Boasting photorealistic visuals and clear Metal Gear Solid inspiration, Black State took us right back to the golden days of tactical stealth and cinematic action. During an NVIDIA event, we got hands-on with what might just be the most promising stealth-action title in years.

It’s been a long time since the heyday of stealth-action games on the PS2, when Metal Gear and Splinter Cell ruled the genre. Today, with Snake on an extended hiatus and Sam Fisher missing in action, there’s a gaping void just waiting to be filled. Enter Black State.

Developed by Motion Blur, a studio that proudly wears its Kojima fandom on its sleeve, Black State aims to fuse cinematic storytelling with stealth mechanics and freedom of approach. We played a short demo at Gamescom 2025, and even in that brief session, it was clear this game is gunning for greatness. If you’re into the genre, this one should be on your radar.

Action, Stealth, and Glorious Carnage

You play as an elite soldier recruited by a secretive group known as the Architects, tasked with uncovering the truth behind an imminent global catastrophe. The game dives deep into a sci-fi narrative, packed with futuristic tech and time travel twists to help you dispatch your enemies with flair.

From the very first moment, one thing is crystal clear: Black State is obsessed with photorealism. Even though the demo took place in a small, controlled environment, the graphics are undeniably next-gen. From ultra-detailed textures to smooth animations, dynamic lighting, and polished effects, the game looks stunning—especially on the high-end NVIDIA rigs used for the demo.

Like many Unreal Engine 5 projects, however, the artistic direction lacks originality, relying on overly familiar aesthetics. That said, it does allow for some flashy technical tricks, like shooting individual pieces of fruit from a beautifully rendered bowl—because, why not?

Gameplay-wise, it’s familiar but fun. From the get-go, you’re introduced to stealth mechanics: wall-penetrating scanners, crouch-walking, cover-based movement, and silent chain takedowns. One standout feature is the body disposal system: instead of dragging corpses around, you use a glowing orb that disintegrates them instantly. It’s like a high-tech upgrade of the Metal Gear Solid V approach—faster, cleaner, still effective.

The mission we played was set in a snowy military base where missiles launched periodically, fogging up the map with smoke. For a game with stealth aspirations, the options were surprisingly limited: no hiding in crawlspaces, no tracking footprints, and not much verticality. That said, Black State shines in its action gameplay, encouraging experimentation with high-tech weapons.

The gunplay is satisfyingly brutal. Limbs fly, heads burst, and the optional bullet-time effect only amplifies the spectacle. The arsenal includes everything from pistols to rifles and shotguns—plus special weapons that make enemies literally explode. The violence is so over-the-top, it loops back around to being hilarious, even with the game’s serious tone.

On the gadget side, we had poison gas bombs, EMP devices, and various explosives. Human enemies showed decent AI, flanking and cornering us, while robotic foes were tougher and more dangerous. Without the invincibility toggle on during the demo, we’d likely have been shredded. In the final game, this should reward players for going undetected.

And then there’s the wild sci-fi twist: doors that teleport you to entirely different dimensions and time periods. We only saw a few examples, but if fully realized, this mechanic could bring some serious variety to gameplay and level design.

At this point, all we know for sure is that Black State is ambitious as hell. No release window has been confirmed, and it’s still early in development. But if the developers can bring as much depth to the stealth as they’ve shown in the action, this might just be the game to reignite the stealth-action flame.

Source: 3djuegos