The Lord of the Rings is a very prolific series and has shined a spotlight on one of its most conflicting characters in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. In this original story, you'll play as the transformed hobbit Smeagol as they live and survive as the creature known as Gollum.
For the sake of the One Ring and self-preservation, Gollum will need to stealth his way through various notable locations in Middle Earth. This presents a solid challenge since Gollum has no reliable form of defense and so must rely on stealth. However, he's definitely not alone in this, and there are other games that also have you relying on the shadows to succeed.
8 The Styx Series
Though Gollum may be known as a small and ghoulish creeper, he's not the only character to hold that title. There are a couple of fantasy games that center around the character Styx, a goblin who has lived an exceptionally long life. He's used this time to master using his body and shadows to his advantage in order to become a skilled assassin.
Since he is a goblin, he needs to use every edge he can get to sneak by and take down large armored humanoids. Sneaking and stealth are his bread and butter, but he's also got tools and magic to give you even more options.
7 Spider-Man: Miles Morales
The Spider-Man games always perform well and for good reason. Although fledgling hero Miles Morales and protégé Peter Parker have enhanced speed and strength, their core abilities have manifested a bit differently. Spider-Man has never been the tankiest when it comes to ranking heroes, so he frequently relies on stealth and Miles's powers complement that well.
His venom attacks can stun enemies from a distance, and he literally has the power to turn invisible. Miles is tough, but he's also still a kid, so you'll need to use mobility and powers to stealth around and pick off as many enemies as possible.
6 Ghost Of A Tale
An indie title that largely went under the radar, Ghost Of A Tale doesn't get nearly as much recognition as it deserves. In a gloomy fantasy universe, you play as a mouse trapped in an isolated prison overseen by rats. Your goal becomes to escape the prison while exploring it and the surrounding area to find news of your missing wife.
Naturally, this requires you to use your mousey stature and agility to avoid detection while knocking out rats only as a last resort. It's a scenario in which you rarely ever feel safe, and you won't ever want rats descending on you.
5 Inside
Following the success of Limbo, the devs of Playdead realized that there's one thing that they do exceptionally well - stealth mechanics, which they brought to Inside. Once again, you play as a young child in a bleak and dystopian world. Very little is revealed at the beginning other than simply the need to escape and survive.
There's a fair amount of platforming, physics, and puzzle-solving, but also a solid stealth element. There are multiple hostile entities that have their sights solely set on you, so move quickly, hide, and always have an escape route.
4 Mark Of The Ninja
Ninjas have been twisted and turned by media in almost every way possible that authentic depictions of them are something of a novelty. While Mark Of The Ninja does take some liberties, it also makes an effort to be accurate in a number of ways. The game follows an unnamed ninja of an ancient clan as he receives a tattoo said to grant enhanced strength and mystical powers.
Following this, his clan is attacked by technologically-enhanced PMC forces. Armed with a blade and a few tools, you're well-built, but an unprotected ninja body won't do much in the way of bullets. It tests you to make sharp movements, hide swiftly, and leave no trace that you were ever there.
3 The Plague Tale Series
Nothing boosts survival instinct more than being forced to go on the run or having someone to protect. The Plague Tale games have both of those in play with the character Amicia. As the daughter of a knight, her home is invaded and destroyed by a fanatical force dedicated to abducting and studying her younger brother Hugo.
On the run, Amicia must rely on her resourceful, stealth, and skills with a sling in order to guide herself and Hugo safely. You eventually get access to quite a nice arsenal of weapons and abilities, but they won't take the place of good ol' hiding in the bushes and making distracting noises.
2 Invisible, Inc.
After trying their hand at ninjas, the Mark Of The Ninja folks returned to try their hand at spies. These aren't just any spies, these are company spies working for Invisible, Inc. As the leader of your own espionage business, your work involves infiltrating other businesses, stealing their secrets, and performing a safe extraction.
It's interesting in combining stealth gameplay with turn-based strategy as well as giving you access to a full team of characters for more variety. Some are better at hacking, others at dealing with security, and certain folks are just excellent at staying hidden, all coming together for a fun mix of sneaking and spying.
1 The Shadow Of Series
Gollum is all about stealth and trying to stay unseen, but he isn't the first LOTR character to depend on that. Years before, Shadow Of Mordor introduced us to Talion, a ranger killed while standing guard on the borders of Mordor. He is promptly revived by Celebrimbor, the wraith-form elven creator of the ring. Together, the two make a powerful duo both in and out of combat.
It's perfectly fine to jump into the middle of an orc's banquet and start dueling everyone there, but stealth is much more satisfying. You can crouch, climb, dive, sneak, set off explosives, poison consumables, use arrows, set off various wildlife, or just sneak up and stealth kill. Gollum is a professional sneaky guy, but our Talion-Celebrimbor ranger has way more range.