During the recent VR Developer Direct, Vertigo Games and developer Maze Theory shared an update on the upcoming Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow.
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is a revival of the cult stealth series Thief, which made its debut all the way back in 1998. Originally confined to a flat screen, Vertigo Games (Arizona Sunshine, Metro Awakening) and developer Maze Theory (Infinite Inside) are now reimagining the series for VR. During the VR Developer Direct, the teams took viewers behind the scenes to the studio’s offices in Rotterdam. You can check out the deep dive below:
Throughout the video are interviews with key team members. That includes Vertigo’s lead publishing producer Eugenio Aguilar Oriani and principal designer Nick Witsel, alongside lead game designer Richard Bunn and art director David Kenyon from Maze Theory. They explained more about the setting, mechanics, and philosophy the team took while creating the project. Additionally, voice actor Stephen Russell announced his return as Thief’s original protagonist, Garrett.
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow takes place between Looking Glass Studios and Ion Storm’s original trilogy and Eidos-Montréal’s 2014 reboot. During this period, the world is ruled with an iron fist by Baron Ulysses Northcrest, who is obsessed with forbidden knowledge. As such, Northcrest runs a tight, heavily surveilled ship. You become Magpie, an orphan who works their way from street urchin to historic figure as they stealth through increasingly perilous environments.
From a gameplay perspective, this means vaulting and skulking through levels using your physicality to navigate. Alongside avoiding capture and evading patrols, the deep dive showcased other key mechanics like lockpicking for loot, extinguishing candles to create cover, and using weapons to create a distraction.
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow will arrive on Quest, Steam, and PlayStation VR2 later this year.
