thief or TES. It has that sort of feel to exploring its many buildings.
positive · AI labelView post →Old Octummber Day 4: Thief! Drew up a pic of the vixen protagonist from my old game experiment, Fat Burglar.
neutral · AI labelView post →THIEF, man. What a game
positive · AI labelView post →My hottest take that will get me canceled permanently is that Thief is not an imsim. It is a stealth game and only a stealth game.
negative · AI labelView post →Your favourite game: Thief 2 Your most played game: Space Station 14 Your most influential game: Pathologic The game you play even if you don't feel like playing right now: STALKER Anomaly
neutral · AI labelView post →lmao it's me. the one person who is genuinely excited that Viola the Thief is being added into Octopath Traveler 0. Really think this game is such a little miracle! also: Fiore! Fiore had my favorite side story about sorta havin' a little gay thing with a runaway noble. a sweet little story 😍
neutral · AI labelView post →Promo art, playable characters, and Thief from Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara by artist Kinu Nishimura. More art from the game: www.creativeuncut.com/art_dungeons...
neutral · AI labelView post →what is a Thief-like game without a little moonlight requisition and cleanup mechanics? #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →What's going on??? Just as I started creating some Thief characters, a new game was announced. But it's a VR game… Damn. #thief #artsky #OC #WIP #sketch
neutral · AI labelView post →Not to make everything about MinnMax, BUT funny timing with Thief Remastered in our new interview David Sears talks about two unreleased N64 games he worked on while at Looking Glass. One was a Ubisoft kayak-racing game called X-Stream. He also explains how they all almost died. youtu.be/_mHAV-7OWjE
neutral · AI labelView post →New THIEF game coming to VR www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG3E...
neutral · AI labelView post →"I want a new Thief game!" (monkey's paw curls)
negative · AI labelView post →The user Darkbeat over on the Steam Discussion Forums for Scarmonde did a Low Level Run of the game and beat it as... 🗡️a Thief at Level 2! 🤯 Read about his adventure and strategies over on the Discussion Page! steamcommunity.com/app/2769210/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Thief, will be in a game. #indiegame #indiedeckbuilder #gamedev #pixelart #cardgames #pixelgame
neutral · AI labelView post →I built my dream retro 2000s PC, and I'm thinking of playing some games on it this weekend… for research for my metroidbrainia game, of course 😅 Thinking of playing a bit of Thief 2, System Shock 2, Deus Ex, Arx Fatalis... Any other recommendations?
neutral · AI labelView post →A transitional entry that modernizes with a city hub and switchable perspectives. It most clearly shows that shadows are not scenery but a primary instrument.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The much-loved Thief series is back, but it's a VR-only game www.eurogamer.net/thief-vr-leg...
neutral · AI labelView post →Does anyone know if I'll be able to understand the plot to this if I haven't played Thief Helter 1, Thief Helter 2, Thief Helter 3, Thief Helter 4, Thief Helter 5, Thief Helter 6 or Thief Helter 7?
neutral · AI labelView post →a game about the terrifying Phantom Thief lintilion.itch.io/the-phantom-...
neutral · AI labelView post →Playing FFXI as a veteran of FFXIV is fascinating, but I never could've prepared myself for the experience of playing as Thief. To someone used to FFXIV's approach to game design, Thief is a fucking bizarro job that shouldn't even exist. Everything it's good at is something FFXIV doesn't even DO.
neutral · AI labelView post →It's not every day that the designer of BioShock's Fort Frolic and The Cradle in Thief Deadly Shadows comes out with a new game. You should buy it!
positive · AI labelView post →
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