The duality of gamers. While some of us prefer to dive in headfirst in massive battles with all kinds of weapons and equipment, the other half of us enjoy being the unknown agent lurking in the shadows. If you recognize yourself in that second description, then this list is tailor-made just for you. Check out 5 great stealth games available on Xbox Game Pass.
1. Alien: Isolation
Let’s start this list off with a horror classic.
Developed by Creative Assembly, Alien: Isolation is a single-player action game, with an emphasis on stealth and survival horror aspects. It was released back in 2014 to all platforms available at that time.
Fifteen years after the events of the original Alien movie, Amanda, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, embarks on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. This mission turns out to be a fight for survival, as the underpowered and underprepared Amanda tries desperately to complete her mission, and most importantly, stay alive.
With stealth being a big feature in Alien: Isolation, the player is provided with limited weapons and ammunition, that can be found throughout the space station. Also, items like flashlights and motion trackers can be discovered and utilized to give the player some advantage over the antagonists. However, the use of these items will attract the Alien to the player’s location, so an incorrect use of these items can dictate the end of Amanda.
2. Sniper Elite 4
Sniper Elite 4 is a tactical shooter stealth game, the sequel to 2014’s Sniper Elite III. Released for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in February 2017, it was later made available for the Nintendo Switch in November 2020.
Developed and published by Rebellion Developments, Sniper Elite 4 is set in Italy in 1943, where a Special Operations Executive (SOE) sniper is tasked with multiple assassinations of Nazi generals and operatives.
Played from a third-person perspective, the game grants players more open-ended gameplay than its predecessor. It allows the player to place traps, use corpses as booby traps and choose which enemies to kill first, with a slight advantage being given if the enemies with “officer” rank are killed first.
The one feature every fan is expecting from all Sniper Elite games is the X-Ray kill cam, and in this game, the cam is more horrific than ever. This kill cam shows the bullet fired by the player hit the enemy, breaking and rupturing bones and organs. The X-Ray kill-cam has been updated to also include melee, stealth, and shrapnel kills.
3. Prey
Released worldwide in May 2017 and developed by Arkane Studios, Prey is a first-person shooter with stealth features on it.
The game takes place in an alternate timeline where humankind focused its efforts on an accelerated space race. The player is Morgan Yu, a researcher that is exploring a space station, the Talos I. Yu isn’t the only one on the station, as a super-powered hostile alien species, the Typhon, also traverses the Talos I station.
The player is able to explore the space station in an open-world setting, finding weapons and other useful objects along the way, with the ultimate goal to escape the station alive.
While the Typhon possess certain abilities like shapeshifting, the player can also get a hold of these supernatural abilities and use them for their advantage. This comes in handy especially if you are looking to hide from your enemies or trying to flank them and get into a better position for an attack. With this ability the player can shapeshift into an everyday object, like a chair or a table, making them unnoticeable to the Typhon.
4. Dishonored 2
Sequel to 2012’s Dishonored, Dishonored 2 follows the events of the first game. The player may choose between playing as either Empress Emily Kaldwin or her father Corvo Attano, as they attempt to reclaim the throne stolen from them by the witch Delilah Copperspoon.
Also developed by Arkane Studios, the game was released in November 2016 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The game is played from a first-person perspective and gives the ability to select which character they want to play, each with their own special abilities. However, the weapons given to each character are the same, both wield a pistol, crossbow, retractable blade, grenades, and mines. These weapons are all upgradeable and these upgrades can be bought at black market shops found throughout levels.
With non-linear gameplay, the player can choose whether to play stealthily and kill all enemies without alerting anyone or just finish the game without taking a life. Darkness, cover, and high areas aid the players in their quest to stay hidden, breaking the enemies’ line of sight.
Not included in 2012’s Dishonored, Dishonored 2 introduces a few non-lethal moves like blocks, kicks, and pushes that can be utilized to throw enemies off-balance and incapacitating them.
5. Hello Neighbor
Last but not least, from Dynamic Pixels comes a survival horror stealth game, released for Windows and Xbox One in December 2017 and later for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, IOS, and Android in July 2018.
The player takes the role of Nicky Roth, a man who investigates his mysterious and shady neighbor, Mr. Peterson. Controlling Nicky, the player’s goal is to successfully sneak into the basement of Mr. Peterson’s house to uncover a dark secret, while at the same time being hunted by said neighbor.
Throughout the house, there are puzzles and items that the player needs to solve and collect in order to progress and get closer and closer to the basement. These tasks have an additional layer of difficulty because you have to successfully complete them while at the same time being chased by the paranoid neighbor. The player can use certain objects found scattered over the house to stun the neighbor.
With artificial intelligence present in the game, the neighbor modifies its behavior based on the player’s past actions, setting traps along paths the player followed in previous attempts.
With all these great suggestions, you definitely got your hands full for a couple of months.
However, if you finish all these and you’re a fan of amazing narratives and solo experiences, check out some great story-driven and single-player games on Xbox Game Pass.
Do you agree with this selection of stealthy games? What would you change? Have you played any of these games? Let me know in the comments down below!
