With a new Assassin's Creed release stirring the perennial debate over whether the series is best as tight stealth-action or sprawling open-world role-playing, Polygon has rounded up games that recapture the feel of the franchise's earlier era. The piece is prompted by Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, a remake of 2013's Black Flag now out on PS5, PC and Xbox Series X, which the author says looks modern but plays like an older entry. For fans missing that "Golden Age" style, the article recommends looking beyond the series itself.

The five picks span recent and older titles, each chosen for stealth mechanics reminiscent of classic Assassin's Creed, such as sneaking through tall grass, distracting guards and silent takedowns. They include IO Interactive's 007 First Light, the first James Bond game in over a decade; Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, particularly with its silenced pistol; Star Wars Outlaws, whose stealth missions were patched after early criticism; Dishonored 2 from 2016, praised for its sandbox levels and Blink teleport skill; and, perhaps counter-intuitively, 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage, a modern entry deliberately scaled back to a single city and gameplay-focused design.