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Video games often add flashy moves and explosive finishers. However, stealth games are a genre that mandates agility and strategy. Unlike the one-man-army or gun-blazing approach, stealth games draw out meticulous planning and executing moves as such.
Most games offer a mix of both to keep things fresh and interesting by placing specific missions that compulsorily require stealth tactics. In contrast, others focus entirely on one or the other. Either way, stealth plays a massive part in games, whether in a campaign or online multiplayer. As much as gamers love to go Rambo on opponents, titles leaning towards realism require a swift and deadly approach.
The satisfaction of figuring out multiple routes, going around enemies, and striking them when least expected is exuberance-inducing. It also lets players discover new and exciting ways of clearing out missions and aiding victory.
Stealth games in 2022 have amplified the genre's reach
1) Stray
Released: July 19
This is a refreshing take on stealth games' generic and ominous approach. Typically, such games involve a human protagonist (or something similar) trying to escape enemies. But Stray lets players experience a cat's perspective of the world through the animal's natural craftiness.
Here you are given the role of a feral cat living outside a postapocalyptic city's walls. There are many reasons for pollution, war, and disease, as humans are driven into walled cities for survival but die due to a plague. Left behind were robots called Companions designed to help with daily tasks and guard the city.
Cats that accidentally fall inside the city find a band of robots called Outsiders who have evolved to be curious about the outside world and are dedicated to opening up the gates. The protagonist cat has to find its way to the control room, avoiding threats like the Zurk and interacting with various companions to discover the truth behind humanity's disappearance.
A wholesome experience with numerous easter eggs, parkour abilities, mysteries, and a cute cat makes Stray one of the best interactive stealth games of 2022.
Platform: PS4 | PS5 | PC
2) Serial Cleaners
Released: September 22
This one is for gore lovers. Serial Cleaners is the latest title by Draw Distance that follows the first title with the same name. The plot remains similar, where the prime objective is to hide dead bodies from crime scenes.
It's a top-down stealth-action game where players are shuffled around between four characters working for the mob. They clean up crime scenes by hiding the bodies and erasing evidence. They must cut up corpses to shred them in woodchippers and remove all trace evidence of a crime.
There are graphic scenes of blood splatters and significant gore content. Though there's a tiny "censored" banner across the graphic parts, it's practically useless since players know what is happening. Go around scavenging through scenes, finding equipment, and forming plans to destroy the crime scene before authorities arrive.
Since its previous release, the graphics have improved on this one, along with befitting artwork. There are also new strategies included for players to explore.
Platform: Nintendo Switch | PS5 | PS4 | Xbox series X, S | PC | iOS
3) A Plague Tale: Requiem
Released: October 17
Requiem picks up the story immediately after the last title: Innocence. The story follows Amicia and her little brother Hugo of the de Rune family as she tries to cure her brother's condition. Being part of a noble family, Hugo de Rune possesses an ancient power within his blood that has started to go out of control.
Thus, the siblings are wanted by the inquisitors who want to use their powers for dominance and have to sneak their way around villages and cities to get to the Order that has agreed to shelter them. The gameplay hasn't changed much except for the re-vamped graphics and new moves.
Stranded between overwhelming rats overthrowing regions with black plague and the authority after them, Amicia finds herself in dire conditions as she tries to look after her brother. It is a story of alchemy, betrayal, heartbreak, and hope in a war-ridden country.
Though it's a fantasy take on a plague story, important stealth factors place it among the best stealth games of 2022.
Platform: PS5 | Xbox series X, S | Nintendo Switch | PC | Xbox Cloud Gaming
4) Sniper Elite 5
Released: May 26
Sniper Elite 5 is a classic third-person combat game where players take up the character of Karl Fairburne. Players get to work with Rangers on Operation Overlord to discover and destroy the Nazi operation known as Project Kraken in 1944.
The story is pretty straightforward, and so is the gameplay. The stealth mechanics and parkour sequences are similar to Splinter Cell: Blacklist, even the in-game command prompts. Players are equipped with various silenced weapons and can perform standard knife takedowns.
Each mission will acquire intel, intercept messages, take out targets, or escort high-value targets. You can either clear out the objectives without raising the alarm, or you can eliminate every accomplice loitering around, as we usually do in stealth games.
From sneaking around the bushes or hiding in the shadows to infiltrating secret rooms, Sniper Elite 5 has all the basic stealth game tactics in its gameplay.
Platform: PS4, PS5 | Xbox One | Xbox series X, S | PC | Xbox Cloud Gaming
5) Video Horror Society
Released: July 28
Video Horror Society is an asymmetrical online multiplayer game. Players can choose between "teens" and "monsters." There's one monster pitted against four teens, and the objective of each match is to survive the battle. Players are equipped with four different categories of weapons that they can craft at one of the eight crafting stations.
The map resembles a huge mansion where players sneak around each other, trying to eliminate opponents. The visuals are colorful and fun. There are outlandish weapons and crafting stations for teens to get armed and for monsters to find teens.
As far as multiplayer games go, a lot of the elements are similar, like healing a teammate, health kits, finding weapons, dancing, etc. But at the same time, the way these elements manifest is different and entertaining.
Stealth becomes vital when stealth games essentially turn into hide-and-seek death matches.
Platform: PC
6) Evil Nun: Broken Mask
Released: October 31
Another great title in the horror stealth genre is Evil Nun: Broken Mask dropped on Steam. It is a first-person survival game that requires you to sneak around and survive the levels and escape from the evil nun.
The story puts players in an elaborate school building that they get trapped in after being scammed into getting there for a religious summer camp. Sister Madeline, a charming young lady, likes to punish children as she guards the school.
The horror game consists of six chapters that unlock parts of the school as the story progresses and explains sister Madeline's past. The school grounds are riddled with riddles that you get to solve to find weapons, passageways, and more.
Each level requires running and hiding from the AI-controlled nun, efficiently tracking you down. Being too noisy or getting seen will get you caught.
Platform: PC
7) Hello neighbor 2
Released: December 6
Children have routinely gone missing, and you are a journalist tasked with investigating the neighbors who are prime suspects in the case. You must go trespassing around people's houses looking for incriminating evidence.
Even though mystery seems to be the prime objective, Hello Neighbor 2 is a puzzle game wrapped in a stealth title. Players are given a small open-world scenario to interact with the neighbors' houses. Each house is saturated with puzzles that need solving before you can get anywhere.
The suspects, however, will be in the house with you, and thus the need to sneak around them. You get thrown out of the house after getting caught and start over. That is why Hello Neighbor 2 also falls under the genre of stealth games.
Interactive prompts pop up to clue the players in as to how to solve the puzzling mechanisms, and gameplay is fast-paced. The visuals are light and cartoonish, making it an enjoyable mystery stealth game.
Platform: PS4 | PS5 | Xbox One | Xbox series X, S | PC | Xbox Cloud Gaming
Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.
