A stealth game is a type of video game in which the player primarily uses stealth to avoid or overcome opponents. Games in the genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, sneaking, or using disguises. Some games allow the player to choose between a stealthy approach or directly attacking antagonists, but rewarding the player for greater use of stealth. The genre has employed espionage, counter-terrorism, and rogue themes, with protagonists that are special forces operatives, special agents, secret agents, thieves, ninjas, or assassins. Some games have also combined stealth elements with other genres, such as first-person shooters and also platformers.
Hitman is a stealth video game franchise created by IO Interactive. In each installment, players assume the role of a cloned contract killer named Agent 47, who travels around the world to assassinate various targets that are assigned to him by the fictional International Contract Agency (ICA). Gameplay focuses on freedom of approach, with most levels placing the player in a large sandbox location where they have free rein to explore and find different ways to reach and eliminate their targets. Stealth is a major component of the gameplay and players are given various tools to accomplish their objectives, such as suppressed weaponry and the ability to take disguises, which allow 47 to blend in with non-player characters (NPCs) and bypass most restricted areas undetected.
Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest is an action role-playing video game for the PlayStation 2, set in the EverQuest universe. The game is playable with one single player or cooperative for up to four players. However, with a Network Adapter, players can take the game online with others and kill others or join to form groups of adventurers. It uses a re-worked and expanded Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance game engine. A sequel called Champions: Return to Arms was released in February 2005.
Birthright is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting that was first released by TSR in 1995. It is based on the continent of Cerilia on the world of Aebrynis, in which the players take on the role of the divinely-empowered rulers, with emphasis on the political rulership level of gameplay. The setting revolves around the concept of bloodlines: divine power gained by heroes and passed to their descendants. Characters with a bloodline create an aura of command known as Regency, which is measured in the game using regency points or RP. Using regency, characters acquire a domain composed of provinces and holdings. The development of these domains is as much a part of the game as development of the characters. The game uses three-month domain turns to model actions of rulers over nations in much the same way as Dungeons & Dragons uses combat rounds to simulate time to model the characters' actions in battle. In 1996, Birthright won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement of 1995.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II is a 2006 real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. The second part of the Middle-earth strategy game series, it is based on the fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and its live-action film series adaptation. It is the sequel to Electronic Arts' 2004 title The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. Along with the standard edition, a Collector's Edition of the game was released, containing bonus material and a documentary about the game's development.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is a first-person action role-playing game developed by Arkane Studios. The player controls Sareth, the apprentice of the wizard Phenrig, after he is sent to the city of Stonehelm to accompany an expedition trying to retrieve a powerful artifact known as "The Skull of Shadows".
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a 2002 action hack and slash video game developed by Stormfront Studios for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A 2D Game Boy Advance game of the same name was made by Griptonite Games, a port to the GameCube by Hypnos Entertainment, and to mobile by JAMDAT. A version for Microsoft Windows developed by Ritual Entertainment was cancelled during development. The game was published on all platforms by Electronic Arts. Originally released in North America for the PlayStation 2 in October 2002, it was released in November 2002 for the Game Boy Advance, in December 2002 for the Xbox and GameCube, and in May 2003 for mobile. In November 2003, EA released a sequel, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Spider-Man is a 2002 action-adventure game based on the 2002 film of the same name. It was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Advance on April 16, 2002, in North America, and June 7 in Europe. The Game Boy Advance version was later re-released and bundled on Twin Pack cartridge with Spider-Man 2 in 2005. Published by Activision, the console versions were developed by Activision's then recently acquired subsidiary Treyarch, who had previously ported Neversoft's 2000's Spider-Man to Microsoft Windows and Dreamcast. LTI Gray Matter developed the Microsoft Windows version and Digital Eclipse developed the Game Boy Advance version.
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring is a 2003 real-time strategy game (RTS) developed by Liquid Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal Games. Set in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional Middle-earth, it expands upon the events of the War of the Ring as told in his fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings.
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is a 2007 action-adventure beat 'em up platform game, based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The game borrows characters and designs from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, with a plot that is non-canon to the films and therefore taking place within a divergent timeline where the villains seen in the films managed to survive. It features two player co-op gameplay, where one player controls Spider-Man and another one of his allies. The storyline of the game revolves around P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s, dangerous creatures created by mixing symbiotes with holographic technology, which a mysterious villain plans to use to take over the world. This villain has also captured and brainwashed many of Spider-Man's foes to help him acquire meteor shards that will strengthen his army. After being recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D., Spider-Man journeys across the globe to retrieve these shards himself and recruit more allies to his cause.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a 2011 action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Snowblind Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows. An OS X port was developed and published by Feral Interactive in 2013. It is the first video game based on both J. R. R. Tolkien's 1954 high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson's film trilogy adaptation released in 2001, 2002 and 2003. This is because, until 2009, Vivendi Universal Games, in partnership with Tolkien Enterprises, held the rights to make games based on Tolkien's literary works, whilst Electronic Arts held the rights to make games based on the New Line Cinema films. In 2009, WB Games acquired the rights for both intellectual properties.
Orcs Must Die! is an action-tower defense video game developed and published by Robot Entertainment and Mastertronic. It is a tower defense game that eschews the traditional top-down view of similar games, instead using a third-person action-oriented viewpoint. After being demonstrated at Penny Arcade Expo East 2011, the game was released via Xbox Live Arcade on October 5, 2011, and for Windows PCs on October 12, 2011.
Of Orcs and Men is a fantasy action role-playing game developed by Cyanide and Spiders for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The Empire of Men's oppressive threat looms over the territories of the Orcs and the Goblins. Goblins are systematically persecuted and slaughtered, while Orcs not killed in battle are captured and enslaved.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a 2014 action-adventure video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. An original story based on the legendarium created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the game takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings film trilogies. The player controls Talion, a Gondorian Ranger who bonds with the wraith of the Elf Lord Celebrimbor, as the two set out to avenge the deaths of their loved ones. Players can engage in melee combat, and use wraith abilities to fight and manipulate enemies. The game introduces the Nemesis System, which allows the artificial intelligence of non-playable characters to remember their prior actions against the game's protagonist and react accordingly.
Magicka 2 is an action-adventure video game, the sequel to Magicka, for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and PlayStation 4. It was released on May 26, 2015 and was announced at Sony's E3 2014 media briefing with a trailer. Instead of being developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, the title was developed by Pieces Interactive alongside the publisher Paradox Interactive.
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones is a 2D puzzle platform video game which was developed and published by Curve Digital. The game is a sequel to Stealth Bastard Deluxe, featuring different mechanics which involve puzzle sections. The game was released for the Wii U on October 23, 2014. The PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows versions of the game were also released in April 2015.
Blood Bowl 2 is a turn-based fantasy sports video game developed by Cyanide Studios and published by Focus Home Interactive. It is a sequel to the 2009 video game Blood Bowl, based on the board game by Games Workshop. The game was developed for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and was released on 22 September 2015. A Mac OS X version of the game was launched in May 2016.
Aragami (荒神) is an action-adventure stealth video game developed and published by Lince Works for Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game was originally titled Twin Souls: The Path of Shadows. The players take the role of Aragami, an assassin with supernatural abilities. The player can teleport between shadows and faces an enemy army that goes by the name of 'Kaiho'. This opposing army is formed by mystical warriors with the power to control the light.
Styx: Shards of Darkness is a stealth video game developed by French developer Cyanide and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game was released worldwide on 14 March 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the sequel to the 2014 game Styx: Master of Shadows, and the third game set in the fictional world of the Of Orcs and Men series.
J. R. R. Tolkien created a dilemma for himself with his supposedly evil Middle-earth peoples like Orcs when he made them able to speak. This meant they were sentient and open to morality, like Men. In Tolkien's Christian framework, that in turn meant they must have souls, so killing them would be wrong without very good reason. If he wanted killing them not to be such a problem, then they had to be non-sentient and without any moral sense, like ordinary animals. Both Tolkien and other scholars have been aware of the contradiction implied by this position: if Orcs were essentially "beasts", then they should not have had a moral sense; if they were corrupted Elves, then treating them as "other" to be slaughtered was straightforward racism. Tolkien made repeated attempts to resolve the dilemma.
