Gloomwood

Unfortunately, the Market District isn’t as expansive as it initially seemed, with many of the buildings serving only cosmetic purposes. The update introduced a main plotline and gave the Doctor a goal, but still prevented him from progressing too far. I enjoyed the introduction of the new area and the terrifying new enemy type, but my explorations were frustratingly-brief. Perhaps it’s for the best, then, that my main complaint with Gloomwood is that I want more.

If you like first-person stealth/action games that leave plenty of room for creativity and the “retro” graphic style doesn't scare you, you can try Gloomwood's early access without any worries. This Victorian “Dishonored/Thief”, with an atmosphere close to a survival-horror, already benefits from an exceptional level design, making it possible to vary the approaches widely. The desire to offer “early 2000s PC gaming” sensations is there, very clearly, with however the necessary adjustments for a title coming out in 2022. The result is a mixture of very pleasant sensations, as if our Pentium MMX had miraculously crossed the ages, and that developers continued to release games there against all odds. However, we must be aware that this early access, impeccably clean, is only a big prologue and that the best is surely to come.

It’s always tricky to evaluate an unfinished Early Access game that is designed entirely around a linear, single-player campaign. On the evidence thus far, Gloomwood understands its lineage as an immersive sim, and appreciates why Thief remains so beloved as a pure stealth game some twenty-odd years on. But whether it can emerge from the shadow of Thief and find its own identity very much remains to be seen.