In Blacklist, players assume control of series protagonist  Sam Fisher as he seeks to stop a terrorist group called the Engineers. The gameplay emphasizes stealth, and utilizes the third-person perspective. During the game, players can rotate its camera, run, crouch and leap over obstacles. Since Blacklist intended to continue the "aggressive stealth" of Conviction while retaining the traditional stealth features of the older games, it combines action and stealth,[2] and allows players to use different approaches and methods to complete objectives and defeat enemies. Players can complete levels without being noticed by any enemy by methods such as taking cover or scaling ledges. If the player chooses to kill enemies, other enemies are alerted when they see their companions' dead bodies. To avoid this, players can hide corpses.[3] Fisher can also create a strategically advantageous dark environment by destroying nearby lights,[4]and is equipped with customizable night-vision and sonar goggles to detect enemies in darkness and see through walls.[5][6] He also has the Tri-Rotor, a compact surveillance drone which can spy on enemies, create distractions, give electric shocks, and self-destruct to kill enemies.[7]
Players can play a more aggressive run-and-gun game by using gadgets and weapons to eliminate enemies. They can interact with environmental objects, such as ledges and zip-lines, to navigate levels.[8] Conviction's mark-and-execute system returns in Blacklist, with refinements and additions to allow players to mark several targets. When they attack, they can kill all marked targets instantly.[9] Improvements made the system work more fluidly.[10]A variety of enemies (including soldiers and dogs) are encountered in the game, following the protagonist and alerting their companions. Players have the option to kill them, leave them untouched, or incapacitate them,[11] and the game classifies their choices in one of three categories: Ghost (stealthy play), Panther (stealthy, aggressive play), and Assault (aggressive play).[12] Although the game has interrogation sequences involving questioning (or torturing) targets, it does not feature Conviction's interactive torture scenes. Players can still decide whether to spare their targets or kill them after interrogation,[13][14]