I’m specifically thinking of modern-day stealth-action games like MGS, SC and GR, but it can be for any type of stealth game you want.

Do you like desert regions, forest/jungles, snowy environments, dense urban areas or something else the best?

I think I like snowy levels most, but that’s because to me, Shadow Moses has the best atmosphere of any stealth environment.

I’m a big fan of co-op or, “friendslop” games. My favourite gaming memories are usually working together with friends to complete an objective.

My best friend and I played Blacklist together all the time throughout our teen years, and when I flew in to hang out last week, we realized how well it held up.

The stealth-only missions are a lot of fun, with so many different ways of completing them. The co-op campaign missions are also a good time. But the missions that we have the most memories of, are by far the horde mode.

They’re the “Charlie missions” in the mission select. They comprise of a single area, and 20 waves of enemies that get harder and harder. Over time you start to see heavy armour enemies, riot shields, attack dogs, drone controllers, snipers, and ninja-lookin dudes with infrared sight.

You’re free to utilize stealth, and there were certain waves where it was clearly the best option, but these missions aren’t shy about being mainly action-oriented.

I know this is a Splinter Cell subreddit, and Blacklist is not a favourite in this space. People here don’t seem to like when combat is a viable option.

But playing this mode in co-op is unlike any other experience my friend and I can find. Even when we’re not using stealth, we’re thinking very carefully about strategy.

We find good positions to fortify, and we use sticky cameras, mines, shockers, drones, and a lot of grenades at strategic moments to kill them as they come.

There’s so many moments that necessitate good cooperation. The best way to deal with riot shield enemies is for one player to shoot at them from the front, distracting them, while the other disengages and sneaks around, knifing them from behind.

Eventually, a drone controller will appear hidden somewhere on the map. This will disable your sonar goggles, and send out explosive drones that patrol the map. When this happens we usually have to hide, and use our own tri-rotor drones to fly through the rafters, avoiding detection, until we find where the controller is. Then we have to sneak over and kill him.

Often times shit will hit the fan and you’ll be held in place by a dog bite while a drone drives under you to explode you balls-first, while you get shot by shotguns and snipers.

These are some of the most fun and hectic moments, when the other player needs to make use of their arsenal, as well as their own imagination, to save their friend.

There’s just so many cool moments of emergent gameplay, and there’s really nothing else like it.

The closest we’ve found is Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, and at least we can play that online so we can do it more than once a year.

I urge anyone who has a friend with them to give blacklist another try, just for that.

And if you have, let me know if there’s any similar game experience you can recommend!

My wife better guess it I swear to god

Right now I’d say it goes:

3. Arkham games

4. 007 First Light

5. Sifu

But it goes back and forth constantly.

This combat just gets more addicting the more I play it. I never want the combat levels to end, which is so different from most shooters I experience. Throwing a gun or a brick or a glass into a guy’s face and then running up and punching a dude’s lights out rivals some of the coolest shit he does in the films.

After a solid 3 and a half minutes of thinking, I’ve narrowed it down to 4 main tropes.

1. The Assassin

Most Assassin’s Creed protagonists, Garrett from thief,
These characters generally exist in a historical or fantasy setting, using literal cloak-and-dagger methods. A blade in the crowd, stalking the rooftops, stuff like that. They also tend to have a dramatic flair.

2. The Gentleman Spy

James Bond, Kingsman,
Most recognizable by the stylish, formal attire. These guys have an ere of class, charisma, and seem just as likely to enjoy a drink with you as gun you down with their silenced service-pistol.

3. The Soldier

Solid Snake, Sam Fisher,
These badasses waste no time with the pleasantries or theatrics of the above two. They’re equipped with an arsenal of modern weaponry and will use it to dismantle your entire operation. They stick to the shadows, but if they have to come into the open, they can clear whole rooms of mooks like it’s nothing.

4. The Monster

Batman, Dishonoured protagonists,
I realize tying these ones together is a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. I characterize these ones as the horror-movie villains. They’re the ones that use fear to weaken their enemies, before jumping out of the shadows and using their heightened abilities to take down their foes. I know Batman doesn’t technically have powers, but I think he qualifies based on how elevated his abilities are compared to the hostiles.

Which are your favourites? I’m partial to the gentleman spy, but Metal Gear is my favourite stealth series, and I do adore both AC and Arkham, so it’s super difficult.

Can you think of any other major examples I should’ve included in these categories? What are some other categories you can think of?

Why is he woke???!?!??!??!!!!??!??!!???

Rebels is my favourite depiction of Maul. He’s the slightest bit sympathetic, while still being an absolute monster.

Until now, it was his most sympathetic portrayal.

But Shadow Lord has painted him as someone who is willing to work with Jedi to achieve his goals, and seems to not outright hate them anymore.

He causes Daki’s death, and you could say that he was planning on doing that the other time. But he picks a moment where Devon won’t see him.

This leads me to my main question.

Why does he blind/try to kill Kanan in Twilight of the Apprentice?

It’s honesty a pretty similar situation. He wants to recruit Ezra to the dark side, but Kanan stands in his way. Ahsoka likely would, too. Ezra trusts them both too much, and neither of them would EVER trust Maul.

And Maul is in a position where he could genuinely use their help. He even says as much to them.

“I cannot defeat Vader alone.”

I feel like he should’ve stuck it out and tried to escape with all of them, and maybe trip Kanan on the way out like he did with Daki if he has the opportunity.

But he just jumps him. Even if he expected to kill him in one hit, he still has a battle-ready Ahsoka there, who (if I have my power-scaling right) would absolutely give him a run for his money.

Why would he risk Ahsoka telling Ezra what happened, and losing out on a chance to recruit him?

Before Shadow Lord, this wasn’t as much of an issue. In rebels I could still buy that Maul absolutely despised the Jedi, maybe to the same extent as the Sith.

His line right after blinding him seems to imply as much.

“(I will use the holocron) to exact my revenge on ALL my enemies!”

So in this version I assume that he hated and really wanted to kill any surviving Jedi, nearly as much as he wanted Ezra as his apprentice. Here, he’s still very much a villain.

But in Shadow Lord, he seems to see the Jedi more as just gullible idiots, maybe even deserving of some pity, after they were genocided.

It’s like he sees that they were all victims of Palpatine, just as he was. Which I always thought was a clarity he didn’t reach until his final moments in Obi-Wan’s arms.

“He…will…avenge…US.”

But what do you guys think? What’s the in-world explanation of his actions in Rebels? Is his characterization consistent? And did Shadow Lord go a step too far in making him sympathetic?

5. Padme’s ruminations - Revenge of the Sith

6. “You’re not the only one who survived” - Jedi Survivor

7. “Never more than twelve” - Andor

8. “Then he will avenge us” - Rebels

9. Vader’s redemption

Rate my list or tell me what it says about me or smth

Or tell me your top 5