![Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street [Quest 2] | REVIEW](https://i0.wp.com/www.useapotion.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/thief-review.jpg?resize=1077%2C640&ssl=1)
Whilst I’m not in a rush to resort to a life of crime in real-life, there’s something about the idea of breaking the law that’s kinda thrilling. Breaking and entering, grabbing loot, and trying to escape without getting caught… come on, there’s something exciting about it, right? Well, Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street lets players live out that fantasy without the risk of being put behind bars, with the added immersion of virtual reality and motion controls helping them feel even more involved in the experience.
Is it any good to play or is it true that crime doesn’t pay? Well, whilst Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street does have plenty of cool moments, it lacks the depth and polish to make it stand-out as a must-own Meta Quest 2 title.
Check out some screenshots down below:
Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street puts players in the role of a burglar who has been tasked with breaking into properties and stealing all of the valuables they can find in order to make some cash. They’ll do this by sneaking out of sight of any inhabitants, smashing up blocked areas or windows with their crowbar, carefully picking locks, and then stealing everything they can before the police arrive on the scene. You’ll earn cash to purchase new tools, level up to unlock new skills, and take on all sorts of different jobs along the way, with the life of a thief an unsurprisingly busy one.
The core mechanics of the game are neat enough, especially when you’re carefully scouting out a property and working out how best to approach it. You’ll need to keep a close eye on anybody who happens to be nearby, where exactly they are, and what they can see, all whilst carefully figuring out your best point of entry (whilst you’ll also want to be careful not to raise any alarms during the process). Whilst it’s possible to hide or escape from the police, your life is a LOT easier if you just manage to complete your job undetected. It’s fun to break in though, whilst there’s something satisfying about grabbing as many goodies as you can to sell on. As I said, there’s a naughty sense of satisfaction found with committing crimes, and Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street perfectly captures that.
“There’s nothing quite as rewarding as pulling off the perfect heist and making a ton of cash, whilst managing to escape from a theft that has gone wrong feels equally thrilling.”
However, whilst you’ll find yourself in plenty of cool situations, Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street does lack depth in its gameplay mechanics. I found myself doing a lot of the same things over and over again, and whilst some missions did add some clever objectives to complete, they rarely changed up how I would approach a job. Sure, some jobs would be a bit more complex, but it didn’t stop me from falling into a routine in how I approached them. The game is a little bit short too, with it easy to work through its missions in just a few hours – there is the sandbox to play around with later, but it felt repetitive after a short while. It’s worth noting that the developer has stated that more content will be coming in the future (the Meta Quest 2 release only features Greenview Street whereas the main game includes three different areas with extra missions) so it will be fleshed out eventually… here’s hoping it comes sooner rather than later.
Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street isn’t a particularly pretty game either, with some bland textures on show throughout that make Greenview Street feel a little lifeless. Some of the properties felt a little vacant too, with not a whole lot to find within them. Add to that a draw distance that feels restrictive thanks to its foggy haze and it’ll be easy to see that the limitations of the Meta Quest 2 headset have meant that sacrifices have had to be made with the game.
Check out some screenshots down below:
Despite these shortcomings, I still had fun playing Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street. There’s nothing quite as rewarding as pulling off the perfect heist and making a ton of cash, whilst managing to escape from a theft that has gone wrong feels equally thrilling. The game puts players into plenty of tense situations where just the smallest of mistakes will leave them caught out red-handed, but it also gives them ample time and opportunity to make a clean getaway. You’ll definitely need patience and careful timing to get through some of the jobs, but it’s during those moments that the gameplay really shines. Add to that the robust set of tools and skills you’ll gain access to, and it’ll quickly become apparent that Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street really does get a lot right.
That being said, it could also do with a few improvements here and there. For one, the controls often lacked precision, making it difficult to grab or carry items without making a noise in the process. I also encountered a handful of glitches, with two in particular seeing me trapped in the environment and another not letting me progress through a mission – I had to restart the game each time. Whilst the developer has been releasing patches to fix some of the early issues, there are still some bugs that need ironing out.
Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street Review
Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street is a cool game, but the lack of depth and poor visuals do hold it back on the Meta Quest 2. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of fun to be had playing and there’s something about successfully robbing a property that never stops being satisfying, but a lack of mission variety (and a lack of missions overall) does mean that players will be done with the game quite quickly. It could do with a bit more polish too, especially with the short draw distance and some of the bugs I encountered.
Still, whilst it’s not perfect, there’s nothing quite like Thief Simulator VR: Greenview Street available on the Meta Quest 2 – the concept alone makes it worth checking out, especially since the act of stealing in the game is both tense and exciting. Just know that whilst it has plenty of neat ideas, the execution is far from perfect.
Developer: 3R Games
Publisher: PlayWay, Titan Gamez
Platform(s): Meta Quest 2 (Reviewed)
Website: https://3r.games/
