For all the gun-blazing, whip-cracking, all-out action and mayhem there is to enjoy in video games, sometimes a change of pace is needed. All that one-note violence can get boring, no? Why not eliminate that patrolling guard or spittle-covered demon in a more sophisticated manner; something more understated than a rocket launcher to the face?
Fortunately, there's a wealth of stealth games on Switch for the gentil assassin; players who prefer their ultraviolence a tad more calculated and classy — just the thing for when all those Glory kills have lost their glory.
Below you'll find our picks of the best stealth games on Nintendo Switch. There are a variety of different styles, from 3D action games to turn-based tactical titles, but each one lets you live out your desires to be a stealthy agent infiltrating installations and dispatching enemies in the shadows with a subtle silencer, some cheese wire or a swift judo chop. Ow!
Of course, there's a certain purveyor of tactical espionage action missing from Switch at the moment. Snake's appearance as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate aside, Konami's Metal Gear Solid series hasn't yet shown up on Switch in any form (that is unless it's just doing a really top-class job of going unnoticed... have you checked all the boxes?). There are, however, plenty of other games on Nintendo's current console that see you a-creepin' and a-sneakin' while we wait for Snake, solid or otherwise, so slip onto Switch.
So, let's take a look — in no particular order — at the best stealth games on Switch.
Hitman 3 - Cloud Version (Switch eShop)
Hitman 3 is a fantastic conclusion to one of gaming's truly great trilogies and, with this Cloud Version, Switch players get to join in the fun in an experience that delivers the goods – so long as you've got the bandwidth to handle it. The expected, unavoidable technical shortcomings of streaming a game over the internet – input lag, visual dips and framerate issues – are all present to some degree but, on the whole, if your broadband setup is up to the task, you'll find that a perfectly playable version of a slick and addictive stealth title is loitering in the shadows for you on Switch.
Aragami: Shadow Edition (Switch)
It takes a while to get going and it has its fair share of annoying quirks, but as it progresses Aragami becomes a solid stealth game with a compelling story. The addition of extra DLC chapters gives it a welcome boost in longevity, and though the game's temperamental mechanics prevent it becoming an inarguable gem, its stylish look and the range of abilities you acquire by the end mean fans of stealth games (and fans of stealth only) will still have a fun time if they can stick with it.
Assassin's Creed: The Rebel Collection (Switch)
Assassin's Creed: The Rebel Collection presents two excellent swashbuckling epics ported to Nintendo's console in fine fashion. Stealth is oftentimes merely optional rather than necessary, but this deadly duo offers some quality surreptitious action if that's what you're after. Black Flag is a revelation in portable mode and looks and performs almost flawlessly as you blast your way around the Caribbean on Edward Kenway's captivating pirate adventures. Rogue, although it struggles to keep up slightly here and there, is always eminently playable and together with the excellent Freedom Cry, they deliver handheld Assassin's Creed at a standard we weren't sure we'd see on Switch.
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Never Stop Sneakin' (Switch eShop)
Never Stop Sneakin' is a lovingly crafted parody of early Metal Gear Solid games that pairs some genuinely funny dialogue and ridiculous characters and cutscenes with its own brand of impressively slick stealth action. Its levels are pretty repetitive and there's quite a bit of unnecessary grinding and replaying of missions in an effort to artificially extend the running time but, overall, this is a fun little title that's perfect for dipping in and out of for a hit of light-hearted tactical espionage action.
Invisible, Inc. Nintendo Switch Edition (Switch eShop)
Invisible, Inc. is a brilliant little tactics game, right up there with Into the Breach and XCOM – if not even better. The bite-sized structure belies a deceptively complex and meaningful game, where all your decisions ultimately mean something significant for that final desperate attack. If you enjoy stealth or tactics games – or you're simply looking for a way into either genre – then Invisible, Inc. deserves your attention.
Serial Cleaner (Switch eShop)
Serial Cleaner is undeniably cool, but can be at odds with itself. On the one hand, the bite-sized levels and whimsical humour should allow for a fun, pick-up-and-play-jaunt, but it is obstructed by a handful of small but significant frustrations. It's a game that both embraces the tropes of the stealth genre and adds a neat little twist, but it won't be long before even the most persistent of players wished it was just a bit more lenient regarding certain elements.
With a neat, if limited, core concept combined with some superb retro presentation, Serial Cleaner is held back by design choices that are at best curious and challenging, and at worst infuriatingly obtuse; a good game rather than a great one, but worth investigating if you're a fan of vision cones and blood-drenched '70s décor.
Monaco: Complete Edition (Switch eShop)
Monaco: Complete Edition offers a solid solo experience which benefits from some excellent storytelling and multiple perspectives, as well as brilliantly-constructed heist-based gameplay focused on putting each criminal's skills to the best use. However, it truly shines in multiplayer, whether couch co-op or online. As the servers are pretty quiet, grabbing a group of friends and forming your own motley crew is your best route into this explosive heist thriller.
Untitled Goose Game (Switch eShop)
Yes, you can HONK! 'til you're blue in the bill, but if you want to pilfer prizes from its English country gardens, Untitled Goose Game forces you to perfect your stealth skills, too. House House's game boasts more inventiveness, creativity and charm than the vast majority of titles on the Switch eShop, and offers a believable game world that's a real pleasure to explore, investigate and – of course – cause merry havoc in. Superb physics, excellent controls, surprisingly robust AI and unique presentation all combine to make this a real highlight in the Switch's library – it's only the brevity of the experience that lets it down, but this really is a case of quality over quantity.
Comments (47)
Great Sneak'em'up list.
The stealth game I play most is trying to sneak new game purchase past the Mrs and hoping she doesn't notice them on the Credit Card Statement.
Its become hard as balls in later levels and has the threat of perma death on detection.
Sniper elite 4. Loved it. Underrated game.
Untitled Goose Game is the perfect game and the only E-rated game about a goose commiting domestic terrorism.
Mark of the Ninja is by far the best stealth game I've ever played. It's so much fun once you get into the flow of the game.
Man...I don’t get this genre at all. Not one game on that list that is even remotely appealing to me. Still, I always appreciate a good “best of” list from Nintendo Life!
Alien Isolation is fantastic, and coming with all DLCs really helps to recommend this version over the others. The campaign drags a bit after the first half, but overall it's one of the best licensed games ever made.
I haven't played any of these yet but I've got Sniper Elite 3 and Mark of the Ninja downloaded, waiting to be played. I'm definitely getting Alien Isolation too, just held off on it for now as my backlog is ridiculous.
I’m hoping we get a Manhunt/Manhunt 2 Double Feature release for Nintendo Switch! But the only game we got from Rockstar Games was L.A. Noire, so I wouldn’t hold my breath...But, it would be awesome!
Not a genre I am hugely interested in but what I have played I have really enjoyed. Namely:
Assassin's Creed Rebel Collection
Alien Isolation
Untitled Goose Game
Mark of the Ninja Remastered
I still need to get back into Alien Isolation though, to be honest.
I still want download games like Sniper Elite 4 at some point. I also was too late to download Aragami in the recent seasonal sales. On my wishlist.
Thief simulator is fun for a few minutes. Not really worth buying unless you have a but of money left over though.
Monaco is excellent. One of my favorite games when I played it first on the Xbox 360 and I highly recommend it.
Hitman 3 is so stealthy, it's not even running on the Switch.
Can recommend aragami if you like the shinobido or tenchu series. Had a ton of fun goin through with my friend on Xbox thanks to its cross play.
Sniper Elite 2, 3, and 4 are absolutely on the top of my list when it comes to these games. They just perfectly nail that stealth action gameplay in the most satisfying way, kinda plays like the Metal Gear Solid games.
Hitman is a better James Bond game than most of the official James Bond games
Really excited for what IO Interactive does with the license
Mark of the Ninja is an awesome game everyone should try!
I backed the game Sneaky Ninja, a stealth platformer, on kickstarter in 2015. First Wii U then changed to Switch edition. It is still in development.
I just want the first 3 Splinter Cells ported to switch, I really miss the stealth genre.
Ah, nice. Great stealth list, Gavin. I wasn't in the mood for a few of these when they released, so they snuck by my radar. I think Monaco is calling my name on eshop.
Black flag is amazing on switch 😍
I wish the stealth inc games would come to switch. Loved the first two. Wonder what curve are up to these days
I would say to this day, Tenchu 3 is the best stealth game, and still had plenty of potential.
Invisible INC. Very hard. Never boring and the only game I dont mind losing at. Mark of the ninja also top notch and tough as nails.
Splinter Cell should get a complete collection on Switch (with gyro aim obviously). That would be a dream come true. Mark of the Ninja was amazing, I was really surprised by how well it did... everything really.
@sandman89 I love almost everything about Black Flag, the story, the characters, the upgrading, the exploration, visuals, music, the sea combat, the assassinations... Even that trading fleet mini game was fun. But those main missions were the worst part of it, and a frustrating chore I had to go through to get to more of the rest.
@tatanga
I bought it on discount at the start of this month and I finished last week what a game!! For me it was the more realistic stealth game, where lone patrol guard are rare and comrades looks for they
missing friend , and in realistic difficulty suppressed guns works like real ones
@Shambo
That will be nice, for me i really wants the dishonoured collection
Seeing Alien is here, I'd also add Little Nightmares to the list. Great creepy game, you don't want to get caught by those creatures!
Who would have thought that the Wii U, with Deus Ex, would have had the best stealth game?
I love that this site digs Thief Simulator. I bought it for like two bucks on a sale one day and while it gets crapped on in most places, I had a lot of fun with it.
@Shambo the chase through the street missions are silly but I think the rest is great
I generally don't get into stealth games, kind of lost interest in them way back in the day when I pushed through Metal Gear Solid 2, but I really enjoyed Mark of the Ninja. Scanning the rest of the list, I think I might try Liberated someday, but the rest don't move me.
@Mr-Fuggles777 Mr. Fuggles, we need to liberate you from this sexist oppression and spousal abuse. ... Perhaps you could tell her that it is simple, honest porn you are indulging in?
I am saddened to hear again and again that Mark of the Ninja is a good game, considering that I cannot support the developer, Klei Entertainment.
RIP...Klei Wntertainment! Mark of the Ninja is one of the best games I’ve played in years!
Wildfire desereves a mention.
Yeah, where's both outlast games?
I'm confused by some of the comments here.
You're not supposed to "get" the stealth genre. It's a very broad category. It's not like Metal Gear Solid, Thief, Deus Ex, Mark of the Ninja, and Invisible Inc. are offering similar experiences. They're wildly different games in which you ocassionally hide from people — and not always. You have immersive sims, action games, sidescrolling platformers, tactics puzzlers...
It's like people dismissing "indie games" wholesale. It's weird. Indie games are a broad category. The phrase "I don't like indie games" doesn't make any sense, no matter how many bad anecdotal experiences you've had.
@Beaucine I kinda disagree. If you sit down to play a stealth game, you can expect to be learning the game system so that you can understand and exploit the movement patterns of enemies.
Even though some are fast-paced and some are slow (and some real-time and some turn-based), you can expect a constant push and pull of tension and release, planning and execution, waiting and movement. There are obviously exceptions, but I imagine if these general ideas are not your cup of tea, you wouldn’t expect to like many stealth games.
And, you know, if you only really like big shiny open 3D worlds you can explore, with amazing graphics and physics, it’s unlikely you’d find many indie games that did it for you.
I’m a fan of both, but some people just know what they like.
Breath of The Wild.
@Dpishere Agreed man. Splinter Cell needs to make a strong comeback sooner rather than later.
@JSDude1 yes, and also Skyrim.
If you've got the friends, Monaco is something worth playing. It gets crazy and quite fun!
Hey Nintendolife, do you know that Never Stop Sneakin' is no longer available on the eshop.
It's been a few month that I want to buy it but it's no longer possible. I don't know why.
I asked them on their FB page but no answer. Too bad.
@Dpishere A port of the Spinter Cell games with the Spies vs. Mercs multiplayer would be an instant buy for me.
@stipey
I get that, but stealth is one mechanic among many in these games.
If you have some kind of allergic reaction to the ebb and flow of sneaking around, there's nothing I can say about that. But I sure hope no one's going, "Hey, I didn't dig Mark of the Ninja, so I probably won't like Deus Ex or Metal Gear Solid," because those are all very, very different games. They share the stealth concept, the observation of enemy patterns, the use of shadows, etc. But Deus Ex is an immersive sim with RPG elements, hacking, and lengthy NPC conversations. Metal Gear Solid V has base building, explosive action, convoluted storytelling, and bottomless menus. (You can also hunt bears for some reason.) Mark of the Ninja is a focused 2D action platformer. And so on. There's so much variety and genre hybridization there that blanket dismissals can't help but strike me as odd.
@Krambo42 This list doesn’t touch the genre. There’s nothing on here that is even remotely good, in terms of sneaking games. This is just a “list of sneaking games that are available on Switch.” Hardly the best, but then again this system doesn’t have the heavy hitting stealth games that were on at PC gamings stealth hayday.
Stealth games hit a peak back when Thief: Deadly Shadows was released, and the genre hasn’t really developed any real smash hits since then. Metal Gear Solid is another obvious good one, but then again if you aren’t into Hideo Kojima’s bizarre story-telling it may put you off.
I suggest Thief Deadly Shadows on GOG as the best representation for the genre. That version comes with enhancements to make the game run smooth on modern PCs, and is 100% DRM free. If it is not included already, simply google the Thief “Sneaky Upgrade,” and it will point you to a mod with a self installer
NINJA APPROVED
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