Thief: Complete Edition

Thief: Complete Edition is a first-person stealth adventure on PC, but the current storefront naming is split. Steam lists the game simply as Thief, with the expanded purchase option called Thief: Master Thief Edition. GOG uses THIEF: Definitive Edition for its complete package. These names refer to the same modern Garrett campaign and its bonus content, not to a new remake or a separate multiplayer product.

You play as Garrett, a professional thief operating in the industrial fantasy city known as The City. The campaign mixes infiltration, burglary, exploration, and story missions around Baron Northcrest, the Watch, the Thief-Taker General, the uprising led by Orion, and the mysterious sickness called the Gloom.

How Thief plays on PC

Thief is built around a simple but demanding loop: enter a guarded location, study the surroundings, identify patrol routes, manipulate light and sound, steal valuable objects, and leave before the situation becomes violent. The game is most effective when you treat every room as a small stealth puzzle rather than a combat arena.

The Light Gem communicates how visible Garrett is in the environment. Dark corners provide safer movement, while bright floors, open doorways, and exposed routes make detection more likely. You can crouch, move slowly, hide in dedicated hiding spots, look through keyholes, pick pockets, climb pipes and ropes, and use the Swoop movement to cross short gaps quickly.

Lockpicking uses a mouse-based search for the correct position of each pin. The process is direct rather than an elaborate minigame, so the real challenge comes from choosing when to pick a lock while guards, civilians, or environmental hazards remain nearby.

Tools, stealth choices, and Focus

Garrett carries a bow with several specialized arrow types, including Water Arrows for extinguishing flames, Rope Arrows for vertical access, Choke Arrows for disabling targets, and lethal options such as Broadhead, Sawtooth, and Fire Arrows. Flash bombs and other throwable tools provide emergency escapes or ways to disrupt a patrol.

Direct fighting is possible, but it is rarely the safest answer. Garrett can use melee attacks, dodge incoming strikes, perform takedowns, or rely on stealth tools to avoid a confrontation entirely. A careful player can finish missions while minimizing alerts and unnecessary violence, while a more aggressive approach consumes resources and makes escape routes harder to manage.

The Focus Mode system gives Garrett temporary advantages and supports several upgrades. Focus energy is replenished with poppy items, so it works best as a limited tactical resource rather than a permanent scanning ability. Upgrades can assist with perception, interaction, and other aspects of infiltration, but players who want a stricter stealth experience can reduce its influence through custom difficulty settings.

Difficulty, Challenge Mode, and progression

Thief offers four named difficulty choices: Rogue, Thief, Master, and Custom. Rogue lowers pressure for players who want to concentrate on the story and theft mechanics. Thief provides the standard balance, while Master makes enemies more dangerous, raises resource costs, restricts civilian kills and knockouts, and drains the Focus meter faster.

Custom Difficulty is the most interesting option for experienced PC players. It lets you impose additional restrictions and earn points toward leaderboard rankings. Depending on the selected rules, you can make detection, equipment use, combat, or assistance systems significantly less forgiving. This gives the campaign a more deliberate mastery loop than its basic difficulty presets suggest.

The separate Challenge Mode revisits selected locations with special objectives and score-focused rules. It is not a second story campaign or a co-op mode. Instead, it offers compact scenarios for players who enjoy refining routes, stealing efficiently, and comparing results through online leaderboards.

Complete editions and included content

The expanded package is primarily a single-player content bundle. On Steam, the Master Thief Edition combines the base game with The Bank Heist bonus mission, The Forsaken challenge map, and three booster packs: Opportunist, Predator, and Ghost.

GOG's Definitive Edition includes the same core bonus game content and also lists the Thief: Tales From The City digital comic and the original soundtrack as extras. The package is therefore aimed at players who want the campaign, the additional heist material, and the associated digital bonuses in one purchase.

There is no seasonal content model, battle pass, or free-to-play conversion attached to this version of Thief. The commercial structure is a paid single-player game with optional expanded editions and separately listed bonus packs on some storefronts.

Who should play it?

Thief suits players who enjoy methodical first-person stealth, environmental observation, light-based positioning, lockpicking, pickpocketing, and collecting valuables inside guarded spaces. It is a good fit if your preferred reward is completing a difficult infiltration cleanly rather than defeating every enemy in direct combat.

The game is less suitable for players expecting a fully open city sandbox, deep role-playing builds, or cooperative heists. The City provides a hub for exploration and side activities, but the main campaign is organized around authored missions and smaller optional jobs rather than one seamless simulation of every district.

Its strongest replay value comes from self-imposed rules, collectibles, alternate approaches, side content, and the desire to improve a previously messy escape. Players who enjoy immersive sims with supernatural powers and multiple routes may also appreciate first-person stealth sandboxes such as Dishonored 2, although Thief puts more emphasis on concealment, burglary, and equipment discipline than on combat abilities.

PC features and storefront differences

The Steam version is presented as a single-player PC game with achievements, cloud saves, trading cards, leaderboards, Family Sharing, and Remote Play on TV. It also requires acceptance of a third-party EULA. Steam's language listing covers English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Russian, and Czech, with full audio availability narrower than the combined interface and subtitle support.

GOG's edition is DRM-free and supports an offline installer without requiring GOG Galaxy. GOG also lists controller support, but its storefront specifically notes that DirectInput controllers are not supported. Players using older or unusual PC gamepads should account for that distinction before choosing a controller-based setup.

Neither storefront presents official mod support, dedicated server tools, or an anti-cheat system. That is consistent with the game's solo structure. Community modifications may exist independently, but they should not be treated as built-in PC features of the complete edition.

For another stealth game with a stronger vertical traversal focus, third-person infiltration adventures like Styx: Shards of Darkness offer a useful contrast. Styx emphasizes climbing, assassinations, and character abilities, while Garrett's toolkit is more centered on light, arrows, burglary tools, and avoiding attention.

Thief: Complete Edition FAQ

Is Thief: Complete Edition the current official name?

Not universally. Steam currently lists the base game as Thief and the expanded package as Thief: Master Thief Edition. GOG lists the complete package as THIEF: Definitive Edition. “Thief: Complete Edition” is best understood as a catalog and search phrase for the bundled version.

What is included in the complete package?

The expanded package includes the base campaign, The Bank Heist bonus mission, The Forsaken challenge map, and the Opportunist, Predator, and Ghost booster packs. GOG additionally lists the Tales From The City digital comic and soundtrack.

Is Thief multiplayer or co-op on PC?

No. Thief is a single-player stealth campaign. Challenge Mode and leaderboards add score comparison, but there is no campaign co-op, split-screen, competitive multiplayer, or dedicated-server mode.

Does Thief have custom difficulty?

Yes. The Custom setting lets you combine restrictions and difficulty rules, then earn points for leaderboard rankings. It is the best option for players who want to reduce interface assistance, limit resources, or enforce a more demanding ghost-style approach.

Can Garrett avoid killing enemies?

Yes. The game supports nonlethal infiltration through hiding, distractions, specialized arrows, stealth takedowns, and route planning. Master difficulty specifically does not tolerate civilian kills or knockouts, making the ruleset substantially stricter than the easier presets.

Which PC edition is DRM-free?

The GOG edition is DRM-free and can be installed through an offline installer without GOG Galaxy. Steam provides its own storefront features and launcher-based ownership model, while also offering achievements, cloud saves, and leaderboard functionality.

Does Thief support controllers?

Yes, controller support is listed for the PC editions, but GOG notes that DirectInput controllers are not supported. A standard supported gamepad is the safer choice, while keyboard and mouse remain well suited to aiming arrows, picking locks, and managing Garrett's tools.