Nadia Petrova

7+ years stealth and immersive sim analysis, deep knowledge of level design theory and AI behaviour systems

Nadia Petrova grew up on Thief and Deus Ex, and her gaming philosophy was permanently shaped by the realisation that the best level design gives you three paths to every objective and trusts you to find a fourth. She covers stealth games, immersive sims, and any title where 'ghosting' a level — completing it without being detected and without knocking anyone out — is a valid achievement. Nadia evaluates stealth systems on their consistency, the intelligence of their AI routines, and whether the game punishes you for engaging with its core mechanics rather than defaulting to combat. She maintains that Dishonored 2's level design represents the high-water mark of the genre and is willing to defend this position with architectural diagrams.