Stealth Boom Boom | A Stealth Video Games Podcast

A group of men that worked in the world of educational software used to get together and play Doom multiplayer one day wondered if they could make their own games. So, they called themselves Monolith Productions and got to work. We’re going back 25 years to 2000 to take a look at a first-person shooter set in stylised 1960s. We’re talking The Operative: No One Lives Forever. On this episode of Ste...

Despite being made up of people with many years of experience, Obsidian Entertainment – arguably one of the more beloved developers making games today – were still very much in their early years while making this James Bond, Jack Bauer, and Jason Bourne-inspired game. We’re going back 15 years to 2010 to take a look at a third-person shooter-cum-RPG featuring a rookie secret agent whose surname is...

For a record-breaking fourth time – a second time this year alone – we are looking at a game from the back catalogue of Sucker Punch Productions. And this series is special to this podcast, because it is the very first game we ever reviewed. We’re going back 20 years to 2005 to take a look at a stealth action mascot platformer featuring a thieving North American mammal. We’re talking Sly 3: Honor...

We’re revisiting a developer on this episode that had an idea with with the Penumbra series that would revolutionise the horror genre. But not until they refined it and popularised said idea with the game we’re looking at on this episode. We’re going back to 2010 to take a look at a first-person survival horror game set in 1800s Prussia. We’re talking Amnesia: The Dark Descent. On this episode of...

We’re back after our summer holidays and kicking off the second half of season 3 by looking at a particular Washington-based developer that we’ve looked at many times before, Sucker Punch Productions. After chatting about two-thirds of their raccoon trilogy on this very podcast, we’re taking a look at something that is much more recent, much more grown-up, much more samurai. We’re going back to 20...

In the late 90s, John Romero convinced Warren Spector to join his studio in order to make the game of his dreams. This game was something Spector had been thinking about since 1993. It had a couple of names over the years – Troubleshooter being one, and Shooter: Majestic Revelations being another – but one thing remained the same: it was ambitious. We’re going back to 2000 to take a look at a firs...

In 2005, filmmaker Christopher Nolan was about to become mainstream with the first movie in his superhero trilogy. Meanwhile, a group of developers in Derby were working on a video game tie-in for said movie that wouldn’t turn out to be quite as popular. We’re taking a look at an action adventure game that was neither a precursor to a game based on The Dark Knight, nor The Dark Knight Returns. We’...

Imagine a game so successful that during the making of it, you actually end up coming up with three games. That’s what Capcom did when they were prototyping Resident Evil 4. They got that, they got Devil May Cry and they also got the game we’re talking about on this podcast. We’re going back to 2005 to take a look at a survival horror that didn’t get quite as many sequels as those other series jus...

After the launch of Don’t Starve, Canadian developer Klei Entertainment was on solid ground in every way. They’d put their hand to many genres and had been successful in pretty much all of them. We’re going back to 2015 (or 2013, if you want to include this game’s EARLY early access launch) when they revisited sneaking, but put a different spin on what they’d done before. We’re talking Invisible,...

What do you do when you have a brand new handheld console coming out? You turn to a series that is synonymous with your home console. We’re going back to late 2004 (or early 2005… or late 2005, depending on the region you’re in) to look at a turn-based strategy spin-off. We’re talking Metal Gear Acid (or Metal Gear Ac!d, however you’re meant to pronounce that). On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom...

We’re going back into the shadows and listening out for footsteps on tiled floors, as we revisit a series that all of us enjoyed back in season 1. We’re going back 25 years to 2000 to look at a massively influential first-person stealth game. We’re talking Thief II: The Metal Age. On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we chat a little bit about the architecture of Meet Joe Black, co-operative thie...

Who knew that a Jack Nicholson-sounding extra-terrestrial in a Grand Theft Auto-like would become a cult classic? We’re going back 20 years to 2005 to look at a third-person action-adventure game that spawned more sequels than you realise. We’re talking Destroy All Humans! On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we chat a little bit about Pandemic Studios family-friendly game that accidentally led t...

We’re living by honour and killing by stealth… again. For only the second time ever (although it will be happening a lot more throughout this season), we are returning to a series. We’re going back to 2000 to look at a third-person stealth-action game. We’re talking Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins. On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we chat a little bit about Rich spending his 18th bir...

On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we take a look at a lead character’s striking resemblance to a West Bromwich Albion fan and Guardian columnist (see: the bust on this episode’s cover art). We also take a look at the origins of a small, independent, Japanese developer called Capcom, and how these big fights actually happened IRL. Crazy, right? Here are some of the things you’re gonna hear us c...

What do you do after you’ve had one successful first-person zombie game that is owned by a publisher? You don’t develop the proper sequel in that series and you instead make your own version of that thing. We’re going back to 2015 to look at a first-person zombie action survival game. We’re talking Dying Light. On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we take a look at Techland finding their niche in...

Around this time of the year, other video games podcasts will be doing their game of the year pods and talking about games like Astro Bot, Tekken 8, Helldivers 2, Dragon's Dogma 2, Silent Hill 2, Hades II, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Balatro, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Animal Well, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Prince of Persia: The Lost C...

Richard Marcinko was a U.S. Navy Seal, a Vietnam War veteran and an author. And in the mid-00s, Bethesda and Zombie Studios were going to make a video game based on him. And then that changed to Bethesda and Rebellion. We’re going back to 2009 to look at a first-person shooter featuring Demo Dick. We’re talking Rogue Warrior. On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we take a look at a video game tha...

After years of making bloody, adult, violent video games, the Danish video games developer we’re talking about today decided to make something that they could play with their kids. We’re going back to 2009 to look at a third-person action-adventure game featuring some small shinobi. We’re talking Mini Ninjas. On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we take a look at the origins of Hitman developer I...

In 1979, the screenplay of Dan O’Bannon was turned into a movie directed by a fledgling English filmmaker named Ridley Scott, and starring a young actress called Sigourney Weaver. It did alright. There were some more movies, some comics, some books, loads of merch, and even a few video games. We’re going back to 2014 to look at a first-person survival horror game that divided opinion. We’re talkin...

How many Slack conversations have you had that have been life-changing? If you answered anything other than “zero”, you are a liar. OR you are a member of the team that made the game we’re talking about on this podcast. We’re going back to 2019 to look at a stealth-puzzle game that became a phenomenon. We’re talking Untitled Goose Game. On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we take a look at devel...

There were a lot of big games out 20 years – many of those games we’ve reviewed on this podcast, this year. But this game involving a raccoon, a turtle and a hippo is a special game for us, as it is the first time we are going back to a series for a look at a second game. We’re going back to 2004 to look at a 3D platformer that has big Ocean’s 11 energy. We’re talking Sly 2: Band of Thieves. On th...

A decade ago, a small indie developer called Dynamighty got a phone call (NB: don't know if it was a phone call.... could've been an email, a fax, carrier pigeon, or many other multiple means of communication) from a large publisher called Sony. And a game about the cold war was born! We're going back to 2014 to look at a 2D stealth-action game about a spy that infiltrates superpower bases. We're...

Independent developer Airtight Games partnered with Square Enix around a decade ago to prove that the hardest murder to solve is in fact your own. In many ways, that is a factual statement. In relation to this game, however... not so sure. We're going back to 2014 to look at a third-person adventure game about a ghost detective. We're talking Murdered: Soul Suspect. On this episode of Stealth Boom...

20 years ago, Starbreeze Studios was going through some tough times, and they were looking for one of their games to be the hit they needed. Across the water, Hollywood actor Vin Diesel was looking to get into video games with his new company called Tigon Studios. So, they decided to come together, and they launched a stealth-FPS in 2004. We're talking The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butche...

25 years ago, a PlayStation-exclusive was released that required a new peripheral called the DualShock It had not one, not three, but TWO ANALOG STICKS. So, this one definitely made an impact at the time. We're going back to 1999 to look at a 3D platformer chock full of puzzles and monkeys to collect. We're talking Ape Escape. On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we take a look at how Japan Studi...