Some people say the genre of stealth is dying. But hide your weapon, plan your escape, and check out these awesome Xbox Series X|S games that say otherwise.
In an action game, it can be exciting to beat a lot of enemies at once. But it’s exciting to do “ghost missions” and have no one know you were there. The stealth genre isn’t as popular as it should be, and most of the main series aren’t even being made anymore, except for Hitman.
It’s too bad, because many good stealth games are very fun to play. All three consoles have some stealth games, but the Xbox has more because it can play games from other consoles. Some of the best classic stealth games can be played with the least amount of trouble on an Xbox Series X|S.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is one of the best stealth games that has ever been made. Even though the game is over 16 years old, some parts, like the lighting, still look good. It also helps that Series X consoles can play all original Xbox games at nearly 4K. Like the fan-favorite bank mission, Chaos Theory has some of the best level design in the whole stealth genre. Hitman 2 couldn’t do better than that bank level.
You can save your game for the first time on consoles instead of just stopping at checkpoints. This makes the game much easier to play for people today than the first two, where the checkpoints can be so annoying that you just give up. Chaos Theory is a great place to start with this series.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Splinter Cell: Blacklist is the best of the three Splinter Cell games for Xbox 360. The only bad things about this game are Sam’s new, less recognizable voice actor and the joked-about fact that Sam’s movements aren’t right for a person his age. Blacklist is also one of the best stealth games for that generation of consoles.
The fact that the game can be played in three different ways is a big plus. Ghost is the traditional stealth takedown that doesn’t kill anyone. Panther is like Splinter Cell: Conviction in that Sam will kill everyone, but he will do it quietly. Then there’s Assault, which is the all-out, explosive method. You can play in any of the three styles, but if you only want to play as Ghost, it’s still a lot of fun and doesn’t feel like a disadvantage. It’s a must-play for stealth fans because the level design is great and it runs at a striped 4K on Series X.
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Bluepoint Games did a great job with the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. This remaster stands out in a time when both the Silent Hill HD Collection and the Zone of the Enders HD Collection were not very good. These two games are still good and can be played again and again. MGS2 has a lot of VR Missions, and Snake can use so many tools in MGS3 that it’s always fun to play again.
The best way to play these two well-known songs is on Series X|S. MGS2 does have a PC version, but it has some problems. The two-pack collection is no longer for sale, which is too bad. Even though Konami said it would come back, it hasn’t yet. You can get a physical copy for not too much money, but you might have trouble finding this sneaky duo.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
The Phantom Pain is one of the more controversial Metal Gear games. It has a simple story, but some of the best stealth gameplay of the modern era. The game is basically a stealth sandbox. You have one place to sneak into, a lot of different goals and challenges, and you can do whatever you want.
Compared to the other Metal Gear games, you have so much more freedom. The game can take well over 100 hours to finish, but it’s so fun that you might want to do it. Die-hard Metal Gear fans might be disappointed by the story, but if you just want a great stealth game, you will have a great time.
Hitman HD Pack
Most Hitman games can be played on PlayStation 5, but two can only be played on Xbox and PC. Hitman HD has Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and Hitman: Contracts. The easiest way to play Silent Assassin is on Xbox Series X|S, since the PC version can be hard to run on new computers. Still, Silent Assassin is one of the weaker games in the series because the AI is often very buggy and Eggy Car game is a bit too long.
Contracts, on the other hand, is still a great stealth game. Half of the missions are new, and the other half are remakes of levels from the first Hitman. The level design is much better than in the first two games, the AI works better, and the much-needed item wheel makes its first appearance. Fans of stealth games should play both games, but especially Contracts.
Assassin’s Creed 1
When the series has been going on for this long, it’s very interesting to go back to the first game. The first few games were mostly social stealth games, but the later games have changed that. Even though a lot of the sequels are better, the first game is still a good stealth game with a lot of interesting ideas.
In fact, of all the games in the series, the first one is the one that focuses on stealth the most. The best way to play on a console is on a Series X, which has FPS Boost and runs at a nearly 4K resolution. Since this is a Ubisoft game, it’s often on sale for less than $10, which is a great price.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is so underrated that underrated doesn’t even begin to cover it. Human Revolution, the game’s predecessor, may be better and more well-rounded, but Mankind Divided isn’t as well-known and does a few things better. The hub world is better, the side quests are much more memorable, and there are more ways to play.
That includes stealth, which works much better now that you don’t have to fight bosses. Series X is the only console version of the game that can run at a steady 60 frames per second (fps), thanks to the FPS Boost feature. Mankind Divided is one of the best, if not the best, stealth games made for the Xbox One console generation. It is a must-play on the Series X|S.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Knight had to be a contender for Game of the Year in 2015. Arkham Knight is the last game in the mainline trilogy, and it has the best and hardest stealth gameplay in the series so far. The stealth in Arkham Asylum and City was pretty simple. You spent most of your time on a high platform waiting to drop and attack.
Rocksteady made it a lot harder to play that way in Arkham Knight, where enemies are much more aggressive with the tools they use to find and fight Batman. Stealth isn’t as important as head-on hand-to-hand combat, and you’ll spend a lot more time on the ground (in the Batmobile) than in previous games. But when you sneak in, it’s much more tense, which makes stealth one of the best parts of the game.
