Valve launched Steam Stealth Fest with appropriate quiet earlier this week, so you've got until Monday, July 31 at 10am PT / 1pm ET to grab some sneaky deals.
Stealth is in some way present in a lot of modern games that are generally better known for their action or roleplaying, so the Steam Stealth Fest selection is consequently extremely broad. There are a ton of heavy-hitters available on the cheap, so let's get those out of the way. You can't hardly go wrong with Dishonored, Metal Gear, Far Cry, Assassin's Creed, various Tom Clancy works, Hitman, Metro, Deus Ex, Prey, Deathloop, Batman: Arkham, Wolfenstein, Thief – the list goes on.
With this being such a specific but simultaneously broad sale, I wanted to put a spotlight on some lesser-known stealth games that are also extremely cheap and highly rated. An honorable mention goes to Void Bastards, the BioShock-esque FPS roguelike which was the entire reason I spotted this Steam festival to begin with.
- Gloomwood - 25% off at $14.99: New Blood Interactive's new-ish immersive sim is still in early access, but it's already a smorgasbord for stealth and boomer shooter fans.
- Aragami - 85% off at $2.99: I still regard this 2016 banger as required reading for stealth fans, even after the release of its sequel.
- Ghost of a Tale - 75% off at $4.99: You're a cute little mouse sneaking around a daunting fantasy land with a lute. Need I say more?
- Blood West - 25% off at $11.24: This is somehow the second early access, retro, stealth immersive sim on this list, and as I said shortly after its launch, it's also very promising and already fun.
- UnMetal - 60% off at $7.99: A straight-faced parody of Metal Gear that's only as long as it needs to be, unlike anything Hideo Kojima has ever written.
- Timeline - 50% off at $8.99: A rare stealth puzzle game with time-rewinding shenanigans and a cute, chunky art style.
- Dex - 90% off at $1.99: I honestly have no idea why this is in a stealth sale, but I'm not complaining because $2 is a steal for this 2D cyberpunk RPG.
- Echo - 50% off at $12.49: One of the strangest and most visually striking stealthy games to come out in recent memory, and a rare W for AI gimmicks.
- Monaco - 80% off at $2.99: After a decade, this is still one of the best co-op heist games around, and it's solid solo as well.
- Sword With Sauce - $2.99: I'm breaking my rule here because this game isn't actually on sale, but it's so cheap and cool that I couldn't resist. Picture a stealthier Superhot by way of early Flash animations.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - $39.99: I broke the rule once so I may as well do it again for a bonus game. I'm not sure why this little-known RPG is in the stealth sale either, let alone for full price. It must be getting by on the stealthy archery. In any case, it seems like it could be a Good Video Game that might find an audience.
Star Wars Outlaws is putting its own adorable spin on stealth in its open world.
Hideo Kojima originally had "no plans" for a character like Metal Gear Solid's Cyborg Ninja until Yoji Shinkawa's art had him saying "hell yeah, a ninja cyborg!"
Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid lead Hideo Kojima once said "everything I make ends up feeling somewhat like a movie" because he'd "grown up with them"
