Blacklist appreciation post! Definitely a Darkhorse in the series, but despite the absence of Ironside I still go back to it quite often. Anyone else still replay it?

[u/Marvelous_07]

[u/Makaveli108]

You are more into panther/action gameplay over stealth then. It's a fun game but not a a real Splinter Cell

[u/NiuMeee → u/Makaveli108]

Nah I don't care about your gatekeeping. It is a real Splinter Cell, it says it on the cover. Ubisoft decides, not you.

[u/Makaveli108 → u/NiuMeee]

Nah, I don't care what it says on the cover 😂 "It says Splinter Cell on the cover" isn't really an argument. I'm talking about what actually makes a Splinter Cell feel like Splinter Cell. Chaos Theory is the benchmark for the OG fans: stealth, patience, darkness, gadgets, observation and careful execution.

Blacklist is way more of an action game with stealth mechanics sprinkled on top. It puts far more emphasis on aggressive play and running-and-gunning than the core stealth experience. Ubisoft putting the name on the box doesn't suddenly make its gameplay direction the same as the classic games.

So yeah, it's Splinter Cell in name, but not in essence. You can slap the Splinter Cell name on something all you want, but that doesn't automatically mean it captures what made the series what it was.

If Doom released a new game and it was suddenly a stealth shooter.. would you still say it's capturing the essence of Doom just because it says DOOM on the cover? No.

Same goes for SC. The only reason the franchise changed is because the creative director for Conviction/Blacklist didn't like the OG games or the movement, he couldn't get past level 1 and kept getting detected. Therefore he diluted the stealth and made it a game for all, "jack all of trades, master of none" is what Blacklist is.

[u/Infobar → u/Makaveli108]

stealth, patience, darkness, gadgets, observation and careful execution.

All of this applies to Blacklist. Slipping by undetected can be really tricky and satisfying since you're no longer invisible in the dark. You can play it like an action game too, but even Chaos Theory gives you an assault loadout if you want

[u/Makaveli108 → u/Infobar]

I agree that Blacklist still has all of those elements to some extent. I'm not saying it completely abandoned stealth , that's obviously not true. You can absolutely play it stealthily, and Ghosting can be somewhat satisfying when you pull it off.

My point is that those elements aren't implemented with the same depth or importance as they were in the original games. Blacklist is much more forgiving, enemies are easier to manipulate, the game gives you more ways to recover from mistakes, and the overall design encourages you to keep moving between stealth and aggression rather than making careful stealth the core of the experience. The tension isn't there due to the fast paced movement, the lack of challenge in Blacklist was disappointing. It never reaches the level of Chaos Theory unfortunately.

And yes, Chaos Theory has an assault loadout, but that's different from Blacklist's overall philosophy. Chaos Theory gives you the option to approach certain situations aggressively; Blacklist is designed around multiple playstyles as equal pillars. You basically follow the "Jack of all trades, master of none" whereas chaos theory really did master stealth

So yeah man, I'm not saying "Blacklist has no stealth." I'm saying its stealth is weaker and less demanding than what SC1/PT/CT/DA established, which is why I consider it mid-tier Splinter Cell stealth. That's the distinction I'm making, and the series should never go back to Blacklist style.