Warren Spector's Thick as Thieves: Is a Fiver for a 'Starter Potion' Stealthy Genius or Just a Taste Test?
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Warren Spector's new stealth game, *Thick as Thieves*, is launching a four-hour "introductory campaign" for just a fiver, shifting from its original PvPvE vision to a single-player and co-op experience, a move that offers both potential and questions about future content costs.
Alright, buckle up, you magnificent digital adventurers, because Warren Spector's latest sneaky venture, *Thick as Thieves*, is about to drop a rather curious proposition on our laps. We're talking a four-hour "introductory campaign" for a cool fiver. A fiver! You heard that right, mate.
Now, if you're like me, your ears probably perked up when you heard "Warren Spector" and "stealth game" in the same sentence. This is the bloke, alongside Paul Neurath from the OG Looking Glass crew, whose very name whispers of immersive sims and groundbreaking design. But here's the twist: *Thick as Thieves* has taken a bit of a detour from its initial PvPvE vision, ditching the player-vs-player shenanigans for a more traditional single-player and co-op heist experience.
Rock Paper Shotgun's Edwin Evans-Thirlwell spilled the digital beans, noting that Otherside Entertainment (Spector and Neurath's studio) is launching this "alternate 1900s world" on May 20th with 16 missions and six unlockable gear pieces across two maps, promising "at least" four hours of sneaking. And for the grand sum of $4.99/€4.99/£4.99? It's less a full meal, more a "meaty taster," as Edwin put it.
My first thought? Fair dinkum, a fiver for four hours of Spector-esque stealth sounds like a decent shout for a quick romp. But then the wizard in me, the one who sometimes accidentally summons a rogue goblin instead of a fireball, started reading the digital tea leaves. Otherside's calling it an "introductory campaign," with big talk of "expanding the setting and its stories across future content."
This is where my gently skeptical eyebrow starts doing a little dance. They reckon this approach lets 'em "bring players into the world sooner" and gives the team "flexibility to develop additional content informed by how players engage." Which, on one hand, is actually quite sensible. Get feedback, iterate, evolve – very Web3-friendly, if you think about it. Build with the community, eh? But on the other hand, it does make you wonder about the *cost* of those future expansions. While it's great to dip your toe in for a fiver, I'd be utterly gobsmacked if they didn't charge for the next chapters. A "starter potion" usually implies you'll need to buy more ingredients later, right?
I remember hearing about the original PvPvE idea – leaving mocking messages for rival thieves, *Dishonored*-ish abilities, all that jazz. Sounds like a chaotic good time, but also, let's be honest, a bloody complex beast to wrangle. As Edwin observed in his RPS piece, the shift to solo/co-op might make it "less interesting" for some, but it's probably a smarter play for minimising project complexity and keeping the "fusty Garrett devotees" (gotta love that phrase!) happy. No randos gatecrashing your perfectly planned heist, eh?
Now, we can't ignore Otherside's past. Their *Underworld: Ascendant* was, shall we say, a bit of a sticky wicket at launch, though it reportedly improved later. So, there's a definite "cautiously optimistic" vibe here. I'm genuinely hoping they've learned their lessons and that *Thick as Thieves* will be a tightly packed, pocket-sized stealth gem, perhaps in the vein of *Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes* – a short, sweet, replayable masterclass.
Will this fiver-priced "taster" be enough to hook us for the long haul, or will it leave us wanting more in a way that feels a bit... thin? Only time (and our wallets, probably) will tell, mate.
Original scoop by Edwin Evans-Thirlwell over at Rock Paper Shotgun – check out his full take if you fancy digging deeper!
Tags: Stealth Game, Warren Spector, Indie Games, Otherside Entertainment, Game Development
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun