izigame.me

This game completely changed the way that I look at stealth mechanics in games. I cannot speak to whether or not this game invented or innovated any of the mechanics I want to praise it for, but at the very least the way they all click together here is pretty phenomenal. I highly recommend this game for anyone who even slightly enjoys the stealth aspect of games, and PUTS TO SHAME the attempts I've seen to include stealth in modern triple-A titles that really don't need it.
There's a huge diversity of levels and the game gives you a lot of freedom in your approach. There's usually a path of least resistance (or a stealth solution that involves getting through the level as fast and messy as possible), but emergent gameplay opportunities and personal challenges abound here. The mere fact that there's a roster of five characters with unique abilities that ALL manage to be roughly equivalent in usefulness (but which can change a lot from level to level) is super cool.
This game reminds me of books I used to get as a kid with mazes made out of castles and towns that contained a huge amount of detail-- now I would ask you to picture these mazes filled with enemies with unique paths and sightlines, rising in complexity from level to level in a smooth difficulty curve. Picture having a set of primary and secondary objectives, a cool toolset, the ability to stack and queue actions with a hotbar, and being set loose! If that sounds even remotely appealing, this game is a must-have.
If it sounds a bit complicated, no worries! This game is able to guide a brand new player into it's systems with ease (at least it was for me, as a complete newbie to the genre). My only major complaints with the game is it's pacing, as the game had I believe about three full levels past where I expected the game to end and I stepped away for a small period of time due to burnout from the sheer amount of (admittedly spectacular, and not overstuffed) content. I say this is a pacing issue and not an issue of trying to due to much due to the story, which reaches it's emotional climax a good three or four levels before the end of the game (at least from my experience). The story is overall fine and doesn't really kill or improve the game for me either way.
Despite that, this is absolutely one of my favorite new discoveries in the last few years and I look forward to exploring the stealth genre. I highly recommend this game to about any player, and especially those interested in stealthy combat. A spectacular title, 9.5/10.