Recommend a Stealth Game!

[Liv's Runaway Snail]

I think I need to play more stealth games, as I'm really enjoying the genre so far.

So far I have played Dishonored, Hitman: Absolution, Assassin's Creed I & II and a little bit of Thief Gold. Although I have to admit the stealth game play in the assassin's creed games seems to be quite lacking. And Thief Gold is quite jarring since it is a very old game and I have to admit I feel clueless without a coherent map.

Are there any other games you would recommend?

I will probably buy the other Hitman games.

Edit: I should probably note I only play PC games. Xbox 360 is dead and I have no plans to buy any of the new consoles.

 

[josemlopes]

IF you are in any way into Hitman just go and buy Blood Money, is the best Hitman and its very high up there with any other great stealth classic.

Other then that you still have Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and Death to Spies, its basicly Hitman mixed with Commandos (an old brutal WW2 stealth game). Death to Spied is recommended to Hitman veterans though as its a lot harder.


Something different then the usual is Mark of the Ninja as a 2D sidescroller, its good though.

 

[raeior]

Take a look at Thief 3 - it's much prettier than the previous thief games, and whilst the map still isn't up to much, a large amount of the fun is just finding your way around and seeing what connects with what.

The levels are more linear than in Thief 1 and 2 though, but you may find that advantageous as it gives it a bit more structure. Just take a look at one or two mods for adjusting the UI to a sensible size and allowing widescreen resolutions - it's worth it.

I second this. Thief 3 should be a lot more accessible.
Also you might want to try Thief 2 The metal age with the Thief Enhancement Pack and the Texture Pack. The gameplay is more or less the same, but the second part has the far better level design and much less zombies and other supernatural stuff. Also the level design will make you feel lost, so in this respect it won't be an improvement for you. In my eyes the basic map was a quite nice feature because I had a lot of fun trying to find out where I am and where I want to go but that's just personal taste. My main problem with it are the controls. Jumping is horribly imprecise and getting into an open window can be a real nightmare (especially when combined with jumping over a gap). At times I am close to understanding why they took out free jumping in the remake.

Also you definitely should try out the Deus Ex games. Either Deus Ex (the first one) or the remake Human Revolution. The remake emphasizes stealth a lot while in the first one it was completely up to you and the game didn't reward stealth more than just gunning everything down.

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

HR is a prequel not a remake, but a good game either way.

If you want a good stealth game, I recommend mark of the ninja. It's the best stealth game I have played. Metro las light has some nice stealth elements and one memorable level were your sneaking around inside a fire. Far cry 3 can be a nice open world stealth game. Then if you want to get crazy, invisible inc is a Tactical Turn based stealth game.

 

[Liv's Runaway Snail]

Thank you for the recommendations!

I think I might try Splinter Cell and Mark of the Ninja (Steam sales here I come). I do have Deus Ex HR though, I haven't played much of it but I do remember getting frustrated with the gun mechanic (aiming), I might try it again.

@nomotag - I have played Far Cry 3, I guess you can say my favorite part of the game is taking over the bases (with a bow and arrow). Totally forgot about it when I made this topic.

Metro Last Light sounds good as well, but I have to admit I was a huge baby when it came to first game. Those creatures absolutely terrify me.

As for Invisible Inc, it looks amazing. But I think I might delay playing it until it reaches beta mode.

Again thanks, and if you have any more recs I would love to hear from you.

 

[Liquidprid3]

I suggest checking out Assasain's Creed Brotherhood, as I think it's the best of the series, and it does have a decent amount of stealth missions. I'm only a few hours in, but Splinter Cell Blacklist has been a lot of fun. A lot of my other suggestions were already said, like Deus Ex: HR. I haven't done this yet, but some mods for Skyrim, like realistic health or better stealth, might be a lot of fun.

 

[Blacklight28]

Metro Last Light sounds good as well, but I have to admit I was a huge baby when it came to first game. Those creatures absolutely terrify me.

I love Last Light to death, but I wouldn't go with it if you're looking for a stealth game. The mechanics were stripped down from the previous game and are a very basic "am I in light or am I not?", leaving some situations where enemies would literally be standing right in front of you, staring you in the face and still not be able to see you.

 

[Jimmy Sylvers]

I love stealth games, I have played most of the major ones like you. I would say that the Mark of the Ninja is probably the best stealth game I have ever played. All the others have great qualities that i have really enjoyed but purely for the stealth mechanics, MotN wins hands down for me.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4. Best in show.

MGS 3 has really awkward controls (intentionally), but 4 is much more standard so it's a lot easier to play.

 

[MysticSlayer]

The Splinter Cell games from the first one through Chaos Theory are all incredible. Double Agent isn't as universally praised, but I enjoyed it personally. I probably wouldn't bother with Conviction. Haven't touched Blacklist, so I can't really say much on that.

There's also Mark of the Ninja. The game feels a little "sticky" at first and its difficulty scaling can be odd at times, but the game is otherwise a great example of how to handle stealth.

I also noticed that you didn't mention the Arkham games. They aren't as stealth-focused as others, but they still technically count as stealth action and arguably have more stealth than Assassin's Creed, though the two are comparable.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

It's already been said many times, but I'll add my voice to the choir:

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is an excellent stealth title. It's also one of the most compelling and interesting games of the 7th-generation.

As a stealth game, what I really like about it is that the stealth just makes sense. For the most part, whether not the AI spots you is extremely realistic. Unlike in Metal Gear Solid (where enemies had a specific cone of vision where they should be able to spot you from across a room because they have straight line of sight, but they can't until they get close enough that you fall within their cone of vision), when enemies can and can't spot you in HR, with few exceptions I've seen, just makes sense. I call it "Common Sense AI."

 

[shrekfan246]

Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4. Best in show.

MGS 3 has really awkward controls (intentionally), but 4 is much more standard so it's a lot easier to play.

OP is only on PC, apparently.

OT:

Thank you for the recommendations!

I think I might try Splinter Cell and Mark of the Ninja (Steam sales here I come). I do have Deus Ex HR though, I haven't played much of it but I do remember getting frustrated with the gun mechanic (aiming), I might try it again.

For Human Revolution I'd recommend going full stealth and utilizing extensive use of iron sights. I found the pistol and tranq rifle to be the best overall weapons as far as ease-of-use is concerned, depending on if you want to play lethal or non, but it definitely wants you to line up your shots before doing anything. The assault rifle is fun, but nigh useless early in the game because you can't aim with it.

Otherwise, I would also recommend Mark of the Ninja. Great 2D stealth game with amazing visuals and a fantastic amount of feedback provided to the player.

For a slightly different twist on the genre, I would also recommend Gunpoint. It's a stealth-hacking game which functions almost like a puzzle game in some ways. You're presented with a level (which generally has some very funny writing preceding it), an objective, a bunch of obstacles which you can typically hack to remove them or incapacitate guards patrolling the rooms, and then told to find your own way through the area. Unfortunately most of the levels are relatively small, especially when compared to things like Mark of the Ninja or Deus Ex, but for a project designed by a single person, it's damn near god-tier in how well it actually plays and how solid the dialogue is.

Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are solid additions as well. They're about half-and-half stealth to brawling, but actually manage to do both extremely well.

I'd also give a tentative recommendation to The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. You can find it on GOG.com and it includes the original Escape From Butcher Bay campaign. Both campaigns are pretty solid, but I'd say Butcher Bay is overall slightly better, as Dark Athena is brought down by its end-game segments. The Riddick games combine first-person brawling and shooting with stealth, and while it's not particularly amazing at them by today's standards (Butcher Bay is almost ten years old now), it's still pretty damn solid. Though Butcher Bay drags for the first hour or so until you get Riddick's "see in the dark" ability.

 

[Keiichi Morisato]

Stealth Bastard (aka Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark) is very good, i highly recommend Mark of Ninja, Metal Gear is always a fun romp. just about any Thief game, and there is Dishonored, you can play as a thief in Elder Scrolls and play that game "stealth".

 

[Not Lord Atkin]

I am a huge fan of the Splinter Cell series, Chaos Theory being hands-down the best (as just about every fan will tell you) but I also really enjoyed all the others. Splinter Cell is slighty more linear and restrictive, it takes the 'every room is a puzzle' approach to stealth gameplay, where you have to observe a lot then come up with a solution. Pandora Tomorrow is much shorter, not quite as well-designed but still a lot of fun. Chaos Theory is the best in the series, with slightly more open-ended levels, more dynamic and organic gameplay and the added bonus of the HILARIOUS interrogation mechanic. Oh, and the writing is the best in the series as well. Double Agent doesn't quite live up but is still a very well-designed and fun game with numerous tweaks to gameplay and presentation. Don't bother with Conviction. It's rubbish. I have yet to play Blacklist.

Then there's Mark of the Ninja. That game is the essence of everything good about stealth games condensed into this tight little indie package. Definitely worth a shot.

I also enjoyed playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution without killing anyone. It turns into a wonderful stealth game.

 

[Ronald Nand]

You should check out Thief 2, the level are quite complex and large but most if not all the levels (I haven't beaten the game yet) seem to have a clear detailed map which marks which locations you've already been in as well as the location you're in currently.

The other Hitman games are excellent buy Blood Money first, it helps you appreciate the difficulty of Silent Assassin and Contracts. Splinter Cell series is okay buy a bit too linear, I recommend Chaos Theory and the Blacklist. Death to Spies is also good, it reminds of me of the older Hitman games especially Silent Assassin with its high difficulty, if you enjoyed Hitman's disguise system you should definitely check them out.

Also check out Mark of the Ninja its a 2D stealth game by Klei Studios, you can play the game in multiple ways, the game rewards ghosting and you can be really creative with your kills if you choose the kill every guard, you can silently kill guards as well as scare guards by using ninja tools or hanging bodies making them kill there allies with friendly fire. The game is underlooked in my opinion and makes you truly feel like a ninja with excellent stealth and a nice range of ninja tools.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

The only other Hitman game you should play is Blood Money as the second game is a complete mess (think absolution only no sneaking mechanics and an even more worthless disguise system.) and Contracts is just the test version of Blood Money.

Mark of the ninja is one of the best stealth games that came out of last gen. Actually that's doing it quite a disservice. It's one of the best stealth games to be made.

Oh and you know Metal Gear and Tenchu and stuff.

 

[clippen05]

I would recommend Sniper Elite V2. It doesn't force you to play stealthily, but if you so choose to it's a really enjoyable experience. Having to make shots when the lightning strikes to mask the sound, and make sure that the patrols don't see your victims is really cool. And it actually presents a challenge if you try to be stealthy, unlike many other games. (Assassin's Creed, I'm looking at you)