Stealth is one of the hardest genres for a developer to pull off, perhaps because it’s defined at its core by the conflicting attributes of player autonomy and tightly scripted level design. The challenges need to feel harder than they actually are, and the solutions–though carefully crafted–must seem to burst forth from the player’s natural talent. A really great stealth game will make you rip your hair out ten minutes before wondering if you just might be the best damned assassin who ever picked up a controller.
So when a game walks this tight rope, it’s something special, and it tends to leave a mark. In honor of “Mark of the Ninja,” Klei Entertainment’s new masterwork on XBLA, I thought I’d look back at the five best stealth games ever made. I should note that this list will not be making any legacy considerations. I don’t care if any game was “the first” this or “the original” that. We’re talking pure quality and lasting excellence.
Also: stealth hybrid games are out. Many games have stealth elements, or stealth sections, but we’re talking pure stealth on this list.
5. Hitman: Blood Money (2006, IO Interactive) The “Hitman” franchise changed the entire stealth landscape, and cut out a niche for itself that few other titles have even tried to encroach upon. Where most stealth titles focus on out-maneuvering opponents, “Hitman” emphasizes deceiving them. The ability to knock out unsuspecting guards and pedestrians, take their clothes, and walk right into previously inaccessible areas provides an adrenaline rush few games can compete with. “Blood Money” sharpened this dynamic to almost surgical precision, thanks to better enemy AI, the Notoriety system and ingenious level design. The highlight: disguising yourself as the pool guy in order to seduce a ravenous cougar in her palatial mansion. Amazing.
4. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005, Ubisoft Montreal) After the great but frustrating “Splinter Cell,” and the shrug-inducing “Pandora Tomorrow,” “Chaos Theory” finally delivered on the promise of the franchise. Not only was the campaign the best of the series (they finally stopped relying on trial-and-error design), the game featured paradigm-shifting competitive and cooperative multiplayer. It didn’t hurt having one of the greatest game soundtracks of all time either, courtesy of Amon Tobin. This was the first truly masterful multiplayer stealth game, and it’s still the best.
3. Metal Gear Solid (1998, Konami) I know I said “no legacy picks,” but the game that invented the modern stealth title still holds up amazingly well. There’s something about pretending to be a box that just never gets old. In much the same way that “Super Mario Bros” and “Tetris” are still breathtaking to play no matter how many people ape them, MGS is the best pure stealth-sneak experience ever engineered. It’s rare for a genre original to also be a genre best, but Kojima pulled it off here.
2. Mark of the Ninja (2012, Klei Entertainment) Yeah I said it. “Mark of the Ninja” arrives on the stealth scene like an atomic blast, single-handedly solving many of the genre’s most consistent deficiencies with a seemingly endless supply of head-smacking, “why didn’t they do that sooner” innovations: sound and vision cones, precise visual representations of where and when the bad guys saw you, the ability to hear enemies in the next room before seeing them, scare tactics that make guards panic, etc. Stack all of that on top of silk-smooth controls, inspired level design, an amazingly open-ended progression system that offers three distinct styles of play, and what you have is an instant classic. Klei Entertainment has thrown down the gauntlet here. This is now the stealth game to beat of this decade.
1. Thief: The Dark Project (1998, Looking Glass Studios) Playing Looking Glass’ period stealth masterpiece is like watching mid-70s Scorsese: you’re experiencing a master at the peak of their powers. Taking what they learned from the “System Shock” franchise, Looking Glass took MGS’ basic framework and added light and sound mechanics, evolving stealth from a kind of glorified puzzle game into a full-blooded genre of its own. “Thief” was the first game that made you feel like you really were breaking into some place. More than a few of its levels, especially the opener “The Bafford Job,” are among the best-designed single player experiences in gaming history. As if that wasn’t enough, “Thief’s” medieval meets steampunk aesthetic was truly original and hauntingly unforgettable. There’s not a single thing this game attempts that it doesn’t pull off with flying colors. In the years since, no one has quite recaptured the magic of “Thief: The Dark Project,” and perhaps no one will.
_AA
maybe I have sinned
