#568: Carpathian Tales Volume I: Dracula Reloaded
Gothic horror Thief mod a decent enough time but definitely on the sillier side
Initial release: January 3, 2009
Platform: PC (Thief II mod)
Developer: Szabó “Sensut” Csaba
Thief and Thief II hold a special place in my heart. For a few years around the mid to late 00s they occupied my thoughts every autumn, playing the base games and several user maps (colloquially called fan missions or FMs) across both the original games as well as the (mostly) unfairly maligned third game. Part of the appeal for me, aside from the generally film noir-ish lighting direction of these games (light and shadow being intensely important to a stealth game that relied on darkness) was the mix of styles, blending medieval fantasy with steampunk and art deco aesthetics, with missions ranging from simple break-ins to complex bank jobs to outright tomb raiding. True to the series’ early development as an edgy take on Arthurian legend called Dark Camelot, as well as the pervasive popularity of Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop games among game developers of the time, Thief has its darker elements as well; the first game in particular has several levels that involve dealing with the undead, a statue of Cthulhu can be found at the bottom-most reaches of a long-disappeared civilization beneath the streets of the City, and the main antagonist is a sinister nature deity the local religion treats as their universe’s version of Satan. The third game ups the ante with a Silent Hill and Session 9-inspired level at the game’s climax, monstrous talking statues raising havoc in the streets, and an immortal skin-stealing witch manipulating the City’s secret society of scholars to her own twisted ends.
With such a strong horror element shot through what’s supposed to be a stealth-oriented game it’s not a surprise that the fandom, or at least that section of it that still regularly makes fan missions after all these years on the TTLG forums, would regularly churn out horror adventures of their own. From classics like The Inverted Manse to the sadly unfinished A Night in Rocksbourg series, horror elements have long been a part of Thief mapping, frequently appearing even in non-horror-themed missions. Combine that with the steampunk fantasy theme and you’ve got the fixings for good old fashioned gothic horror.
Which brings us to Dracula Reloaded. It’s actually a remake of an earlier campaign released in 2007; Dracula Reloaded is mostly the same, but given a spit and polish and in some places has been completely redone. But the big thing is that, as you might guess from the name, it’s a gothic horror-themed stealth romp, using Thief II as a base and playing very much like it. The oddity is that none of this five-level campaign (seven if you count the intro and epilogue) is strictly horror themed. Most of your enemies, in fact, are human, and you never actually face Dracula except for a single appearance at the very end.
I’m just gonna be real with you: the story is… well, it’s a choice. Borrowing some elements from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 adaptation of Dracula, Sensut’s campaign takes us from the constructed steampunk fantasy world of Thief to 1893 Europe, and places us in the shoes of Gellert, who despite using most of the same voice lines as Garrett from the parent game (voiced by the wonderful Stephen Russell) will suddenly bust out with something in a British accent now and again. The game’s first mission is set sometime after the early events of the novel, but goes off in its own direction. Gellert is himself a master thief, but he has been hired to rescue Mina from Dracula. Over the course of the game you’ll do everything from try to steal a land deed from Dracula, time-travel back to the night of Dracula’s death, and attempt to break the hold of a powerful demon over Dracula so that he may pass on into the afterlife. It’s sillier than it sounds.
The main issue with Dracula Reloaded is a sense of old-school puzzle gameplay that can be rather infuriating. While it’s not the pixel hunts and insane leaps of logic that are frequent characteristics of missions authored by Central and Eastern European fans, at least during the fandom’s heyday fifteen years ago, there’s still often a sense of not really knowing what to do next, as the game does little to guide you. Instead, you’ll often find yourself having to refer to a PDF file (provided by Sensut) that gives you hints as well as a loot list. (The first couple of maps have a mandatory loot minimum; later levels eschew the mandatory part as Dracula Reloaded at no point shows you the shop screen.)
If you can overlook the story and the somewhat obtuse nature of the design, Dracula Reloaded is actually an entertaining time. Thief fan missions are often quite gorgeous, and the updated NewDark engine can push the limits on what designers can do. Dracula Reloaded is no different; while the opening mission is less than impressive at first thanks to naturalistic environments never really looking good in old games like this, the castle interiors and later levels all look fantastic.
I can’t say I didn’t enjoy my time with Dracula Reloaded, but the storyline is hard to take seriously (I think I would have preferred either a more faithful retelling of the novel if such a thing were possible, or just going straight stealth-Castlevania) and the gameplay isn’t always up to snuff. Still, though, with the hint guide it’s a decent five to eight hours of gameplay with some truly gorgeous aesthetics.
Dracula Reloaded can be downloaded here.
Thief II: the Metal Age can be bought on Steam and gog.com.
