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Review
It felt weird to see Thalia operating on the right side of the law. She herself would probably respond to that statement with a derisive snort, pointing to the not-altogether-legal ways she goes about securing the knowledge needed to crack the case.
Nonetheless, it’s a change. Instead of the pure egocentrical thrillseeking of the art heist, our heroine now performs a service (paid, but still) to her fellow man or woman. She even works together (gasp) with Mel! And there lies the most interesting development of this installment in the Lady Thalia-series. Thalia and Mel worked perfectly as adversaries, cop and thief. I’m very pleased that their relationship dynamic still holds, even though they’re on the same side now.
Gameplay-wise, Lady Thalia 4 uses the same approach as the previous iterations. Conversational gambits, probing whether the NPC in question will respond best to a Friendly, a Direct, or a Leading tone. Time-sensitive preparation schemes to ready a building for later infiltration. Tense nightly break-ins, this time to gather evidence as opposed to stuffing antiquities down the front of your jacket.
While all these things were interesting, they’re also familiar and well-known by now. In previous installments, I would have held my breath as Thalia sneaks through the dark corridors. Now that I’ve grown used to this, and also now that I have a better grasp of the forgiveness-level of the Lady Thalia-games, I don’t get so worked up anymore about the tresspassing bits.
This time, my enjoyment was more focused on the conversations and the personalities. Great to see how Mel and Thalia are still developing, both in themselves and in their relationship. The NPCs’ characters are diverse, showing through in the interviews. And the scenes with Thalia’s husband-for-show and his amant provide comic relief and sniggers.
(There’s also a rather sad turn of events concerning another recurring NPC. Although I understand the develoment from a narrative viewpoint, I’m still sure I will miss that particular NPC’s stern and straightforward way of interacting with Thalia.)
Funny, moving, exciting.
