Action games are enormously popular. The likes ofVampire Survivorsbecome sensations, in part, because there’s something wonderfully cathartic about blasting at oncoming waves of foes and watching your score climb ever higher. Such protagonists as Doomguy exemplify this idea. Elsewhere, though, the action is of a more cerebral sort.
15 Best Stealth Games
Stealth Games offer an unparalleled gameplay experience. Here are some of the best titles that made us fall in love with this genre.
The stars of stealth titles take more subtle approaches to their objectives. Secret agents and master thieves generally want to utilize the element of surprise, and so the weapons, equipment, and abilities available to them tend to be rather different. Even if such games can be rather slower-paced, they have a more tactical leaning that makes them a lot of fun, and their stars often iconic. Here are some of the greatest spies ever.
10The Spy: Hogs Of War
A Sneaky Combat Class That Doesn’t Compromise On Firepower
Hogs of War, a 2000 turn-based strategy title for the original PlayStation, is a porcine take on Worms that emphasized the single-player element of proceedings. The campaign plays out as just that: A campaign through a World War I-inspired conflict, in which the player earns Promotion Points and can send each member of their squad of pigs down differing career directions. The Engineer path wields a shotgun and a stock of mines and TNT, for example, but the Espionage path is the most intriguing.
Pigs proceed in this path from Scout to Sniper and finally Spy, before reaching the endgame promotions that are the same for all options (Commando and Hero). The Spy has a wide arsenal including a Sniper Rifle (a hefty blast of 40 HP at a potentially great distance) and a stick of TNT (a close-quarters hit of 50 HP), but the class’s other options are potentially game-breaking.
Hide disguises the Spy as an inanimate object, capable of taking a small amount of damage before ‘breaking,’ but it really confuses the targeting of the AI. Pickpocket can be used multiple times, stealing an item from the target’s inventory and adding it to the Spy’s. The choice is random, but with the right target, they can be equipped with just about anything, on top of having Poison Gas to debilitate foes among its other assets. One of the most unique units in a turn-based strategy title, this Spy can be deadly in almost any situation, in ways even the game itself perhaps didn’t intend.
9Evie Frye: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
A More Methodical Assassin, Who Spies On Jack The Ripper Themselves
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Uniquely in the series, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate features a pair of twin siblings as protagonists: Evie and Jacob Frye. Twins they may be, but their approaches to their objectives are very different indeed. Jacob is more of a hot-headed, combat-ready Assassin, while Evie leans more toward a subtler approach.
In the main game, Evie frequently tries to temper her brother’s vicious ways. She remains in the shadows, gathering information and carefully devising a strategy and the various steps of an overarching plan. The Jack the Ripper DLC, in which Evie is the star of the show, adds the gameplay element of fear (akin tothe expansive Ghost of Tsushima’s terrify mechanic) to further emphasize this. Tools such as fear bombs provide non-lethal ways of dealing with the heightened numbers of enemies here.
Engaging in subterfuge from an early age and trained by her father, Evie would go on to embody the expert spying that is another watchword of the Assassins.
8Solid Snake: Metal Gear Solid
The Anti-Hero Who Defines The Stealth Game For Millions
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
In March 2014, Hideo Kojima explained onXthat“the reason I used Snake as code name in MG was snake was the most appropriate symbol of living thing that hides his presence.”It was fated, then, that the long-time Metal Gear protagonist would go on to emphasize his ability to do just that, over and over again, in the most extreme of situations.
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From the Shadow Moses incident (Metal Gear Solid) to his battle against Liquid Ocelot as Old Snake (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots), and even in earlier missions, Snake has demonstrated every trait necessary of a master spy: Resourcefulness, command of a huge range of weaponry and supportive equipment, close-quarters combat expertise, determination, resilience, attention to the smallest details, and so many more.
The series marked an enormous advance in stealth games, combining deep, emotive storytelling with an outlandish sense of style only Kojima could convey. Solid Snake has his introspective moments that make him easier to empathize with as a character, but primarily, he’s synonymous with spies in video games.
7Agent 17: Elevator Action
An Arcade Legend From The 1980s
Just as the Metal Gear games weren’t the first to introduce stealth mechanics, so Solid Snake wasn’t the first stealth star. He was, and remains, a refinement of a concept, and that concept began with figures such as Agent 17, protagonist of the classic Elevator Action.
Agent 17’s goal is to steal secret documents from the building he’s snuck into, ride the elevator in the center of the screen to the entrance and then escape to safety. There are, however, quite a lot of mechanics at play in this arcade title that complicate this effort. Enemies patrol the building, emerging from the doors on either side and capable of quickly dispatching our hero if he’s hit. It may be quicker to dodge them by descending at speed, but you can also blast your foes right back if you outmaneuver them.
High-score chasers today still enjoy trying different tactics and approaches to finishing Elevator Action runs, a testament to just how solid its early stealth gameplay remains.
6Internationale: Invisible, Inc.
A Crucial Scout To Help Keep Your Team Safe In The Most Dangerous Situations
Invisible, Inc.is a turn-based strategy title in which the player commands a squad of unique secret agents and must lead them on a series of missions. More squad members become available as the game progresses, and they each have special abilities that make them suitable for different situations and mission approaches.
Internationale’s talents aren’t as specialized as those of some of her peers, but she’s a fantastic asset throughout the game. Her Wireless Emitter ability allows her to interact with terminals without having to be adjacent to them. As a result, not only can she devote more resources elsewhere, but she has a better understanding of the environment in the level, where security systems, foes and other dangers are located. She is a “safe” choice, in short, in a game that is incredibly limited with them.
Internationale lacks some of the advantages of the rest of the cast, but her own exclusive powers are perhaps the greatest any special agent could hope for.
Star Of Perhaps The Original Stealth Experience
005 features in the early 1980s arcade title of the same name. An accomplished agent, they must complete the most cliched spy objective of all time: secretly delivering a dossier of sensitive information. It all looks rather rudimentary, but this is another title that would prove very significant in the future growth of the stealth genre.
To reach the ever-moving helicopter and accomplish their mission, 005 must evade the notice of the guards and enter the right building in each level. These obstacle-laden rooms are also patrolled by guards, and the player can see their field of vision and predict the routes they will take around the area. In the final approach to the helicopter, 005 can be pursued on the rooftops, where they can fire at their aggressors to stop them and so escape. This is one spy who certainly embraced these innovative mechanics and had no problem dispatching those guards where necessary.
4Sam Fisher: Splinter Cell Series
One Of Gaming’s Most Prolific And Successful Operatives
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist
There seems to be a gruff, disconnected quality that comes with being a master spy. The dangers of close personal relationships in such a line of work are obvious, and so the likes of Solid Snake tend to eschew them. Sam Fisher, a protagonist of the long-runningSplinter Cellseries (who shares a lot in common with the Metal Gear icon), is definitely acquainted with this concept.
Over the course of the games, more of Fisher’s backstory is revealed, and we learn just how much he’s sacrificed in service of his nation (including his potential relationship with his daughter). However, for a patriotic former SEAL such as him, one thing is abundantly clear: the mission is everything.
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Third and Fourth Echelon’s finest operatives, and one of Ubisoft’s best characters. Sam Fisher and the Splinter Cell series are the cream of the crop.
From investigating the mystery of the deadly Ark in the original game to foiling Admiral Otomo’s plot to poison international relations and cause a huge global conflict in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Sam is a consummate professional. Whether leading a team or working alone, whether armed with the latest infiltration technology or while improvising from what could be gathered, Sam always gets results.
3Sly Cooper: Sly Cooper Series
The Greatest And Most Elusive Raccoon Thief In History
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Sly Cooper, admittedly, strains the definition of “spy” somewhat. There’s certainly no denying, though, that he’s as elusive, resourceful, and stealthy as any special agent you might care to mention. Instead of earning a legitimate living, though, he pursues a series of elaborate heists.
This legendary thief first appeared in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, which launched on the PlayStation 2 in 2002. In this game, Sly and his two companions, Murray and Bentley, accompany him on a quest to retrieve the titular book. This title set out the framework that the series would follow, introducing stealth mechanics that would come to define it. With an activation of his stealth senses, he can see objects of interest and places to interact with the environment, another critical tool that is the envy of any master spy.
By 2013’s Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Sly is traveling through time to rescue and cooperate with his descendants, talented thieves all. He is but the latest member of a furry family that has been brilliant at what it does for centuries: Sneaking into danger, evading security, and making away with their prize.
2James Bond, 007: The James Bond Video Game Series
His Name’s Bond. James Bond. Enough Said
GoldenEye 007
Licensed games always come with their baggage, which makes it incredibly difficult for them to shine. One title that absolutely succeeded was 1997’s Nintendo 64 FPS GoldenEye. The key to this isn’t only its timeless gameplay and the GoldenEye scenario and plot, but its legendary protagonist, James Bond himself.
Bond has certainly had a mixed history with video games, withsome titles being greatand the likes of 007 Racing being less than stellar. Nonetheless, he’s not only a legendary secret agent: He’sthelegendary secret agent. More personable than many of his fellows (GoldenEye’s Bond in particular exuding all the charm and sophistication of Pierce Brosnan), he’s faced world-threatening challenges on an arguably greater scale than any of them. All the funding and gadgetry in the world wouldn’t make up for a lack of natural talent for subterfuge, but Bond has it all in spades. Regardless of the medium, there are few – if any – who do it better.
1Ada Wong: Resident Evil Series
A Riddle Wrapped In An Enigma Wrapped In A Red Dress
Resident Evil 2
The Resident Evil series boasts its share of dangerous and duplicitous characters.The intriguingly slippery Albert Wesker, for example, has a treacherous ulterior motive that is revealed in the very first game, and his actions escalate to supervillain level as the series goes on. By contrast, there’s something much more insidious about Ada Wong.
Over the course of the series, Wong is employed by numerous international agencies, each typically seeking virus samples for nefarious purposes. She isn’t always the subtlest of agents, but she has a brilliant way of balancing her employers’ objectives with her own and double-crossing major players in the series to advance her own cause. Her finest deceptive work in this area, perhaps, occurs during the events ofResident Evil 4, where the Separate Ways DLC demonstrates how she manipulates events to Leon Kennedy’s benefit (for the most part) while pursuing a dominant sample of Las Plagas for Albert Wesker.
She wields some very fun and unique equipment, such as her Grapple Gun, and her overarching tale becomes ever more complex with the arrival of Carla Radames inResident Evil 6.
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From the venerable Resident Evil 4 to Resident Evil Village, these are some of the very best titles in Capcom’s iconic survival horror series.
