Summary
Metroidvaniashave experienced a resurgence in popularity over the last few years, withgames likeHollow KnightandOwl Boybecoming cult favorites. The subgenre harkens back to the classic franchisesMetroidandCastlevaniaand usually means 2D platforming around an open world gathering the equipment and abilities needed to go back through earlier areas.
These games usually have a focus on combat, often utilizing hack and slash or bullet hell mechanics, but there is a niche subgroup that instead requires stealth. Games that require carefully sneaking around their maps and thinking of creative approaches to the challenges they propose.
Although it hasn’t been fully released yet,Necrofugitiveis a stealth-action game with horror elements and is self-described as a stealth-centric take onCastlevania, meaning that it might be exactly whatfans of Metroidvanias and stealth gamesare looking for.
Players stealthily creep around a dark world map, taking out and consuming enemies via traps, weapons, and evil powers. Then, they can use their shapeshifting abilities to hide in plain sight or use their enemies' weapons against them.
TheArkhamfranchise is loaded withcomplex and satisfying stealth gameplay, and that goes for this side-scrolling spinoff as well.Blackgateexpands upon the storyline fromArkham: Originsvia comic book cutscenes and 2.5D gameplay.
While there are plenty of beat-em up sections, the game is also loaded with puzzle levels that require figuring out how to use the environment, Batarangs, and knockout moves to cleverly clear the room of Gotham’s worst villains.
A pixel throwback that takes the gameplay of games likeMetal SlugorMega Man Xbut uses it forstealth instead of non-stop gunfire. InAerannis,players will need to sneak around, lay traps, and outwit enemies to avoid being overrun.
The stealth is mostly linear due to the side-scrolling perspective, but the game presents new strategies for nearly every mission, such as the classic move of hiding inside a box or the more sinister option of taking a human shield and having them lead the way through the level.
Mr. Sun’s Hatboxis acult classic roguelikethat gives players dozens of ways to address every situation. Players will upgrade their headquarters and build a weird team of small, pixelated blob people that all have unique abilities.
While blitzing through missions with a gun or sword is an obvious option, players can also play stealthily, setting up their team and executing complex (and often chaotic) plans to knock out their enemies without being seen. Plus, players can pay homage tostealth classicMetal Gear Solid Vby knocking out enemies and ballooning them back to their base.
In this atmospheric 16-bit survival adventure game, players control a slugcat, a weird animal hybrid able to slither, jump, run, and when it has to, fight. The slugcat exists in a weird industrial wasteland full of other strange creatures that create a fully functioning ecosystem.
Many of these creatures can be outran or hunted, but there are also plenty of beasts that will devour the slugcat if they get the chance, forcing players to sneak and hide as they exploreRainworld’smassive procedurally generated world.
It’s possible to be stealthy even while controlling a massive tentacle creature.Carrionis a side-scroller that has players control a rogue science experiment reminiscent ofthe monster fromThe Thingas it creeps around a massive facility.
Players will have to be careful and utilize hiding spaces to avoid being blown away by guards. The stealth elements do fade away as players progress, since the more humans they stalk and devour, the bigger and more terrifying their creature becomes.
While it’s debatable if it truly counts as a Metroidvania, it’s still worth notingMark of the Ninja,as it is widley considered to be the definitive 2D side-scrolling stealth game, and it has enough similar mechanics that any fans of the Metroidvania genre should give it a try.
Players use quick movement, heightened sense abilities, gadgets, and their katana to sneakily take out enemies across a plethora of difficult missions with multiple ways to approach each one.
The only game on this list from one of the two franchises that make up the name Metroidvania,Metroid Dreadtook a big swing by taking theMetroidfranchise back to 2D. This choice ended up being the right one, as the game was one of the biggest hits of 2021.
One of the new choices forDreadwas introducing stealth elements. Samus must avoid being seen by the ultra-powerful E.M.M.I., an unstoppable robot committed to hunting her. Unlike the more powerful Samus iterations from theMetroid Primeseries, this take on Samus is far more vulnerable, making stealth an essential approach.
InStealth Inc. 2,players control a clone that has escaped the facility that created him, along with some clone allies he can now control. The game revolves around using the clones to sneak around 60 different levels, all connected via one overworld, allowing them to explore in any order they want.
The stealth gameplay is a mixture of sneaking, using a multitude of wild gadgets, and brutally sacrificing clones for the greater good, making it one of the more unique stealth Metroidvanias on the market.
