Splinter Cell Blacklist deserves your love.
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00:00 With the stealth explosion of the early noughties, we got three incredible stealth games for
00:03 the rest of the genre to build upon.
00:05 Now that's Metal Gear Solid 2, Hitman 2 Silent Assassin and Splinter Cell.
00:10 Going forward, all three series have maintained high pedigrees, but as the industry slowly
00:14 started to feast on its own tail by pursuing endless military shooters and open-world third-person
00:20 action adventures, one of which Assassin's Creed had a far more stealthy start, the genre
00:25 as a mainstay has become fairly underrepresented.
00:27 Or has it?
00:29 Like some of the best shadow-clinging heroes of the genre itself, it turns out that a bunch
00:33 of the best stealth games could have been hiding under your nose the entire time.
00:37 I'm Jess from WhatCulture and here are the 10 most underrated stealth video games of
00:41 all time.
00:42 Number 10.
00:43 Tenchu Z.
00:44 Eight years before Assassin's Creed Unity would try and fail at the same concept, Tenchu
00:49 Z bravely pioneered the idea of group infiltration on Xbox Live.
00:54 By outfitting your custom ninja with all manner of appearance tweaks and ability modifiers,
00:59 you could team them up with people across the globe to take on a huge amount of missions.
01:03 Alternatively, solo play was exemplary too.
01:06 Customization carried across no matter what your assassin was up to, and where Tenchu
01:11 Z excelled over its contemporaries was through a staggering amount of items and animations.
01:16 With the series' occasionally supernatural bent, enemies ranged from standard thugs all
01:20 the way to mystical warriors, and you were free to cling to vertical surfaces, concoct
01:25 various bombs and distractions, perform in-air kills, and kite enemies into kill rooms of
01:30 your own design.
01:32 All this while dabbling with innovative multiplayer that nobody else would even try their hand
01:36 at for almost a decade?
01:38 Just what you'd expect from the creators of Dark Souls.
01:40 Number 9.
01:41 The Saboteur.
01:42 Although it remains truly sad that Pandemic will never finish their initial version of
01:46 Star Wars Battlefront III, another consequence that stemmed from various mid-tier studios
01:51 shutting across the start of 2010 was their other projects barely getting to share any
01:56 of the limelight.
01:57 The Saboteur was one such game, a uniquely styled action-adventure that mixed Assassin's
02:02 Creed and Uncharted-style climbing mechanics with a color scheme that highlighted elements
02:06 in the world, all visually arresting explosions, alongside gunplay that meant if things went
02:12 sour, a reliable third-person shooter had your back.
02:15 Whilst it did fall down a little with some driving sections that were a little too arcadey
02:19 for their own good, Saboteur's general setup as a French spy amongst Nazi-occupied Paris
02:24 was one that had appeal and charm for days.
02:27 Setting up your base HQ out the back of a cabaret club and having a button dedicated
02:32 to lighting up a cigarette in case you ever found yourself looking out over the rain-swept
02:36 city.
02:37 This one was oozing with style.
02:38 Number 8.
02:39 Alpha Protocol.
02:40 Granted, if you really wanted to ditch the shadows and whip out a Beretta instead, Alpha
02:45 Protocol has you covered.
02:46 But the best way to play this design-your-own-spy RPG was to spec in the direction of stealth
02:51 kills and tactile infiltration, clearing out any area, one guard at a time.
02:57 Obsidian are forever the developer with the best ideas, but some of the spottiest execution.
03:01 We're looking at you, Fallout New Vegas.
03:04 As in the run-up to release, AP was being touted as mass effect for spies, only for
03:09 bugs, previous-generation-looking animations, and weightless gunplay dragging it down.
03:14 Those who stuck with it, though, found a truly engaging and unique spin on the stealth genre.
03:18 When you look at the melding of real-world framing and RPG stat training, this kind of
03:23 thing hadn't been attempted again until The Division.
03:25 Since launch, the various issues have been smoothed over, leaving this as a throwback
03:29 to when mid-tier developers had the funds to try something completely unique.
03:33 And although Alpha Protocol would ape Mass Effect's dialogue system, the branching
03:38 pathways that led to various alternating levels and endings gave it a ton of replayability.
03:43 7.
03:44 Invisible Inc.
03:45 From incredible indie devs Klay Entertainment, the same people who did Mark of the Ninja
03:49 and Don't Starve, this game set out to reinvent the stealth genre when it came out in 2015.
03:55 They did this by applying an XCOM-style isometric strategy formula to a genre that's formally
04:00 resigned to controlling characters directly.
04:03 In doing so, like Metal Gear Acid to some degree, it forces you to plan every move accordingly,
04:09 planting agents on doorways as you try to predict enemy movements, hacking into security
04:14 systems to free up other pathways and methods of insertion, deploying special abilities,
04:19 and hiding bodies.
04:21 Everything unfolds piece by piece, and it's all backed up by the studio's exemplary,
04:25 forever gorgeous animation.
04:27 Playing Invisible Inc. is like nothing else, and if you particularly enjoy preempting which
04:32 enemies you're going to take out, when and how, this is absolutely the stealth game for
04:36 you.
04:37 6.
04:38 The Master of Shadows
04:39 Stealth doesn't always have to mean super-secret agents, gadgets, and evil villains in fortified
04:44 bases.
04:45 Instead, by taking the base staples of dodging enemy patrols, introducing some really cool
04:50 levels with impressive amounts of verticality that let you get the drop on foes, while surveying
04:55 those ahead and topping it off with great characters and solid lore, Styx is the PS2-style
05:00 throwback you never knew you wanted.
05:02 Sure, its animations might not be as fluid as Metal Gear's, and its blade not as impactful
05:07 as Riddick's, but Cyanide Studios' heart gives the lovable little goblin endless charm,
05:13 thanks to the project being a spin-off from humorous cult success of Orcs and Men.
05:18 The basic gameplay loop of Styx will basically involve you studying level layouts and enemy
05:23 patrol routes.
05:24 It's a tribute and continuation of every stealth title that's emerged across the
05:28 2000s, sitting confidently as something that stands alone in doing so, especially when
05:33 compared to the more expansive nature of things like Metal Gear Solid V.
05:36 5.
05:37 Volume.
05:38 If there's one really cool thing about the video games industry being over 30 years old,
05:43 it's that people who grew up playing certain games then sometimes become game developers
05:48 and make the games that they were inspired to make when they were kids.
05:51 Enter Mike Bithell, who you might know from Thomas Was Alone, a really neat Pixar-esque
05:56 setup that saw a bunch of individual pixels get to know each other before getting through
06:01 levels together.
06:02 Bithell stated in the development of Volume that he'd used all the money from Thomas
06:06 Was Alone to create a love letter to the original Metal Gear Solid, which he'd played and
06:10 loved as a kid.
06:12 From the top-down camera, to deploying a range of stealth gadgets, to trying to stay outside
06:16 of enemies' cones of vision, you can see the Kojima-esque elements here.
06:21 Where it breaks away is in a super cool narrative, with you playing as live-streaming hacker
06:25 Rob Loxley as he attempts to break into various installations in a bit to show a dystopian
06:31 public how to reclaim their lost wealth.
06:33 Andy Serkis pops up as the villainous Guy Gisborne, and Danny Wallace, the nerdy guy
06:38 from Assassin's Creed's present-day stuff, contributes as the titular software, guiding
06:43 you through each level.
06:44 All three have a ton of dialogue that paints a great picture of Britain as this run-down,
06:49 V for Vendetta-style nightmare, and it's through periodic rollouts of new abilities
06:53 and items that keeps Volume fresh throughout.
06:56 4.
06:57 Gunpoint
06:58 Created almost entirely by one person in their spare time, Gunpoint is a side-on pixel art
07:04 showcase that shows what happens when a games reviewer decides to get his hands on the other
07:08 side of games production.
07:10 By letting you play as a character that has instant access to any electrical system in
07:14 any given building, thereby meaning you can rewire lighting systems, locks, and plenty
07:19 more any time you like, it manages to walk a fine line between being an out-and-out puzzle
07:25 game, but also rewards quick-fire reactions if you need to deal with any immediate danger.
07:29 That means guards can be leapt on and batted into submission if you're fast enough.
07:34 The game even makes a brilliant "are you still punching them, Bob?" if you don't
07:38 stop, and any improvised tactics can be developed on the fly once you get a handle on how the
07:42 various systems interface with each other.
07:45 The best part, though, might be the fact that you can tackle guards through windows if you
07:49 aim right, and there's nothing better than leaping deftly out the side of a high-rise,
07:54 cushioning the fall with a wayward goon, and strolling back off into the night.
07:58 3.
07:59 Mark of the Ninja
08:00 From one 2D side-scroller to another, and Klei Entertainment's innovative Stealth
08:05 Ghost 2D mishmash of styles is more solid than Clash of Clans' sales figures.
08:10 By applying the studio's incredible art design and eye for fluidity in character movement
08:15 with abilities and level layouts that are a dream to play, you'll rocket through the
08:19 healthy 15-hour campaign and still be begging for more.
08:23 The ninja's abilities are upgraded and fleshed out in the coolest way after every couple
08:27 of environments, unlocking everything from spike traps to gliding kills.
08:32 Even the time-freezing teleportation ability lets you disappear into a cloud of smoke if
08:36 you're spotted.
08:37 If the heart of the best stealth games is in letting you feel like an incredibly powerful
08:41 character, rationing out the pain in short bursts by way of dazzling special abilities
08:46 and confident tactile controls, Mark of the Ninja is outstanding.
08:51 2.
08:52 Counter Spy
08:53 Dynamite's Counter Spy is an incredibly slick-looking stealth title that dynamically
08:57 changes to a cover shooter whenever you hop out of the line of fire.
09:01 As all levels are rendered in full 3D, Shadow Complex style, it effortlessly melds the two
09:06 styles into one, meaning you're free to leap fluidly around levels with varying amounts
09:11 of verticality, taking out guards with ease before snapping to cover and engaging in intense
09:16 firefights or targeted headshots, should the need arise.
09:20 The narrative sets you up as a neutral agent, garnering power for your own faction during
09:24 the Cold War, and everything from the character's slinky animations to the menus and backdrops
09:29 are fully cloaked in 60s spy nostalgia.
09:32 Sadly, the studio has since disbanded, but the game is still available, so you should
09:36 check it out if you haven't already.
09:38 1.
09:39 Splinter Cell Blacklist
09:41 Unlike Metal Gear Solid V, which managed to skirt by on franchise reputation alone after
09:46 losing the veteran voice of its main character, swapping out Michael Ironside as Sam Fisher
09:51 after a couple of fairly average Splinter Cell games only served to completely bury
09:55 Blacklist in the public consciousness.
09:58 It didn't matter that Sam was back to dissolving into the shadows across its duration, it didn't
10:03 matter that you had more gadgets and infiltration options than ever, it didn't even seem to
10:07 matter that gameplay was slicker than ever, and built on everything Chaos Theory so expertly
10:13 laid out through additional animations and kill opportunities.
10:16 The public turned their nose up at newcomer Eric Johnson donning the iconic goggles, and
10:21 that was that.
10:22 But it doesn't have to be.
10:23 Blacklist still remains the finest stealth game that side of Phantom Pain, one that comes
10:28 replete with a 24-style, thrill-filled storyline reminiscent of the Mission Impossible movies,
10:34 setting up a globe-spanning series of missions that are all expertly designed, encouraging
10:39 replayability through sheer experimentation.
10:41 You can play Sam as a gung-ho bullet lover if you like, or you can hang back, pick off
10:46 enemies one by one, charge up a chain-kill special move, and wipe out the remaining group
10:51 in one fluid motion.
10:52 When it all comes together, Splinter Cell Blacklist is right up there with Chaos Theory,
10:56 and it definitely doesn't get enough credit for that.
10:58 That's the end of our list, but let me know what would make your list for the most underrated
11:02 stealth games of all time.
11:05 As always, thank you so much for hanging out with me, I've been Jess from WhatCulture,
11:09 if you'd like you can come say hi to me on my Twitter account @JessMcDonald, but make
11:13 sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more great gaming lists.