The story of Thick as Thieves takes you to the shadow-draped streets of Kilcairn, an alternate history 1910s Scottish city where magic and early technology are colliding. You play as a fresh recruit to the local Thieves Guild, trying to prove your talents. You can play completely solo or team up with a partner in co-op, choosing between two skilled thieves named “the Spider” and the “Chameleon”. It is a pure stealth game where you have no weapons to fight your way out, meaning you must rely entirely on tools to steal artifacts and escape before you get caught. Developed by OtherSide Entertainment, and published by Megabit Publishing, does Thick As Thieves deliver an authentic stealth experience?
ℹ️ Reviewed on PC | Review code provided by PR/publisher. This review is the personal opinion of the writer.
| Developer | OtherSide Entertainment |
| Publisher | Megabit Publishing |
Things I liked!
- Classic Shadow Stealth that Feels Great | This game does a fantastic job of capturing the nostalgic magic of old school stealth simulators like Thief and Dishonored. Because there is absolutely no combat, the gameplay focuses entirely on light and sound mechanics where hiding in pitch black corners keeps you completely safe from passing guards. Sneaking across rooftops and dropping down for silent, non lethal takedowns feels incredibly satisfying and rewards players who have the patience to study guard routes.
- Layered Level Design with Shifting Difficulties | The layouts of the heists are brilliantly designed with tons of vertical layers, secret pathways, and hidden clues to uncover. Even though the map is small, the game uses a clever difficulty system where turning it up from Novice to Master Thief actually changes the guard patrol paths and security layouts. This means the environment itself feels dynamic and forces you to approach each heist with a fresh strategy rather than just memorizing a single route.
- Where the Real Fun Happens: Co-op and Wild Gadgets | Honestly, playing this with a buddy is where the game truly shines. The maps are practically begging you to work together, and messing around with the weird gear is a total blast. You can have one person sneak throwing smoke bombs, while the other player uses a “Pickpocket Fairy” to flip switches from across the room and grab the loot. It leads to some great laughs, especially when your perfect plan fails completely and you both have to panic run into the dark together.
- Worth the Price | At a launch price of just $4.99, this game is an absolute steal for what it offers. The core stealth mechanics and level layouts punch way above that tiny price tag. For less than the price of a cup of coffee, it serves as a fantastic weekend appetizer for anyone wanting a fun, high quality hacking and sneaking experience without breaking the bank.
- Fun Art Style and Awesome Sounds | The game looks like a cool cartoon and gives off major Dishonored vibes, showing off some really neat views of the old steampunk city. But the best part might actually be the audio. It’s so well made that you can easily hear exactly where the guards are walking or where alarms are hidden, even when you are hiding in pitch black corners. The guards are also hilarious, they are literally ghosts who constantly complain about how awful their jobs are, all while a super smooth, jazzy soundtrack plays in the background.
Mixed & disliked!
- Solo Play Feels Flat | The biggest issue if you don’t have friends online is that this game was clearly built from the ground up for multiplayer first. When you play by yourself, the magic fades quickly, and the missions turn into a lonely, tedious chore. You miss out on all the hilarious co-op chaos, and because you don’t have a partner to create distractions or watch your back, navigating the massive maps alone feels way more repetitive and empty than it does with a crew.
- Very Short Campaign and Lack of Content | The entire game can be easily beaten in about four hours because there are only two main maps available at launch. Even with the different contracts and difficulty modifiers, replaying the exact same two landmarks over and over causes repetition to set in very quickly. It leaves you feeling like you just played a highly polished paid demo or an early access slice rather than a full, complete game package.
- Missing Basic Options and Performance Drops | The technical side of the game feels a bit half-baked right now. It is missing some super basic PC features like, you literally cannot rebind your keyboard keys or properly tweak your mouse sensitivity, which is pretty frustrating for a modern game. You’ll definitely notice some frame drops when things get hectic, and the scenery in the distance can end up looking like a blurry, It just needs a little more optimization love to feel truly smooth.
How long did I play the review before publishing? 30 hours
How long to beat the story? 4 hours
How long to Complete the game 100%? 4 hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 0/0
You’ll love this game if you like these | Gloomwood, Dishonored, Thief: Deadly Shadows
CONCLUSION
Score: 72/100
Thick as Thieves isn’t trying to change the world, but it doesn’t really need to when it costs less than a fast food meal. If you have a friend to play with, sneaking through the shadows and accidentally messing up heists together is an absolute blast. Yes, it’s a bummer that there are only two maps right now, playing all by yourself feels pretty empty, and the missing PC settings are a headache. But honestly, for just $4.99, it’s a total Worth that and it leaves me genuinely excited to see what the developers cook up next.
Hello, I’m Almog, also known as Chochklah. Gaming has always been both my passion and my hobby, something that’s been with me for as long as I can remember. Over the years I’ve watched the gaming world grow and transform, and it continues to inspire me every day , Indie gaming holds a special place in my heart, and I truly enjoy discovering and playing those unique games that bring something different to the table
