Thought we forgot about Speak Up on Kotakuās Best Game Ever? We were only biding our time until commenter DocSeuss and admitted his love for the one stealth action game that got nearly everything right.
Iām done playing third-person stealth games.
I canāt do it anymore.
I want to, believe me, butā¦ yeah. No. I canāt. I love stealth. I love the idea of stealth. I love sneaking through a level, either ghosting it or taking out everyone without being noticed. Thereās a feeling of empowerment there that comes with solving the puzzle that is a good stealth level.
Look, have you ever played a game that youāve broken? Iām talking about a game like Skyrim, where you mod a sword to have 9999 damage so it kills everything in one hit, completely removing the challenge from the game. Iām talking about cheating.
Like many of you taffers, I once believed that third person was the only way to do stealth. I thought that it was the only way to figure out whether you could move, because as soon as you get into an AIās line of sight, theyāll notice and start looking for you, and that really makes or breaks a stealth game.
I love the genreāwhether itās Assassinās Creed or Splinter Cell or Hitman or whateverābut little did I know that they were all doing it wrong. Harsh words, I know, but bear with me.
Recently, an old stealth game was rereleased after a thirteen-year absence from store shelves. It was called Thief, and it was developed by the guys who went on to make games like Deus Ex and Skyrim
Unlike most stealth games, it was in first person.
How did they get around the line of sight stealth problems, you might ask? Wellā¦ they didnāt. See, line-of-sight is actually horrible. In real life, stealth doesnāt work that way. Line-of-sight is a method thatās used only because itās incredibly simple to create. It is, in fact, rather lazy. A third person camera basically exists as a gameplay abstraction designed to keep the player from giving their position away whenever they want to see if they can move.
In real life, you could listen to the position of people, poke your head around corners without being noticed, and hide in the shadows without being seen. In a game where all stealth is based on line-of-sight, you canāt do that, so you have to be in third person, or it sucks.
ā¦wellā¦
What if you made a stealth game where you could listen to the position of other people, poke your head around corners without being noticed, and hide in the shadows without being seen? That would be a lot better, right?
Turns out it is.
It adds a whole new layer of challenge to stealth. It requires intelligence to play. Sound becomes a fantastic method of level navigation. It means you donāt need to cheat and look around corners unrealistically, because now you can hear guards snorting or sneezing or chatting or whistling or just even walking.
Do you have any idea how amazingly badass it is to hide in the shadows right in front of a guy, step out like Batman himself, and stab him in the face? Itās incredible! Thereās no feeling like it in the world (besides being Batman!).
I canāt go back to third-person stealth after this. Thereās no depth to itānot challenge beyond an arbitrary, unrealistic, and unforgiving line-of-sight issue beyond the occasional āDONT MAKE NOISE!ā component.
Thief is the best stealth game Iāve ever played.
About Speak Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. Thatās why we have a forum on Kotaku called Speak Up. Thatās the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Every weekday weāll pull one of the best Speak Up posts we can find and highlight it here.
