History Main / StealthBasedMission

* In ''VideoGame/Ghost10'', the Labs sector is under lockdown when Ghost arrives. Laser sensors sweep the labs for intruders, and if Ghost is detected, she’ll be obliterated as beams flood the room. She must carefully sneak past the sensors by ducking behind crates and blocking them with moving platforms in order to deactivate the alarms for each lab.

* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' has a very brief one as you’re escaping the [=YouTube=] jail. If the patrolling guards see you, they’ll send you back to your cell. Later in the same chapter, it becomes necessary to fight the guards instead, as they’re holding the keycards needed to progress through Partnership Towers.

* WebVideo/HeroHouse has Solid Snake performing another impossible mission, as he infiltrates Castle Doom itself.

* The Fanfiction ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestria'' is a crossover between ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}''. Occasionally the heroes will try to solve things sneaky-like. This inevitably fails because either the mission changes halfway through or the group's laughable attempts at stealth mean they have to change tactics to blowing things up. It's still a viable tactic, since many of their enemies are powerful, and being able to get a free barrage off, or vital intel, makes all the difference.

* In ''VideoGame/Ghost10'', the Labs sector is under lockdown when Ghost arrives. Laser sensors sweep the labs for intruders, and if Ghost is detected, she’ll be obliterated as beams flood the room. She must carefully sneak past the sensors by ducking behind crates and blocking them with moving platforms in order to deactivate the alarms for each lab.

* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' has a very brief one as you’re escaping the [=YouTube=] jail. If the patrolling guards see you, they’ll send you back to your cell. Later in the same chapter, it becomes necessary to fight the guards instead, as they’re holding the keycards needed to progress through Partnership Towers.

** Taken UpToEleven in the peaceful resolution for the quest "Come Fly With Me," which requires you to avoid being seen by the [[StealthyMook Nightkin]] in the REPCONN test site basement, who are ''themselves'' almost invisible, as they are cloaked with [[InvisibilityCloak Stealth Boys]].

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' has a couple of these. [[ScrappyLevel Scrappiness]] is averted somewhat by how [[RuleOfFun fun]] the throat-slitting BackStab attack is.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', on the other hand, has quite a bunch. Stealth is required if you want those gold medals. Additionally, ''Online'' has some heist missions that fail you if an enemy sees you.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The ''Endwalker'' main scenario quest "In from the Cold" has [[spoiler:the Warrior of Light kidnapped and their soul put into the body of a random Garlean soldier, [[BroughtDownToNormal denying them use of their many accumulated skills]] and even disabling their RegeneratingHealth]]. In this state, even fighting one normal {{Mook}} is ''extremely'' dangerous, so the player is obligated to sneak their way through the area to their objective, avoiding combat as much as possible.

** In the [[VideoGame/FatalFrameMaidenOfBlackWater fifth game]], there's Ayane, who makes a {{Crossover}} from ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''. Since [[NoSell her deadly ninja skills and weapons don't work on ghosts]] and she doesn't have a Camera Obscura throughout her entire mission, she's [[BadassNormal forced to sneak around hostile spirits with her ninja skills]], with [[PowerTattoo enchanted tattoos]] [[ISeeDeadPeople to enable her to see the ghosts she must sneak around]] and a [[StunGuns Spirit Stone]] [[InfiniteFlashlight Flashlight]] to render any ghosts she strikes with it incapable for a short time while [[RunOrDie she runs away from them]].

* Ever since ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda the series]] has had at least one per game:
** ''Ocarina'' has Hyrule Castle, where you have to avoid the guards standing outside then sneak around the patrolling guards inside, and Gerudo Fortress, where you have to avoid being thrown in jail. The Gerudo Fortress mission [[DownplayedTrope downplays]] the mandatory nature of these missions: Since your captors [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy don't notice that you're carrying a trunkload of weaponry]], getting back out of your cell and simply neutralizing the guards is a snap.

*** ''Oracle of Ages'' does it in Ambi's Castle--you have to dodge guards outside and inside. Unusually, once you get inside, if you get caught you don't get immediately thrown out--the guards just attack you, but if not defeated fast, they will call out to other guards who ''will'' throw you out.
*** In ''Oracle of Seasons'', you have to follow a Subrosian to a hidden portal without being seen by hiding behind trees. A later trip to Subrosia has two guys [[NoGearLevel steal your equipment]], forcing you to get it back.

** Played straight and downplayed in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'':

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has the [[spoiler: third trip]] to Eldin Volcano. It's a combination of the ''Wind Waker'' example and the concept of the NoGearLevel seen at one point in ''Oracle of Ages''.
*** The Silent Realm segments also count, as they play similarly to the ones in ''Phantom Hourglass'', gather [[MacGuffin MacGuffins]] and avoid invincible enemies. Getting a MacGuffin puts the Guardians into a sleep mode for 90 seconds, and if you're quick enough you can grab all of them without letting the timer end, but you have to avoid spotlight enemies that will wake them up if they spot you while doing it.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has the Bridge of Eldin and the Yiga Clan Hideout. The former doubles as an EscortMission and has you sneak past robot sentries that will cause the volcano to erupt with you and your Goron companion on it if either of you get caught in their searchlights. The latter requires you to infiltrate the lair of a {{ninja}} clan allied with Ganon while distracting the guards with bananas. If you get spotted and run out of hearts you get a NonStandardGameOver with them taunting you as you die. The ''Champion's Ballad'' DLC adds a second Yiga Hideout stealth mission.

* According to the official strategy guide for ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', E4M10 was designed to be stealthed. It's a massive single-texture maze filled with an ungodly amount of stationary guards and no healing whatsoever...but if the player follows the bloodspots on the wall, they can reach the exit without alerting anybody or firing a single shot.

* In ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'', after finishing what used to be the "[[VideoGame/{{Metroid1}} original game]]", Samus flees to her ship and takes off her armor. Uh, bad idea. She gets shot down by SpacePirates, resulting in her being without a ship... ''or'' her armor. You then have to slink around a Space Pirate base as ordinary, no PoweredArmor Samus, armed with only a stun gun. Avoiding conflict is ''highly'' recommended, and while it's more of a "[[RunOrDie run your ass off or die]]" mission, it actually ''is'' possible to get through without ever being seen assuming you have [[NintendoHard lightning-quick reflexes and are damned good at wall-jumps]]. (Of course, once ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'' rolled around, it made Zero Suit Samus into a combat badass like her "regular" self, and made her stun gun into a [[WhipItGood laser whip]].)

* Ever since ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda the series]] have had at least one:

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' has a stealth mission in Chapter 10 where you must rescue the prisoners and escape without getting detected. You will be rewarded bonus experience if you manage to get through without getting detected, otherwise, you'll have to fight some enemies in order to do it.
** This type of mission return in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' in Chapter 24 Revelation, where you must get past the guards and open the blue doors. Should you not be detected by the guards, you will get several rewards, including Boots.

* In ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper 2'' the level "Creep" takes place in the hero-controlled Stonekeep. Due to most of the map's usable area being taken up by the fortress the only way to expand your base is by capturing rooms and sealing them off from the heroes with hidden doors. If an alert goes out, the player's forces will be overwhelmed.

* The first half of the first mission in VideoGame/StarCraftIINovaCovertOps suddenly becomes this, you control Nova and need to sneak around without getting detected to recover your sniper rifle, save your colleagues who were also captured, and escape.

* ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' has the [[spoiler:five]] E.M.M.I. zones in which the titular robots dwell. The robots are impervious to Samus' basic weaponry, requiring her to find and neutralize the Control Unit and pick up its energy, which powers the Omega Cannon required to bring the bots down. Until then, she has to stay out of sight or screw with their programming to evade capture, lest she be pinned down and [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudiced pierced through the sternum]]. [[spoiler:The first E.M.M.I. is found outside a zone yet too broken to pose a fatal threat to a decently careful player, and the seventh can immobilize her for lengthy amounts of time without any visual contact; it only goes down when she decides to [[LifeDrinker suck it dry]].]]

** Completing the quest "Come Fly With Me" peacefully requires you to avoid being seen by the barely-visible [[StealthyMook Nightkin]] in the REPCONN test site basement, who are cloaked with [[InvisibilityCloak Stealth Boys]].

* The ''VideoGame/FarCry'' games have the occasional stealth mission.

* In the 'VideoGame/MedalOfHonorFrontline'' level "Operation Repunzel", if the guard at the front desk is "asleep" (which may be a glitch), you can sneak your way through most of the mansion; if he's awake, your cover will immediately be blown. You pretty much have to blow your cover anyway if you're going for the medal.

[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/star_fox_zero_covert_ops_mission_zoness.png]]

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/StarFoxZero https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/star_fox_covert_ops_2.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/StarFoxZero https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/star_fox_covert_ops.png]]]]

** The Silent Realm segments also count, as they play similarly to the ones in ''Phantom Hourglass'', gather [[MacGuffin MacGuffins]] and avoid invincible enemies. Getting a MacGuffin puts the Guardians into a sleep mode for 90 seconds, and if you're quick enough you can grab all of them without letting the timer end, but you have to avoid spotlight enemies that will wake them up if they spot you while doing it.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has the [[spoiler: third trip]] to Eldin Volcano. It's a combination of the ''Wind Waker'' example and the concept of the NoGearLevel seen at one point in ''Oracle of Ages''.\\\
The Silent Realm segments also count, as they play similarly to the ones in ''Phantom Hourglass''--gather [[MacGuffin MacGuffins]] and avoid invincible enemies. Getting a MacGuffin puts the Guardians into a sleep mode for 90 seconds, and if you're quick enough you can grab all of them without letting the timer end, but you have to avoid spotlight enemies that will wake them up if they spot you while doing it.