Lady Thalia and the Case of Clephan

I’ve been in the tank for the Lady Thalia games pretty much from the minute I first encountered them: I love a heist and a period piece, so add on a flirty enemies-to-lovers dynamic between the lady thief and her policewoman antagonist and I’m more than sold, but the nimble pacing and tightly-designed puzzles take things to the next level. But I’m in an odd situation with this fourth installment: you see, I still haven’t played the third one, since it was released in Spring Thing 2023, and some life events interrupted by reviews of the festival that year. I still want to get back and finish those, and Lady Thalia and the Masterpiece of Moldavia is a reward I’ve set myself for doing so. But that means that I’m coming to this one having missed an episode.

This used to happen all the time, of course – when I went off to high school, I remember being frustrated that I wasn’t able to keep up with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, doubly so because on the odd occasions I could catch an episode suddenly Worf was there – but in this age of on-demand streaming everything, it’s an unfamiliar sensation, and actually not necessarily a bad one? If anything, I’m now even more excited to go back and learn how Thalia and Mel struck a truce that saw the latter leaving the Yard and then the pair going into business together as consulting private detectives. I’m also curious whether Thalia’s heretofore-offscreen husband made his first appearance in that installment, or if the supporting role he places here is his actual introduction (he’s a gay bank robber married to a lesbian cat burglar, you’re each others’ beards, it’s cute). There’s also a distaff Sherlock Holmes analogue who I don’t remember from the first or second game but definitely makes an impression.

But though there’s a lot to catch up on, the game gives you the context you need, and the characters are as always drawn with such bright colors that you feel you know all about them from the moment they come on screen – actually, now that I think about it, Lady Thali4’s handling of Mel on this front is especially deft, since she hasn’t had that much screen time to date, even including her role as deuteragonist in the second game; nonetheless, her dogged approach to investigation and clumsy approach to romance were exactly what I expected based on her prior experiences.

The puzzles are likewise unsurprisingly satisfying. By now the series structure, of alternating case-the-joint sequences where you learn about a target through some light social-engineering mechanics with the actual heists, where you might need to pick some locks, crack a code, or engage in a chase is well established, and even though you’ve gone straight, the rhythm hasn’t changed: it’s just that this time out you’re trying to catch a copycat thief who’s appropriated your name in the act, and investigating their potential targets before they strike. This doppleganger plot is a great way of continuing to play to Thalia’s strengths even as she’s shifted to the side of the angels, and the set-pieces continue to be great fun, with a break-in at the headquarters of an off-brand Golden Dawn a particular highlight. None of the individual challenges are that challenging – you’ll get to the end regardless – but you are graded on the verve and brio you bring to your role, with top marks reserved for those who manage to balance the need to hide your tracks with the urgency of keeping up with your rival. The other fun addition to the series’ systems is interrogation sequences where you play as both Thalia and Mel simultaneously; in the stratified world of Edwardian (I think?) England, what you say might not matter as much as who says it, after all.

“Much as it was, but with some fun new twists” is also my take on the writing. The prose has always been alternately zippy and wry, which kept a smile on my face throughout:

"He chuckles. 'Scandalous of me, I know! To come to an art gallery—making an appointment, no less—with no interest in the current exhibition and no intention of buying anything!'

"You probably do six things more scandalous than that before breakfast each day, but you want to know where he’s going with this, so you laugh along."

I also enjoyed the running joke where Thalia keeps workshopping different nicknames for Mel, which is all the funnier for not drawing undue attention to itself. But the focus on these two characters’ relationship also creates space for things to get more serious at times, including a nicely understated scene where Thalia and her ex talk around their breakup. The central romance is of course the main event, and through the inevitable ups and downs, there’s no getting away from the sweetness of the two falling in love:

"She looks like she hasn’t slept properly in several days, and some of her hair has escaped its bun and is falling in her face, and there’s still a yellowing bruise around her left eye, and of course she’s also currently angry with you. Nevertheless, some part of you is still convinced that she’s the most attractive woman you’ve ever seen, simply because she’s Mel."

I’m not sure whether this fourth installment is my absolute favorite, as there were some minor blemishes to my enjoyment on the mechanical side – I found navigating through the gallery backrooms was a bit more confusing than I wanted it to be (since on my first visit, I had to choose between which door to try, whereas during the subsequent one you need to pick which room to go to), and while an Arts and Crafts exhibit is a cool backdrop, I think the final heist felt like it was over a bit quicker than the prior ones; the titular artifact also feels like it’s underdeveloped. But the story here could well be the best it’s been – all the more reason for me to circle back to the third installment to find out for sure!