Articles Aliens: Dark Descent

Stealth is a genre where patience and observation beat firepower and brute force. Instead of rushing in guns blazing, players hide in shadows, study patrol routes, distract guards, and plan every move — whether slipping into a target's mansion or sabotaging an enemy installation deep behind enemy lines. Over thirty-plus years, the genre has grown from a niche experiment into a rich cluster of sub-genres: social stealth built on disguises and social engineering, immersive sims with full freedom of approach, real-time tactical stealth with active pause, stealth horror, and clever indie experiments. This list brings together the best stealth games of all time on PC and consoles — 36 games grouped by sub-genre.

The best tactical games reward planning over reflexes — here are 24 turn-based tactics games and TRPGs for PC and consoles, from XCOM 2 and Jagged Alliance 3 to Unicorn Overlord. Victory here does not belong to whoever clicks faster, but to whoever plans every move several steps ahead: assessing positions, calculating risks, and making smart use of cover and squad abilities. One wrong order, and a favorite fighter may be left on the battlefield forever. This ranking features 26 of the best tactical games for PC and consoles, divided into five categories: story-driven tactical RPGs, mercenary squads, military and sci-fi tactics in the spirit of XCOM, real-time stealth tactics, and compact tactical puzzle games. The selection ranges from genre classics such as Final Fantasy Tactics and XCOM 2 to new releases from 2025–2026. The list was updated in May 2026.