Best stealth games

Stealth games combine some of the best elements of gaming, including action-packed combat, advanced guerrilla tactics, and strategic movement--not to mention, the main character always looks like a complete badass. You need to plan every move and have impeccable timing, because every mistake you make is brutally punished thanks to security guards with heightened senses and complex mission objectives.

But we love the challenge of sneaking by unnoticed and rendering our victims unconscious in suffocating headlocks. We’ve gathered together the very best stealth-centric titles that still hold up; just in case you missed out the first time around, you can always dive into these silent stalkers.

Sly Cooper isn’t your typical stealth game protagonist: Instead of twisting necks and dropping guards with a silenced pistol, he’s all about perfectly paced platforming and making the use of inventive gadgetry. Rather than going it alone like some kind of renegade lone wolf, Sly’s part of a cohesive team, constantly getting backup from his childhood buddies Bentley and Murray (both of whom are, like Sly, incredibly lovable and quirky).

Sly 2 let us take a walk in the not-so-stealthy shoes of Sly’s accomplices, sniping enemies from afar with sleep darts using Bentley’s crossbow, or walloping goons with Murray’s heavyweight punches.The sequel also introduced the addictive art of pickpocketing, and having a hub world made the missions feel like small steps working towards a grand heist finale. Toss in more of the same varied level design as the first, imaginative boss fights, and more romantic intrigue with Carmelita, and you’ve got one heck of a stealth game that both kids and adults can get into.

A WWII game where you play as an American sniper, on a mission behind enemy lines, wouldn’t typically be thought to be a stealth game. But there are no silencers on your gun. You don’t have magic powers. You just have your rifle and whatever you can find on the battlefield.

Sniper Elite V2 puts one man against an army, so running and gunning won’t get you anywhere. You’ll have to intelligently set traps, use the environment to your advantage, and alert as few enemies to your location as possible. Staying hidden means shooting at the same time a church bell tolls, or timing your kills with the explosions of artillery rounds to cover your gunshot. Explosive fuel containers cause chaos, and killing commanding officers devastates enemy moral. Anything you can use to your advantage is your weapon, making V2 a much more satisfying sniping, and stealth, experience than you might expect.

Read our Sniper Elite V2 review

Oddly enough, most games with ninjas rarely involve subtlety and assassination. But, that’s not the case for Mark of the Ninja. Rather than jumping into full-on combat with a sword in hand, you must plan and execute your attack without your enemy ever knowing you’re coming.

In this stealthy ninja title, you’re getting the “silent and deadly ninja” experience. Watch from the shadows as you develop a plan to silently strike hard, and fade away. Toy with the enemy’s senses to lure them into traps, smash light sources, and hide bodies. Don’t let the 2D graphics fool you: Mark of the Ninja is a fully-featured and intense stealth title.

Read our Mark of the Ninja review

Hitman is for the perfectionist stealth gamers out there. One wrong move can turn a mission to kill one target into a bloody rampage with bodies stacked to the ceiling. Agent 47 leaves no witnesses, so anyone who realizes that the bald guy with a barcode on the back of his head is a deadly assassin has to lie in an early grave.

Getting the perfect silent kill is what you strive for in Hitman: Blood Money. Security checkpoints, over-watching cameras, and witnesses stand between you and your target, but 47 has a variety of upgradable weapons, disguises, and improvised devices he can use to pull off the perfect hit. Blood Money is a true test of your stealth skills.

Read our Hitman: Blood Money

Sam Fisher’s most recent outing kicks the pace of the stealth genre up a notch. In Conviction, the goal isn’t necessarily to avoid conflict by circling around guards in the shadows; you use stealth to confuse and disorient your enemies during combat. If you set up an attack just right, you could pick off every enemy goon in a matter of seconds--but even in prolonged gunfights, you’ll have to use stealth to your advantage.

Flanking maneuvers and the Mark and Execute ability--allowing you to tag and immediately eliminate enemies--keep you moving. Enemies will converge on your last known location, giving you the chance to come up from behind with a few melee takedowns then Mark and Execute the remaining threats. Of course, there are also plenty of traps and gadgets you can set up to kick off a gunfight, but the on-the-fly strategy is what will get Sam through his mission alive.

Read our Splinter Cell: Conviction review

Deus Ex: HR might not be entirely reliant on stealth mechanics (you can choose to go the guns blazing route), but catering your Augmentations to being sneaky is no less an awesome experience than any pure stealth title. Screw a silencer onto your gun, upgrade to quieter footfalls, and equip some advanced vision options and you’re a fully functional cybernetic stealth assassin.

Any stealthy path you want to play is open to you. Want to completely avoid detection? Climb through vents and hack security systems to get by. Want to be a violent assassin? Equip some arm blades and slice ‘n’ dice your enemies in silence. They’ll never know what hit them.

Read our Deus Ex: Human Revolution review

Not all assassinations need to happen in the dead of night with the killer waiting in the shadows. They can also happen in the middle of a crowd--in broad daylight. As Italian playboy Ezio Auditore, you’ll discover the secret organization of Assassins, and begin his rise to power in Assassin’s Creed 2. This sequel kicks the story off at a point where newcomers to the series can easily catch up, and includes gameplay improvements that vastly improve on the first title.

Armed with his dual wrist-blades, Ezio’s unorthodox idea of stealth involves blending into the local populace rather than hiding in the cover of darkness. Climbing to the rooftops of tall buildings, or swan-diving into a bale of hay are Ezio’s avenues of infiltration and escape, making AC 2’s kill and escape missions some of the most exhilarating experiences you can have in a stealth game.

Read our Assassin's Creed II review"

The Empress has been killed, her Daughter kidnapped, and you, the Lord Protector, gets falsely accused of Regicide. As the supernatural assassin, Corvo Attano, you can exact revenge in whatever way you want. Sure, you can sneak around and stab guards in the back like every other stealth game out there, but it’s the freedom of choice that makes Dishonored one of the best stealth games available.

The missions are open for you to choose your own path. You can explore the area, looking for ways to slip in and neutralize your target unnoticed. Get to your high-profile targets by sneaking in through a vent, possessing a rat, and teleporting from cover to cover so you can silently and brutally deliver the coup de grace. At least, that’s one option. But why give the scum of the earth the easy way out (a quick death), when you can help them get kidnapped, or send them to toil in a coalmine for the rest of their miserable lives.

Read our Dishonored review

The origin story of the greatest soldier ever takes players back to the Cold War. Naked Snake (later known as the antagonist Big Boss) must prevent a nuclear disaster with little more to start with than a knife, a tranquilizer pistol, and his wardrobe of camouflaged fatigues. The series has always been known for its exceptional espionage action and dramatic story, but Snake Eater takes the cake as far as a fulfilling stealth title goes.

Snake isn’t restricted to hiding around corners in military installations, or crawling through ventilation systems. He’s out in the wild, blending in with the tall grass, and dressing as alligators. Combine the suspense of the stealth gameplay, the revealing story, memorable characters, and intense boss battles, and you’ve got an unforgettable sneaky title.

Read our Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater review

He is the darkness. He is fear. He is Batman. The Dark Knight returns in the sequel that is (arguably) the best superhero game ever made. And that is exactly why Batman: Arkham City is also the best stealth game you can play: It allows you to become the greatest stealthy hero in history, giving you all of the tools necessary to be the dark hero. As the caped crusader, you can do everything you’ve seen in the movies and comics. Pull off his ninja-esque vanishing acts, use his gadgets, and deliver beatdowns to series villains like the Joker and Mr. Freeze.

As Batman, you aren’t hiding in the shadows, you’re a predator, stalking your prey from the darkness. You’ll get the drop on your enemies using all the gadgets in the Dark Knight’s utility belt. String enemies up from the ceiling, pelt unknowing enemies with the famous batarangs, or go gadget-free, and incapacitate your victims by punching them through a wall. Arkham City has a legendary cast of characters, an engaging story, and gameplay versatility that lets you strike fear into the hearts of criminals; what more can you want from a stealth game?

Read our Batman Arkham City review

There you have it. What is the top ten list of your favorite stealth games? Which games did we miss? What stealth title releases are you looking forward to? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Discover even more awesome games by checking out our 100 best games of all time article.