The gameplay of Thief 3 is essentially like that of the other titles in the series; an action- stealth escapade. Movement is simple; using the standard WASD configuration you can easily sneak around town and access all of your talents and traits with a few closely mapped keys – not closely enough to be pressed accidentally, but not far enough to make you reach either. Aside from moving, there are a few other tasks that are easily accomplished via a refined control system; indeed running, jumping, climbing, picking locks and the ever-popular stealing are all simplistic to do, but still require some skill and grace to pull off. Theft is a simple manner of looking at the object you want to pick up, which will shimmer light blue. Follow this with a simple right click and it’s yours. Lock-picking is a touch more complex – moving over from a “hold the button” technique of the old games to a “find the sweet spot” system in this one. While it seems tedious and clumsy at first, it is truly simple to pick up, though difficult to master, requiring intuition, skill and patience. Yet, by the end of the game, a 3-step lock that took you a minute at the beginning takes just under ten seconds, and a 6-step lock can be done in less than thirty. If you’re wondering about the steps I just listed, there are a total of four types of locks; with two different styles. A stage refers to a ring that you must hit the sweet spot on and surpass. The styles refer to four and eight sweet spot locks. For the most part you will encounter four spot locks, but on occasion you will find the tricky eights. Along with this, there were some changes to the fundamentals of the game, and the addition of a pair of very useful – but very expensive – climbing gloves that allow you to scale most all walls of stone. While this is an incredibly useful item, it can also make parts of the game far easier than before, which is sort of expected from a console port. However, they are essential in some parts of the game, so they are a warranted addition. Finally, there is the aspect of combat. If you are used to being near invincible in every other game, the fun stops here. A single enemy can dispatch you quickly, so you’re best off to sneak up and stab them in the back, either that or sneak by unnoticed.

Gameplay in Thief 3 is essentially a tapestry of sneaking and stealing, with some running and stealthy killing thrown in for good measure. Levels are designed with fairly simple goals, yet many methods to accomplish them, making missions possible to do in any way. Most times your objective will be guarded by a few simple guards; other times they will be held back by complex puzzles. For the most part, the guards won’t really hold you back. On normal difficulty levels, it is rather common to question their competence, as you can lose them around corners without difficulty. Yet, as difficulty scales up, so does the intelligence of the guards, turning those who looked right at you and did not see into sharp-eyed sleuths who are out to kill you. For the most part, normal mode was overtly easy; showing the title’s console relationship.