Assassin games are some of the most beloved video games out there. Most offer a good mix of stealth, puzzles, and high stakes action. It’s so rewarding to sneak your way past enemies to infiltrate bases or even go all out and take out everyone at your disposal.
I have always had a special place in my heart for assassin games. I grew up playing shooting and puzzle games and have found much joy in franchises like Hitman and Assassin’s Creed, so I have always enjoyed this genre. And there are a lot of good titles to be found, because honestly, with a good base it’s hard to truly screw up this type of game.
Here is a list of some of the best assassin games we could find. There may be better out there, but there could also be worse out there. But if you’re truly a fan of this genre like I am, I think you will find joy in the games on this list.
15. Alekhine’s Gun
Released in 2016 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Alekhine’s Gun offers a premise very similar to Hitman. You play as Semyon Strogov, a former KGB officer turned CIA agent set during the Cold War. You are given a target at the beginning of each mission and must explore the huge map at your disposal, listening to clues and putting on new disguises to get close to your target. The interesting thing is not only that this game centers around historical events of the 1960s but takes you back in time through flashbacks.
Alekhine’s Gun isn’t a bad game by any means.. This game has an interesting premise but is bogged down by uncomfortable controls, terrible AI, and too many bugs to list. The maps are fun to explore but are too big for their own good, so there’s not enough detail to go around. Alekhine’s Gun is a fun game, but with this much going against it, it doesn’t hold its own compared to the other games on this list.
Choose this game if you like:
- Moving freely though open world, non-linear levels.
- Playing through historical accurate missions.
- Becoming a master of stealth by picking locks, putting on disguises, and use specialized weapons.
14. London Ripper
Released in 2022 (PC)
London Ripper is a new game that you might think doesn’t fit in with the rest of the games on this list, but who says you have to be the assassin to enjoy an assassin game? In London Ripper, you play as Carolyn, a night girl in the cold and dark London. She is quitting her job because she has finally found a husband but must complete this last night because she needs enough money to rent a hotel room. She takes a different approach by traveling to different hotels and brothels to service guests, but she must steer clear of the London Ripper, a murderer (inspired by the real Jack the Ripper) loose in the streets who targets women just like herself.
London Ripper is definitely a fun concept, but I can’t say it’s all that original. It’s an indie psychological survival horror with a nice setting in the popular PSx style, so it’s definitely unlike the other games on this list. But being different isn’t always better. The game tries to be spooky and atmospheric, but it ends up just being too dark to see what’s going on, and the story, though interesting, isn’t anything we haven’t seen before.
Choose this game if you like:
- An interesting and mysterious game style.
- Psychological horror games that will keep you up at night.
- A short and sweet story.
13. Aragami 2
Released in 2021 (PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S)
Aragami 2 is a fun game with a premise as iconic as a fork and an electrical socket. It’s set 100 years after the first game and follows the same premise of ninja assassins, just now they’re trying to save their village from invading armies.
Aragami 2 follows a recognized and beloved premise of a ninja assassin who must hide in the shadows to take out your target in beautiful, Japanese-styled maps. The gameplay is fun with a mix of sword and supernatural combat, and though I said assassin games and ninjas are as iconic as a fork and an electrical socket, you have to know what you’re doing or else you’ll get shocked. The missions get repetitive, combat can be annoying, and there’s a few glitches to be found. The game is still fun, but it doesn’t try anything we haven’t seen before.
Choose this game if you like:
- Games with single player and co-op options.
- Fast paced action and stealth sequences.
- The ability to customize your abilities and experience.
12. Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts
Released in 2019 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts is another fun game with a premise similar to Hitman and Alekhine’s Gun. You play as a sniper in countries like Siberia and Russia where you must take out certain elites and CEOs. At the beginning of each mission, you are given a briefing of your target, giving backstory and motives. You then must run around the map and find the best vantage point and sometimes retrieve packages and hack computers.
Sniper is fun because, unlike most sniper games, you have to run around the map to find the right angles and sometimes get too close for comfort. But that leads to a lot of interesting gameplay moments and at times high stakes. Though, you will still run into your occasional slow mission that can be boring. Sniper encourages methodical gameplay and makes the player think through their environment.
Choose this game if you like:
- A realistic and highly engaging sniper experience.
- Contracts you can go back and replay in a different way.
- Playing with gadgets such as drones and gas grenades.
11. Assassin’s Creed: Rogue
Released in 2014 (PC, PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Assassin’s Creed: Rogue is the seventh installment of the AC franchise and follows the same premise of an Abstergo employee reliving the life of an assassin from history. As an Assassin’s Creed game, Rogue is undoubtedly fun and interesting, but whether that makes it better than the other games on this list is another question entirely.
Rogue follows the story of Shay Patrick Cormac, an assassin who becomes a templar after being burned by the Brotherhood and now helps hunt them down. Rogue offers the same mechanics of every AC game before it, which gives it great gameplay and world-building, but just doesn’t offer anything new, meaning it seems bland in comparison with the rest of the franchise. Its story is interesting but is at times poorly written, meaning big moments don’t leave the intended punch. Also, Shay is a walking anti-hero cliché, and the entire game feels like a Black Flag sequel, though it doesn't live up to that idea.
Choose this game if you like:
- Becoming an assassin hunter.
- Manning and fighting from sea-faring ships.
- Open and diverse worlds to explore.
10. Partisans 1941
Released in 2020 (PC)
Partisans 1941 is such an interesting game, following a similar assassin premise but much more historical and story driven. In Partisans 1941, you play as a Red-Army commander who leads a resistance team fighting against the Nazi threat growing into Russia during WWII. This beautiful game is heavily story driven, with each character in the large cast coming equipped with their own background, story, and voice actor. Each of these players also comes with their own abilities, strengths,and weaknesses which come in handy when building the perfect team.
Partisans is great because you can go into the mission and try to destroy the Nazi threat stealthily or gun-slinging. The game promotes hiding in the shadows or bushes, but you don’t have to play it that way. The game takes a top-down, real time strategy approach which sets it apart from the other games. Maps reward exploration and leveling up, but I must admit that the AI is quite dumb. However, this game is incredibly well written and even more fun.
Choose this game if you like:
- A different approach to tactical stealth.
- Customizing your own resistance squad.
- Experiencing WWII from a different perspective.
9. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Released in 2017 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, Amazon Luna)
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun takes the known stealth approach but spins it on its head, taking place in the historical, futile Japan. The game presents itself as more of an RPG, or a board game, making it somewhat similar to Partisans 1941.
In Shadow Tactics, you must go through Japanese-styled campaigns to take out guards and targets using a variety of characters who all have different specialties, such as a samurai and a thief. This means you can really customize your experience and build your team however you would like to. Gameplay can be a little infuriating at times with weird difficulty spikes and jerky camera movements, but it has an emotionally touching story and amazing cast of characters.
Choose this game if you like:
- Playing with your own cast of playable characters.
- Playing the game at the difficulty you desire.
- Exploring ancient Japanese environments.
8. Intravenous
Released in 2021 (PC)
Intravenous is another indie game, but unlike London Ripper, it has a lot less flaws and is better crafted. It has themes akin to Hitman but takes more of a John Wick approach.
In Intravenous, you play as Steve Robbins, an average man whose brother was killed by a gang mugging gone wrong. After that, he turns to a life of vigilante justice, taking an anti-hero role in his life as he hunts down the gang that killed his brother. I like Intravenous’ 90s-inspired style and gameplay, which gives the player the option of stealth or full-on assault. Either option works great, and both pose a challenge with the game’s great AI. It also has an interesting story and well-rounded cast of characters. There’s not much negative to be said about this game.
Choose this game if you like:
- Odes to the stealth games of the past.
- Stealth mixed with fast-paced action.
- Dark and emotional stories.
7. Assassin’s Creed: Unity
Released in 2014 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Coming in with another Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed: Unity has everything we love from Rogue but is a great step up. In this one, you play as Arno, one of the better AC leads, in Paris during the French Revolution.
Unity takes a smaller approach when it comes to the story and the cast of characters. The story is emotional and dark, focusing on Arno and his love interest and then leading to a murder mystery. There aren’t too many supporting characters, which seems nice at first but later on you’re left wishing for more. The map is incredibly well built with great attention to detail that implores exploration, like all AC games. Unity takes a leap in trying to be a more intimate AC experience, which works, but with a map as beautiful and grandiose as it has, it almost needs a few more familiar faces to make it feel alive.
Choose this game if you like:
- Customizing your experience.
- A diverse world to explore.
- A small, intimate story.
6. Dishonored 2
Released in 2016 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Dishonored 2 is such a fun and interesting game that I think anyone could enjoy. It offers a premise full of familiarity and original experiences. The game starts at a remembrance ceremony 15 years after the first game in honor of the late empress, the mother of Emily Kaldwin. Soon after, a witch named Delilah Copperspoon appears and claims to have a right to the throne, sending her men to attack when she doesn’t get her way. The player must then choose to either play as either Emily or her father, Corvo Attano, to take down Delilah.
Both characters offer their own playstyle and special abilities, sharing a few common ones, though the story plays out the same regardless. Each level is non-linear, meaning you can go into it trying to sneakily eliminate your targets like a hitman or fully auto. The game is beautiful too, taking place in the fictional city of Karnaca, inspired by southern Europe. Dishonored 2 is an amazing game that the player can truly get lost in.
Choose this game if you like:
- Exploring a diverse and creative world.
- Supernatural assassin combat.
- Choosing between two different assassin characters.
5. Hitman 2016
Released in 2016 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux)
Hitman 2016 is a game I have close to my heart. It’s one of the last games in the Hitman franchise and sticks to familiar, stealth and assassin roots while offering something new.
This game is what I think the definition of an assassin game is. You play as Agent 47, an engineered hitman working for ICA who must go out and take care of your given target by any means necessary. You can truly be creative with this game, with the ability to go at it from any approach, as long as you take out your target. It has some beautiful maps and settings and many interesting stories caught inside its own story that doesn’t end until two games later. Hitman is simply a blast and one of the best assassin games out there.
Choose this game if you like:
- Becoming a master assassin/hitman
- Completing the missions however you see fit.
- Travel to and explore many diverse locations, such as Italy and Japan.
4. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
Released in 2015 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, Luna)
I don’t think I have to explain why being an Assassin’s Creed game makes Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate such a great game. However, Syndicate takes a different approach to AC with having two main characters to play as, which are twin assassins Jacob and Evie, who each have different goals and offer a fresh sibling rivalry dynamic.
Set in Victorian London, Jacob is focused on freedom and liberating his city and often takes a seat at the wheel during story-driven missions, while Evie is more focused on exploring tombs and becoming a good assassin. The map is well-designed, though it does take some time to get used to, as it takes some time to appreciate. The story is enjoyable and is a fresh deviation from basic Ac stories, though its combat can feel a little competitive. There is no perfect assassin game, but Syndicate never tries to be perfect, and that’s what makes it so good.
Choose this game if you like:
- Building your own army in London’s shadows.
- Fun and fresh sibling dynamics.
- Engage in combat with a new arsenal of weapons, such as brass knuckles and a rope launcher.
3. Deathloop
Released in 2022 (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
Deathloop is a fun and refreshing take on the assassin genre, offering a game unlike any on this list. You play as Colt, a man who is doomed to repeat the day over again until he can take out 8 targets, called Visionaries, in one day. You must use clues and insight to figure out how to achieve such a task, because if you don’t, you have to live it all over again.
You are stuck on the cold, mundane island of Blackreef which is brought to life through outfits and technology inspired by the styles of the 1960s, offering some wacky contrast. Deathloop is a very original game, exploring many ideas to bring a truly unique experience. It has a unique style and lots of fun and interesting ways to cause mayhem. You will have to repeat the day a few times before you can actually complete the game, but that’s where the fun lies.
Choose this game if you like:
- Exploring beautiful and interesting worlds.
- Fun and wacky gameplay
- Single and multiplayer experiences.
2. Hitman: Blood Money
Released in 2006 (PC, PlayStation 2 and 4, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One)
It may not come as a surprise that a Hitman game has made its way near the top of this list, but Hitman: Blood Money is often regarded as the best game in the Hitman franchise and, in my opinion, still one of the best assassin games out there. Though this game is considerably older than the others on this list, that should just go to show how amazing and timeless this title is.
Blood Money follows the story of an FBI agent as they narrate the life of Agent 47 to a journalist, going into so much detail that the player actually gets to live through the missions being described. These are the “roots” I was talking about in the Hitman 2016 entry. Each level is incredibly well built and offers a dark tone, leaving the player to take out each target in the way they see fit. Blood Money has realistic mechanics and multiple animations for every assassination, offering a true sandbox experience one can’t grow tired of. The only reason this game isn’t #1 is because it’s age has started to show, and this next title is just amazing in every way.
Choose this game if you like:
- A new “Blood Money” system, allowing the player to make bribes and weapon customizations.
- A strong, dark story narrative.
- Completing the mission however you want to.
1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Released in 2019 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia)
Coming in with what I believe to be one of the best assassin games out there, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a beast of a high-stakes assassin game many Bloodborne fans will find familiar. It blends originality and well-known ideas to create something amazing that gamers haven’t seen in a long time. Though you won’t be donning disguises or doing much sneaking around, you can immerse yourself in a different type of assassin experience, which IGN labeled the Best Action Game of 2019.
You play as a shinobi named Wolf, traversing through a land of demons and monsters trying to find the samurai clan that kidnapped him. Though the story is emotional and interesting, that’s not where this game shines. Sekiro shines with its masterful lock-on combat that challenges the player. You encounter many bosses during this game, and if you die there’s the option of revival, but both options hold their own stakes that require a thought-out plan. Sekiro is an amazing assassin game that holds its own in originality and excellence, and I believe it is the best assassin game on this list.
Choose this game if you like:
- Engaging in combat with a variety of different monsters and demons.
- Combat worthy of IGNs “Best Action Game of 2019” award.
- Exploring a beautiful and interesting map inspired by 1500s Japan.
There are a lot of good assassin games out there. It’s a genre older than both you and me, so there’s definitely a good roster to choose from. However, I believe that these 15 are some of the best out there. But who knows, tomorrow an even better assassin game might be released.
