Best Stealth Games: Hitman, Splinter Cell, and More
Not all of us are children of doom, ready to go into a room full of murderous demons with a shotgun and send them back to hell. Instead, some of us prefer to exist in the shadows, finding creative ways to avoid conflict or defeat the enemy before they realize we’re there. Fortunately, many great stealth games released over the years offer this, often with their own unique twists such as supernatural abilities or high-tech devices.
For the best stealth games of all time (in no particular order), we’ve looked at decades of potential content, from the pure classic stealth of early Splinter Cell games to the chaotic creative stealth of killers. If you want to be sneaky, be sure to check out these games.
shame
shame
Arkane’s Dishonored’s Bioshock and Thief are partly identical, but not like a copy of either, and it’s a great stealth action game because it encourages experimentation. Not only can you use non-lethal strategies to complete the game, but you can also cause massive chaos and destruction without giving up your position. Transforming into a rat, entering a hidden location, and then dispatching a swarm of bloodthirsty rats to devour nearby guards is never a joy, and exploring every nook and cranny of Dunwall is half the fun.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
The third game in the Splinter Cell series — released just three years after the first — Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory still manages to take stealth espionage to the next level. A new hacking mini-game gives Sam Fisher another way to attack enemies without firing a gun, with access to files and build systems hidden behind lines of code. Sam’s Knife and customizable gear sets allow different types of players to experiment and develop their perfect gear, and the visuals are better than ever. Spies vs. Mercs and a co-op campaign are also included, cementing Chaos Theory as one of the best games ever named after Clancy.
cell division blacklist
cell division blacklist
Released after a long hiatus, Splinter Cell Blacklist feels like Chaos Theory’s perfect blend of classic stealth and more aggressive stealth action. With three distinct playstyles named Ghost, Panther and Assault, no matter how much stealth experience you have, there’s always a way to tackle every objective, and the enhanced Mark & Execute ability allows Sam Fisher to play as a ruthlessly efficient Death surrogate works. It’s leaner and faster than games of the past, which doesn’t appeal to everyone, but Blacklist is a great example of how stealth games don’t need to move at a snail’s pace and are still stealth games.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid games were the forerunners of the modern stealth genre, but…they didn’t always play that well, especially the first few. With Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, that changed dramatically. One of the best stealth action games ever made, The Phantom Pain borders on immersive sims, with a real-world storyline, and an emerging game structure that makes you feel like a big boss on a mission, collecting Intelligence rather than having it spoon feeds you at key points. Capture enemies to increase your army and utilize key companions to further enhance your abilities, and the only real limit to what you can do on a mission is your imagination.
ninja mark
ninja mark
Stealth isn’t limited to 3D games, as Klei proves to a large extent with the Ninja Sigil. The cartoonish Saturday morning aesthetic is perfect for this surprisingly hardcore stealth game, which requires excellent timing and careful planning to avoid detection and eliminate enemies. It’s far from overwhelming, however, serving as a great starting point for newbies to stealth, and an excellent change of pace for those more used to the realistic visuals of many other stealth games. Plus, as a ninja, who doesn’t like stabbing a man in the chest?
hitman 3
hitman 3
No stealth series embraces the absurd more than Hitman, and IO Interactive worked especially hard with Hitman 3. Like its two most recent predecessors, Hitman 3 features a number of open-ended levels where you can solve objectives in almost any order — and in dozens of different ways. Sure, you can get close to your target and put a silenced pistol on their skull, but why do that when you can get them to accidentally kill themselves with a botched photo? In a series that once had you catapulting someone into the air from a thousand-foot fighter jet instead of just shooting him down, it’s better to think outside the box.
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Over the years, the Assassin’s Creed series has taken several different forms, from the original simple social stealth game to the full-blown RPG of Odyssey and Valhalla. In Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Ubisoft really made its stride by offering smooth, graceful stealth — often intertwined with direct combat — and the titular Brotherhood system. Instead of doing missions alone, the game has Ezio using his recruits to assassinate targets – taking out your main enemy while your buddies jump from rooftops to take out guards is a joy, and since then, there have been very few Stealth game copied.
sly cooper and tivis raccoons
sly cooper and tivis raccoons
While we picked the first game in the series for this list, we could really pick any Sly Cooper game, and they deserve it. Suitable for younger players — as long as you don’t mind stealing — and combining stealth elements with simple platforming, Sly Cooper is a unique series that embodies the PS2’s mascot-heavy days. Along with his partners in the (literal) crime realm, Sly Cooper is a master of stealth and time travel, and the game’s de-emphasis on direct combat is in stark contrast to many other games of the era. With two sequels on the PS2 and a third on PS3 and PS Vita on the heels, we’re eager for another adventure with our adorable little one.
last survivor
last survivor
Not a pure stealth game – there are sure to be all-out moments – The Last of Us still qualifies because of how well it handles stealth moments. Whether trying to avoid a horde of Clickers by distracting a mason jar, or trying to take out bandits without anyone realizing you’re there, The Last of Us loves clever gameplay and avoids clashes with slick gunplay . This happens even in a full-on firefight, where Joel is able to slip away, flank the target without realizing he’s gone, and ambush them with a gadget or two.
muzzle
muzzle
Some of the best stealth games blend other genres together to create something simply impossible in a traditional action-adventure framework. That’s the case with Gunpoint, a retro-style puzzle platformer that’s more about finding solutions to problems than avoiding enemies and traps on the fly. The primary way to do this is to use the Crosslink tool, which lets you change the security system for your own benefit. But just because it’s a puzzle game doesn’t mean there’s only one solution, giving you the motivation to replay levels and figure out the smartest way to complete each challenge.
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