Stealth is a sub-genre in action games that has revolutionized video games time and time again. This was more due to the plethora of amazing game franchises that are primarily stealth games.
One of them is the infamous Metal Gear Solid games by Hideo Kojima. He took video game cinematics and storytelling to new heights on the PlayStation 1 hardware. Actually making people look at the medium as an art form, rather than just entertainment.
In the following list, we are going to take a look at some of the other important stealth action games that are not from the Metal Gear Solid Series.
Top stealth action games to play if you love Metal Gear Solid
Assassin’s Creed (Ezio Trilogy)
If we are to look away from the Metal Gear series, there will always be one other stealth action game that immediately comes to everyone’s mind. That is the Assassin’s Creed series, which has been at the forefront of the genre for decades now.
Originally conceived as a spin-off to the infamous Prince of Persia game by Ubisoft. The title gradually found its own footing as a stealth action game that would win hearts.
But the series is vast, and there are too many to choose from. The newer games would naturally be our most recommended as they would house most of the updated features. But if we had to recommend, then it would be the Ezio Trilogy of Assassin’s Creed games.
The trilogy is praised as having some of the best characters and writing the franchise has ever seen. A new Assassin’s Creed title is yet to top the Ezio storyline.
Hitman Blood Money
Before the Assassin’s Creed franchise ever came into existence, there was the Hitman franchise. Developed by Eidos Interactive and released in 2000, Hitman Codename 47 popularized stealth action for PC players.
The Hitman series followed an engineered assassin who had no identity but just a number and a barcode to go with. We slowly learn more about what was going on with him as we played through the game.
The game franchise is quite popular today and is still sustained by IO Interactive with frequent updates. Our recommendation would be Hitman Blood Money, released in 2006, as we believe it is the last of the greatest Hitman games. Before a significant change to the franchise’s storytelling was brought under Square Enix.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Superhero games are a hit or miss most of the time. There have been only a few games in the genre that were serious big hits and went on to have sequels. One of them is the Batman Arkham games created by Rocksteady Games.
There are multiple games in the Arkham franchise. Each focuses on different types of maps and characters to play with. All of them have found varying degrees of success over the years.
The foundational groundwork for the Arkham games comes from the stealth action genre. The very first game kick-started this: Batman: Arkham Asylum. The title showed us how well Batman, as a superhero, went with the stealth genre of video games.
Dishonored
In 2012, the French video game developer, Arkane Studio, along with Publisher Bethesda, released one of the best stealth action games of that decade. It was the first Dishonored game, which provided a new perspective on the genre.
It’s not like first-person stealth games had never been a thing before this game’s release. But there were not many that were talked of in the modern era. That is, until Dishonored was released and turned everyone’s heads.
The game is set in a fictional universe where you step into the shoes of Corvo Attano. He suddenly finds himself being framed as the royal bodyguard who murdered the empress. Forced into a life of being on the run, he vows to seek revenge on the ones who put him in that situation.
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
Tenchu is a stealth action game franchise that found life on the first PlayStation, similar to Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid series. But unfortunately, it was never able to find the height of popularity that most of the games on this list did.
Regardless, Tenchu is one of the best game series if you are looking for retro stealth action games that involve ninjas in a Japanese setting. Although most of these games feel dated by today’s standards, Tenchu has some interesting characters and introduced mechanics that were far ahead of their time.
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven is the third game in the franchise, and is considered by many as the best one. The game boasts three playable characters, including series mainstay ninja Rikimaru, the young kunoichi Ayame, and a new character.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Developer FromSoftware has garnered quite a reputation by inventing one of the greatest new sub-genres in action games, Soulslikes. Moving away from the medieval dark fantasy games, they released Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in 2019
The history behind Sekiro is interesting since the game is published by Activision. The project originally started off as a new Tenchu title. FromSoftware was involved with the original Tenchu games, so this was going to be a natural development cycle for them.
But more the production of the game moved forward, the more new concepts were introduced, and it eventually turned into an original IP. Sekiro is not completely a stealth game, but it still has the DNA of classic Tenchu stealth mechanics. That alone makes it worthy of mention on this list.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
It has been a while since we have seen a new Splinter Cell game from Ubisoft. The Assassin’s Creed franchise has become the publisher’s go-to franchise in the past few decades. Unfortunately, this has led to the Splinter Cell games getting completely overshadowed.
Before Assassin’s Creed was big, Splinter Cell was the publisher’s main stealth action game. It series had its own protagonist named Sam Fisher, a covert ops agent. Sadly, most new generation of video game fans won’t even recognize that name these days.
There are several Splinter Cell games out there; most of them are really great experiences. One game that would be highly recommended for newer fans is Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.
It is the third game in the franchise and a direct sequel to Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. Even though the Metal Gear Solid franchise had nothing to do with this franchise. The influence and impact those games had on the Splinter Cell series was, without a doubt, very big.
Ghost of Tsushima
For the longest time, fans had begged Ubisoft for an Assassin’s Creed game that was set far in the east, in medieval Japan, and involved ninjas. Although the wishes did come true with Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. The developer was a few years too late, because PlayStation’s suckerpunch already won the hearts of the fans with Ghost of Tsushima.
Released in 2020, Ghost of Tsushima is a character action game following the story of Jin Sakai, a ronin. The game is not primarily a stealth action game, as it is overall an RPG with different skill trees that lead to different builds.
But the game totally allows the players to approach combat and the whole game in general, completely using stealth. Even though this was the first-ever release of a game like this from Sucker Punch Studios, they successfully knocked it out of the park.
Thief: The Dark Project
This is definitely going to be the oldest game on this whole list. Also, another stealth game that uses a first-person view. The Thief games are actually of the immersive sim genre, but stealth action is the primary style of gameplay they employ.
Thief games are set in a steampunk universe with some really well-made narratives. These games follow the story of Garret in the factional setting called The City.
He is a master thief who left the secret order of Keepers. Circumstances in the game lead Garret to uncover truths about a cult and stop them from causing chaos.
Alien: Isolation
Stealth is an ingrained mechanic in the horror game genre. Especially if it is a survival horror game. Alien: Isolation is probably one of the best games out all, to utilize stealth action mechanics that seamlessly blend in with horror.
The game follows the story of the first film, and is set 15 years after its events. You step into the shoes of Amanda Ripley, the daughter og Ellen Ripley. She travels to the Sevastopol space station to learn more about the disappearance of her mother.
All the while Amanda is on board the ship, she has to keep shut and stealth her way through every section of the game meticulously. There are several enemies that stalk her and would lead to an instant game over if caught. But most dangerous of all is the dreaded Xenomorph, which everyone onboard has to watch out for.
