Crime Simulator Review

As a solo player, Thief Simulator 1 & 2 are better, but I still enjoyed Crime Simulator. It has 3 different modes, one of them is hardcore. Unlocking all the achievements is very difficult and means playing through every mode.

Approximate time to 100%: I would guess around 70 hours
Estimated achievement difficulty: 8/10
Minimum number of playthroughs needed: Many, many times, because you have to play through all 3 modes + getting “world level 20” is long
Is there a good guide available: Not yet
Multiplayer achievements: No, all can be collected in singleplayer, but it is easier in multiplayer
Missable achievements: Hard to answer with hardcore mode resetting your progress if you fail to meet a deadline.
Grinding Achievements: Yes, world level 20 is a grind and finding all the items in completionist mode is also a grind
DLC-Only achievements: No
Speedrun achievements: No
Time-gated achievements: No
RNG-achievements: Maybe a little bit
Does difficulty affect achievements: Yes, you have to play normal mode on master difficulty for at least one deadline and you have to beat hardcore mode (which reset your progress to zero when you fail to meet the deadline)
Unobtainable/glitched achievements: No

I’m a massive fan of Thief Simulator 1 and 2, so seeing another game from this developer had me hyped immediately. However, I was a bit hesitant because I play my games in singleplayer, and I wondered how doable this would be in singleplayer. It is doable, but it is tough. Mainly because your limited inventory space and your tools also needs space. When playing with another player, you can both have different tools on you, and you can have one person on the lookout, which helps, but what makes it most challenging in singleplayer is the limited items you can have on you.

Crime Simulator has three different game modes. There is this standard mode that feels a bit like a roguelite. You have to meet a specific amount of money every 3 days, and the amount goes up and up. You have a run, you fail to meet the deadline, and restart, but hopefully with an upgraded base and skills that stay over the course of each game (earned with world-level experience). If you managed to succeed, you keep the loot and tools still in your base.

The second mode is hardcore, which is kinda the same as above, where you have to meet deadlines; however, it is extremely difficult because the world is set to the hardest difficulty, but also if you feel you reset back to zero, so you don’t keep the base upgrades. Also, you don’t have skills that stay; everything is literally set back to zero. Next to not having those, this is such a challenge because this means you’ll start every run with only 5 slots for tools and loot, and it will be challenging to even really increase that. Let alone the world that is literally against you.

The third mode is completionist mode, in which the game’s goal is to find every loot item in every house. No deadlines and this is quite a relaxed mode, but you’re missing out on skills that come from leveling up after a run, as you can’t fail a run. In this mode, you also kinda want to play on higher difficulties as well to have the chance of more items spawning. And the big heist map is just huge for this kind of goal.

I’m so torn while writing this. The game is addictive and I couldn’t stop playing, but on the other hand, it also gets very dull and repetitive with the world kinda staying the same, and every run starting with the same jobs. The tenants of #106 and #103 should have a real trauma by now, as I always looted their houses the most and always started that way. I kept playing because I thought I could get more achievements and the goal post moved forward because then another achievement and another achievement got closer. However, the time it takes to get world experience ( and I’m not really sure what gives you this, as a half run gives almost nothing, while a completed run can give like 2 levels or so) takes so so long that getting to level 20 is such a long road (I’m at level 16 after 35 hours). However, for trying to beat the hardcore mode, you also get experience, so if you go for that achievement, it might not feel like such a long road, as I think that would require many tries. I just don’t have the illusion that I’ll be able to beat hardcore mode, and after seeing the heist location and knowing that for completion, you have to find all the loot there as well, that achievement also went out the window for me.

I would say that this game will be enjoyable if you’re planning to play it in multiplayer or have played through Thief Simulator 1 & 2 and are looking for something that also scratches the same itch. However, if you’re playing solo and haven’t tried out Thief Simulator 1 or 2, I would recommend playing those, as I think it is a more complete experience without the repetition that comes with Crime Simulator.

I give Crime Simulator 3 out of 5 stars.

This review for Crime Simulator was written on 18 June 2025, based on the current Steam version of the game which has 40 achievements at the time of writing this review. This information can be outdated, for example, when the developer adds or removes achievements or releases (new) DLC.