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Stealth Genre, where is it?

Sybrix

Member
Anyone else really missing stealth games?

MGS, Splinter Cell, Watch Dogs….all memories now.

I want to sneak into CIA HQ or a military base!!

Splinter Cell is sorely missed, any recent games that could scratch this itch?
 
Its hiding... somewhere. Honestly the real tragedy with what is happening over at Ubisoft is the fact that it's messing with the development of the splinter cell remake they are working on. They wanted to bring back the old games.
 
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Indies coming in clutch.

SeverLink (low-poly Splinter Cell) and Devoid (retro Dishonored) first come to mind.

Also don't sleep on Intravenous 2, at first glance it seems like a Hotline Miami style game but it goes heavy on the stealth and you can stealth your way through every level. Awesome game.

Also throwing in a curveball because why not: Thief Simulator. Surprisingly fun albeit janky as fuck.
 
If nothing's coming out then why not play the classics? Thief is pretty good and it has a ton of community made missions.
 
People piling on the latest Thief, thinking that shitting on it would make AAA developers focus on making purer stealth games when on the contrary it meant the death of the AAA stealth genre.
 
Anyone else really missing stealth games?

MGS, Splinter Cell, Watch Dogs….all memories now.

I want to sneak into CIA HQ or a military base!!

Splinter Cell is sorely missed, any recent games that could scratch this itch?
as with their genre, they are kind of hiding in stealth mode right now, a.k.a. nowhere to be seen...
and the bad is, i'm also craving with that genre, i'm barely finished sekiro, i think i will play tenchu or rise of ronin soon
 
Bro knows ball.
The Styx series is a superb stealth experience.
This post is for the OP:

Styx 1 has frustrating and inconsistent AI.
Styx 2 however is a good game that ends too soon.

I have not played Styx 3 yet.

I would recommend Styx 1 only for it's story, as it was a much stronger story than part 2.
 
Ubisoft decided that making open world kinda sorta rpgs with enemies with a large health bar was more important.

Arkane Studios made Redfall... why? I don't know. I sometimes can't believe Arkane made a game that bad.
 
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You Cant See Me John Cena GIF by WWE
 
I miss AAA giving a shit about stealth games, but they have over time dropped them along with tactical shooters going into the PS4 generation.

AA to indie devs are still making them (often not the Splinter Cell variety though), and I'll echo the Intravenous games + Gloomwood are fun.

Some Others:
 
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Anyone else really missing stealth games?

MGS, Splinter Cell, Watch Dogs….all memories now.

I want to sneak into CIA HQ or a military base!!

Splinter Cell is sorely missed, any recent games that could scratch this itch?

Have you played Sniper Elite? Stealth action games set in WW2.

That is what I would consider a stealth game. Although you do have other wepons as well as a sniper rifle (one pistol, one automatic/shotgun), if you charge into the levels all guns blazing then you're dead very quickly. The game forces you to be use stealth and sneak your way through the levels.

There are now six of these games, but I consider Sniper Elite 4 to be peak as it has the best level design. There are only 8, but they are all large mini open worlds. Each level will have a set of objectives, but you can approach them as you like and in any order.
 
Warren Spector's Thick as Thieves but its coop (to me that's good), and fuck, this guy is one of the OGs of Thief.



Otherwise one game that skyrocketed on my attention list for Thief

He made crazy tech for pixelart looks aesthetic in 3D and it's spiritual successor of Thief 100%

 
China or Korea should make a good Splinter Cell knockoff.
Not sure if Ubisoft will be able to do it or not anymore, so someone else should just go ahead.
Call him Dan Hunter or something.
 
Ubisoft decided that making open world kinda sorta rpgs with enemies with a large health bar was more important.

Arkane Studios made Redfall... why? I don't know. I sometimes can't believe Arkane made a game that bad.
Open-world and RPG gave a new dimension to Assassins Creed. The old games revolve around stunning the samey enemies when they turn their their backs.
 
I remember Signalis being a survival horror but also kinda stealth based. Was playing on my PC, but it broke down, so I never played again
 
At this point, i would give up one of my testicles for a new full fledged Splinter Cell or Deus Ex or Dishonored, with fully fleshed out stealth mechanics. But they just dont make them like that any more.

As for how to scratch that itch - many people have already recommended good indie games in earlier comments. My additional few cents:
  • Just play Splinter Cell Chaos Theory again, if you have a PC and can get it running, and if you can tolerate the dated visuals. For me, Chaos Theory remains the gold standard of Stealth mechanics.
  • If you are looking for something slightly modern, i believe Splinter Cell Blacklist is a good modernized stealth experience. It still runs on modern PCs (i dont know about consoles). It has all the usual things you would expect from a Splinter Cell game. Sticking to shadows, keeping your noise level down, non-lethal takedowns, hiding bodies, etc. Yes Michael Ironside's voice is missed but if you can make do without it, Blacklist is a good game.
  • Sniper Elite 4 & 5 - these games have largely flown under the radar, but i would think of them as basically Splinter Cell games set in WW2, as IDKFA said. Large, open, multi-path levels. A focus on stealth and concealment. Creating distractions, sneaking in & out, etc. These are excellent games for scratching a stealth itch.
  • The two Adam Jensen Deus Ex games. They're the closest we came to getting true modern stealth immersive sims.
  • Dishonored 2 is Arkane at their best. Superlative level design that is built around various stealth mechanics and rewards exploration; with the added element of being able to go lethal when you want to.
 
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Have you played Sniper Elite? Stealth action games set in WW2.

That is what I would consider a stealth game. Although you do have other wepons as well as a sniper rifle (one pistol, one automatic/shotgun), if you charge into the levels all guns blazing then you're dead very quickly. The game forces you to be use stealth and sneak your way through the levels.

There are now six of these games, but I consider Sniper Elite 4 to be peak as it has the best level design. There are only 8, but they are all large mini open worlds. Each level will have a set of objectives, but you can approach them as you like and in any order.
Couldn't have put it better myself. Sniper Elite 4 & 5 are superb for their stealth gameplay. Even when you snipe from a distance there are ways to conceal yourself and use distraction noises to mask the sound of your sniper rifle.
 
Honestly it shifted to those tactical games more than anything. Which I don't jive with.

I prefer metal gear always will. Splinter cell is dead. They'll cancel before launching anything.
 
They fall under the category of middle (or AA) games not being made anymore.


Yeah living and working in Santa Monica (where he is, I went to school out there in the 90s), is part of the reason the budgets are so inflated.
Its actually more of a shithole now, just a tourist trap, overcrowded, over developed, too much traffic, quality of life does not reflect the cost of living out there.
 
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Anyone else really missing stealth games?

MGS, Splinter Cell, Watch Dogs….all memories now.

I want to sneak into CIA HQ or a military base!!

Splinter Cell is sorely missed, any recent games that could scratch this itch?
It's in a lot of games stealth as an "optionTM" but yeah dedicated stealth games are rare these days.

In the AAA space Death Stranding 2 felt like MGS5 lite and Grace's sections in RE9 had cool stealth mechanics.
 
not sure its really a pure stealth genre game but I absolutely loved Hitman 3.

The world of assasination series in general is a masterclass in sneakybeaky gameplay. Going for the Silent Assassin and in general the plat trophy on each of these games was pure gaming heaven to me. I played Sapienza like a million times, one of the greatest maps and missiosns ever designed.

 
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Yeah living and working in Santa Monica (where he is, I went to school out there in the 90s), is part of the reason the budgets are so inflated.
Its actually more of a shithole now, just a tourist trap, overcrowded, over developed, too much traffic, quality of life does not reflect the cost of living out there.
edit: sure that explains some of it, but the real issue is games becoming massive scale AAA open world productions and nobody wanting to do 8 hour linear stealth games anymore.

Pasta la Vista Pasta la Vista i edited so we can do more than just troll lol.
 
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yeah sorry i kinda went on a off-topic rant with that lol, anyhow!
its all good and tbh i agree with you too regarding california. but that doesnt paint the whole picture because even Ubisoft Montreal, with its lower cost of living city, went all in on AAAA and doesnt make splinter cell anymore.
 
I love stealth games. I can hide in 'em bushes for a long time waiting for the perfect opportunity. It has always been more exciting to me than pure action.
 
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