The stealth genre has gotten somewhat quieter in recent times, and not because it’s sneaking around in the shadows. Once famous franchises like Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell haven’t seen new mainline entries in a long time, and Splinter Cell fans in particular have been vocal about the long wait. Finally, Ubisoft recently revealed that it is working on a remake of the original Splinter Cell. Now, we have some more details on the project, including the fact that it can be completed without taking a single NPC life.
Ubisoft recently released a developer interview to celebrate and discuss the 20-year anniversary of the Splinter Cell franchise. Among other things, the team talked about the origins of the series, and where it plans to go with the new remake.
The anniversary video included discussions with Zavian Porter, the associate-level design director, Andy Schmoll, the senior game designer, and Christian Carriere, the technical director. It was headed by creative director Chris Auty. As part of the discussion, the Ubisoft team discussed the factors that made the original Splinter Cell stand out, including lighting and player choices.
One of the more interesting tidbits is that the new remake will let players complete the game without killing any enemies if they wish. Schmoll talks about dangerous situations and how the team wants to “give the player a few more opportunities to de-escalate.” It’s hard to say how this will work in practice, but it isn’t hard to imagine that the game could let players break the line of sight of their enemies until they have escaped. Many other games that implement stealth use similar systems after all.
Schmoll goes on to mention that “ stealth is an extremely important pillar” for the studio, and that the team aims to “incorporate modern design philosophies, improving the minute-to-minute stealth gameplay that was so special in the original.”
After this, the team discusses how it wants to create tension by tasking players with using all of their gadgets and tools to evade enemies by any means necessary. That might involve doing some recon to figure out the enemy locations and using acrobatics to get up high and avoid detection.
The Ubisoft team closed the video by providing some early concept art of the new Splinter Cell remake.
The Splinter Cell remake does not currently have a release window or any confirmed platforms. Hopefully, it’ll sneak its way onto our screens sooner rather than later.
