Action Games With Good Stealth Gameplay

Action games are a dime a dozen in gaming, killing every genre it can. It’s rare to find a game without a combat focus. Even the best action game needs some diversity to spice up its combat every now and then though, and so these games inject some stealth into the equation.

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For some of these games, stealth is another tool in your disposal, while in some its just a one-off mechanic with impressive depth. They all use it in varying different ways that helps liven up the game. Let’s check them out.

9

Assassin’s Creed

The Assassin’s Creed games may have started as stealth games with a smaller combat side, but that balance has been dramatically altered in the years since the original game. Even its newest entries, which have put a renewed focus on stealth, still have combat as their focus. To that same end, they at least still have surprisingly deep combat.

Odyssey is a great example of this. The game and its many perks mainly center around combat, kicking enemies off cliffs and the like. But if you choose to push in that direction, you can make your stealth attacks even stronger, teleport to a target, turn invisible, and more. The stealth isn’t entirely forgotten, and still has some great utility.

8

Batman: Arkham Knight

While you could argue the Batman Arkham games are an even split between combat and stealth, it’s the freeflow combat system that has been its most influential trait, and the mechanic of the game that has the most depth. But to really feel like Batman, you have to embrace his illusive nature, too. Even Batman will die to a hail of bullets.

Everything in the Arkham games are built for both combat and stealth. Batman’s tools are just as useful at scaring enemies when they don’t know where you are. Messing with them is even more fun, raising their heartbeat and making them act erratically. Stealth for Batman is a game he can’t fail. He is the predator, and everyone else is just prey.

7

Astral Chain

PlatinumGames is known for its character-action games and how stylish they are, even if many of them are licensed games. Astral Chain is one of the studios more dramatically different games, offering more open levels with optional quests and enemy encounters. It’s a very story-focused game as well, with some segments requiring a more delicate approach.

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In these instances, the game demands you use stealth. These segments are short, though surprisingly competent. Enemies have detection meters, cover functions as you’d expect, and you have to actively use your Legion to catch enemies by surprise. It’s oddly impressive for a game that is otherwise non-stop action.

6

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk isn’t the first game in which CD Projekt RED has tried its hand at stealth, though it is the first time where it’s actually been good. Cyberpunk steps away from the more handcrafted experience of The Witcher to open up lots of different playstyles. And while you can never avoid the game being very combat-focused, stealth is a more than competent system.

Cyberpunk gives you lots of build options, though it’s up to you how you use them. You can use knives and thrown weapons to take down enemies stealthily, or use your hacking skills to take enemies by surprise and use the environment to your advantage. Snipe at a distance. Turn enemy against enemy. Do whatever you want, your way.

5

Wolfenstein

The modern Wolfenstein games have one goal, and one goal only – make it real damn fun to kill nazis. And it is. Guns blazing, dual-wielding monstrously large guns, showers of blood all around you. The nazi regime is a very rich one though, and that gets some very powerful defenses against any form of resistance.

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BJ Blazkowicz knows how to take down nazis though, by any means necessary. Stealth is secondary by all means, but it’s never lesser. Brutally taking down a powerful enemy and taking the rest by surprise is just what it takes.

4

Ghost of Tsushima

For Sucker Punch, Ghost of Tsushima is closer to a return to form than a brand-new invention. It flies closer to the stealth legacy of the Sly Cooper games, even if it puts a much higher emphasis on combat than them. It pulls heavily from Samurai action films, and that translates wonderfully to combat, though stealth is not absent.

You are the ghost of Tsushima, after all. Raiding camps at night is a simple task for Jin. Silently loosing arrows and one swift strike from his blade ending an enemy’s life before they even know he’s there. The environment has plenty of its own uses as well. Jin is resourceful.

3

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

For someone who is really into archeology, Lara Croft sure does know how to murder. It is a brief remark in the first Tomb Raider reboot before she is putting islands of villains without a second thought. And this trilogy of games is very combat-focused with some stealth alongside, though its Shadow of the Tomb Raider that lets you see how scary Lara is.

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Lara is someone with very little remorse and a very itchy trigger finger, and Shadow of the Ton Raider lets her use stealth to terrify enemies. Sneaking through foliage, firing fear arrows at enemies, stringing them up in trees for everyone to see. The jungle is her playground, and the enemies are her prey.

While the Metal Gear Solid games are some of the most brilliantly crafted stealth games there are, Metal Gear Rising is a different beast entirely. Raiden is a killer, capable of slashing just about anything to shreds. The combat in the game is frenetic, and the levels are short. It’s all about adrenaline and style.

But it’s Metal Gear, so it can’t be entirely without stealth. If Raiden is quiet, he can still get behind an enemy and still them in a single hit, and there are even some helpful barrels around for you to take cover in. It’s never mandatory though, so you can slash to your heart’s content.

1

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The Souls games have never been stealthy. You can walk up behind an enemy slowly and backstab them, though it’s hardly what you would call stealth. Sekiro, on the other hand, has stealth in spades. Here, stealth isn’t an option, but another weapon at your disposal. Unless you’re flawless, you’ll need it to survive.

You do anything you can to win an encounter in Sekiro, and sometimes that means taking an enemy from behind. Or above. It means pulling the blood from their body and turning it into a smokescreen to cover your escape. It’s jumping across rooftops to get a better vantage point. The combat in Sekiro is electric, but stealth is what gives you the upper hand.

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