Originally Posted by
Skyblade
If you're looking for flexibility, Mark of the Ninja has it. Part of your character customization is a feature called "Paths". You start with the Path of the Ninja, your default, well rounded form. You get access to one of each type of item, you have your sword for stealth kills, and you have standard ability options.
As you progress through the story and bonus objectives, however, you unlock additional Paths.
The Path of Might is the combat-focused one. You lose the ability to freeze time while using focus to aim range attacks or items, but you gain health, melee prowess, and the ability to regenerate health with stealth kills. It's designed for brawling, and it does it better than any other Path.
The Path of the Hunter ditches your Distraction item in exchange for a second Attack item, and it makes your stealth attacks work 100% of the time. Because, normally, each stealth attack has a tiny Quick Time Event (where you only have two possible options to choose from) which determines whether or not it kills things silently or noisily. One of the few games where I've actually not minded QTEs, partially because of how restricted they are (only two possible buttons), and partially because they're fair on time and not game-breaking if you fail. But perfect accuracy on them is pretty nice. And the extra Attack item is good if you like killing people with traps or blow darts from the shadows. It's built for when you want to wipe out every enemy on the map, but still do it without being seen.
The Path of Silence is where the game just gets brilliant. This path gives up your Attack item, and your sword. You can't engage in combat at all, except with environmental hazards (which some levels have quite a few of). But, in exchange, you don't make noise. Even when running or using your hookshot grapple. It turns the entire stealth system up a notch. You can't fight, at all, but you can run and jump right over people, grapple around the room like crazy, and basically just have fun as a completely unseen ghost while completing objectives (for the very few story-mandated kills, you'll get your weapon back). It totally shifts how the game is played, and is an absolute joy to play with.
The Path of Nightmares is another total game-changer. Any enemy who sees a stealth-kill, or a dead body, panics (though you lose your Distraction Item). Guaranteed. You can panic people without this Path, by dropping a dead body right in front of someone (or throwing it into their back), or using certain items. But this Path is all about the terror. Remember how Batman went around terrorizing thugs to disorient them and gain the upper hand before taking them down? He has nothing on you in this form. This form is meant for terrorizing everyone, and it works brilliantly. You learn so many different ways to use bodies to freak out guards. And then you realize that freaked out guards fire randomly whenever they find something suspicious. And guards can kill each other. There's something immensely satisfying about finding the perfect way to throw one body into a room that makes seven guards all panic and shoot each other, leaving just one survivor looking back and forth in terror before his life ends.
The Path of the Mark gives you a short-range teleport at the cost of your Distraction item. You can teleport past enemies, which is pretty nifty, but I honestly don't use it that much. I prefer walking, running, and jumping, what can I say?
The Path of Wisdom gives you the ability to knock guards out with your stealth attacks instead of killing them (though I believe they can be woken up if another guard spots them), and loses Farsight and the Focus time-freeze. The advantage here is that you can still get "leave all guards alive" while attacking everyone, and you can also play a little riskier without Farsight or Focus, and having a chance that guards might wake back up. It's fun, but only available via the DLC, so I haven't used it a lot yet.
The versatility these different options give is just huge. I've played through every level as both the Path of Nightmares and the Path of Silence, and most of the others through either the Path of the Hunter or the Path of the Ninja. Each level becomes a completely different experience with the different Paths.
The mechanics on their own are also incredible, though. In Normal Mode, you can see exactly how much noise each move makes, and you'll quickly learn that noise can be just as helpful as harmful. Breaking lights causes darkness, but it also makes guards investigate the broken glass, and that's just a basic use. When someone's guarding a door, purposely running around in a nearby vent and making noise they can hear can serve as a very effective distraction, pulling them from their post and letting you slip by. And it goes on and on. The game, just through playing it, teaches you how to use your disadvantages to your advantage. To make guards shoot each other or spring traps so you can evade them. To use distractions and the terrain to evade tight patrols. To learn exactly how far each guard can see, and exactly how high you can jump to leap over their head and land on the other side while they don't see you. Or to learn exactly how long it takes a guard to turn around when he hears something, and how much freedom of movement that delay gives you.
Then Hard mode comes around. You lose your sound indicators and gain directional sight (only see in the direction you face). Oh, and one hit kills you (so much for that extra health from Path of Might, huh?). But, by the time you beat Normal, you just know most of those things anyway, so it just adds a little more complexity to the system.
The point system is also wonderful. You get bonus points for several different types of near misses, for the various types of stealth kills, for leaving all the foes alive, for finding hidden items, for getting guards to kill each other, for panicking guards, hiding bodies, and tons of other things. The game rewards each way to play.
This is seriously one of the best stealth games I've ever played. If you are a fan of stealth games, you need to get this. You will not be disappointed. 15 bucks on Steam. Go get it (and I think it's been on at least one Steam sale).
Stealth Games
streme Wheelie
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