Thief: The Dark Project was the boundary-pushing stealth game from 1998 that had you lurking in the shadows and dealing with foes from crotch level. For a game all about crouching, Thief left an unusually tall legacy and influenced countless other immersive sims - from Dishonored to Deus Ex. And now, modders are celebrating the landmark classic’s 25th birthday with a huge, unofficial expansion called The Black Parade.
“I am very proud to announce on behalf of our team Feuillade Industries that The Black Parade, our unofficial expansion for Thief Gold, is out today,” writes project manager Romain Barrilliot on Twitter, who’s also a level designer at Dishonored studio Arkane Lyon. “It’s a brand new game featuring 10 missions, 4 new tools, 30 minutes of gorgeous cutscenes and more,” he continues.
To clear up any confusion, Thief Gold is simply an expanded version of the original Thief: The Dark Project - and it’s how the game is titled on storefronts such as Steam. They’re both essentially Thief Number One, though.
Other additions include a new protagonist “thrown into a dark, intricately woven story of crime and conspiracies.” He’s slightly heavier than his base game counterpart, making stealth tougher for the clumsy players among us. There are also 28 voiced characters, a new “banter” system that allows NPCs to greet each other while they get on with their nights, and several tweaks to AI and difficulty.
The expansion seems to have been received very warmly by fans of the genre. Dillion Rogers - the developer behind indie hits Dusk and Gloomwood - called the project “amazing,” while giving a special shoutout to its cursed polygonal horse. Rogers also shared the expansion’s custom main menu, which looks like it was lovingly ripped straight out of the ‘90s.
Booted up The Black Parade just to ensure it works for tonight's stream. Greeted with this lovely custom main menu that sets the mood while feeling extremely authentic to the '90s era. Already a great sign of a team who really cares about the source material. pic.twitter.com/YgH7j8JkCRDecember 1, 2023
The Black Parade is amazing.Most importantly, however, is that it introduces the Dark Engine Honse. pic.twitter.com/4okLf5UXIRDecember 2, 2023
The Black Parade is a real treat for those who have been with the stealthy-shabby series for over two decades, especially since there's currently no official plans to celebrate the milestone anniversary. Square Enix sold the series rights to Embracer Group (along with Tomb Raider) in 2022, and the megacorp have since announced a "restructuring" that consists of layoffs and studio closures.
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