Top 8 Stealth Games

Stealth games take patience and careful planning when playing them as the wrong move can leave the gamer in an unfavorable situation. While we’re sure many of you have died countless times while playing the listed games below, one thing is for certain, it was a lot of fun dieing to figure out the proper way through each scenario. A lot of developers have attempted to tackle the stealth genre, but none have done as well as the teams behind our Top 8 list of stealth games. It’s hard to imagine a gaming world in which some of these franchises don’t exist, so it’s something we don’t think about.

We suggest reading this list in the stealthiest way imaginable. Just let us know what that is.

8. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins

Tenchu was one of the first Stealth games on the original PlayStation. Tenchu did this by taking a concept and aspect of ninja’s that hadn’t really been explored in video games and made it the priority and main gameplay element of the series. In Tenchu you play as either Rikumaru or Ayame and while the thought of sneaking instead of guns blazing was a relatively new idea to gamers, it was still refreshing to see that not everyone forgot that among all things, ninjas are supposed to be stealthy and deadly killers

7. Siren: Blood Curse

Many thought the survival horror genre was dying, and this was especially true as the once standard for horror games, Resident Evil, had decided to take a more action-y approach. However, Siren had managed to bring hope to the genre, but that wasn’t all. By brilliantly mixing horror and stealth, players had to either be unseen by the enemy or die a very, horrible and disturbing death. It was a true leap back into the genre while mixing a nice balance of stealth action to the game.

6. Assassin’s Creed

Critics and some fans believe that while Assassin’s Creed was brilliant, it repeated itself far too much. However, this game is still one of the best stealth games around. When you consider the stealth mechanics added in with the ability to hide and climb where ever you want, you come away with plenty of welcomed additions to the genre. Now, with a second game coming out that looks to fix all of the first’s mistakes, it seems as though Ubisoft is taking yet another step in the right direction for this franchise. It looks as though the repetitive nature of it all has been removed and this is sure to move the title up the list at some point in time.

5. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Hitman games have always been some of the deepest stealth games around, and while the only thing we’ve seen recently from the series was a bad move, we can’t forget how good of a series it used to be. Despite Hitman’s downfall, the second iteration in the series, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, delivered a truly stealth-like experience that enabled gamers to slide into the shoes of a trained assassin. While Agent 47 has been training since a young tender age to be the merciless killer that he is, gamers haven’t and thus there is plenty of room for trial and error during this process. Hitman 2 offered gamers the opportunity to disguise themselves as other characters in order to move around undetected while trying to take down their target. This helped push the boundaries of the stealth genre and it’s something we enjoyed immensely.

4. Batman: Arkham Asylum

It’s easy to think of Batman as the Caped Crusader and realize that he is by far and away one of the best stealth super heroes ever created. However, all of his video games up until this point have all been action-oriented and a true testament to everything Bruce Wayne wasn’t. Thus with the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum, it is not only refreshing, but appealing to see the developers take Batman in an authentic direction where stealth and silent knock-outs are the primary skill set for our man dressed in black. In all honesty, Arkham Asylum came out of no where and it’s hard to imagine it any other way than the way it is.

3. Sly Cooper And The Thievius Racoonus

Sly Cooper, the slickest racoon you’ll ever see in video games. Created by inFamous developer, Sucker Punch, Sly was a stealthy thief who not only stole valuable artifacts, but also stole the heart of one Foxy Cop. With slick, cel-shaded graphics and responsive controls, the first Sly game was a masterpiece which incorporated a solid plot as well. However, with the success of Cole and inFamous, it’s unlikely that we can expect the next installment into the Sly Cooper franchise any time soon — unless the IP is sold off like Crash Bandicoot and therefore, castrated of all its historical greatness.

2. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Sam Fisher is almost the deadliest man alive. Of course, he would be if it wasn’t for the fact he’s ranked as the #2 stealth killer on our list. The Splinter Cell franchise is one that has taken many twists and turns, but no man has ever been as recognizable via the goggles on his head as Sam Fisher. While the next edition of Splinter Cell won’t be taking a trip to PlayStation 3 for us to enjoy, it’s impossible to discredit this title as one of the premiere stealth games of the video gaming era. We’d still love to see Fisher go one-on-one with our leading title though. Maybe one day.

1. Metal Gear Solid Franchise

There has always been a stealth series that no other stealth game could top, Metal Gear Solid, and to be honest, while everyone can almost agree that the MGS series deserves to be at the top of this list, choosing which one is a hell-bent experience on its own. Following the adventures of Solid Snake’s family, gamers everywhere were thrown into an experience they’ll never forget. Espionage, conspiracy theories, and cloning are just a minor few of the plot twists that Hideo Kojima offered to gamers from a stealth-oriented perspective. Each game in the series introduced an incredibly new take on stealth game play.

The first Metal Gear introduced a hide and seek motif while the second introduced a first-person view and Hanging from rails for the best possible stealth removal. Furthermore, the third introduced a camouflage index for your maneuvering in a jungle environment, and finally, the fourth game added all of those together to give you the Octo-Camo. When you sit down and truly think about the way Kojima not only revolutionized the genre, but also created the evolution of it, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better choice for #1 on our list.

Readers Comments (9)

  1. TheCodeNameIsSnake October 26, 2009 @ 08:42

    Metal Gear will always be my favorite game of all time.I hope I’m reincarnated as snakes octo-camo……..wait did that sound gay….

  2. Kojima is a god….

  3. i was expecting that mgs would be on the 1st place
    im cinda sad that the prequel mg rising wount be a stealt game
    i couldent imagine riden being stealthy
    (sorry for my badd english)

  4. Sly Cooper was so much fun.

  5. @ K-grim

    i am hoping that in MGSR Raiden uses his sword 2 deflect bullets like he do in MGO that would be like ! YAY

  6. Where is Splinter cell Conviction.They should update their result.

  7. No THIEF? Is that even legal?

  8. This article doesn’t count. There’s no Thief. Horrible mistake.

  9. Thief3 should be there….no,it must be there!

Comments are closed.