10 More Underrated Video Games Way Ahead Of Their Time
7. Thief: The Dark Project
Stealth mechanics are so common in video games these days that it's easy to take them for granted, but before Metal Gear Solid, Hitman, Splinter Cell, and Assassin's Creed, there was Thief: The Dark Project.
Released in early 1998, the first-person adventure game pioneered the stealth genre with its intense emphasis on avoiding detection by both sight and sound, with sophisticated enemy AI systems creating dynamic cat-and-mouse scenarios.
Though the visuals have obviously aged over the last quarter-century (!), mechanically Thief holds up superbly - the smart AI and incredible level design combine to make stealth challenging yet intuitive. Its two immediate sequels also released to strong acclaim, building on the original's surprise success.
Nobody's going to tell you that Thief is anything but a beloved game - by those who know it, at least.
Yet to an entire generation of gamers reared on Assassin's Creed and the such like, Thief is ancient history - a quaint footnote no matter that it serves as the progenitor for basically all modern stealth games.
Back in 1998, there was absolutely nothing like Thief, and without it video games would look very different today indeed.