As I peek around the wooden crate that perfectly shades me in its shadow, I see two guards chatting it up just like two office coworkers talking over by the office water cooler. Their conversation doesn't interest me, I slowly slither along the floor until I find a new shadow to call home. As I look around I see another guard patrolling around the area, as he turns around and walks towards by direction I hug the wall of crates in order to prevent his gaze from seeing me.
While this is all going on, the two conversationalists of this little story, decide to head back on their patrol. The guard closest to me walks right past my location, unaware of the being just on the other side of the wall of crates and pallets. I quickly realize that I'm stuck, unable to move forward without being detected. Instead of the normal tension and fright that would accompany a person stuck in this predicament, I feel completely at peace. The darkness and quiet of the warehouse room put me at ease, as I keep a watchful eye on the guards patrol paths, waiting for my moment to sneak silently past them. When will the opportunity arise? Who knows, but I'm in no rush.
Ever since I dipped my toes into the stealth genre, I've always loved the calmness that it brings to me. In my opinion there is nothing like crawling around a mansion, warehouse, or facility in a game, when the moon is your only source of light. There is something so peaceful and serene about the methodical approach of series like Splinter Cell, Dishonored, and Thief.
There are most likely many people out there, who get the feeling of dread whenever they are forced to slow down and sneak their way past enemies in order to proceed in the game. Being told to wait and stay is something that even dogs don't necessarily like to do, and games that subtlety push players towards a wait and stay mindset, aren't always the games that gamers enjoy the most.
If you are willing to slow things down and accept the pace that is needed to fully appreciate the genre, then I believe most players will realize the peaceful nature of these games. Whenever I play stealth games, I always attempt to play (key word is attempt) as close to a ghost style playthrough as possible, where you are never seen by enemies or have your presence become aware of by the enemies. This style of play can at times be frustrating, especially if you keep hitting your head against the wall in some scenarios, however it also can be extremely rewarding, and most importantly relaxing.
The very first time I experienced this peacefulness from a stealth situation, wasn't actually from a stealth game, it was from Spider-man on PS2, based off the movie adaptation. While the game does have stealth elements, like being able to hide in shadows to avoid enemies, it really wasn't a stealth game. There was one particular level, however, that delivered to me a feeling of relaxation, that helped create my love for stealth.
That level, called Breaking and Entering, had you break into Oscorp where you had to silently move about the level and hack computer terminals to unlock a door to proceed, all while avoiding to trigger the alarm that would unleash deadly robots, that would kick Spider-man's ass.
This specific level has stuck with me ever since I've played it. What really makes this level peaceful to me is mainly due to it taking place in an office area shrouded in darkness with very little in the way of noise, besides from the repetitive comments of the patrolling guards. It's in setting like these where I feel like a spider on a wall, well technically during this moment I was a Spider-man on a wall, allowing me to move about an area observing everything around me without having to worry about being interrupted.
I believe a lot of my enjoyment for stealth games, comes from the fact that I love things like thunderstorms and the muffled landscape of snow covered world at night. They're two odd things to like, but both bring give me a serene feeling that makes me feel calm. The moodiness and the relative lack of sound that these provide, translates over to the stealth genre, where many of the games are generally very moody and also quiet.
Where many other genres are loud and fast-paced, always trying to keep the player entertained visually and auditorily. The non-stop music and splash of color that makes us love games like Mario and Splatoon, are always making us react to the pleasing onslaught to our senses. Games like these aren't meant to be peaceful and calming to us, they're meant to be fun and exciting.
On the flip-side however, stealth games are soundless and almost always shrouded in dark colors. They don't attack our senses, they allow us to rest them. That is why I find them to be so peaceful and serene, and that is why I love playing stealth games, because even if you are Sam Fisher stuck in a tense hostage situation, you can still find a placidness during that moment.
You may or may not like stealth games, but I encourage you to give the genre a try while not worrying about being perfect or screwing up. Just allow yourself to take in the stillness of the game and slow down. You may find that being surrounded by numerous armed guards while hiding behind an object can actually be tranquil in its own unique way.