Essential buyer’s guide

Don't look now: The best stealth games on PS4 and PS5

Infiltrate, assassinate and make it out unseen - discover the most tense and rewarding stealth action experiences available now on PS4 and PS5.

Assassins of ancient Japan

From wandering Ronin to deadly ninjas, sharpen your blades and your skills as you move deftly through the historical climes of Japan.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Award-winning developer FromSoftware channels its action-RPG expertise into a stealth-driven, action-fantasy adventure set in a brooding reimagining of ancient Japan. Play as the one-armed wolf, a loyal Shinobi on a mission of brutal redemption, and unleash a unique selection of weapons from your Shinobi Prosthesis as you cut a path towards the head of the treacherous Ashina clan.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

An elegant callback to the classic strategy games of the '90s, Shadow Tactics puts you in control of a ragtag band of warriors on a mission to protect the Shogun from a nefarious plot. Combine their unique abilities to overcome a range of sandbox maps filled with deadly traps, ferocious enemies and devious encounters.

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut

Take on the role of troubled Samurai Jin Sakai as he finds himself caught between his own code of honor and the uncompromising tactics of his homeland's invaders. Mix stealthy tactics with brutal Samurai sword combat in a story-driven saga that will take you from one end of Tsushima to the other.

Mark of the Ninja Remastered

Unlike its other game on this list, Invisible Inc., Klei Entertainment’s sneaker is decidedly more action driven – and direct. Slicing and impaling your way through darkened side-scrolling levels as a vengeful ninja, the element of surprise is your ultimate weapon. Take out lights, zipline to grapple points and hide amid foreground objects to press your deadly advantage.

Modern thrillers

Immerse yourself in tense, narrative-driven adventures where stealth and survival go hand-in-hand.

Hitman 3

The final chapter of I/O Interactive's World of Assassination trilogy, Hitman 3 is the studio's most ambitious and freeform sandbox stealth experience to date. Using guile, deception, brute force and careful planning, pull-off untraceable assassinations as legendary Hitman Agent 47 and work to unravel a story of espionage and betrayal within your own agency.

The Last of Us Part II

Take on the role of Ellie and traverse the flooded streets of post-apocalyptic Seattle on the hunt for revenge. Silently dispatch adversaries, lay traps or employ raw brutality as you carve a path through the Emerald City's embattled factions.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

Take on the role of Billie Lurk (aka Meagan Foster), once one of Dunwall's most notorious killers-for-hire. Reunited with your old mentor, the legendary assassin Daud, you undertake the greatest assassination ever conceived: killing the Outsider, a god-like figure whom Billie and Daud see as instrumental to some of the Empire's most dishonorable moments.

Metal Gear Solid V

The "Tactical Espionage Action" opus has undergone multiple revisions, side stories, and flirtations with varying levels of action to complement all of the sneaking around and tranq darting of patrolling guards. That delicate balance between staying out of sight and then making snap decisions on the fly when spotted hit its gameplay zenith with Metal Gear Solid V and its Ground Zeroes prologue chapter.

Historical settings

Refine the art of assassination in dramatic settings from across the span of history; from Italian antiquity to the great American frontier.

Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection

Wade deep into the age of antiquity in three classic Assassin's Creed adventures from the series-defining Ezio saga. Combining a mixture of social and acrobatic stealth, move as a deadly assassin through the sun-kissed Mediterranean streets of ancient Italy as you search for a way to thwart the diabolical designs of the Templar order. 

A Plague Tale: Innocence

Flee across 14th-century France as a devastating plague sweeps through towns and cities leaving civilised society in disarray. Hunted by an unknown order who laid waste to your family home, take on the role of teenage girl Amicia and employ stealth, cunning and careful puzzle solving to smuggle your younger brother from the grip of his deadly pursuers. 

Sniper Elite 4

As a lone Allied sniper, slip unnoticed into occupied Italy amidst the darkest days of the second world war. Hunt high-ranking Nazi officials across the lush Mediterranean climes, stealthily despatching security personel and guards, reaching the perfect vantage point and blowing away your targets in grisly slow-motion.

Desperados III

From the developer of Blades of the Shogun, mentioned above, Desperados III is not so much a callback to classic strategy games as it is a revival. A prequel to 2001's Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive, Desperados III maintains all of the classic freeform gameplay of the original series, placing a heavy focus on planning, strategy and stealth to overcome outlaws and bandits all across the Western frontier.

Slick science fiction

Subvert the power of the technological age in high-concept sci-fi realities where going unnoticed is harder than ever.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

An ambitious tech-noir RPG, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is not strictly a stealth game - you can go in all guns blazing if you choose - but if you favour a more subtle approach, the game has a huge swathe of stealth options that allow you to move unseen through the world, in a lethal (or if you prefer, entirely non-lethal) quest to diffuse mounting tension between ordinary humans and the technology enhanced 'augs'. 

Invisible, Inc. Console Edition

Near-future corporate espionage may not sound like a white-knuckle thrill ride, but when level layouts, objectives and enemy placement are randomly generated every time, careful planning in this turn-based take on stealth feels incredibly novel. Throw in multiple agents with their own unique skills and missions that adapt to your strategies on the fly, and you have a recipe for a game with near-endless challenge.

Echo

Beyond the striking, baroque setting of Echo’s sprawling Palace lies one hell of a secret: this place is constantly studying protagonist En. From the way she moves to the attacks she uses and paths she takes: every detail is used to generate murderous copies that replay the previous day’s route in an effort to kill her. This is diabolical stealth strategy at its most tense.

Alien: Isolation

Take on the role of Amanda, the daughter of the Alien franchise's Ellen Ripley, trapped aboard an aging space station where every vent and crawlspace could hide an acid-dripping, alien xenomorph. Throw in a few human survivors and glitching synthetic workers and you have a near-constant sense of dread that turns successful escapes into intoxicating rushes of relief.