Not the original Hitman game, which is looking ropier with each passing year, but the episodic “reboot” of 2016.

You want it, I want it, everyone wants it. The only problem with a new Splinter Cell game is that we’d have to buy it and, judging from the franchise’s most recent entries in terms of sales, it might be a risk that Ubisoft are averse to taking. If they were to make a new Splinter Cell game and have it be a success, all they need to do is look at Chaos Theory: the third entry in the series. It doesn’t feel like the stealth genre is on the way out, rather that it’s difficult to find a “straight” stealth title that isn’t interspersed with other conventions, like an open world or open-ended approach that gives the player plenty of choice on how to approach obstacles. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — adaptation and evolution is part of why Mario is still as beloved as ever. From one Klei stealth game to another, Mark of the Ninja represents the absolute best in 2D side-scrolling stealth games. Meanwhile, I watch some videos of people just running circles around NPCs while the [hidden] indicator remains unchanged. How is this possible?

By expanding on the fundamentals introduced in Asylum with a grander scale and more polish, City allows you to approach being The Bat however you like. There’s something undeniably satisfying about the game’s combat, but equally so is stringing up bad guys from lampposts. While there’s nothing revolutionary here in terms of stealth, there’s something to be said for making blood spurt out of someone’s windpipe like a fountain. It also has the staple Kojima attention to detail with the boss battle with The End totally avoidable if you just change your PS2’s date settings to make him die of old age. For all his gadgets and bone-breaking, Batman is at his most effective when he’s stalking his foes from the shadows. A remaster was released for consoles in 2018, though with it being available for a relative pittance on Steam, you shouldn’t wait around.

A PlayStation favourite that came out a time when Solid Snake had only just made his PS1 debut, Syphon Filter never reached the fanfare of Metal Gear Solid, but it certainly had plenty of fans all the same. Definitely the smallest game on this list, Intravenous comes from an indie studio that wanted to deliver a hardcore stealth game with some immersive sim elements that really gets your creative murder cogs whirring. Whilst we will do everything we can to meet the delivery times above, there may be factors outside of our control and we cannot guarantee delivery within this time frame. There’s a surprising amount of stealth that comes before shooting someone’s testicles all the way off. Sniper Elite 4 doesn’t massively change things from the third installment but instead has some welcome QOL improvements, which is why it makes the cut for the best stealth games. It’s really about time Konami bundled all of these stealth landmarks as one complete collection. We’re as tired as Snake at the end of 4 about that not happening yet.Speech is levelled by buying and selling items, and successfully using the Persuade, Indimidate, and Bribe dialogue options. While Manhunt was ahead of its time in many regards, time hasn’t caught up to it too harshly and is still a bloody joy to play. It may even still make you feel a bit queasy, despite its triangular nature. The immediate comparison that springs to mind when you load up Mike Bithell’s Volume is — if you had a good childhood — Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions. It has an aesthetic not a million miles away from Kojima’s weird side-content, though Volume has its fair share of original ideas to make it worthwhile.

These standards, and their truly innovative triathlon products, have resulted in XLAB becoming an industry favourite, among amateurs and athletes alike. Dishonored 2 is also one of those games that rewards experimentation and perfection, so take your time with it and you will take a lot away from it in turn. Deadly Shadows provided a lot of fundamental changes for the series, including the ability to switch between perspectives and to press up against walls; small things that not many games at the time could provide. I have 100 in sneak, all the sneak related perks, light armor, level 22 (although I have other characters that are max level and they have the same issue), no pip boy light or radio on and I get detected outside, inside doesn't matter.Bearing that in mind, the most efficient items to steal are gems and jewelry, as they're high in value but low in weight - which means a higher chance to steal, as weight determines difficulty. This means that Shards of Darkness contains plenty of trial and error gameplay, which may frustrate some. For anyone who’s played an old-school stealth game, however, it’s a joy. If I have 100 in sneak and I equip armor that gives a bonus to sneak, does that add up past the 100 limit? Because that's about the thing that might make a difference.

Of all the games on this list, Chaos Theory may be the purest in terms of stealth. It will punish your simple mistakes with its relentless AI, so you will not just be able to light up all witnesses with a hail of gunfire. It’s a game about patience, just an absolute load of door bashing, and iconic green goggles.It doesn’t hurt that it offers the best gameplay in the series, either. Hitman had always been somewhat clunky by nature, seemingly to dissuade mass murder sprees. 2016’s Hitman, however, introduces the smoothest action seen yet with competent AI and reactive scenarios to still bring the challenge, as well as a much appreciated level of detail with so many different events triggering at once. Anyone who knows stealth games could have predicted that Snake Eater would be sitting pretty on top of the pile. Buying and selling items levels Speech according to the item's value, and will only every grant you experience for one item per transaction - meaning you should always sell items one at a time if you want to raise your Speech level. Featuring spine-breaks, heart filleting, and even some old-fashioned decapitations, it could be easy to discount Wrath of Heaven as nothing more than a gorefest, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It requires a lot of strategy and forward planning, almost like the Hitman of ninja games— you’ll never be able to look at a rice ball the same way again. Probably the least well-known game on this list, Echo is an indie with a seriously interesting twist to gameplay; indies are always where you will find the most unique mechanics. You must fight yourself (or many different versions of yourself) as you traverse a constantly twisting and changing palace. If that sounds nuts, it all makes sense within the game, trust me.