Deus Ex & Thief IPs + Eidos Montreal are about to be sold to Embracer Group

Jason Moyer on 23/8/2022 at 03:12

As long as Arkane still has two studios making great games, I don't really care what happens to any of these old IPs. Thief and Deus Ex weren't great because of the title on the box.

weylfar on 23/8/2022 at 13:15

How should new Thief be designed?

Dia on 23/8/2022 at 16:17

Quote Posted by weylfar

How should new Thief be designed?

Not in the third person, that's for dang sure. Also, less linear and more sandbox/open world. TDS was bad enough with its linear limitations but throw in the loot-glint-in-your-face-from-a-mile-away, among other flaws, and it ended up being a serious disappointment. I couldn't play more than 20 minutes of Thi4f; the gameplay totally sucked and I spent most of the 20 minutes trying to get over a waist-high obstacle. Awkward and even more disappointing than TDS was, if that's even possible. *smh*

Dia on 23/8/2022 at 16:24

Quote Posted by Jason Moyer

As long as Arkane still has two studios making great games, I don't really care what happens to any of these old IPs. Thief and Deus Ex weren't great because of the title on the box.

I'd love to see another Dishonored game. D1, D2 & D-DotO were what Thi4f should have been! I guess I'm one of the odd ones who also loved DX:HR & DX:MD, because I'd love to see another installation with Adam Jensen as the protagonist. After DX:IW, DX:HR was a breath of fresh air, imo.

Jason Moyer on 23/8/2022 at 17:09

I love Dishonored, and think they managed to make the rare sequel that actually improved the first game while keeping the same spirit, but man, I hope Arkane never makes a sequel to anything again. Unless it's an early Obsidian-style sequel, where they take something someone else made and turn it into something entirely different and better. In the meantime, I still need to play Mooncrash and Deathloop, I'm just feeling too shitty lately for gaming that isn't a racing sim. But anyway, part of what I like about Arkane is that they're always refining what they do and trying new things. Thief 1/2, SS2, and DX1 are my favorite games of all time, but I don't really want something new that plays exactly like they did. I can always go back and play those games and have a great experience again.

I like Edios Montreal's DX/Thief games, but I don't think they're very good DX or Thief games. I'd like to see what they'd make if they were making a game in that vein but could design the entire world from the ground up on their own.

Tomi on 23/8/2022 at 17:18

Quote Posted by Dia

Also, less linear and more sandbox/open world.

More sandbox/open world sound like what people did not want to see, maybe because there wasn't any of that in the original games. Dunno. I can't remember TDS very well at all anymore, but didn't it also have some sort of a sandbox thingy that let you explore the city and do stuff between the missions? The actual missions may have been quite linear due to the technical limitations at the time, yeah. Thankfully that wasn't the case with 1, 2 & 4 though.

Quote:

I couldn't play more than 20 minutes of Thi4f; the gameplay totally sucked and I spent most of the 20 minutes trying to get over a waist-high obstacle.

Well, I remember finding the first 20 minutes quite disappointing too, but it's sort of like a tutorial section that felt very limited, and the game does get better after that. I'm currently replaying Thi4f after nearly eight years, and I've come to the conclusion that the game just feels so much better when you're playing with a gamepad (same thing happened to me with Kingdom Come: Deliverance) - the contextual movement doesn't really even bother me that much anymore, even though I do still miss proper jumping.

Quote Posted by Dia

I guess I'm one of the odd ones who also loved DX:HR & DX:MD.

I thought that they were both well liked by most people, including the self-proclaimed "true fans"?

catbarf on 23/8/2022 at 18:24

People disliking Human Revolution is new to me. I'd agree that it didn't capture the same imm-sim magic as the original DX, and trying to fit it into the DX timeline is a bit wonky, but it stands well on its own and I generally see it talked about positively. Some of the worse elements, like the shoehorned boss fights and yellow filter, were subsequently revised and the game is better for it.

Mankind Divided was criticized for its length and scope but I felt there was a good amount of content in there if you did the sidequests. Some of them look at first like the usual one-and-done time-wasters, but start a chain of missions that go in some pretty interesting directions, and the recurring nature of your travels around Prague let you see the consequences of your choices and deal with the aftermath. But without those sidequests, it's a maybe six hour game.

Thirith on 23/8/2022 at 20:20

While I enjoyed playing the two more recent Deus Ex games, what I'd want for any future Deus Ex games or games inspired by the series would be the occasional bigger environment, because the recent games felt rather cramped at times, and more importantly, movement that feels better. Quite honestly, I'd love to see at least some light Mirror's Edge-style traversal, at least if you invest in certain upgrades. For one thing, it might make combat more fluid and dynamic, for another, it might allow you to reach entrances that are otherwise out of your reach.

@Tomi: I might give Thi4f a try controlling it with a gamepad. It might make it easier for me to accept the game for what it is, rather than wanting it to be old-school Thief so hard that I can't appreciate what it (apparently) does well.

Starker on 23/8/2022 at 21:26

Quote Posted by Tomi

I think I know what Dia means -- it's more open world in the sense that you are able to explore freely, without being locked out parts of the world. The reboot has quite a few places where you suddenly pass a point of no return and can't return to earlier parts of the level, and it happens without much warning, even. Meanwhile, in original Thief, you can often go all the way back to where you started from pretty much anywhere the level.

In other words, sandboxy/open world in terms of level design, not gameplay. The original games have some large levels with multiple routes in and out of its areas, such as Shipping and Receiving and First City Bank and Trust and even the more linear levels like Life of the Party or Bonehoard have quite a lot of side areas to explore. The reboot's levels are more linear in the sense that you get funneled through them and spit out in the other end, without a lot of side areas to explore.

Maybe think about it this way: none of the guards in the reboot's missions have long patrol routes, they either pace back and forth or circle a very small area.

Pyrian on 23/8/2022 at 23:14

Quote Posted by catbarf

People disliking Human Revolution is new to me.

Personally, I loved DX:HR, one of my favorite games, maybe not as much as DX1 but high bar and all that. But I know a lot of people in this very forum hated the third-person takedowns and especially the third-person cover/stealth system. Also, a lot of bitching about the easily exploitable economy, lackluster final level, obligatory out-of-place boss fights, Jensen's cut-scene incompetence, the list goes on. Arguably all fair points, honestly. But, man... It was just so good... Mostly. :cheeky: