I’ll start by admitting that, in general, I tend to struggle with most job simulators. They’re typically implemented pretty poorly, tend to have a limited gameplay loop to enjoy, and more often than not are simply dull on the whole. In the case of Thief Simulator 2, I’ll at least give it credit for involving quite a bit of criminal activity, so it’s at least well outside of my everyday life. That said, whether it’s enough to maintain a sustained interest for more than a little while is a fair question.

Starting with what works, if you’ve got a thirst for at least a taste of the life of crime, you’ll at least get to come at it from a few different angles. Your missions will progressively require a growing set of skills and appropriate gear, which you’ll generally get to apply in baby steps as you gain experience and get more accomplished. This isn’t so much a game about smash and grabs or brute forcing your way through things though, as in order to be as successful as possible you’ll need to learn how to effectively scope out your potential victim. Initially that will require you observing their house to get attuned to their patterns, but pretty quickly you’ll get some technological help in the form of a mini camera that, when well-placed, will give you the info you need without quite so much effort on your part.

The thing is, while there’s some fun to be had in those aspects of the game, it’s also hard not to get bogged down by the clunky simulator experience of it all. While perhaps with a mouse and keyboard walking around and rifling through every drawer while looking for loot would be simpler, with a controller it’s a bit more dodgy. I wish they had some sort of lock-on assistance or something to make it all a bit more smooth since honestly you’ll be doing a lot of checking around for quick loot and to have it subject to not-so-great controls is a bummer. If you were expecting quite a bit of excitement in the thrill of the crime, you may also be underwhelmed by how much preparation and tedium is required, since making a mistake won’t tend to lead to you needing to improvise so much as usually ending up getting caught… though that does lead to an opportunity to break out of your cell at least.

On the whole this does at least mostly deliver on what it promises, though through a very hands-on simulation rather than something more streamlined and probably more consistently fun. While the movies tend to make a life of crime seem thrilling, this definitely pulls it back down to earth quite a bit. It has its moments, but it also has quite a lot of drudgery to go with them.