By Darryn Bonthuys on
17.10.2023 - 14:57 / pcgamesn.com / Emil Pagliarulo / Warren Spector / Best
Starfield. BioShock. Dishonored. Some of the greatest PC games of the last two decades owe their inspiration to the Thief series. Originally developed by Looking Glass Studios, of System Shock and Ultima fame, the third Thief, Deadly Shadows, would move to Ion Storm Austin, shortly after it shipped another stone-cold classic, the first Deus Ex. The team that helped build Thief 3 would eventually work on some of the most-beloved games of the modern era, including Skyrim, BioShock, and Starfield. Renowned for its superlative Shalebridge Cradle level, Thief Deadly Shadows is now all yours for less than $1.
Thief Deadly Shadows, also known as Thief 3, is one of those inflection points in gaming history. A combination of FPS and stealth games, its credits read like a who’s who of some of the most legendary designers of recent years. Emil Pagliarulo, who helped create Thief 2, was originally hired for the sequel. Jordan Thomas, who created the wonderful Fort Frolic section of BioShock, and directed BioShock 2, co-designed the epochal Cradle. Randy Smith of System Shock was the game’s director, and of course Ion Storm Austin was overseen by Warren Spector, who worked on the Ultima series and directed Deus Ex. One of the best PC games ever, you owe it to yourself to play – or re-play – Thief Deadly Shadows.
Dark, rich, and atmospheric, the DNA for some of the most renowned immersive sims flows through Thief 3. The Shalebridge Cradle in particular, which Ion Storm Austin intended as the scariest videogame level ever made, reeks of Dishonored, Alien Isolation, and even IO’s Hitman. In the same way that Doom and Half-Life forged the model for modern shooters, Thief 3 helped define the work of Arkane, Bethesda, and many more. And now it’s all yours for just $0.95 / £0.79.
So, if you’ve settled your business in Starfield, pining for a new Deus Ex, or miss your time in Dunwall and Dishonored, Thief 3 is the perfect piece of gaming history. Just don’t play Shalebridge Cradle with the lights off.
Alternatively, continue the nostalgia trip with some of the best old games. You can also play some of the best immersive sims and RPG games on PC right now.
By Darryn Bonthuys on
After 20 years in the microgames business, Wario is finally taking a vacation. His latest starring adventure, WarioWare: Move It!, sends the money-hungry miscreant on an island getaway, where mishaps and hundreds of new microgames await.
Atari has agreed to buy classic video game maker Digital Eclipse for up to $20 million in cash and stock.
By Jon Bitner on
Alan Wake 2 reviews are now rolling in, and it would appear that Remedy has knocked it out of the park — with many calling it one of the best games of 2023.
The original 2D Risk of Rain was released on November 8, 2013, and it's still one of the best roguelikes you can play today. 10 years later, an expanded remake appropriately named Risk of Rain Returns is bringing the game up to speed with a fresh coat of paint and a big bag of new content, and it's launching on PC and Switch on the game's big anniversary: November 8, 2023.
The last time we asked our readership for their opinions on the best printers for the workplace was 2021. Taking a couple of years off gave us time to expand the survey and the coverage. This year, we go beyond basic office printers (no matter what the work setting): We break things down into printers specifically for the office, vs those printers used for work at home.
Today I witnessed someone's Skyrim character die in one of the most Monty Pythonesque ways possible: by eating all the food in all the land and bursting like a stuck pig.
Italian studio Stone Shelter has announced CTRL-U, a science-fiction first-person parkour action adventure game for PC (Steam). A release date was not announced.
Roblox CEO David Baszucki has announced in an open letter to remote employees that they will need to return to the company offices in San Mateo, California and work there for a minimum of three days a week. If not, employees will have to take a severance package and will be made redundant.
Who had ‘playable remake of Alan Wake inside Fortnite’ on their 2023 bingo card? Nobody? Well, nevermind: either way, you can now relive the events of Remedy’s battery-powered horror game before its sequel comes out later this month.
Disney and developer Dlala Studios announced Disney Illusion Island in 2022, and it immediately shot up high on my list of games to play this year. It did so for several reasons – its beautifully realized visuals, top-notch voice acting, and, of course, the potential to play as some of my favorite characters in a Metroidvania-esque adventure. That wasn't all, though; The snippets of composer David Housden's score in the reveal trailer indicated this team was on to something.