Games with Best Stealth Mechanics

Thief: The Dark Project

The first part of the cult Thief series, set in a semi-fantastic, somewhat steampunk world resembling the late Middle Ages.

We also recommend exploring other parts of this fantastic FPS (first-person sneaker) series.

In this title, you take on the role of a young Garrett – a professional thief and former member of The Keepers, a guild dedicated to maintaining the balance between magic and technology. Garrett left the ranks of the organization to start a thieving career on his own. Now he faces a series of challenges.

It is one of the games in the stealth genre where the premise is simple – confrontation with the enemy usually ends in defeat. Even though these enemies are often ordinary passers-by, residents of robbed estates, or guards, it’s better to simply avoid them or potentially eliminate them quietly.

Thief: The Dark Project

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Metal Gear Series

Metal Gear is a series of spy games created by the legendary Hideo Kojima, which are now considered cult classics and have laid the foundations for the entire genre.

Image credit: Kojima Productions

The entire series is renowned for its intricate, multithreaded storyline that combines themes of politics, war, and genetic engineering, as well as a specific sense of humour that regularly breaks the fourth wall. The main protagonist is usually special agent Solid Snake (although in subsequent installments, we also play as other characters related to him, but we don’t want to spoil it!), whose task is to quietly explore various facilities and bases to gather information, infiltrate enemy forces, or rescue hostages.

The titular Metal Gears are special machines of mass destruction, walking tanks equipped with nuclear warheads, which pose a serious threat to the world but also a reason for many political struggles.

The production of the first Metal Gear itself was a massive breakthrough. Kojima aimed to create a game where all the fun would focus on quiet and unnoticed movement around the map – which was to be the opposite of all the action-oriented titles of the time.

METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Definitive Experience

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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

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Dishonored Series

A great series published by Bethesda Softworks that combines elements of adventure, action RPG, stealth, and first-person shooter.

Image credit: Arkane Studios

Similar to the Thief series, here too we are dealing with a steampunk world where magic clashes with technology, and the setting resembles Victorian times. The game’s plot is set in the fictional Empire of the Isles and revolves around intrigues related to the royal family.

This title offers a lot of freedom in gameplay – both chaotic and peaceful actions from the shadows are possible. Our characters are usually equipped with additional psychic powers, and the endings of the games depend on the level of Chaos (the number of enemies eliminated).

Dishonored - Definitive Edition

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Dishonored 2

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Hitman Series

When it comes to infiltrating games, our list cannot miss the cult Hitman series. These titles combine action-based gameplay with that based on quietly eliminating enemies.

Image credit: IO Interactive

In all installments of the series, we play as Agent 47 – one of the ruthless, lab-created clones born from the DNA of several top assassins from different nationalities. These agents were created as super soldiers, designed for killing, and were to serve the individuals to whom they were assigned. However, Agent 47 escaped control, and throughout various instalments of the series, we follow his “adventures”.

Interestingly, the Hitman saga has resulted not only in games but also in a series of comics and even movies. The entire series is based on moving unnoticed, and the elimination of various targets.

HITMAN Series

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Assassin’s Creed Series

Another of the cult game series that everyone knows and loves, precisely because of its excellent mechanics combining action-packed chases, battles, climbing buildings with moving unnoticed and quietly eliminating designated targets.

Image credit: Ubisoft Québec

In almost every game in the series, we play as two different characters – living in modern times, the user of the ANIMUS machine, and their ancestor belonging to the titular brotherhood of assassins (or fighting to join it). The game is full of various mysteries, conspiracies, and secrets that are surprising every time, but it also includes humorous elements and various Easter Eggs referring to both previous installments and entirely different works of pop culture.

With the release of Origins, the series underwent some transformations, introducing elements typical of adventure games and RPGs, but it still retains the spirit of AC. In 2024, the latest installment AC: Shadows will be released.

Assassin's Creed Series

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Deus Ex series

A great series that surely all fans of games set in the cyberpunk world of the future love. The first two parts were released at the beginning of the 2000s, and its revival came almost a decade later, after the franchise was taken over by the previous publisher – Eidos.

Image credit: Ion Storm

The storyline of each game is set in a dystopian, cyberpunk future, from 2027 (Human Revolution, Mankind Divided) to the 2070s. Interestingly, the third and fourth installments, where we play as Adam Jensen, are prequels to the first two, centered around the Denton brothers.

Each game is a great, worthwhile story of a fairly serious tone. In each game, action and dynamic combat combine with well-developed stealth mechanics, allowing us to complete tasks without bloodshed.

Deus Ex: GOTY

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Mark of the Ninja

A very well-received stealth game that has been given a refreshed version in 2018.

Interestingly, the action in this title is observed from the side, similar to platformer games.

Image credit: Klei Entertainment

In this title, we play as a ninja warrior from the Hisomu clan, whose task is to discover who is behind the attack on his dojo. Because this is a typical stealth game, we have a rich arsenal of various weapons and equipment at our disposal, allowing for silent bypassing and elimination of enemies.

The game has an interesting and very atmospheric 2D graphic design, reminiscent of animated films.

Mark of the Ninja

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