Thief: Deadly Shadows
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Game
Game2012
Thief II: The Metal Age
Developer Looking Glass Studios
Thief II: The Metal Age is a 2000 stealth video game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive in March 2000. Like its predecessor Thief: The Dark Project, the game follows Garrett, a master thief who works in and around a steampunk metropolis called the City. The player assumes the role of Garrett as he unravels a conspiracy related to a new religious sect. Garrett takes on missions such… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
228 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 18, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
92
LovedLoved
162 positive · 14 negative
95% range 87–95%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 162 | 14 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 32 | 1 | 15 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,530 of 1,614 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
92% recommend · 164 yes, 14 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 178 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (2,025 of 2,151 positive).
Players widely praise Thief II as one of the greatest stealth games ever made, with masterful level design and refined mechanics. [1][2][3]
Liked
Representative posts
- [17]
picked this up for like 20 cents just to tell you all: don't buy this game on steam!!! Get it on GOG.com, because as it stands, the steam version is practically unplayable without some SEVERE use of mods and tinkering around in settings. Now as for the game itself, this is one of the most important, groundbreaking, influential games of its time, however unlike a lot of other games of which that can be said, it also …
- [2]
Thief 2 remains one of the most celebrated stealth games of all time, and for good reason. Building on the foundation laid by the original Thief it refines the stealth mechanics, deepens the atmosphere, and expands on the steampunk inspired world in ways that still resonate with players today. At its core, Thief 2 is a masterclass in immersive simulation. Players once again step into the shoes of Garrett, the …
- [3]
The greatest stealth game, a master class lesson in level design (up until Casing the Joint) and enjoyment. They don't make games like this anymore.
- [1]
Its tools and level design lock together into an almost fully refined whole. Huge missions play like logical puzzles where planning meets execution, and the payoff feels earned.
- [4]
THIS IS HOW YOU DO A THIEF GAME This game fixed the ONE THING I hated about Thief GOLD and that was LEVEL DESIGN. This game has brilliant level design, making you want to explore the missions in full and you get proper guidance on where you're located with detailed descriptions on the individual areas on the map. No more confusing labyrinths that take an hour to wrap your head around. THEY MANAGED TO MAKE THE LOST …
Summarised from 34 of the 229 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 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Thief II: The Metal Age talk about excellent level design that encourages exploration and planning; those who didn't talk about some levels feel rushed or have frustrating sections. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Thief 2 debuted high on the bestsellers list for computer games, and its initial sales were better than those of its commercially successful predecessor. By November 2000, its global sales had surpassed 220,000 copies; PC Zone described these figures as "commercial acclaim". The United States alone accounted for 67,084 sales by the end of 2000, which drew in revenues of $2.37 million. The game later received a "Silver" sales award by the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Thief II also received positive reviews from critics, with an aggregate score of 87/100 on Metacritic. Computer Gaming…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 228 · most liked firstToday marks 25 years since Thief II: The Metal Age was released and it remains the best stealth game ever made.
positive · AI labelView post →Mission: Into The Odd Authors: Schlock & Squadafroin Game: Thief II: The Metal Age Released on March 24th, 2020 Sources: Schlock, Garrett-TMT, DirkBogan
neutral · AI labelView post →There’s a wonderful video made in 2014 called [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPqwDGXxLhU]Thief vs. AAA Gaming by dominic guica. A 27 minute video essay on why the Thief Games “...is still the most advanced stealth game ever made.” And you know what? I completely agree. It’s been over 25 years since both games originally launched and they still hold up today. Remarkable! I’ve played over 13 in the genre so far, from old Assassin’s Creed, Syphon filter, some Metal Gear Solid titles, most…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mission: Rose Cottage Author: Saturnine Game: Thief II: The Metal Age Released on October 31st, 2009 Sources: Garrett-TMT
neutral · AI labelView post →Robot rising! Sound vibes! Stealth Strepsil! 🏹 It's time for another episode of the Stealth Boom Boom video games podcast! 🎧 We're talking Looking Glass Studios' 2000 stealth game, Thief II: The Metal Age🎙️ Links in the replies ⬇️
neutral · AI labelView post →Definitely agree about the magic of actors and their choices. I wrote a ridiculous conversation for the game Thief II in 1999. Other devs told me it was stupid. Then we had actor Stephen Russell perform it and it was comedic gold 25 years later, it's the most famous conversation in the series.
positive · AI labelView post →Its tools and level design lock together into an almost fully refined whole. Huge missions play like logical puzzles where planning meets execution, and the payoff feels earned.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thief II: the Metal Age was released in 2000, and unfortunately also ended up being the last game released by Looking Glass Studios before tehy closed their doors. It was quite a note to go out on, though. The story continues where the first one left off, with Garrett once again a freelance thief.
neutral · AI labelView post →I've been replaying Thief II next, and 1) nearly every mission is a banger, and 2) I have a really good idea for a Thieftroidvania, someone should pay me moneyhats to make that game.
positive · AI labelView post →4. Thief II: The Metal Age As near to a perfect game as I've ever played. I loved the first Thief too, but the level design in this one elevates it. "First City Bank and Trust" and "Life of the Party" are absolute classics of stealth action level design.
positive · AI labelView post →This game is truly special. Those who came after us in the late 90s experiencing this back then, when it didn't look like ancient history, missed something unique and memorable the likes of which is gone with time and will never be experienced again. Explains quite a bit why so many *are hateful on Steam. You missed most of what was good in it's innocence and are now left with nothing but a means to kill time and brain cells. I raise my glass in salute to what was golden and new, and to the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →thief and mgs walked so action stealth genre could stand still for 3 decades
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THIS IS HOW YOU DO A THIEF GAME This game fixed the ONE THING I hated about Thief GOLD and that was LEVEL DESIGN. This game has brilliant level design, making you want to explore the missions in full and you get proper guidance on where you're located with detailed descriptions on the individual areas on the map. No more confusing labyrinths that take an hour to wrap your head around. THEY MANAGED TO MAKE THE LOST CITY MAP COMPREHENSIBLE NOW! The new stealth items improved the Thief experience…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game so weighty, substantial and electrifying that it generates its own magnetic field.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mission: Broken Triad Author: Eshaktaar Game: Thief II: The Metal Age Released on May 31st, 2008 Sources: cowking, Lord Taffer
neutral · AI labelView post →Thief 2 remains one of the most celebrated stealth games of all time, and for good reason. Building on the foundation laid by the original Thief it refines the stealth mechanics, deepens the atmosphere, and expands on the steampunk inspired world in ways that still resonate with players today. At its core, Thief 2 is a masterclass in immersive simulation. Players once again step into the shoes of Garrett, the cynical master thief, navigating through sprawling environments that encourage…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Four video games that changed my life. SMB2 was the first NES game I played and set me on the path Out Run taught me that great games are timeless Thief II showed me that games could be smarter and deeper than I imagined before WoW's here because my wife's an ex-addict, and it's what connected us.
positive · AI labelView post →Thief and Thief II remain some of my most nostalgic PC games ever.
positive · AI labelView post →picked this up for like 20 cents just to tell you all: don't buy this game on steam!!! Get it on GOG.com, because as it stands, the steam version is practically unplayable without some SEVERE use of mods and tinkering around in settings. Now as for the game itself, this is one of the most important, groundbreaking, influential games of its time, however unlike a lot of other games of which that can be said, it also remains to this day *extremely* fun to play! one of the very best games ever…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thief II has been with us for a quarter century. Many have died younger! I've written about the way the game represents our addiction to technology as a stranglehold of the ultra rich who are its true masters. sidequest.zone/2025/05/19/t...
positive · AI labelView post →Thief 1 minus the zombie, monsters and horror ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and greatly expanded level design.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the game that got me into the game industry. It came out around the same time as #Thief and I sold dozens of copies working at Electronics Boutique on this day. I used the editor to build a level for my Thief II interview and a Valve employee actually helped me fix light leaks. Happy Bday! 🎂
positive · AI labelView post →Finished Thief II. Not sure whether I should move on to Deadly Shadows next or switch over to BioShock. Or, I guess, I could, play a game made in the last ten years, ever, OH YEAH ELDEN RING—
neutral · AI labelView post →The greatest stealth game, a master class lesson in level design (up until Casing the Joint) and enjoyment. They don't make games like this anymore.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A lot of people will tell you: "Get the GOG version instead." To me, it ultimately doesn't matter if you get it from here, or from GOG, since you'll need T2Fix either way (I believe the GOG version still uses the outdated TafferPatcher). This is the greatest stealth game of all time, and arguably, the objective greatest game of all time period (regardless of personal preference). Aside from the expectable 90's technical jank that the Dark Engine was unfortunately fated for due to its time,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game. Much better than the first (No need for a walkthrough, apart from maybe the last level). Lots of the levels are great, bar a trailing mission and possibly the last one (Interesting mission but far too long and too much backtracking). Story is as good as the first if not better, praise be to Karass being a great villain.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Get this game. Play until right before the final level. Stop. Get [url=https://www.thiefguild.com/fanmissions/16777/the-builders-paradise]Builder's Paradise. A gritty 90-s Hollywood delinquent simulator blooms into a Lopushansky film. Canon.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →getting so much right first time around was insanely impressive already, but improving on it instantly with some of the best stealth game levels ever made is insane. some levels are clearly rushed tho which still the pros outweight the cons here by miles 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →extremely few stealth games have the privilege of being measured near the same level of quality as thief II. even fewer stealth games take advantage of light and sound and integrate it so well in their gameplay like how thief II has. yes, of course as of 2026, theres plenty of stealth games that have have improved on individual mechanics specifically. they might have better animations, or advanced AI, or satisfying combat, realistic graphics, a solid artstyle, etc. its only inevitable that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am a 52 yo father, probably one of the oldest people playing Thief II: The Metal Age. I am a single father to my Son, who is 14 now. My son found this game at Christmas, so we installed it on his computer and he started playing. By the end of the week he had 24 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just watching YouTube. So I decided to make a Steam account and get this game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you can get past some frustrating elements of a VERY old game, you'll find one of the best stealth games ever made. It's a shame no stealth games ever since (including the later Thief games) ever used sound to this degree. I almost spend an hour on most levels and while couple levels are AWFUL, most of them are very good. I highly recommend getting TFix-2 Community Patch which will fix most of the bugs and bring some QoL-Features like subtitles.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thief II is the only game I've finished four times (though HL is also four times if you count Black Mesa), and replaying it every five years or so feels fresh every time. The game has so many secrets, little narrative elements and objectives, that you discover something new with each new playthrough. Or maybe you just forget the details, and thus everyting seels familiar but new. Of course, Thief 1/2 looks not great now, after all, even upon its initial release it wasn't praised for its…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mission: Disorientation Author: Melan Game: Thief II: The Metal Age Released on June 8th, 2009 Sources: Goblin_Grease, cowking
neutral · AI labelView post →The fuk is this? Ugh! My first design job was at Looking Glass Studios for Thief II in 1999. We had many women on our team and the game was better for it. The Opera House in Thief Gold wouldn't be a fan favorite without designer Teri Brosious. I can't believe this is being discussed 26 years later.
positive · AI labelView post →I was blown away at how great Thief Gold was and now I'm finding that Thief II is giving it a run for its money. These games are so fantastic. So many secrets to find, areas to explore, trinkets to steal...and the levels so far are very cool too. I would highly recommend these games to any stealth lover. These are the crème de la crème.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hello, Friend! Tell me, did you, like me, decide to try these games after all the glowing reviews and retrospectives? If so, those commenters have deliberately misled you by omitting critical points: First, they last played Thief I and II 15-30 years ago. Their opinion of the game is based on nostalgia and memories of how great it was back then. If they tried it now, their opinion might change. Second, they call themselves stealth fans, but most likely, the Thief and Splinter Cell series are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm unsure if I've played any game as much as Thief/Thief II, because of the fan mission community that formed around it. I stopped years ago eventually, but started again about a year ago because of the (amazing) fan expansion The Black Parade.
positive · AI labelView post →To those who want to play this, you do unfortunately have to download patches for it to work due to resolution issues, before buying it, make sure you're willing to do so.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Crashes before starting
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →They took only the good things from the first game to make this masterpiece. No more Tomb Raider maze-like levels where you get easily lost and frustrated. No more levels with tight gold objectives where you have to scrape the whole map for the last piece of gold. It’s just pure stealth, masterfully crafted levels, you and your blackjack.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game demands I move like a shadow but sounds like I’m wearing tap shoes on sheet metal, the darkness hides you and also the fun alongside being forced to listen to the voice acting which is great if you enjoy every character sounding like a theatre major with bronchitis. The many times i died were because I breathed near a guard and his AI detected my existential despair.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As this game is extremely similar to the first entry in the series, most of those thoughts still apply to this - namely that it was great and important for its time, but has since been surpassed by modern stealth and immersive sim games.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finally got around to playing this game ever since loving the first Thief game in 1998 as an 8 year old. At first, I thought it was pretty mediocre, and it made me really just want to go back and replay Thief 1 again for the 6 millionth time. I was missing the "monster" missions like Bone Horde and Haunted Cathedral in Thief 1 that Thief 2 simply doesn't have. Thief 2 is all about the stealth and player vs. human NPC experience, and it does it pretty well. It has some outstanding missions…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game. Unfortunately however, it's an evolutionary dead-end, a genre outcompeted and extinguished. Like Neanderthal DNA in modern humans, some elements of its design live in modern games, but we never had the fortune to see where the genre might go had it thrived. The third-person cousin managed longer through the likes of MGS and Spliter Cell, but that's also gone the way of the dodo at this point. RIP Looking Glass Studios. Thief 2 Gold and beyond lives in our hearts and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm like halfway through but man, this ♥♥♥♥ hits way harder than I expected in 2026. I'm a huge stealth fan, Dishonored is probably my all time favourite game if I had to pick one. I first played Thief Gold a few years ago and never finished (not because I wasn't enjoying it, something else must have come out idk) and since then I've had this recurring urge to go back. Over the last year or so I've played a few other stealth games like Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream and the recent Hitman trilogy,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →best thief game in the series
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thief 2 is my favorite of the franchise. It's pretty much what you expect from a sequel, taking the original game and improving on it by adding more gameplay elements and equipment, while retaining everything that made original great. There's usually fair debate between fans which of the first two games they prefer, and for me personally it's a tight choice, but The Metal Age always won out a tiny bit more. I love the more steampunk environments, the creepy robots, the expanded items, and,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In Thief II, the protagonist embodies the fragmented modern subject, navigating the complex machinery of power. A recurring motif across immersive simulations is the construction of their worlds as vast panopticons, in which the player is perpetually observed and consequently compelled to enact a choreography of resistance sustained by a philosophy of everyday tactics. From this marginal position, the player is required to reclaim and redirect the spaces delineated by structures of authority.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh good, same - it was one of the few things I already knew about the series before I even played my first game (also Thief II)
neutral · AI labelView post →Greastest stealth game ever made Magnum Opus type video game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Me: "Dragon Age Origins isn't old, it was released when I was in high sch-ooooooh..." Guess this means I can just give you a list of some of my favourite games (😞), in the order in which I can remember them: - Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War (+Winter Assault, +Dark Crusade) - Stronghold Crusader* - Sims 2 (with more or less every expansion) - BioShock - Arx Fatalis - The Longest Journey - The two Star Wars KOTOR games - Unreal Tournament 2004 - Thief + Thief II - System Shock 2
neutral · AI labelView post →Just found a review of my warehouse level, Shipping and Receiving, in #Thief II by Civvie 11. This guy hates everything but apparently loves my work. "One of the best levels in the game" Thanks for killing my imposter syndrome Civvie! 💜 youtu.be/RYR9OtbkHWk?...
positive · AI labelView post →Even though they play the exact same, I found Thief 2 a significant improvement over Thief 1 in every possible way and that's simply because of the levels. I liked Thief 1 but I LOVED Thief 2. If you were disappointed by the Indiana Jones Tomb Raider type of levels in the first then this is the game that you want. It's 99.9% breaking and entering and burglary in urban locations and fancy manors and only 0.1% Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Theft. Still recommend finishing the first game as it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The only game to capture pure stealth that’s ever been made. There will never be a better stealth game than this and that’s ok because Thief also has one of the best community’s ever to exist in gaming. The mods provide for unlimited replay ability. This game is a hardcore immersive sim that focuses on STEALTH. One of my top favorite game series of all time. Buy it, get a great pair of headphones, turn off the lights and get immersed in this fully grounded gothic world. 10/10 and yes it’s…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played with T2Fix 1.27e w/ mods. Same great Thief gameplay but with: better mission structure - bonus objectives are a fun surprise and some missions even force you to do a Ghost run more thief-like atmosphere as compared to crypt/tombs/supernaturals in Thief 1 Dialogue is funny as usual and with sprinklings of references to previous missions and games. Personally, it was difficult to take the main antagonist seriously because his voice made his speeches hard to understand and didn't…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So today is apparently 25th release anniversary of Thief II: The Metal Age, the best PC stealth game and one of the best immersive sims ever created. I feel so old now. 🫤
positive · AI labelView post →A special new years’ treat for Peel Perspective subscribers! A podcast retrospective on the stealth classic (and ideal winter game) Thief II: The Metal Age. www.patreon.com/posts/118882...
neutral · AI labelView post →Incredible continuation from Thief Gold, easily equally as good and containing some of the best missions across both games. Gameplay is expanded from the first game with more tools, new enemies and obstacles. Story continues from where the last game left off and is much more interesting thanks to Karras being a more interesting villain than Constantine. However like its predecessor, thief 2 also has some really bad levels especially towards the end. Still a must play and has already cemented…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →And I’m not even talking about Thief II yet, it’s Thief: The Dark Project I’ve only played so far. The way light and sound influence your presence and how the guards react to both is astounding to see from a game made in 1998, and it’s high time I’ve started playing these stealthy gems
positive · AI labelView post →great game, shame i had to install a community patch to make it function at all but oh well
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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