What The Hell Happened To The Stealth Genre?!

Dark (K)nights And New Dawns

Fortunately, there were still a contingent of games flying their stealth flags proudly. Dishonoured, Arkane Studios' 2012 offering, brought a refreshing return to the genre, echoing sentiments of the Thief series. Stealth and action carried a 50/50, but it was there for the purist if they sought it.

Alien: Isolation, whilst to many a horror title at first glance, plays out as a stealth game. You are a fragile, squishy human against alien and android forces, therefore you must sneak about the Sevastopol station. Games like Amnesia and Outlast were also at that forefront, making defenseless horror games more akin to dark and disturbing stealth titles than the action stylings of say, Resident Evil or Silent Hill.

But it was Rocksteady's Batman series and Guerrilla's Horizon: Zero Dawn that shook the genre back up. Whilst action games primarily, both incorporated stealth in a manner that felt refreshing and revitalising. The former had its Predator modes/gameplay, that encapsulated Batman's use of darkness and fear to pick off his enemies, whilst Aloy used hunting techniques and sneaking to fell an advanced foe.

It wasn't "stealth for stealth's sake", it was a reminder that when it was done properly it was fun. It harked back the old days of tactics and planning, yet at the same time accommodated the faster pace that modern games were taking. You didn't need to do it in Horizon, if you were brave and equipped enough, but it was a viable option if you wanted to.

Things were looking up, thankfully, as we entered the mid-point of the decade. New titles were carrying the torches, whilst action games were beginning to see the potential in tactical stealth. All we needed now were some old [diamond] dogs making a return.