It\u2019s been this way for years since stealth mechanics made their way into video games. You\u2019ve got to infiltrate a base, steal a bauble, plant a listening device, or follow someone to a secret location, and if you fail, it\u2019s an automatic game over. Mission failed. You\u2019re dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does it have to be, though?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even in modern AAA games, there is little consideration for time spent on alternatives to \u201cstealth only\u201d missions. While this may seem to be an ironic discussion to have on a website dedicated to stealth gameplay, it is a plain and simple fact.. Stealth occasionally fails, and sometimes, it\u2019s not even the player\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Controls get bugged. A sudden drop in framerate happens. Vehicles explode nearby for no apparent reason (I\u2019m looking at you, Ghost Recon Breakpoint). Even in games where you\u2019re given a choice of pursuing an optional stealth mission, if you fail, you\u2019ve failed, and the world resets because, for whatever reason, the game just can\u2019t possibly handle you failing at stealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are so many opportunities for personal storytelling when stealth is broken in a critical mission. Let the objective change. Rather than following a target to a secret meeting and failing when discovered, let us pursue the target hot and capture them for interrogation, or even provide a completely alternate method for finding the secret meeting. If we get caught trying to plant a listening device, why are we not disguised as someone else, and let us attempt to deflect from our original goal while finding another way to get a listening device planted?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sure, the extra logic creates additional headaches for developers and story writers, but we\u2019ve already come so far in gaming now. Open world games are hugely detailed with a variety of choices already; what is a few more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a physically handicapped gamer, I fail a lot. Even in games I\u2019m considered an expert in, I still occasionally break stealth (sometimes through no fault of my own – once again, I\u2019m looking at you, Ghost Recon Breakpoint).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should I not play the games I love? Should I just \u201cgit gud\u201d, as the kids say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No. By providing gamers with the option to fail and pursue a different path, you\u2019re opening things up to more gamers, as well as giving us further replay value by being able to complete an objective in a different way. Sure, you can make the claim that failure teaches you to try harder, but in some cases trying harder isn\u2019t as interesting, and we\u2019re talking about games here, not life lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let it be OK for us to fail. Let us learn from it, and revel in the suspense and storytelling of that failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of failures, what was your most annoying stealth-only experience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n