Recent reviews by The Rabble Wrangler

The first thing you’ll notice about Alex Thomas’ Killers and Thieves is the eye-catching art style. At least, that’s what drew me in initially. That and the premise of the game. In this game, you manage a guild of thieves and take your team of swindlers on heists around the various boroughs that make up the medieval city of Greypool.

Thomas is the lone developer behind the game. Previously, he helped co-create The Banner Saga. The Viking-themed RPG has been entertaining fans since its release in 2014. While Killers and Thieves might be a self-admitted side project, I have a feeling this game will build a similar size fanbase. It’s just fun to play and looks great.

The majority of the game revolves around Heists. Story Heists might require specific thieves from the storyline or thieves with an important skill. However, for the most part, you can Heist any location on the map and send your team of four thieves into the streets to burgle and loot. To find the best places to go on Heist missions, be sure to stake out the homes of the rich first. The more stacks of gold on the map, the better loot you can find in nearby buildings.

Throughout your gameplay, you’ll embark on story missions when you’re not staking out and heisting other locations. A few of the key story missions include stylized cinematics that harkens back to another thieving game that holds a special place in my heart, Thief: The Dark Project. I’m not sure if the style and themes are an obvious homage to that game. Either way, it fills me with a little bit of nostalgia. The main characters of the game, Key and Candle, are trying to cement their legacy in this city of thieves. Of course, that legacy depends on your skills at the game.

The key to a successful Heist is strategically crafting the most well-rounded team. You’ll need a thief who can pick locks, one who can scout ahead, and another who can get their hands dirty when guards stumble upon what you’re up to. Successfully managing your team and learning to use them all together smoothly will result in fruitful Heists and a thriving thieves guild.

After a successful Heist, you’ll have plenty of new items to sell back to the very citizens you stole them from. The ol’ five finger discount they say. When you scout out the various boroughs of Greypool shops will pop up that specialize in the different item types. Weapons, liquor, jewelry, clothing, and all the finest items you swipe. Shakedown a store that specializes in clothing and you can use the shop to fence your clothing loot, and so on for the other categories. However, make sure to manage your various shops wisely. Each store has a weekly upkeep price that chips away at your coffers of gold. You’ll need that gold to pay your thieves and keep them happy.

Perhaps the most important aspect of managing the Guild in Killers and Thieves is training your team of thieves in their specialized skills. The three main attributes of a thief are Strength, Skill, and Stealth. Strength determines how much loot they can carry and how bad of a beating they can take before falling in combat. Skill controls how fast a thief can pick a lock or search for loot. You don’t want to sit at a locked door out in the open too long for a guard to come upon you. Finally, Stealth influences how well a thief can sneak around and when hiding in the shadows, how well they hide from guards and nobles. It’s best to specialize in one of these three skills depending on the thieves abilities.

Each thief can have up to three abilities. Locking picking, knife fighting, and eavesdropping are some of the most important abilities for a thief to have. A smart build for a knife fighter would include high Strength. To make sure your fighter has the hit points to outlast a tough guard. Like I said before, making a team that has someone who can handle the important tasks is essential. Furthermore, training in abilities and skills takes experience and leveling up to accomplish. So make sure you embark on many heists to level up your team and get better at thieving. Another downfall of the game is the lack of multiple saves. You have to start over if you want to experience a new game all over again. Unfortunately, this deletes the previous game save.

Even though Thomas was the only developer, the game still has a great deal a depth in the gameplay. However, I have come across a few bugs in my gameplay that was a little frustrating. My biggest issue was my window climber climbing to the top of a building and getting trapped in a level of the home and not being able to move. The only fix was to auto-run at the end of the Heist. Sadly, this forces the thief to suffer through a jail sentence. Or even worse, death! Yet, it’s understandable to have a few bugs slip through the cracks with the small dev team. You can’t catch everything.

Killers and Thieves is a fun, seemingly simple Roleplaying/Strategy game. However, once you really get into heisting and thieving, it’s easy to lose track of the time. The action portion of the game is quick to learn, yet, difficult to master. I highly recommend the game for any fan of RPGs. Just make sure when your thieves get to feeling blue, you let them blow it all off at the tavern.