About This Game

Uncover what happened at Highburn Mansion — before it unravels your mind. Investigate, solve intricate puzzles, document elusive evidence, and question every shadow. Thief’s Shelter is a first-person psychological mystery where the deeper you dig, the more reality slips away.

• What You’re Walking Into

Thief’s Shelter unearths buried trauma, twisted ambitions, and the inhuman forces pulling the strings behind it all. Your investigation is intertwined with Detective James' personal struggles, such as the artificial dementia along with its effects.

You will fight James’ deteriorating mental state, experience hallucinations, and confront his repressed memories. Explore Highburn Mansion that distorts as you progress, search for clues and use investigative tools to reveal secrets hidden in plain sight. The deeper you dig, the less you know what’s real. Is there a supernatural presence inside the mansion — or is it all in your head?

• When It All Began

Birmingham, England. Corruption within the English police force, along with the rampant activity of street gangs constantly disrupts the entire nation. The Red Order, once renowned as an anti-crime organisation dating back centuries, now prospers in England as the dominant provider of health products. However, beneath this façade lies a sinister secret. 

After his relocation to Birmingham, Detective James is summoned to aid the investigation of a curious homicide on Highburn Street. Despite the impact of his artificial dementia, and being haunted by a demon, James dives deep into an investigation that ultimately makes his condition deteriorate.

• A Shifting Crime Scene

Highburn Mansion changes as your investigation progresses. As you push forward, old hallways lead to new places, doors bleed through walls, and whole rooms slide into view.

This place doesn’t want you here. It will assault your senses, show you things that shouldn’t exist. Dredge up memories you tried so hard to bury. Wallpaper peels like skin. Bodies flicker above the table. Do you feel someone watching?

Certain discoveries don’t surface the first time.

Or the second.

Not everything in Thief’s Shelter will reveal itself in one playthrough. VHS tapes, Masks, Red Order conspiracies, James’ past, and other events can be missed on your first try. 

• Journal System

James records new findings in his Memoir, with important evidence logged under Investigation Notes. Memoir will give you a glimpse into James’ mental state, helping you understand his feelings and motivations. James’ writing changes through the game, reflecting his worsening condition. Investigation Notes are there to be referenced when solving a puzzle or tracking down a clue.

• Tools

Utilise tools like the flashlight and the digital camera to reveal secrets hidden in plain sight. Shine your UV light to uncover invisible markings, footprints, and bloodstains that lead to new clues. Use your camera to peek into hidden layers of the mansion, exposing things the eye can’t see.

• Puzzles

Puzzles in Thief’s Shelter reward observation and deduction, not guesswork. To reach the end, you will have to recover four key artifacts tied to the mansion. You’ll solve multi-stage mechanical contraption, decode cryptic symbols, and unlock rooms that shouldn’t exist and much more.

• Truth lies in what YOU notice 

Every clue matters — and some only show themselves once. Overlook a detail, and it may never return.

Thief’s Shelter adapts to what YOU discover. Some journal entries never appear. Certain scenes never happen. Memory is fragile and so is the truth.

Following the main path will get you to the end. But it won’t give you the full picture. To truly enrich your knowledge of this universe, you must break away, explore, experiment. What you uncover reflects your perception. What you miss defines your version of the truth.

There are no second chances. Stay sharp.

• A Modern Take on a Classic Genre

Thief’s Shelter modernizes the point-and-click genre made popular by Myst. This is a cinematic experience with smooth movement and rich, highly detailed 3D environments.

Navigation flows naturally. No aimless backtracking. Optional hints and smart waypoint filtering keep you immersed in the mystery.

• Key Features

• Shifting Environments. Highburn Mansion shifts as you make story progression revealing new areas whilst altering existing ones.

• Player Agency. The world moves on, with or without you. Clues can vanish, never to return. Miss a detail, and it might haunt the rest of your playthrough — not by halting your progress, but by shaping a version of events uniquely yours.

• Puzzles. Every challenge in Thief’s Shelter is built around observation and deduction. No guesswork, no obscure riddles — just grounded, logic-based puzzles that reward attention to detail and investigative thinking.

• Tools. Use the UV light and or the digital camera to reveal what the naked eye misses. Collected evidence is documented in James’ Memoir, influencing his psychological state and the game’s narrative.

• Replayability. Discover the deeper truth through multiple investigations. Hidden VHS tapes, secret artifacts, and various journal entries reveal the mansion’s darkest threads.

• Streamlined Mystery. Classic adventure gameplay — modernized. No random wandering. No cheap jumpscares. Just slow-building dread, meaningful choices, and immersive narrative.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

This game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be appropriate for viewing at work. General mature content is present, during cutscenes or in game sequences.