Best Handheld Stealth Games, Ranked

Handheld gaming has a different feeling compared to that of a mainline console or PC gaming experience. Many of these games utilize elements that are uniquely available to the device, or their available peripherals. This can lead players to look up what games from a specific genre are available when they are feeling nostalgic.

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The stealth genre works well for handheld titles, giving players patterns to study and challenges to overcome while on the go. One of the best features a stealth game can offer on handhelds is short, self-contained missions. This lets players make their attempts and save before needing to turn off their device. The games listed are those that launched as handheld titles and are not ports from other systems. However, several of these titles were later ported to be more widely accessible.

6 Unit 13

Military Style Deployment

• Release Date: March 6, 2012
• Platforms: PlayStation Vita
• Developer: Zipper Interactive

Unit 13 really captures the feel of soldiers pulling off a covert operation, delivering a very rewarding sense of stealth — while allowing players to go in guns blazing the moment things turn south. Players will constantly see points being earned by tasks such as nailing a headshot and disabling cameras. Cutscenes are like something out of an action movie with their large explosions, and they serve as satisfying ends to completing missions.

Players should never run recklessly out in the open, though, or they can quickly be gunned down. Approaching from the shadows — and leaving an escape route ready when the need arises — is critical. Luckily, just like dealing with the hardest bosses in soulslike games, players can learn all the patterns of their enemies' movements to best approach the situation.

5 Secret Agent Clank

Ratchet & Clank With Stealth Elements

Set in the long-running Ratchet & Clank franchise, Secret Agent Clank is one of two handheld entries that were released on the PlayStation Portable. Unlike major console iterations of the franchise, this one heavily focuses on Clank as the central protagonist. The game uses the gameplay of the PS2-era entries of the franchise as a base, but it has a massive focus on stealth elements.

Players will need to hide in the right places, move when safe to do so, and sneak up behind enemies to initiate stealth takedowns. Playing the game in a stealthy manner will see players rewarded for doing so. The game does not struggle to find its own identity with lots of tropey spy-styled antics, such as donning disguises and using all manner of utility gadgets.

4 Lunar Knights

The Successor To The Boktai Games

Lunar Knights is part of the Boktai series of games produced by Hideo Kojima, but a lot has changed about it compared to previous entries. This game lets players swap between two characters, one that uses a sword, and one that uses a gun. The swordsman is named Lucian, who possesses a large health pool. The other character is named Aaron, who has a much larger pool of energy to draw from.

Energy can be restored by finding a light source, with Aaron using sunlight and Lucian using moonlight. While the game does let players play with a much more action-focused approach, stealth is not only an encouraged option, but a highly advantageous one.

3 Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand

A Stealth Game Powered By The Sun

Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand is a stealth game that also incorporates some RPG elements into its gameplay. The game follows the story of a vampire hunter who uses the power of sunlight to slay them. One of the unique elements to this game is that its physical Game Boy Advance cartridge actually has a sensor that is able to detect the presence of sunlight.

In order to charge the player character’s weapon, players need to go into the sun. Without a charge, players rely on the stealth elements to avoid enemies until they can find a solar station to charge it back up. The movement of the sun in the game will match the real world sun’s movement based on the in-game clock. Sadly, this game is one of the best titles to never leave the Game Boy Advance.

2 Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Metal Gear Solid Recaptured In Mobile Form

It is no surprise that Metal Gear Solid easily makes its way onto this list with how many of them there are for handhelds. Unlike the Metal Gear Acid games, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is not a turn-based affair but a full Metal Gear Solid experience for players to enjoy on the go. One of the game’s primary elements is to put together a team of numerous allies.

Players will need to be mindful of who they enlist, as they will each offer different stats. Missions do not take a long time to complete, which is a good thing for a system reliant on batteries or when the game is being played while traveling to a destination.

1 Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Perfect Blend Of Story & Gameplay For MGS Fans

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is the follow-up title to Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, and it is a superior title in every way. The controls feel good, the user interface is easy to understand, and the world is both vibrant and well-designed. The story plays very deeply into the game’s lore and helps set up events for future games — this is especially true for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. However, players can expect this to be one of the harder titles made by Kojima.

Even though Peace Walker was released 5 years prior to Metal Gear Solid 5, fans that play The Phantom Pain first might feel that the gameplay of Peace Walker i s trying to be a handheld version of MGS5. One of the best features of the game is its co-op mode, which lets players play through the entirety of the game as a group of 4 — or play through some extra content tailored specifically for co-op play.

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