Overview of American Theft in the 80s – Zing

In recent years, simulators have experienced quite a lot of popularity, and one of them was Thief Simulator and its sequel Thief Simulator 2. That is, a game where you play as a thief in the first person and rob anyone and anything. Can. The creators of this game have come up with another work that follows the robbery series, but differs in the possibility of playing from a third person and the unique setting of the eighties.

• Platform: PC
• Release date: 06/15/2022
• Developer: Noble Muffins
• Publisher: PlayWay
• Genre: Action, Simulation
• Czech localization: no
• Download data: 12 GB
• Game time: 8-10 hours
• Price: 414 CZK (Steam)

Thief simulator

At first glance, the game looks like a rework of glued assets from previous games. The animations are choppy and comedic at times, especially if you’re playing in third person, which suits me better. At a second glance, the developers managed to convey the atmosphere of the eighties in which the game takes place. In a small American town, you can steal old video players, VHS tapes, walkmans, large TVs and classic American cars. I also liked the lighting effects, which are important to you as a thief because you want to hide in the shadows.

Despite being an indie game, which can be taken as an extenuating circumstance, the game feels unfinished. The developers plan to continue working on the game and add more content – especially at the end of the game, where players will definitely appreciate it. After completing the main story, there is not much left for you to do. Yes, there are sandbox and do-what-you-want options, but even those are limited. Home content and loot items, with a few exceptions, do not respawn, limiting the amount of content and also making it difficult to unlock all perks. Your equipment, which you can purchase and equip later in the game, is also not currently in use.

Caught red-handed

The game introduces you to the classic storyline. You were caught red-handed breaking into the mayor’s house. After being released from prison, your goal is to restore your lost reputation. Just don’t expect a plot experience, although there are more possible endings in the game, but in principle they don’t change anything. As such, the main storyline only serves as a means of gradually acquiring the tools and disguises that the player needs to fulfill their thief profession.

The developers managed to create the atmosphere of the eighties.

You are given individual tasks in the style of “go to the guy and bring him what he needs.” Usually you won’t know what he needs from dialogue, but only from your to-do list, with no further explanation or dressing. This is where the game loses a bit of experience and player immersion. Similarly, the fact that not all characters are voiced and stare blankly at you from behind a text box will tear you off in some cases. Over time, you will receive, for example, scrap, spyglasses, “craft” to unlock cars and much more. Here I would like to mention the mechanics of opening locks with the help of a spy, which I would single out as very good and one of the best I have ever seen.

NPCs and their sixth sense

I was worried about a few inconsistencies and illogicalities in the game. Before you go shopping, you can view individual properties and find out information about prices and residents of the house. You either collect enough information by subscribing or buy it directly from corrupt cops like Kowalski. Unfortunately, in some cases, you will find that the residents never leave their house, and some do not even sleep. In addition to insomnia, NPCs suffer from a sixth sense. The AI ​​is fickle, and some residents of the building can hear you sleeping on the other side of their property, while others – like the cops during a police burglary – can’t see more than 5 meters in front of them. . Those with laser vision are the worst, and when they find a broken lock or window, they immediately know where to look for you.

It’s not a crime if you don’t get caught

Despite all the shortcomings, the game is interesting, and if you liked any of the previous games, you will like this one too. You have quite a lot of freedom in your approach to breaking and stealing. Only in some situations – especially at the beginning – will you feel that you do not have much choice, and that the only possible approach is, in fact, only one.

The quests of the mysterious Merchant are well done, he has a certain list of things that you can exchange with you for dollars and reputation, but how and where you get them is up to you. Which, after a few strictly structured story missions, opens up the feeling of an open world for you and your thieving creativity. Robbery is no less exciting; pre-planned robberies that require special equipment and arrive at the place at the agreed time. You have a plan and a limited amount of time for the entire heist.