Nintendo, as a company, has too many franchises to count that run the gamut in all genres. They have a ton of platformers under their belt like from the Mario series. The Legend of Zelda series is their open-world action-adventure games. The Pokemon series is their big RPG brand. Splatoon is their multiplayer shooter franchise and the list goes on.
One of the genres Nintendo doesn’t have a foot in the door in is stealth though. There are stealth elements in some of their games, like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, but they don’t have a giant brand attached to a stealth franchise like Metal Gear. That’s where the third-party developers come into play. Of the lesser known stealth games on Switch, which are worth your time?
8 Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation is a game that debuted in 2014 for the PS4 and its accompanying generation of consoles. One of the oddest choices was the Switch, which is a system not known for its graphical prowess. This may be why a lot of players passed this port up on the Switch when it came out perhaps a bit too late in 2019. However, it is one of the more enjoyable platforms to play it on as it does feature several changes and patches over the original. However one plays this game, they should because it is the best game based on this iconic film series.
7 Little Nightmares
Little Nightmares is a horror-based stealth platformer which is a whole lot of genres to splice together. Players begin as a young child in a yellow raincoat, trying to run away from horrific nightmares that are either trying to eat or kill them. Somehow the splicing of genres worked even though it didn’t get as much attention as it could have. Reviews were good though and there was even a sequel that added co-op to further boost the gameplay. Both games are worth the time for fans of any of these genres.
6 Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
Monaco: What's Yours is Mine first debuted exclusively for the PC crowd in 2013. It was somewhat recently released in 2019 for the Switch and it has yet to be ported again to any other console. It’s a shame too as this is a great co-op based heist game.
The characters and color schemes make it look similar to Among Us. Players choose a class and they all have unique skills that can help out during operations. It’s a great time with friends or strangers for those itching to pull a fun bank job while they wait for Grand Theft Auto 6.
5 Party Hard
Party Hard is a stealth game set inside a variety of parties from home invasions to clubs. The aesthetic and gameplay loop is not that far off from Hitman combined with Hotline Miami. The goal can vary between missions ranging from eliminating certain characters on a map to killing as many people as possible in certain ways to build up a better score. The ultimate goal is to not get caught, which is tricky considering there are so many people around. It, and its sequel, are worth tracking down for a smaller Hitman-like experience.
4 Republique
Republique is one of the most unique stealth games around as players do not directly control the main character, Hope. Players are instead guiding Hope through a series of mazes to help her escape a life of captivity. They can watch her through cameras and interact with certain things to set up traps. It’s a bit like Watch Dogs if players could only control technology. Not being able to directly control Hope makes Republique one of the harder stealth games in the past decade.
3 Sniper Elite 4
Sniper Elite 4 is not the latest release in the series but it is one of the better entries that is out on Switch. As the name might imply, this is primarily a sniping game set in World War 2. Players begin missions by setting up shop and taking down Nazis one at a time.
Players have free rein to move around to get better positions too. They can engage the enemy head-on but it is better to pick enemies off from a distance or stealthily from behind.
2 UnMetal
UnMetal is like a parody of the Metal Gear franchise, specifically the NES era. The mechanics are similar in that the main character, Jesse Fox, doesn’t have much flexibility besides the gadgets he unlocks. The game revolves around Fox recapping a mission he was on and is an unreliable narrator. This means scenes can change on a dime, creating another unique stealth experience on Switch unlike any other. The concept was better than the gameplay but check it out on a cheap sale.
1 Untitled Goose Game
Untitled Goose Game is a weird title for a game on top of it being an odd concept for one. Players are a goose, trying to create havoc anywhere they feel like it. Each area has a set of objectives to help this ludicrous bird move on to the next area. One of the earlier areas has players try to steal keys from a gardener. To succeed, players must use stealth and distraction techniques to get these keys. It’s a wild ride and is even more fun now that they added co-op to the chaos.
