Hi there, I'm looking for a list of games with espionage mechanics - where you send spies to say enemy country with tasks like assassination of leader/ start revolt/uprising / steal etc. and see direct benefits in the game. (for clarity: You hire the thief/assassin/rebel, for a job - but you are not the actual hitman running around with the gun, nor do you play out long tactical missions controlling each npc's movements.

I've seen spies/infiltrators mostly in strategy games, haven't really seen it in any other genre like like rpg/adventure games. Its not like you can for instance in an rpg hire an assassin to go assassinate the end-game boss.. No, they want you to travel all the way and fight them yourself like a warrior, even if you are max level thief class or someone that can just bribe the cook/servant to poison water/food the enemy boss eats.

Examples.

  1. In TotalWar you have spies which you can use to infiltrate towns. Then the spy helps either destabilize the town or open the gates for your army automatically when you attack, helping you in the end. (edit: note you dont actually control the spy in a tactical commando mission to run down to the gate, kill or knock out gateguards before opening the gate like in robin hood/commandos, its simply automatic)
  2. In knights of honor spies also have different abilities depending on which post they infiltrate in enemy kingdom. (the npc is then controlled by the computer as if their own, but the agent works for you also)(if he works for the enemy as their marshal leading an army, you could order him to betray/start a revolt turning their own armies into rebels)(if your spy controls and enemy town as their merchant or priest, he could capture the town for you or form his own kingdom there, crowning himself king of a new nation you can ally with and support)
  3. in 7 kingdoms your spies could infiltrate enemy towns, structures to sow dissent or convert others(the npc is then controlled by the computer as if their own, but the agent works for you also) and even take over eg. enemy fort when you control the commander post.
  4. in the game Gangsters, you bribe city officials, police, judges and the mayor who then work for you / ignore your crimes. (the npc is still controlled by the computer as if their own, you dont own them, but they work for you on sideline) https://www.ign.com/wikis/gangsters-organized-crime/Employing_Police
  5. ckings2 have for instance plots where you just employ agents on missions and wait for results, but you don't actually control anything manually on a tactical battlemap and bribed npc's aid you, you dont really own them. tomorrow those npc's can be your enemy.
  6. in Europa universals games & imperial glory you can support rebels to form in enemy countries that take them over; the rebels do all the work themselves, spawning rebel armies. they work for you.
  7. in master of orion1 / distant worlds you can place rebels on planets to start revolts or take over those planets or just blow up factories.
  8. In trade games like merchant prince / rice of venice / patrician / Anno you can slander or sabotage opponents.
  9. In sid's pirates you can hire natives or other pirates from hideouts that then attack and weaken towns for you.
  10. In evil genius you send out npcs to commit crimes and steal things for you on a world map (they either fail or succeed, you don't control them through a tactical mission)
  11. Galactic civilizations had a feature where you had spies that infiltrated and started working in enemy governments giving you all kinds of information on happenings there.
  12. with star wars: rebellion you send npc's to enemy planets for various missions from sabotage to rescuing prisoners
  13. in Patrician series pirates can be hired in taverns that raid other competition's ships for you without you needing to risk own ships or dirty hands.
  14. Tropico2 pirates raid on their own and report results.
  15. in most romance of the three kingdoms titles you can use spies to infiltrate other realms with various benefits.
  16. pathfinder-kingmaker, after establishing a kingdom, allows you to send out your team members on missions where they succeed or fail on their own depending on their abilities without your intervention or direct movement control.
  17. In mount and blade you can ask your followers if they have contacts in other realms where they leave you a while to go spy on the enemy realm then upon returning, unlocks more detailed reports on each character in that realm, their relation to their liege kings etc. that helps you with other ventures on getting them to defect.
  18. Shadows of Forbidden Gods (new)



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3 years ago*

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Fallout 4, the Institute questline.

3 years ago
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could you elaborate/explain this a bit please without too much spoilers for others? I know its an enemy group there but thought you just go in and kill whenever you find anyone, or rather they would attack you like bandits/zombies.

3 years ago
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The Institute is just another main faction you can join instead of fighting against. What separated these guys from the other factions is their methods of "survival" in that post-apocalyptic world of Fallout: infiltration, usually subtle and occasionally lethal for any loose ends.

You can roleplay with this "necessary evil" faction if you're pragmatic enough to look beyond moral constraints. There is no Karma system implemented in Fallout 4, unlike its previous 3D entries from recent years. So no black or white choices, really. Just many shades of grey.

3 years ago
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Alright, this is somewhat close thank you, though the specific focus was more in being the evil genius at home base sending your spies and minions to do the work for you and report back with the loot or when in control of enemy organisation or with updates in how much the organsation is infiltrated or evil enemy boss poisoned etc. as opposed to running around yourself.

2 years ago
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With pleasure. "Evil Genius 2" plays out exactly as you mentioned above.
Regarding Bethesda RPGs in general, I like roleplaying as an infiltrator/puppet master even in the Elder Scrolls series.
Take Skyrim, for example. You can join almost all factions and lead them eventually. Most cities give you an honorary title after certain quests are completed. Play pretend you're a Thalmor sleeper agent with a "finger in every pie".
Plenty of people and events to manipulate. The direct approach can be just as rewarding as letting others do your bidding.

2 years ago
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Any way to actually infiltrate the Thalmar btw? I was more on the Nord's side.

2 years ago
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There is such a mission involving the Thalmor Embassy in Skyrim. Ironic or not, the High Elves stand to win regardless if the Imperials or Nords win their petty civil war. "Divide and Conquer". I really don't want to spoil it to you or anyone here, you can find a lot of reading material on Elder Scrolls lore and most of it makes sense long term.

2 years ago*
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/716640/Sigma_Theory_Global_Cold_War/

Just seconding what rurnhani posted before.
It´s about the only game I can think of that fits your bill as I understand it!

3 years ago
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partly, not really. They still run missions where you need to control each of their actions - there is a tactical minigame that pop up sometimes where the spy walk a few steps then stop at literally every street corner asking for input on what to next. that's not the kind of hand-holding I'm after. Just want to send them in with a set of orders like "infiltrate that nation, assassinate that guy, how you do it,up to you, send report when done,"
This way you didnt need to go to war or anything, your enemy dies or loses a tech, or have a building explode, whatever the spy's mission was. like maybe a real president would do - they dont sit on phone with hitman the whole time telling them what street to walk down on, when to use lethal or non-lethal method. last time president heard of his spy is when the mission orders were handed out or the sg1 team sent out lol. imagine how stargate would have been if the team on site radioed back every 5mins asking the commander on earth what to do/how to act on every situation? lol. I tried giving a few examples in the original question.

3 years ago*
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3 years ago
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Alpha Centauri had, if my memory serves, spies that were not only good, but downright overpowered.

Hearts of Iron 4 added a pretty involved espionage system with the La Résistance expansion.

Another game that would probably fit the bill is Republic: The Revolution. I don't think it's outright called espionage in that game (been a few years since I last played it though), but sending out operatives to gather intelligence is a pretty important part of that game.

2 years ago
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wow, not sure how I missed those. Thanks Fnord. AC played many times in but never finished Republic: The Revolution - the next areas seemed to get harder and longer. then each time I gave it a break, lost my saves somewhere. still have the original disks, not that the cdplayer works anymore.

2 years ago
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The Nilfgaard faction in GWENT relies on espionage to disrupt the enemy. The player places some of their cards in the opponent's board instead of their own, letting the spies do their own thing.

2 years ago
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Confirmed, thank you.

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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Metal Gear Solid 5: TPP does have the ability to get your own crew and send them on missions to recruit;steal;sabotage. So that one is valid, thanks. But AP is too hands-on. Looking for things where you send someone else like an npc/agent to do the job "for you" following your orders.

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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true, but as king/president, you cant be bothered with that while running other matters of state and diplomacy, denying covert actives caused by your agents.. I mean people you never heard of.
Also, sorry to hear that your heir recently passed away in that accident we had no part of, but dont worry, your daughter (and kingdom we inherit through the marriage) will be safely guarded. Be careful on the trip back home, the roads arent safe..
(see the other power?:P)

2 years ago*
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2 years ago
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it was but only partly qualifies. The agents still run missions where you need to control each of their actions - there is a tactical minigame that pop up sometimes where the spy walk a few steps then stop at literally every street corner asking for input on what to next. that's not the kind of hand-holding I'm after. Just want to send them in with a set of orders like "infiltrate that nation, assassinate that guy, how you do it,up to you, send report when done, if they make it at all.

2 years ago
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Covert Action?

2 years ago
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Not the walking around action by yourself, but you can make double agents from captured enemy spies with enough evidence, and then they work for you further on, valid, yes, thanks Blando.

2 years ago
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As the topic already been bumped, just a reminder for some folks who are like me.
You can bookmark topics by clicking the little bookmark icon right from the title.

I forgot/missed this and it got me pretty curious about these games, better save it for later ^^

edit: Imperium Galactica 2 also had a spy system with options like: sabotage building, production(?) or ship, incite revolt, steal technology, hunt down spy (offensive and defensive) and I think regicide as well.

2 years ago
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You are right - used to sell the aliens lots of I think intelligence on other alien planets then used that same money for more spying - never used military much other than for defense, no need to invade because the spy revolts caused new rebel empires to form out of enemy planets.

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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I want to mention the War Table in "Dragon Age Inquisition" but that "direct outcome" you want doesn't really make it qualify
you have 3 advisors (Commander of the military forces of the Inquisition / Ambassador and chief diplomat of the Inquisition / Spymaster of the Inquisition) and each has their "forces/agents"
the operations on the war table, those that are essential to progress the story will always have the same outcome (no chance to fail)
the other operations could fail or succeed but they only give rewards, like gear items or resources .. there is also influence you get from those operations that you need to make upgrades related to the war table (like shorten the time it takes for your advisors forces to finish the operations, get increased rewards ..etc)

Even Mass Effect Andromeda has a meta game "Strike Teams" but you don't actually see those npcs .. it is something done from a console (you hire teams and send them to missions) but that only give small rewards (coins, gear items, stuff like that) .. they could fail or succeed.

2 years ago
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Wow, thanks, wasnt even aware of the War Table. Nor Strike Teams.
see, that's the point of this, finding all the missed things, not just the new.

2 years ago*
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Assassin's creed brotherhood has a mini game where you send your assassins out in realtime and I believe they continue this later in the series

2 years ago
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Thank you, do you have a example? or can list what they can do - steal gold or poison or weaken endgame boss etc?

2 years ago*
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It's a text based mini game. You have to deploy a few assassins from a small pool at first (not always espionage) and if successful you'll get rewarded with more assassins, upgrades for them, resources and sometimes weapons. This kind of mini game is reoccurring throughout the whole AC franchise with slight alterations fitting to the setting of each installment.

2 months ago
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2 years ago
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Another one for the list
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1741640/Shadows_of_Forbidden_Gods/

Infiltration is a measure of how much the player has spread their influence in the World.

Most Locations in the game can be Infiltrated by any Agent by completing a simple Challenge. The agent makes progress each turn equal to their Intrigue stat. The complexity, the progress needed to succeed, is 50 plus 25 per level of Security in the location.

Almost all Locations that can be Infiltrated have 1 Point Of Interest (POI) that Agents need to Infiltrate to provide full Infiltration. City Locations have multiple POIs, all of which need to be Infiltrated to gain full Infiltration at the Location. Cities always have a "City Palace" POI that requires all other POIs to be infiltrated first.

Infiltration boosts the passive spread of Shadow to the location from neighbors with higher shadow, and infiltration unlocks other Challenges for Agents to complete.

Effect of infiltration in different locations:

Coven of witches: Unlocks the enshadow challenge (bring location shadow to 100%) and dark worship (adding shadow divided between the closest human settlements that are not at 100% shadow, and adding menace to the coven).
Orcs: Subjugated orc locations unlock the challenges expand horde (create a new infiltrated orc camp in a neighboring empty location with habitability at least 5%) and organize horde (increases orc industry in this location by 50% and in all neighbors by 25%) and the challenge retreat to the hills.
All human locations: 100% infiltration unlocks the silent assassination challenge (allowing you to kill a ruler with a lot less profile and slightly less menace than a brutal assassination) and access vault (allowing you to take or give items or gold to/from the locations ruler).
Home of any hero: Any infiltration allows the challenge poison (next time the hero rests they are disrupted for 5 turns and weakend for 25) and at least 50% infiltration allows steal (give or take any gold or items to or from the hero)
Cities: Infiltrating a city to at least 50% increases the effectiveness/speed of laying low by 1 tier. Infiltrating a city to 100% unlocks the enshadow challenge (bring location shadow to 100%) and the political gridlock challenge (city ends its current local action and instead does "political gridlock" for 10 turns, if the city is a capital the same effect will also happen to the national action).
    Docks: Unlocks the Malign Catch challenge (creates passive madness and shadow gain).
    Vast Sewers: Unlocks the start plague challenge, and allows agents to recruit vermin.
    Market: Unlocks a challenge to force the market to change the items on sale.
Holy site: Unlocks the Desecrate Holy Site challenge if shadow is at least 66% (creating passive shadow gain and preventing consecration and allowing a challenge to give you power at the cost of giving the location menace).
Farming Communities and Fortresses currently have no special effect from being infiltrated
2 months ago
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in 7 kingdoms your spies could infiltrate enemy towns, structures to sow dissent or convert others(the npc is then controlled by the computer as if their own, but the agent works for you also) and even take over eg. enemy fort when you control the commander post.

since this topic is on live again, and since I have close to 1000 hours in seven kingdoms 1 & 2 combined.I need to add seven kingdoms 2 also here as you can play a 4 hour session map with starting focusing on getting spies from INN, and moving them to enemy, stealing their technology, causing them to create war on others and what I really love.... if you have a spy with extremely high leadership and bribed all others in fort where king is also present...

ıf you assassinate king, there is a chance that the enemy can make your spy as the king!!!!

The joy of all the things they have in the map turn into your colour, and enemy having no idea what they have done is amazing.

2 months ago
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Neat, sounds just like knight of honor's spy working. Only really familiar with 7k version1. spy could not become king there if I recall, but any other position soldier, commander, builder etc. never really got version2 working. See theres a hd version now, going to try that.

2 months ago
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