The realm of gaming encompasses many genres and caters to several interests, making it one of the best ways for anyone to spend their time. Regardless of what a player might want to check out, most video games will have all these bases covered and then some. This is especially true in the case of stealth games, with the act of sneaking around and taking out enemies being quite immersive and enjoyable in video games.
Players who want to become a silent assassin or secret agent will find more than enough games that cater to this fantasy. In fact, several video games have made it a point to construct entire franchises around the gameplay loop of sneaking around, with some of these series being revered by many fans. Here are some of the greatest stealth video game franchises around that have never seen a single title be ranked poorly on Metacritic.
10 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Splinter Cell is a legendary video game franchise that is finally getting another title, with the first game being remade for a new generation. The adventures of Sam Fisher as he tackles a wealth of missions make for a great time indeed.
Almost all the games in the series heavily prioritize stealth and punish players for trying to go through the game guns-blazing. The gameplay is tight, the stories are pretty memorable, and the characters are quite engaging in their own right too.
9 Metal Gear Solid
Speaking of legendary stealth franchises, another great series that comes to mind is Metal Gear Solid. The story of Solid Snake and his many other iterations over the course of the series' confusing yet riveting timeline makes for a blast.
It helps that the stealth gameplay in each game is great, with the player being punished for trying to turn this game into an action title. The series might've ended abruptly with Kojima's departure from Konami, but the legacy of the Metal Gear Solid series will remain intact for the years to come.
8 The Chronicles Of Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick is one of the most underrated gaming trilogies of all time. The movies might not be great, but it's genuinely surprising to see just how much work was put into making the games as enjoyable as possible.
All three games in the series are a blast to play through, with the stealth-action gameplay being quite riveting indeed. Players might be able to go into full action mode near the end of these games, but trying to blast through the early stages using barebones equipment is going to be quite painful indeed.
7 Sly Cooper
Sly Cooper was one of the IPs that Sucker Punch Productions used to work on before they shifted their attention to more mature projects. It's a shame since the series had some great characters and gameplay that was both engaging and tense at the same time.
Being a gentleman thief is something that many games have toyed around with, and Sly Cooper has certainly succeeded in making its protagonist fall within the same category. It helps that the stealth isn't too punishing, rewarding players for clearing stages while not being overly critical about their mistakes.
6 Batman: Arkham
The Batman: Arkham series is one of the greatest superhero game franchises of all time. Even Batman: Arkham Origins is beloved by the masses despite it being the weakest game in the series, which speaks volumes when it comes to the quality of these games.
The Arkham games feature Predator sections where players must stealth around to take out enemies without being spotted and gunned down. These sections are always tense and do a great job of highlighting the great stealth mechanics of these titles.
5 Deus Ex
Deus Ex is one of the greatest immersive sim franchises of all time. It speaks volumes about the quality of these games that even Invisible War received an 80 rating on Metacritic — a game criticized by many fans for being a disappointment after the amazing nature of the first game.
If there's any game that truly deserves a remake, it's definitely the first Deus Ex. Each title in the series has fun action-stealth gameplay, but the first game still holds a special place in the hearts of many fans and is considered to be one of the best video games ever made.
4 Hitman
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Given the long history of the Hitman series, most people would assume that the franchise has at least one dud within its sea of gems. However, each game in the franchise has done a great job of carrying forward the esteemed legacy of the franchise.
From the charm of the old games to the technical masterpiece that is the reboot, Hitman is clearly full to the brim with quality titles that any stealth game fan will have a great time with. The recent Hitman games are a celebration of everything that made the franchise so successful, featuring a wealth of creative ways to kill a target in a massive level that is full to the brim with glorious opportunities to carry out extremely elaborate and satisfying assassinations.
3 Tomb Raider (Reboot)
The original Tomb Raider games didn't really feature stealth of any kind. However, the reboot decided to diversify its gameplay with the inclusion of both stealth and action-based gameplay.
This makes the three modern Tomb Raider games a blast to play through. The games might have some facets of dated design that several titles released around the same time suffer from, but the games are quite engaging once players get past this particular hurdle.
2 Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs is one of Ubisoft's flagship franchises, with the first game garnering a ton of hype before release and being one of the most popular video games of all time. The second title did a great job of improving on the faults of the first game, with Watch Dogs: Legion integrating some unique ideas that make it one of the most interesting open-world titles out there.
The inclusion of hacking makes playing through the Watch Dogs series a blast if players go down a stealthy route. Slowly incapacitating enemies and clearing out an area without raising the alarm feels great every single time.
1 Crysis
Crysis is a series mainly known for pushing the boundaries of graphics to their very limits. To this day, the first Crysis game still looks absolutely gorgeous with its graphics cranked up to the max — something that wasn't even possible at the time of its launch!
The game combines both stealth and action gameplay to great effect. In fact, given how tough this game is on regular difficulties, using the capabilities of the nanosuit to incapacitate enemies from the shadows is downright mandatory.