Best Spy Games 2023

Considering spies come in many different forms, the best spy games on PC and console cover a wide range of genres, including stealth games and detective games that cast the player as a secret agent.

Whether you enjoy open-ended espionage action where you’re infiltrating enemy bases, or more methodical spy-work that revolves around gathering intel about your target, we’ve got you covered.

In this list, we’ll highlight the best spy games to play in 2021, including the best spy games on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and mobile.

We’ll be updating this list in the future with new titles, so make sure to check back and let us know if we missed any of your favorite spy games!

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To get us started, our first recommendation for budding spy fans is Acid Spy, a first-person stealth-action game set in a cyberpunk world with neon-accented environments and a synth-wave soundtrack.

It has you infiltrating heavily guarded bases and taking down enemies using quick and deadly stealth tactics that incorporate wall jumping and crouch sliding.

Bases are littered with cyber soldiers armed with laser rifles, so you’ll have to move fast while avoiding detection in order to reduce their numbers and fulfill each mission’s objectives.

As far as weapons go, your character has a silenced pistol and combat knife which may seem fairly basic, but can become extremely dangerous in the right hands…your hands.

Spies often seek out other agents that specialize in areas such as hacking to help them break into locations with tight security.

Operation: Tango takes this idea and turns it into a unique co-op-driven adventure that challenges you and a friend to carry out assignments across a high-tech futuristic world.

One player takes on the role of Agent and the other Hacker, working together to take down an evil megacorp once and for all.

Gameplay focuses on communicating with your partner to solve puzzles such as hacking into mainframes to deactivate lasers, slip past security cameras, and other cool spy activities.

Another excellent action-stealth spy title worth checking out is Disjunction, which stands out on this list for its retro-inspired 2D pixel art presentation.

In it, you play as one of three protagonists:  a police detective who’s lost his way, an alcoholic boxer with a cybernetic arm, and a female hacker with family ties to the Chinese mob.

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Each one has distinct motivations and abilities for carrying out spy work, with support for both lethal and non-lethal tactics.

While missions tend to favor more methodical and stealthy approaches, a variety of RPG-inspired upgrades allow you to hone in on a particular playstyle.

Our next recommendation is also a pixel art spy game with a satisfying hacking puzzle mechanic that encourages experimentation.

In Gunpoint, you play as a for-hire spy tasked with breaking into high-security buildings to retrieve sensitive data for their clients.

To do so, the spy employs the Crosslink: a special device that lets the users see how security devices are wired in a given location and make adjustments.

The game provides you with numerous ways to take advantage of this gadget, including tricking guards by connecting light switches to trapdoors, disabling security cameras, and deactivating motion alarms.

Invisible, Inc. is a strategy roguelike from beloved indie developer Klei Entertainment about an espionage agency under attack by one of its competitors.

You play as a remote operator tasked with directing agents through stealth-based missions with the goal of gathering resources and intel to save the agency within a limited window.

At the start of each run, players are given three days to prepare for the final mission by completing smaller jobs across the globe and getting all the necessary equipment.

Since the mission details and map layouts vary with each playthrough, you’ll often find yourself having to improvise and plan ahead to be successful.

Spies are always solving puzzles while on missions, like disabling security lasers or remembering a guard’s patrol path.

One game that builds off of this idea well is Agent A, in which you play as a stylish secret agent with various retro-futuristic contraptions, gadgets, and gizmos at your disposal.

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Your big assignment entails sneaking into an enemy spy’s secret hideaway and putting an end to her evil plans, though to do so you’ll have to first navigate your way through a labyrinth of logic-based puzzles.

Although Agent A’s point-and-click approach to the spy genre isn’t all too common, it manages to keep players engaged with perplexing puzzles that reward you for keeping mental notes of potential clues.

At the top, we stated that spies come in various forms, including deadly assassins dispatched to squash out conspiracies and rebellions throughout Japan.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a strategic stealth game that sees you controlling a team of specialized spies with extraordinary abilities designed for espionage.

Each mission has you combining your team’s long-range and melee weaponry with distraction tools and traps to take out targets and avoid detection.

Additionally, since they all have unique skill sets, you’ll have to decide which assassin is right for a particular task and devise different tactics for the best results.

No spy list would be complete without one entry featuring everyone’s favorite bald, disguise donning assassin, Agent 47.

Hitman 3 is the conclusions to IO Interactive’s World of Assassination trilogy and smooths out many of its predecessors’ rougher edges for even more satisfying stealth sandbox hijinks.

Its story builds off the two previous games in the series, following Agent 47 and his team as they attempt to bring down a secret organization called Providence that controls the world.

Additional features such as permanent shortcuts, new disguise options, weapons, and restricted areas help streamline and broaden the gameplay opportunities at players’ disposal.

Mankind Divided is the fourth entry in the Deus Ex series and features a more contained cyberpunk spy story about a double agent looking to expose the Illuminati with help from a rogue group of hackers.

Gameplay blends first-person shooter combat with an emphasis on stealth and RPG-based progression that lets you carve out a preferred playstyle.

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This gives players the freedom to approach challenges with a “shoot first, ask questions later” mindset, or take their time trying to slip past enemies or disarm them.

Regardless of the path you choose, the protagonist can access a suite of augmentations tailored for either combat, stealth, or survival.

The Metal Gear series is ripe with espionage and enough spy-action to satiate the biggest secret agent appetite across eleven main games starring multiple protagonists with interconnected stories.

Set after the events of Ground Zeroes, The Phantom Pain has you playing as the grizzled spy Big Boss after he wakes up from a coma and assembles a team of mercenaries to bring down his enemies.

While the story comes across as convoluted at times, there’s a lot to admire gameplay-wise: responsive enemy AI that adapts to your actions, open-ended stealth sandboxes that encourage non-lethal approaches, to name a few.

Considering it’s also the last entry in the series to be developed by Hideo Kojima before leaving Konami, any fans of the esteemed game designer owe it to themselves to play MGSV at least once.

Any James Bond fan that played GoldenEye 007 growing up will get a kick out of The Spy Who Shot Me’s parodying of the iconic spy franchise.

Presented as a retro-style FPS, the game has you taking on the role of super-spy Agent7 as he attempts to bring down the evil organization S.C.U.M.

Gameplay is modeled after classic 90s shooters and takes a run-and-gun approach to combat complete with hordes of enemies, drivable vehicles, and weapon mods.

If you’re tired of the same old serious spy stories and could use a laugh, The Spy Who Shot Me is a great choice with plenty of funny gags and cheeky references to popular spy movies.

Most spies prefer to remain undetected as they carry out their secret plan and most chameleons have the ability to camouflage their bodies naturally; see where we’re going with this?

In Spy Chameleon, you play as an “RGB Agent,” a color-changing reptile tasked with completing top-secret missions that leave no room for error or enemy interference.

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Across the game’s five missions totaling 75 levels, you’ll navigate tricky color-based traps and switches using the main character’s color-changing ability while also avoiding guards and surveillance cameras.

Some of the level’s challenges can be quite demanding, especially towards the end, requiring you to carefully observe enemies’ movements and manipulate objects in the environment to avoid detection.

Master Spy is a challenging 2D stealth game with a retro pixel art aesthetic inspired by old-school platformers with demanding difficulty.

You play as the best spy in the business, equipped with an invisibility cloak and quick wit that can help you sneak past enemies and avoid obstacles as you unravel a thread of conspiracies across five missions.

There are over 50 levels in total, including some hidden ones, with each requiring brutally precise platforming that can, at times, feel downright unfair.

Thankfully, there are several difficulty options to pick from, including Narrative and Novice modes for players who want to experience the game’s intriguing spy story brimming with espionage and betrayal.

A spy’s job often requires them to attend social functions in an effort to get close to their target without being detected, usually with a disguise to conceal their true identity.

One game that explores this idea in an interesting way is SpyParty, a competitive espionage game that has one player attempting to hide in plain sight while the other tries to pick them out from the crowd.

The opposing player has a limited window to assess the crowd and look for subtle behaviors that reveal the spy’s disguise before eliminating them with a well-placed bullet.

Seeing as most spy games focus on stealth and action, we like SpyParty’s unique multiplayer approach that factors in human behaviors and perception.