Few things in life as are as intoxicating as the thrills offered by stealth games.
You know what’s more thrilling than shooting bad guys point black in the face? Actually being a mortal human being who can be killed by a well-placed shot to the noggin.
This is what stealth games excel at: giving you the sense that, while you’re more than capable of getting the job done, you’re as vulnerable as anybody else. To complete your objectives, you’ll have to use strategy, timing, and of course, a whole lot of sneaking around. They’re basically action games for patient, intelligent people!
So, for your pleasure, we’ve listed down the 11 Best Stealth Games to Play in 2015. We’ve only included the most recent stealth games, however, so don’t expect anything earlier than 2010.
Let’s start with stealth game number…
11. Alien: Isolation
You’re trapped in a sprawling, derelict space station, Sevastopol. Hot on your heels is the iconic Xenomorph – an unstoppable force of nature that knows nothing but to butcher all that crosses its path.
Alien: Isolation is stealth and survival horror in the truest sense of the word. As Ellen Ripley’s daughter, you must survive the Xenomorph pursuing you. This relentless hunter appears when you least expect it, and gets smarter as the game progresses.
I think there's something lurking about...
And there’s very little you can do to stop it. You’ve got no friends to help you. Your weapons are pathetic. Your best bet is to hide, and hope the beast hasn’t picked up on your proclivity for concealing yourself in closets...
If you like your stealth games with heavy helpings of horror, you have to try Alien: Isolation.
These dummies don't play nice.
It's coming for you!
10. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series has been giving us some of the best stealth games for years. And their latest title, Blacklist, doesn’t disappoint.
You once again assume the role of black-ops agent Sam Fisher, the guy who has become synonymous with those multi-vision goggles he wears – you know, that thing on his head with shockingly bright green lenses that bad guys, for some reason, never spot. This neat little gadget gives him night vision, heat vision, and others.
Dressed to kill... silently.
But he’s got other toys to play with that enhance his capacity for stealth. Crossbows and gas grenades allow him to take out targets quietly, while his Stealth Ops Suit muffles any noise generated by movement. Of course, it’s also important to hide dead or unconscious bodies. You can’t expect anyone to be too happy stumbling on a corpse.
One of the finest entries in the series!
That green light should be a dead giveaway.
When all else fails, pound them into submission!
9. Hitman: Absolution
Everyone’s favorite assassin who’s never had to use shampoo in his life is back in Hitman: Absolution.
Despite his stern demeanor, we suspect Agent 47 is a prankster who simply enjoys raising hell. He’s a master not only of guns and disguises, but he also knows exactly what buttons to push to transform any environment into of whirlwind chaos.
"I like the feel of cold steel on my bald head."
Don’t want to waste bullets on your enemies? Why not just blow up a gas station? Envious that your target gets to enjoy a cup of coffee while you have work to do? Why not poison his cup? You can make disco balls plummet to the people below, start fires, cause scaffolding to collapse, and even set off fireworks indoors for maximum mayhem. Talk about getting punked!
Who knew the life of a hired killer could be so much fun?
Gotham at night... wait, wrong game.
This will all be over in a second...
8. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
In Amnesia: The Dark Descent, you plumb the depths of a gargantuan castle to uncover its bloodcurdling secrets.
The bad news is you’re literally weaponless in this game.
Looks like someone... or something has been busy butchering pigs
Those things prowling the corridors eager for the taste of manflesh? They can’t be killed. To survive, you’ll have to use your wits.
Make too much noise while opening that door, and they’ll know where you are. Darkness provides concealment, but also causes your sanity to plummet, drawing the monsters to you. Your lantern can stave off the madness, but keeping its light can attract the attention of those same monsters. Talk about a lose-lose situation!
The Dark Descent masterfully combines a surreal atmosphere thick with Lovecraftian undertones, the feeling of total impotence in the face of implacable evil, and nerve-racking stealth gameplay to make it one of the best stealth games to play in 2015.
Eerie windows
"Where am I??"
7. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag stars Edward Kenway as pirate and assassin. As a pirate, you’ve got swashes to buckle, sharks to hunt, plenty or rum to imbibe, and of course, a ship and a crew with which to turn your seaborne enemies into piles of floating wreckage. As an assassin, you’re a killing machine who specializes in the subtle art of hiding in bushes, and blending in with the crowd.
He'll hunt whales in the morning...
Your arsenal includes darts that make targets fall asleep, and those that make them go berserk so that they rip out each other’s throats instead of yours. And because no one ever bothers looking up, trees and rooftops are your best friends. When all else fails, you can hire pretty dancing girls to distract guards, or simply whistle to lure foes to your spot.
A great entry in the series, and one of the best stealth games, to boot.
Steal your girl in the afternoon...
And wrestle crocs at night
6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
While Deus Ex: Human Revolution lets you storm enemy headquarters with guns blazing, you have to admit that in this dystopian cyberpunk RPG, sneaking is the way to go.
As augmented human Adam Jensen, your job is to unravel the web of conspiracies plaguing a world where cybernetic augmentations have become the norm.
Badass angel
Want to become a human hacking machine? Get the Hacking: Capture augmentation. How about the ability to turn invisible so that you can finally live out your dream of sneaking into dressing rooms undetected? Good news, there’s an upgrade for that too! You can also punch through walls, survive hundred-foot drops, outrun cars, and jump higher than basketball stars.
You can even install silencers on your firearms to make sure every kill is as quiet as possible. The future sure sounds like a lot of fun!
"You shouldn't have lit my car on fire..."
Lock n' load!
5. Mark of the Ninja
It’s funny how most of our stealth games don’t feature history’s sneakiest killers: ninjas.
Side-scrolling stealth game Mark of the Ninja is here to change all that. You play as a modern-day ninja out to wreak havoc on his enemies of his clan.
Super villains really should try hiring guards who know to look up
Sure, your foes are armed with modern weaponry. But you’ve got all the ancient tools of your trade (smoke bombs, poisonous darts, caltrops, etc.), and they’re good at getting the job done. Your dearest friends, however are silence and darkness. With them, you can remain undetected as you slink towards an enemy for a brutal sword thrust through the heart.
It’s bloody and brutal, not to mention gorgeous to look at, with a look and animation style that harks back to yesteryears’ Saturday morning cartoons.
Storming the enemy headquarters
They won't know what hit 'em
4. Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City gives you an open world overrun by the caped crusader’s most dangerous villains. Without superpowers, though, Batman has to rely on skill, wits, and stealth to win the night.
There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as swooping down on a bad guy from your perch on the roof, or popping out of a ventilation shaft to tackle an unsuspecting foe. How about smashing through glass ceilings to give enemies the shock of their lives, or blowing up walls to render them unconscious? You’ve also got a hacking device that messes with electronics, a grappling hook that allows you to soar above the city, and other toys.
Does Mr. Freeze look like he wants to play hide and seek??
This year’s excellent Arkham Knight nevertheless downplays the series’ stealth elements; you have a car that transforms into a tank, for crying out loud. Also, the game’s current PC version is broken. That’s why we’re sticking with Arkham City for this list!
Poison Ivy... before she looked like someone else
Good old-fashioned fist to the face
3. Dishonored
Dishonored is set in a dystopian fantasy world that combines Victorian sensibilities with steampunk, horror, and the occult. Add a plague that’s turning the city’s populace into mindless zombies, an authoritarian religion, and an enigmatic god-like entity with inscrutable motivations, and you’ve got a recipe for epicness.
What Corvo does ain't pretty, but it's necessary
Dishonored follows Corvo on his mission to avenge his slain Empress. It’ll have him breaking into a seedy brothel, crashing a party, and kidnapping a scientist from his well-guarded laboratory. While his espionage skills are impressive, his supernatural gifts are even more amazing. Bad at dodging bullets? Freeze time and pluck them out of the air like they’re daisies. Like pets of the tiny, sharp-toothed variety? Summon swarms of ravenous rats to feast on your enemies. You can even teleport short distances and possess people.
Few stealth games are this well-executed, making Dishonored one of them most important entries in the genre.
Vantage point
Corvo should cut these boys down to size...
2. Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection
One franchise immediately pops into mind the moment someone utters, “stealth games.”
Metal Gear Solid.
The Legacy Collection compiles the series’ excellent stealth games, including Snake Eater, Guns of the Patriots, and Peace Walker. It even includes the 8-bit wonder that started it all: 1987’s Metal Gear.
Just an old, badass killer
In the games, you control soldier, spy, and assassin Solid Snake (and the original Snake, whom he was cloned from). Not only is the man skilled with fists and firearms, he has all the high tech gadgets to help him stay invisible to the enemy. And he’ll need them, too, because in these games, you’re not only up against intelligent, well-trained soldiers; you’ve also got giant mechs to destroy.
The games also provide commentary on the dangers of military technology, from nuclear weapons to A.I. So while Metal Gear is military espionage action at its most intense, it’s also intelligent and socially aware.
Sneaky Snake!
Time to take this bad guy down...
1. The Last of Us
The Last of Us dips us into a well of suffering until we’re neck deep in despair.
This PlayStation exclusive has you controlling Joel and his ward, Ellie. Joel knows how to fight, but he’s no Navy SEAL. Ellie is intelligent, resourceful, and tough, but she’s just a kid. So how do they survive in a world ruled by murderous infected and equally vile bandits?
"I don't want to use this, but I will if I have to..."
By playing smart. Why attack armed brigands head-on when you can sneak up on them and pick them off, one by one? Why even attempt to kill a Clicker (that usually ends in death, anyway) when you can creep past him, using the shadows and the environment for concealment?
But it’s never that easy. Enemies are smart, and they often come in droves. Supplies are limited, while weapons fall apart without maintenance. All these elements are what lend the game its aura of hopelessness and desperation, making it a truly suspenseful experience.
Because it effortlessly combines the stealth and survival horror genres in one exquisite package, The Last of Us is truly deserving of the title, “modern classic.”
A life-or-death situation
Happer times
Honorable Mentions:
We love 2014’s soft reboot of Thief, but we feel it’s a shadow of the first two games in the franchise, which were released between 1998 and 2000.
Though not a pure stealth game, open world first-person shooter Far Cry 3 has excellent stealth elements that give most stealth games a run for their money.
How about you, fellow PC gamers? What do you think are the best stealth games on the planet? Tell us in the comments section below!
You can also check out our other articles, including one about Twin Souls, an upcoming ninja-themed stealth game.
If you're hungry for more games like Deus Ex, check out Top 10 Games Like Deus Ex, Ranked Good To Best.
And then we have an article about the eagerly awaited Assassin's Creed Syndicate, which we call Assassin's Creed Syndicate: 7 New Things About the Upcoming Game
Of course, we've also got Metal Gear stuff for you, such as our articles called Metal Gear Solid V: 10 Things You Need To Know About Quiet and Metal Gear Solid 5: 7 Important Things To Know.
