Thief Simulator 2 Plan the job, take the loot

A job starts before you touch a lock. Watch a house through binoculars, learn when the tenants go to work and when the dog gets fed, then pick your moment. Break in while everyone sleeps, or wait for the three-hour window when the place sits empty. Once inside, the clock matters: you decide what's worth grabbing and what stays on the shelf, because your backpack only holds so much. Some of the best loot is heavy, and hauling a TV to the car takes time you may not have. The tension of a quiet house, knowing exactly how long you have, is where the game is at its best.

You start small, prying open suburban doors for toasters and cash, and the trade grows with you. Levelling up unlocks skills and better gear: lockpicks, a stethoscope for safes, sleeping gas, a tranquilizer gun, and eventually a laptop for hacking security systems. How you get in is up to you. Creep past the cameras, or walk in loud with a baton and put everyone to sleep. Over 15 contracts ask for specific items, and payphone missions put a timer on the whole thing. Sell your haul on the black market, buy the next tool, and suddenly houses that used to be off limits are just Tuesday.

The big jobs are the highlight: a resort with six loot-filled houses, a warehouse crawling with guards, and a central bank with gold sitting in the vault. Each plays out differently from a normal house break-in, and they're worth working towards. Between jobs there's car theft to keep your hands busy, starting with family sedans and working up to sports cars you can upgrade, repaint and actually drive. And when a plan falls apart, the police are right there: chases with patrol cars and helicopters, and a jail if it all goes wrong. Get caught too often and the career ends in handcuffs.