26 Stealth games like Payday 3 that you should try

#2Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Steam Epic Xbox

iRank80

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineTacticalMeleeRangedStealthFirst Person

Steam👍 85%· 6.0KRAWG👍 73%· 317MC78IGDB82· 5

Year 2008Dev Ubisoft · Ubisoft EntertainmentPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and combat tactical

≠ Stands apart with offline, skill tree progression and loot and gear systems, while skipping deep RPG systems

The peak of the cover-based Rainbow Six era: squad orders are quick to issue, the rappel-through-window breach is still satisfying, and Terrorist Hunt is the mode that kept it alive for years. The story is throwaway and reuses locations from the first game, and the tactical depth is far shallower than the pre-Vegas entries.

It predates Payday 3 by 15 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Game mode84Visuals66

#3Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas

iRank79

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineMeleeTacticalRangedStealthFirst Person

Steam👍 80%· 1.7KRAWG👍 69%· 272MC85IGDB86· 4

Year 2006Dev Ubisoft · Ubisoft EntertainmentPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and melee combat

≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, punishing difficulty and offline, while skipping deep RPG systems

The sixth game in a series of action-packed books/games about special forces from the maestro of the genre Tom Clancy. The plot of the game has nothing to do with the previous parts.

It predates Payday 3 by 17 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Game mode84Visuals69

#4Return to Castle Wolfenstein

iRank87

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeTacticalStealthFirst Person

Steam👍 93%· 9.1KRAWG👍 90%· 467MC88IGDB68· 5

Year 2001Dev Nerve Software · Bethesda SoftworksPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Apple Macintosh

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with horror tension, dark, oppressive atmosphere and strong narrative focus, while skipping deep RPG systems

A Quake III-engine shooter split between grounded WWII combat and occult nonsense, and it commits fully to both. The stealth missions and the weapon feel still hold up. Enemy variety thins out badly in the second half, the supernatural turn loses some players entirely, and the level design assumes patience for hunting hidden switches.

It predates Payday 3 by 22 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Visuals69Game mode53

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeStealthTacticalRangedFirst Person

Steam👍 76%· 4.1KRAWG👍 57%· 179MC76IGDB81· 2

Year 2005Dev RebellionPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Nintendo

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and melee combat

≠ Its own twist: deep simulation, third-person shooting and historical setting, while skipping deep RPG systems

The 2005 original that started the series: a lone OSS sniper in the ruins of Berlin, built around bullet drop, wind and breath control at a time when few shooters modelled any of it. The ballistics still hold up. Everything around them does not — movement is famously slippery and frame-rate dependent, the controls are unmapped and awkward, and the tutorials interrupt constantly.

It predates Payday 3 by 18 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Game mode79Visuals58

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerMeleeTacticalStealthRangedFirst Person

Steam👍 67%· 1.6KRAWG👍 13%· 45MC29IGDB54· 2

Year 2009Dev Bethesda SoftworksPlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and melee combat

≠ Its own twist: sandbox freedom, horror tension and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping deep RPG systems

Rogue Warrior is a character-driven, first-person-shooter, featuring Richard 'Demo Dick' Marcinko's explosive personality in an action-packed single player campaign, and intense multiplayer combat.

It predates Payday 3 by 14 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Visuals55Game mode52

#7Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands

iRank76

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineTacticalStealthMeleeFirst Person

Steam👍 80%· 104KIGDB73· 20OC72· 132

Year 2017Dev Ubisoft Paris · Ubisoft EntertainmentOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with third-person shooting, survival mechanics and sandbox freedom, while skipping deep RPG systems

Genre100Game mode96Combat87Visuals54

#8Call of Duty: World at War

Steam Epic Xbox

iRank88

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineTacticalMeleeStealthFirst Person

Steam👍 92%· 53KIGDB80· 7

Year 2008Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, horror tension and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping deep RPG systems

It predates Payday 3 by 15 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat87Game mode84Visuals69

#9Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

iRank84

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opTacticalMeleeStealthFirst Person

Steam👍 92%· 1.6KIGDB68· 3

Year 2001Dev Red Storm Entertainment · Ubi Soft EntertainmentOn PC · Mac

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with deep simulation, punishing difficulty and historical setting, while skipping deep RPG systems

It predates Payday 3 by 22 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat87Game mode81Visuals69

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineMeleeStealthTacticalFirst Person

Steam👍 93%· 41KIGDB73· 4

Year 2011Dev Overkill Software · Sony Online EntertainmentOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and melee combat

≠ Where it differs: brings punishing difficulty, while skipping deep RPG systems

It predates Payday 3 by 12 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100Combat85Visuals69

#11Commandos 2: Men of Courage

iRank87

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

Co-opSoloMultiplayerTacticalStealthMelee

Steam👍 86%· 2.8KRAWG👍 88%· 220MC87IGDB90· 1

Year 2001Dev Pyro Studios · Merge GamesPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings real-time strategy, historical setting and visual isometric, while skipping deep RPG systems

Set during the World War II, this isometric tactic game offers the player to lead an Allied commando squad through a series of secret military operations.

Where it drifts furthest from Payday 3: visuals.

It predates Payday 3 by 22 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat87Game mode81Visuals0

#12Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

iRank90

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineMeleeTacticalStealthFirst Person

Steam👍 93%· 60KIGDB85· 10

Year 2009Dev Infinity Ward · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PC · Mac

✓ Both are tactical first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and melee combat

≠ Where it differs: brings strong narrative focus, historical setting and offline, while skipping deep RPG systems

It predates Payday 3 by 14 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat88Game mode79Visuals69

Steam Xbox

#13Sniper: Ghost Warrior

iRank57

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerMeleeTacticalStealthFirst Person

Steam👍 58%· 8.7KIGDB56· 3

Year 2010Dev City InteractiveOn PlayStation 3 · Linux · PC

✓ Same family of tactical first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings deep simulation and historical setting, while skipping deep RPG systems

It predates Payday 3 by 13 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat88Visuals69Game mode53

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeTacticalStealthFirst Person

Steam👍 77%· 11KIGDB74· 9

Year 2010Dev Danger Close · Electronic ArtsOn PlayStation 3 · Linux · PC

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and melee combat

≠ Where it differs: brings historical setting and setting modern, while skipping deep RPG systems

It predates Payday 3 by 13 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat87Game mode81Visuals69

#15Call of Duty: Ghosts

iRank69

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS

MultiplayerSoloCo-opStealthTacticalMeleeFirst Person

Steam👍 65%· 32KIGDB74· 23OC72· 58

Year 2013Dev Neversoft Entertainment · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PS4 · PC

✓ Fits the tactical first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and stealth mechanics

≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, strong narrative focus and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping deep RPG systems

It predates Payday 3 by 10 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat86Game mode81Visuals69