Whether it’s using the shadows to slip through a dangerous foe or strike your enemy from sides it never saw coming, stealth games break the mold of the typical action experience by making the unseen the player’s most powerful tool.

If you want to be a silent assassin or use your guile to survive against an unstoppable enemy, we’re counting down the best games to use your wits to strike hard and make it out clean.

17. Outlast 2

In Outlast 2 you are a cameraman on an investigation with your wife to find the truth behind the mysterious death of a pregnant woman. In their investigation a helicopter crash separates you from your wife putting her in the hands of a dangerous and murderous cult.

The game opens by giving you three options: Run, hide, or die. Our hero, Blake Langermann, only has his camera and his wits to survive. Unable to fight in a village filled with murderous zealots, Blake will have to use any hiding space he can to make his way through and rescue his wife before her ceremonial sacrifice. When it comes to the Outlast series, any situation you’re able to walk away from is a good one.

Outlast 2 - One wrong move will deliver your punishment swiftly.

Outlast 2 - Don’t expect to find any asylum in the churches

16. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Stealth gameplay

With a name backing it like Tom Clancy you can expect modern political intrigue and Chaos Theory brings it in spades. Chaos Theory involves the elite spy Sam Fisher being sent across the world to thwart a plot to instigate World War III. As Sam uncovers the truth his loyalty to his friends and to his nation will be tested as he tries to save a world on the brink of war.

Heralded as one of the best games of the generation Chaos Theory is a definitive stealth experience. Being the first M rated Splinter Cell it lets you choose if Sam plays as a ghost’s shadow sneaking past enemies, or a full-auto leave-no-loose-ends agent.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Guards always have the most wonderful information.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Never, ever, EVER skip leg day.

15. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist stealth gameplay

Sam Fisher returns to government service after the events of Splinter Cell: Conviction. Blacklist serves as a marriage of two of the predecessors: The clean executions of Conviction and the stealth of Chaos Theory. Sam is now a part of the Fourth Echelon, the small but elite organization who answer directly to the president, tasked with taking down a terrorist group bent on blackmailing the United State’s military with the titular “blacklist”.

Blacklist serves as a return to form for Sam, both in political intrigue and his stealth capabilities missing from Conviction. Sam retains his efficient Mark and Execute system, allowing for the quick and effortless elimination of his enemies. Blacklist also modernizes the stealth mechanics that served to define the series and the genre.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist - Any angle is a good angle to drop a fool.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist - Just because you’re a spy doesn’t mean you can’t fight like a soldier.

14. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Let's Play

Feudal Japan has finally been united by a shogun and all seems to be at peace. That is until a mysterious aggressor has appeared to threaten that stability. An elite team is formed to combat this new threat meeting the dark world of betrayal and backstabbing in war-torn Japan.

Whereas most stealth games option the third-person action route Shadow Tactics has more in common with an RTS game. You are tasked with commanding your squad to infiltrate compounds, uncovering more of the conspiracy surrounding the shogun.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Ah vision cones, a ninja’s best friend.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - Despite a simpler look, the game nails its aesthetic.

13. HITMAN

Hitman Let's Play

Enter a world of assassination. 2016’s Hitman sees the return of Agent 47, an elite assassin tasked with eliminating those who cannot be touched. While 47 operates with his signature efficiency his actions unravel a plot that threatens the very agency he works for.

Acquire disguises, unlock gadgets, commandeer weapons, anything is allowed as long as you eliminate the target. While the level count may be short the expansive maps host multiple missions and activities to discover new dimensions you may have missed the first time. With a plethora of unique plots to eliminate the targets Hitman begs to be played over and over again.

Hitman - Sprawling Sapienza is the home of many contracts

Hitman - The Vampire Magician, for when you need that extra bit of difficulty

12. Deus Ex

Deus Ex Let's Play

Serving as an inspiration to games like Bioshock, Deus Ex was hugely influential in the first-person RPG genre. Deus Ex follows JC Denton as he uncovers corruption within his own organization, a conspiracy on a global scale, and a threat striking humanity at its weakest point. As JC attempts to manage the multiple threats he is eventually faced with an impossible decision that will affect all of humanity.

Boasting maps with multiple paths for multiple playthroughs Deus Ex rewards player decision and ingenuity. Utilizing JC’s cyber enhancements, you can choose upgrades that match your playstyle. Go for a stealthier build and JC’s enemies will never see him coming.

Deus Ex - Fully loaded, they’ll never know what hit them

Deus Ex - Pick your augmentations to suit your playstyle

11. Assassin’s Creed Origins

Assassin's Creed Origins Let's Play

After his son’s death in a kidnapping gone wrong, ancient Egyptian Bayek swears revenge on the organization responsible for the plot. Bayek and his wife Aya hunt down the five men responsible for their son’s death uncovering a shadow organization determined to control the world’s most powerful leaders. Bayek forges alliances in his bid to remove this threat to the world’s people, but do his allies share his same vision of freedom?

Origins took some time off from the release schedule of the series to refine the gameplay, and it improves on the systems of previous games nearly whole cloth. Being a protector of the people Bayek can roam the open world completing side quests, gaining experience, and unlocking tools to combat an enemy sworn to rule the world.

Assassin's Creed Origins - From Egypt to Rome Bayek never stops his quest for revenge

Assassin's Creed Origins - The battles have every opportunity to get crazy

10. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Let's Play

In Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain the player controls Venom Snake as he takes missions in Afghanistan and Africa attempting to rebuild his military force after an assault from the vindictive XOF organization. As Snake rebuilds his PMC he catches the attention of XOF and their elite soldiers, the Skulls, leading to an escalating arms race which carries a terrible price.

The Phantom Pain consistently unlocks new tools and resources allowing you to grow into an unstoppable super soldier as you grow your base to face a world that opposes them. The Phantom Pain is a rare experience in which the game adapts to your playstyle and rewards for you trying out new things, no matter how outlandish they might seem.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - It's hard to get much cooler than this

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - You’ll have to be an effective commander to be prepared for what awaits you

9. Mark of the Ninja

Mark of the Ninja Let's Play

In Mark of the Ninja you are given your clan’s secret weapon: A ceremonial tattoo that gives supernatural powers at a high price. The unnamed ninja seeks to complete his tattoo and enact revenge against those who attacked his clan. As you get closer to you’ll goal, you’ll find the cost high in the quest for power and revenge.

Mark of the Ninja diverts from many games in the genre as a 2D game. You are tasked with finding your way through levels, extinguishing light sources and finding ambush points to make it to the end, eventually being faced with a dilemma that brings everything leading to it into question.

Mark of the Ninja - Light and dark play a huge part of the game

Mark of the Ninja - If you want to survive you can’t stay spotted for long

8. Dishonored

Dishonored Let's Play

In a city ravaged by an unknown plague, Corvo returns home to find a threat closer to home within the empire’s elite. Framed for a murder he didn’t commit, Corvo now joins a band of Loyalist soldiers to eliminate the true enemies of the thrown and raise their rightful empress.

Dishonored is a rare gem of player choice, with the right tools and the proper wits you can go through the game completely nonlethally. The choices made between silence and chaos shape the world and the story in front of Corvo. Given a set of supernatural abilities and uncommon gadgets your actions will either save the city or be the thing that pushes it over the edge.

Dishonored - Superpowers make it much easier to plan your attack

Dishonored - Be prepared for things to get weird

7. Aragami

Aragami Let's Play

Aragami is a spirit of shadow raised in a desperate bid to thwart an army of light wielders from conquering the land. As Aragami progresses he unlocks memories of a fallen soldier raising questions of identities, alliances, and his place in the plot.

Being a supernatural entity Aragami gets powerful skills to strike and disappear. Uncovering hidden items can unlock more powerful abilities for Aragami to use, but be careful as Aragami’s powers aren’t limitless and still must use his wits to make it through the map.

Aragami - Don’t underestimate a supernatural shadow ninja’s power

Aragami - Despite clearly shopping at different stores, you’ll uncover how these two are interwoven

6. Manhunt

Manhunt Let's Play

After what was supposed to be his lethal injection, inmate James Earl Cash awakens to find himself at the mercy of the Director in a hideous game of kill or be killed. As the danger increases Cash finds some unexpected outside assistance (and a new threat), but in this game Cash can only rely on himself to get his revenge on the Director.

Manhunt captures the stealth/horror genre by making you feel outnumbered, but not helpless. Player’s choose how viciously Cash eliminates his targets with weapons improvised from tools like plastic bags and crowbars to make up Cash’s arsenal.

Manhunt - Be clean or be violent, the choice is yours

Manhunt - Believe it or not you won’t be making very many friends in this game

5. Batman Arkham series

Batman Arkham Asylum Let's Play

The Arkham series follows the titular Arkham Asylum and how the events influence Gotham and its rogues’ gallery. In each game the player dons the cowl to become Batman, facing off against his large catalog of enemies in his never-ending mission to bring peace to the streets of Gotham City.

The Bat was designed to take the fear that criminals use against the people and turn it back against them, and that’s exactly what the Arkham games capture. When outnumbered and outgunned Batman stalks his foes picking them off one by one and making an example to the rest. Watch from the shadows as your foes turn from an organized patrol system to a shaken and broken mess firing at shadows.

Batman Arkham Asylum - Detective Mode gives you an advantage of the landscape against your heavily armed opponents

Batman Arkham Asylum - Turn their fear against them as the Bat

4. Dead by Daylight

Dead By Daylight Let's Play

An asymmetric multiplayer experience Dead by Daylight pits four survivors against one killer in a desperate struggle to survive. There is a narrative to be found, with killers plucked out of history to torture and sacrifice the victims who are trying to start four generators in order to escape. The horror repeats itself at the whim of the vengeful god that manipulates the events to feed on the anguish of the survivors. Most importantly though, the game is strategic, intense, and exactly how you remember the movie genre.

Dead by Daylight captures the nostalgic aesthetic of the slasher films of old. The cast of killers consist of genre stereotypes and cameos from slasher films with unique powers to reflect their history. The fear of being stalked is ever present for the survivors who struggle to hide, survive, and escape.

Dead by Daylight - Guaranteed to HOOK ya!

Dead By Daylight - Yes, there are movie cameos, and yes every killer’s powers are different

3. Republique Remastered

Republique Remastered Let's Play

In a totalitarian future one teenage test subject has broken free and contacted you for help to make her escape. You are tasked with hacking security cameras, doors, and distracting guards while she attempts to make her way out of the facility.

Republique is unique in that you don’t directly control the character. Instead you’re a hacker who is manipulating the world around her and working together for her to sneak through. As you progress the state of the world unfolds in audio logs and communications from others in the program. Republique is a different take on the stealth genre, with world building and excellent voice acting it creates a new flavor of an immersive experience.

Republique Remastered - Work together with Hope to keep her safe

Republique Remastered - Use your all-seeing eye to help guide Hope through locations

2. Alien: Isolation

Alien: Isolation Let's Play

Relive the tense horror of the original Alien film with Alien: Isolation. Set after the events of the first movie the player controls Ellen Ripley’s daughter as she investigates a rumor regarding the whereabouts of her mother’s ship. In her investigation you discover that the facility is being terrorized by a Xenomorph. The game serves to capture the fear of the first movie with the dread that one murderous Xenomorph brings with it.

Isolation goes a long way to achieve the feel of the first movie, taking the tone and design decisions from the first film. Alien: Isolation combines the stealth and survival/horror genres in a wrapper of one of the best horror films ever made. The layout of the ship and the technology you use are all modeled off of the aesthetic of the film.

Alien: Isolation - The Xenomorph is hunting you and will strike where you least expect it

Alien: Isolation - The technology maintains the 70s-future aesthetic

1. The Saboteur

The Saboteur Let's Play

Set in Nazi occupied France, Irish race car driver Sean Devlin finds himself in an escalating feud with a Nazi driver. As their war on each other increases Devlin’s best friend is murdered on suspicion of being a British spy. This eventually propels Devlin to become a member of the Resistance, striking back against the Nazi occupation and bringing hope back to the people.

The main hook of his game is the use of color. Moving to more heavily Nazi areas the game becomes black and white with national symbolism serving as the only color. As Devlin works to thwarts the Nazi’s he will inspire the people against their oppressors, quite literally bringing color back to the area. Along with gameplay bonuses this effect serves to make the Saboteur a brilliant example in aesthetic.

The Saboteur - The propaganda art-style brings so much pop

The Saboteur - Disguises are an important part to infiltrating enemy controlled territory

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