Stealth games can offer players some of the most immersive experiences in video games, thanks in large part to their often unforgiving mechanics that build anticipation and encourage patience on the part of the player. These games cover a variety of perspectives, from the third-person stealth of gamessuch asTom Clancy’s Splinter Cellto the top-down stealth of the originalMetal Gear.
First-person stealth games, however, arguably offer a more immersive experience that’s harder to exploit. From stealth-focused immersive sims such asThief: The Dark Project, all the way to the heist simulator,Payday 2, there is an abundance of high-quality first-person stealth games to experience.
Thief Simulatorcan be an unfortunately clunky experience and doesn’t feature the smoothest gameplay, but it can also be anincredibly immersive experiencewhen it has players in the zone. The game revolves purely around stealth gameplay, which itself is centered around burglary.Thief Simulatoris built on simulated systems that create emergent gameplay and reward patient players, resulting in an engaging and often strategic stealth experience.
For players who enjoy slower-paced games that focus less on action and more on quick thinking,Thief Simulatoris a lightweight stealth title that can offer a handful of thrills. However, players that have no patience for clunky games should be warned.
Thisfirst-person shooterfeatures a variety of heists for players to attempt in single-player or online co-op. In the game, players can choose their loadout from a variety of options and approach each heist in all manner of ways. This results in a diverse sandbox that encourages all kinds of strategies, including full stealth.
However,Payday 2is notorious for its rough edges, resulting in a stealth experience that’s frequently frustrating. In spite of this, creating a plan and plotting out a route through each location can be intensely rewarding, especially when managing to do it without alerting the authorities.
Thelevels ofDeus Exfeature open environments that encourage a variety of solutions to the encounters within. As with many, if not all, immersive sims, one of these options is almost always stealth, allowing players to sneak around levels and take out enemies one by one.
Unlike pure stealth games, sneaking around isn’t always necessary inDeus Ex, but it’s often encouraged and almost always possible.Deus Exmay be showing its age somewhat, but it’s still an experience worth having for players who can get behind its old-school design.
Thiefis among the first immersive, and features a strong focus on stealth gameplay that’s facilitated by its lighting system; stealth inThiefrelies heavily on exploiting the stylized shadows of the game, which allow players to hide in the darkness.Thief’ssound design and mechanics are both unique and innovative, even by today’s standards, providing a truly immersive stealth experience.
One ofThief’smost notable mechanics, however, is its variety of utility arrows, which can be fired fromthe player’s regular bow; water arrows to snuff out torches, rope arrows to reach new areas, and even moss arrows to quieten footsteps.Thiefdoes feature melee combat, but attempting to kill more than one or two enemies at a time can be a difficult task and, as a result, combat is relatively discouraged.
Published by New Blood Interactive, this remarkably old-school stealth game takes inspiration from classic immersive sims such asThief: The Dark Project, as well as the survival-horror genre. This results in an experience that’s often incredibly tense, and the limitation on the player’s resources emphasizes the stealth mechanics, rewarding those who think carefully and plan ahead.
Enemies inGloomwoodare no joke; although their intentions are clearly telegraphed to the player with their traffic-light eyes, they still pose a mighty threat when the player is caught unaware, orlow on resources. Melee combat is possible inGloomwood, and taking out one guard tends to be trivial, but larger groups of enemies and the armored variety can prove more dangerous.Gloomwoodalso features firearms, but ammunition is heavily limited and, as a result, stealth is almost always the more efficient solution.
Developed by the prolific Arkane Studios,Dishonoredis famous for bringing immersive-sim gameplay into the mainstream with smooth gameplay built for modern audiences.Dishonoredgives players a variety of combat tools andeven supernatural abilities, which can make encounters relatively trivial at times. However,Dishonoreddiscourages players from killing enemies by threatening them with a “bad” ending for doing so. It’s an arguably flawed design, but it allowsDishonored’sstealth mechanics to shine where they otherwise wouldn’t.
The player’s supernatural abilities can also improve the player’s chances of survival outside of combat, with the most notable ability being the blink. This ability allows the player to reach all manner of hiding spots, granting players the opportunity to hop about the open environments unseen. These abilities, and the variety of gadgets, driveDishonored’sgameplay both in and out of stealth. Furthermore, each ofDishonored’slevels is designed to give players a variety of angles to approach, resulting in an immersive experience that rewards creative thinking.
