Stealth Games I've Played
Stealth games are categorized by a primary gameplay loop of doing your best not to be seen or caught. I've played 11 games in this genre so far.
Each game is scored on my 4-point rating system.
⬅️ You can also go back to all genres
The Last of Us Part II
Gameplay was much improved over the first one, mostly due to improved enemy AI and level design. Everything flows cinematically and fluidly, which is nothing short of a technical marvel. Every melee attack has a contextual animation and the world reacts to your actions. The PS5 version's graphics are also probably the peak of the generation. The story is top-notch, as expected. Naughty Dog continues to push the boundaries of what possible in a narrative. At times, I did feel like playing the "novelization" of a TV show, so I'm excited to see what this looks like in the actual show. Overall it was probably too long and had some pacing inconsistencies, but I felt like it largely surpassed the original (despite my fondness for that first story).
NOISE1
Extremely cool concept. There aren't many games that have real time command-typing as their core gameplay (and when they do, it's usually not under time pressure). I definitely felt like a hacker as I rushed to rotate the cameras, disable the lasers, and distract the guards. Story was good too- it did a lot with a little. Though I would have liked music/sound effects and some slight QoL improvements, this was awesome for what it was.
Dishonored 2
I think the story was a little less tight and emonitonal as compared to the first, but the level design continued to be great. I like that they rewarded exploration. Still don't love the way they do endings, but I suppose it adds nice consequence. Also, the non-lethal takedowns for story characters were well thought out.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Really cool! Pretty tough (even on normal mode), but a lot of surveying, trial/error, and coordination made it work. I really liked how there were multiple ways to do each objective and the levels had a lot of ways to move around them. It was a tight story and the characters were pretty good (except the accents, which didn't make any sense). Camera didn't bother me much. Overall very enjoyable.
Mark of the Ninja
One of my favorite stealth games - combat felt great throughout, there are some good platforming sections, and the powers provide a lot of depth to the gameplay.
The Last of Us
An unparalleled story held back by dated and repetitive gameplay. One minute you're exploring love and loss with fully realized characters and the next, you're killing 6 generic dudes in yet another clearing full of chest-high walls. The stealth is clunky, the puzzles are generic, and the story is better told than maybe any other game, ever. It was a great candidate for a TV adaptation because they could focus on what make the game great: the story. The gameplay moments that are directly serving the story bring immersion that only games can provide, and it gets credit for that. Violence hits different when you're enacting it with your own controller, something the show couldn't capture in the same way. It also has great zombies- clickers go down in history as an all-time creepy enemy. But, lackluster collectibles and pacing problems (the first half of the game is _slow_) left me wanting overall. There's this gorgeous, atmospheric world wrapping a lot of generic 3rd person shooting that doesn't do it justice. It's ultimately worth playing, but I wouldn't begrudge anyone for just watching the show instead; it elevates the narrative without any of the filler.
Prey
Very interesting. Great worldbuilding and setting. Gameplay was pretty good, if a little imbalanced. I liked the open aspect of it, but not as much as their more tightly-designed and smaller levels in dishonored. I thought that some of the systems worked against each other- namely careful exploration and the nightmare. But, there was a lot to do an find, but not in an overwhelming way. That part felt impeccably well-designed.
HITMAN 3
Basically only wanted to play the murder mystery level. It was fun! This is definitely a style of game. I enjoyed the idea of having a very self-directed investigation, which some good twists and all. Glad I played the mission.
HITMAN
Pretty fun! Story ends on a cliffhanger. The levels are very well designed. They really want to sell DLC though. It's not always clear what the consequences of actions will be and the AI can be pretty dumb. Some funny writing and I liked the variety of locales. Gameplay loop was surprisingly repetitive for such an open ended game- knock someone out, get their better costume, repeat, eventually kill targets. Definitely some neat mission stories. Overall decent.
