Throughout gaming history, there have always been a few moments that have caught players off guard, one of which is stealth sections in games. This causes the player to stop playing through the action-packed game they paid for and sneak past enemies.
Reasons Why Stealth Sections in Games Can Be Both a Pain and a Change of Pace
Keep in mind that this is a list of many different reasons, both positive and negative, why stealth sections in games are included and what purpose they have. As an additional note, this list doesn’t focus on games that already focus on stealth aspects, but on games that shouldn’t include stealth.
7. Ruins the Pace of the Game (Bad)
One of the biggest complaints gamers have about forced stealth sections in games is that they are commonly used to separate portions of a game filled with action and chaos for which people bought the game.
The most common example of this video game trope is when a player’s character gets captured and loses all their equipment. They have to escape without any of the tools that they have been using throughout the entire game, which defeats the point of the game.
6. Adds Drama/Fear Depending on the Circumstance (Good)
Usually, when a forced stealth section is used within a game, it is commonly used to generate some kind of drama/fear response from the player. Whether that is by having an indomitable force that the player cannot kill or the daunting instant death that happens when you’re spotted by an enemy.
It can be quite a powerful effect that leaves gamers both worried and panicky as they progress through a portion of a game that was originally full of guns and chaos but is now filled with fear, creepy noises, and instant death.
5. Starts Simple but Gets Annoying Fast (Bad)
For most players, stealth isn’t that big of a problem, as many gamers tend to enjoy stealth games, but for those who enjoy games like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and anything else with guns and explosions, they can be quite problematic and frustrating.
After the first 10 failures on a force stealth section, many gamers will eventually become quite frustrated by this section of the game, to the point where many gamers in the past have even stopped playing a certain game.
4. Could Provide More Details on the Games Story (Good)
Usually, games tend to reveal their story through things like cutscenes or in-game lore pieces that allow the player to uncover secrets and information they wouldn’t manage to get any other way, but stealth sections can also provide some small insights as well.
Sometimes it feels a bit strange for the villain to have a large monologue or to explain their dastardly plans in earshot of the player character, but during a stealth section, it can make a small amount of sense, especially if you’re sneaking through something like vents and overhear a conversation.
3. It Can Take Forever to Complete (Bad)
Now, this is a double-edged sword comment, as gamers tend to buy a game because it can last many hours and have plenty of content to enjoy, but stealth sections can make a 45-hour game turn into 50-55 if you aren’t good at them.
Whether you are just taking you’re time to search through the entire level or just horrifyingly bad at stealth and constantly failing, it could add plenty of time to a game. To make matters worse, most stealth sections tend to take place late in a game, slowing down the climax of a game.
2. Can Provide a Whole New Perspective (Good)
For many games, you tend to only play as one character and see what they see throughout the entire game, but for some games, this isn’t the case.
One game in question is Resident Evil 2, the remake, which has a forced stealth section where you take the role of Sherry as she attempts to escape an orphanage while being hunted by the police chief. This adds suspense and fear as players feel tiny in comparison to the feat they attempt to achieve.
1. Stops You Playing the Game You Bought (Bad)
The simplest issue with a forced stealth section in games is the fact that it simply stops you from playing the game you bought in the first place. Whether it is fun as a section or not doesn’t matter, as in the end, you bought a game to fight bad guys with big guns, commit crimes, and so on, not stealth past things.
What do you think about stealth sections in games? Let us know in the comments what you think!
