Exploring the Depths: Behind the Scenes of Legacy of Shadow

Whoa, so let’s talk about this whole Thief VR thingamajig. I stumbled upon this update from Vertigo Games and Maze Theory during the, uh, recent VR Developer Direct. Honestly, I kind of miss the old days, but hey, this new stuff sounds wild.

Okay, rewind a bit. Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow—I swear, it brings back that stealthy game series that popped up way back in 1998. Yeah, that’s eons ago. What’s cool? The game was once just a flat-screen experience, and now those folks at Vertigo Games (you know, the ones from Arizona Sunshine and Metro Awakening) and the team at Maze Theory (from Infinite Inside, I think?) are giving it a VR makeover. Imagine that! And during the event, they were all like, “Hey, come have a look behind the curtain at our place in Rotterdam.” No idea why Rotterdam is stuck in my head now…

The video they shared? Filled with interviews of the squad. We’ve got Vertigo’s big publishing guy Eugenio Aguilar Oriani, I remember that name, then there’s Nick Witsel doing principal design stuff. Oh, and Maze Theory’s Richard Bunn, he’s leading some game design there, plus David Kenyon throwing down all the visual vibes. They got into the nitty-gritty about the world, the tricks, and why they did what they did. Also, surprise, surprise, Stephen Russell—yep, the OG voice of Garrett—is back! I mean, that’s a throwback.

So, they place this whole shebang between the old-school trilogy (Looking Glass and Ion Storm’s work) and that 2014 reboot from Eidos-Montréal. We’re under the thumb of this Baron Ulysses Northcrest dude, who’s pretty much nose-deep in taboo knowledge—whatever that means. Anyway, you play as Magpie, someone who starts from zilch to become… a legend maybe? Lots of sneaking past guards, by the sound of it.

Gameplay? It’s a mix of leaping about and sneaking, using your whole body to maneuver. There’s lockpicking—yep, old thief classic—plus blowing out candles for darkness and using weapons to throw ’em off your trail. Imagine how that’d go in VR—probably an arm workout!

Anyway, the grand news is Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is dropping on Quest, Steam, and PlayStation VR2 sometime later this year. I might just have to dive into VR for real this time.